After looking through which Bilge Rat commendations i have left to complete i notice i still have some left where i need to complete quests whilst the reaper flag is hoisted.
So last night i set about completing some gold hoarder quest solo with my flag raised.
I never bothered to stock the ship with supplies, just simply threw down a quest and got onto it. During my few hours playing, the same Galleon 5 times steamed across the world to engage in combat with me, but i was never there to engage in combat. As soon as i saw this ship making it's way to me i would hop off on the island i needed to be on fully stocked on bananas and lower my sails half way and let the sloop head off to sea heading away from the galleon. I then swiftly set about tapping chests and solving riddles all the while keeping an eye on when the galleon and my sloop were close to each other. Then simply scuttle the ship and catch the mermaid once i was done with that Island.
This all amused be greatly, and they kept chasing this reaper mark for over 2 hours.
On my last quest i decided to try something else. This time i loaded some explosive barrels on board and deployed the same method of jumping ashore and letting the sloop sail away whilst the Galleon was closing in fast. And once again i scuttled as they got really close, and to my amusement. They must've struck a barrel in the water because i saw the explosion and the ship rock and shortly afterwards sink to the depths.
And there was me not looking forward to doing these commendations!
So don't always assume just because a ship is bearing the reaper mark you need to sink it, people could just be trying to complete some quests. And if you see them trying to avoid contact with other players, leave them be!
