Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience

as a small crew or solo player, you're immediately attacked and killed by almost everyone

Define immediately for me. Because that says you are attacked every time, all the time, with almost no breaks. Even as you spawn in. Which isn’t possible and could be misuse of a word or something. But that isn’t right.

Crews with a high number of player kills could receive a bounty and be roughly marked on the map

So players with this playstyle are punished? Whose who don’t do PvP aren’t? Not very equal

There should be a neutral area

As long it outside the game. Not in high seas or whatever. Like the arena tavern.

PvP is Part of the game and it is boring without, but please don't make the game a PvP only game, SoT is so much more.

Never is or ever be. Players who assume it’s all pvp pushed or forced are the ones at fault. You’re free to run, escape or turn around and defend.
It’s always pvpve and nothing less or more. Quicker you accept this better the game.

I've been playing for a few thousand hours and have most of my time as a solo sloop... and I have really never seen any of this happen. I have to actively search for players, I'm not immediately killed by really anyone and most people I meet are chill. Some attack, but most don't if you're peaceful.. I've seen some toxic players maybe once out of every hundred interactions... I've never once been insulted for running from a larger crew... I just really think these anecdotes are made up if I'm being honest or you have some bad luck with servers.
I agree that better onboarding should be done for new players, but I fail to understand how the game has shifted towards only PvP??? It's the exact same it's been for many years. Most new content is PvEvP.. Only last ship standing has been a PvP addition and that's optional and time limited..
If you want emissaries to work together, go make an alliance.
Putting bounties on players that are good at PvP are only going to make them find and sink more players because they want players to come hunt them.
A neutral area I can get behind. This should be inside the Sea Dog Tavern.
The separate area is cool and one the community has been asking about for years, but what does that have to do with the solo casual experience?

SoT is a PvPvE game.. hence PvP will always exist. but saying it's only PvP is just crazy and downright false.

@starkussen said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

Totally agree..

But oh well, this game is halfway into the coffin anyway. If they want to be stubborn about this have at it, but good luck getting new players or players that just want to enjoy the game.

I comfort myself knowing this game is pretty much dying, and with less and less players playing it, the servers will be empty and become pve anyway.

I was a new player that had to endure 6 ships on the server, 24 players, no such thing as Safer Seas or Sovereign, yet here I am years later still playing. What is it that's preventing players from practicing and getting better at defending their loot?

What is it that's preventing players from practicing and getting better at defending their loot?

As OP seems to suggest.

The community has also become very toxic.

The game has shifted too heavily toward PvP

and as the other suggest, it a dying game... sips grog but those same people continue to stick around anyways. it a weird cycle.
I dont think it this one, but one Post said something along the lines, What players expect vs what actually happens is the cause. Again, I blame young kids who watch to many streamer videos that beeb edited, set up, or Top 100 best moments and go in thinking that is an everyday happening.

Makes me wonder if these same kids play new games and also get upset because none of the things they were told about happen out of the gate.

@starkussen said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

@europa4033 said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

@starkussen said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

Totally agree..

But oh well, this game is halfway into the coffin anyway. If they want to be stubborn about this have at it, but good luck getting new players or players that just want to enjoy the game.

I comfort myself knowing this game is pretty much dying, and with less and less players playing it, the servers will be empty and become pve anyway.

I was a new player that had to endure 6 ships on the server, 24 players, no such thing as Safer Seas or Sovereign, yet here I am years later still playing. What is it that's preventing players from practicing and getting better at defending their loot?

Kudos, what a lovely story. Im "sure" it will continue in many years from now on.

I mean, if you search thru these forums, you'll find posts years ago from angry players that also couldn't learn how to defend their loot for some reason, saying the game is going to die as well.
I'd honestly like to know what is preventing players from learning what we all had to learn, especially now when there's much more added to the game to help newer players. I would've loved Safer Seas, Sovereign, etc. when I was new. Instead of sitting back and claiming the game is dying (like it has been for years now), what is it that's holding you back?

