@inboardgolf1560 said in A Plague of Sloops and Other Joykillers:
Recently, players have taken to crewing the highly maneuverable sloops and simply depositing a crewmate in the water near a ship, whether at port, anchorage or even on the move.
You begin with a false premise, as so many of these posts do. There's nothing "recent" about this tactic, and it has nothing to do with sloops. People have been pulling this move since the beginning of the game, in all kinds of ships. Experienced players see the move coming a mile away.
This is particularly frustrating for smaller crews, especially other sloops and brigantines, because the player will simply kill you, then remain on your ship and repeatedly kill you as you spawn.
Again, nothing new here. At worst, it's a one-on-one situation. Totally fair. At best you're talking about a three-to-one advantage. If you lose with those odds, I'm sorry but you don't need some artificial game mechanics to help. You just need more practice.
This happens fairly frequently, and makes combat with other players less than enjoyable. Not only that, but it poisons interaction with other players, especially when your ship is docked at an outpost and someone slips a gunpowder barrel aboard, which for some reason can sink a ship in under a minute.
If you don't see it coming, you've already failed. This isn't criticism, it's advice. The gunpowder play is pretty cheesy, I'll grant you that. But it's usually preventable if you're diligent and aware of your surroundings. When you see a sloop pass nearby, you can bet someone is already swimming to your ship, with or without a keg of gunpowder. Get your eye of reach and jump into the water. When you see them coming, blast them. If they don't have a keg, grab a blunderbuss and guard your ladders. It's easy to one-shot a boarder.
There have been times where I have simply spawned in mere moments before, and can’t leave the tavern without being murdered endlessly, having yet to even see my ship after logging on.
This is very rare. In over a year of playing, it's only happened to me a handful of times. When it happens, just leave the game and try again. It's pointless to press the battle. Just change servers and be done with it.
My suggestions are as follows: Provide a short period of damage immunity when respawning. (A blunderbuss kills you instantly, so you have no time to react as it is now.)
I believe they tested this at one time and found it to be too unbalancing. They have, however, made certain tweaks over time to give you more of a fighting chance. It's not too bad now. When you are spawn camped by a whole crew, it's very hard to turn the battle around and regain control of your ship. But one person is still a pretty fair fight. You spawn in with full health and ammo. I know it's frustrating but don't give up too quick. Think of it as PvP practice. If you get too frustrated with the situation, just concede the battle scuttle. You can't win them all.
Secondly, make outposts non-combat zones, or at least provide them with some sort of defense on behalf of the companies. (It only makes sense that they would not want trouble when doing business. Perhaps they can have guards or cannons to shoot at aggressors. Maybe even patrol ships.)
I used to be an advocate for safe outposts, but I've come to realize what others told me at the time. It would be too limiting and would prevent all kinds of really interesting and fun scenarios. Some great battles have been fought at outposts. Besides, if you make outposts "safe" then you open the door to even worse forms of abuse. Imagine getting jumped just outside the "safe area". You try to chase down your attackers, but they immediately enter the safety zone, completely immune from your attempts to avenge yourself and recover your loot. Someone could even sail your own ship into the safe area and sell your loot. It's just not a viable option in Sea of Thieves.
Finally, allow a bounty to be placed on enemy players, marking them on the map for all to see. (The bounty could come from your own funds, and be rather spendy or have some other penalty to avoid abuse.)
Bounties could be abused and would punish people for playing the game as intended. It's an idea that's been tossed around a lot but it doesn't hold water. There are all kinds of situations where killing and sinking other players is necessary. PvP hunters wouldn't be bothered at all by this, so it would mainly hurt people like me who aren't necessarily PvP focused, but will rise to the occasion when called for. I don't want a bounty on my head just for being a pirate in a pirate game. Besides, it wouldn't fit with the lore of the game. The Sea of Thieves is a world without laws, where everyone you see is a pirate, fortune hunter, and/or scoundrel. Who would be placing these "bounties" exactly? Nobody would dare, nor should they.
So hopefully you can see that while your frustration is understandable, none of your ideas are unique nor are they needed in Sea of Thieves. This is an awesome world of high adventure, where anything can happen. PvP is a big part of the excitement, whether you choose to seek it or not. I'm sorry to be yet another "git gud" person, but there it is. The game does take some practice. But please believe me, it's worth the time. Every time you get ganked in the game, you learn something and get better. Stick with it and one day you'll find you're no longer one to be trifled with. There's no better feeling than turning the tables on some scurvy scoundrel who thinks you'll be easy pickin's.
Best of luck!