@goernolero

If anyone says anything toxic to you, record and report.

With that said, there's a golden rule in this game about not trusting other players. I've had players sail over to me appearing to be innocent and playing music too--- while they're crewmates are swimming over with a keg. Alliances get betrayed all the time. I was sunk for the bananas in my barrel. You also seem to be under the assumption that people should sink you only if you have anything worth taking. This is also not the case. When I was new to the game, I had to practice PvP, and I'd go out looking for ships to sink solely for practice. I was called "toxic" for this, even though I never disrespected anyone. It's up to you to keep an eye on the horizon.

Just as you don't owe anyone a fight, you aren't owed a pass.

@goernolero said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

Do you want to miss out on large parts of the content because you can't reach an underwater shrine alone, or spend extended time on a larger island where you can no longer see the horizon?

Not that long ago I did more than a dozen of the Treasuries on my own (for the 30 milestone Sirens killed) and was bothered once.
Don't do the ones that's close to an active World Event or when otehr crews are in sight obviously.
The other crews know that your ship may be an easy target, but they have only a slim chance of getting the loot from it (loot already on your ship is obviously easy pickings, but sell everything before you do them and you don't lose much).

If veterans with 1,000+ hours of experience have nothing better to do than sink new and casual players, then this game will eventually die

Well this (and next Season) might not have mch new content, but I / we still need to do a lot of other older content and we do that and some PvP as well (not partcurlarly targetting new(er) players).

@goernolero said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

@europa4033
Your response is interesting, but it misses the point somewhat. Toxic players should absolutely be reported, no question about that. However, they are only a symptom. The game itself has changed in that regard.

Of course, you can keep an eye on the horizon, stay vigilant, and avoid fights, and that can work reasonably well. But that's not the point. The real question is whether that's how people want to play. Do you want to miss out on large parts of the content because you can't reach an underwater shrine alone, or spend extended time on a larger island where you can no longer see the horizon? Do you like to run All the time you see a sail somewhere, even if you have nothing to worry about.

If you want to experience that content, you're forced into Safer Seas, where significant portions of the game's content are unavailable. And even Safer Seas is only treating the symptom of a much larger underlying problem.

The game is lacking content and motivation. If veterans with 1,000+ hours of experience have nothing better to do than sink new and casual players, then this game will eventually die. It's already at a critical point, and I genuinely want the game to survive and recover. That's where this feedback is coming from. That is the point I try to make.

Maybe, as a long-time player, you can't relate to this perspective, or perhaps you don't see the issue because the game is fundamentally different for you. And that's perfectly fine. In the end, the game should offer something for everyone. Players should be able to relax, experience adventures within a PvEvP environment, engage in PvP, form alliances, and compete over treasure—but in a healthy balance.

I think this is well said. There are a lot of games where PvPvE suffers because there isn't a strong motivation to cooperate with others. For the longevity of the game, newer players need to enjoy playing, and not always feel anxiety every time they load up. I suggest a lot of communities to new players because it makes it much easier and more fun... but there are a LOT of people who try the game out solo and slip away because the game is unforgiving.

I'd honestly like to know what is preventing players from learning what we all had to learn

Like the world we live in. The modern gamers of today expect everything to be given and not earned and blame others when things don’t go there way. Never blaming their own faults.

Failures are no longer accepted as learning.

Not that long ago I did more than a dozen of the Treasuries on my own (for the 30 milestone Sirens killed) and was bothered once.

I just did this last night, not a Single ship sunk me or tried to tuck. It was quiet, to quiet for my day. At one point even had 3 reaper chests….

@goernolero said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

@burnbacon
@Lem0n Curry

I appreciate your feedback as experienced players. However, I'd like to clarify one point again, as it seems it wasn't fully understood.

I can understand why, since you've probably read thousands of forum posts and tend to generalize people's intentions. This is not about wanting to bypass the learning curve, nor is it about solo players not knowing that they should sell treasure as quickly as possible, keep an eye on the horizon, and so on. YouTube is full of tutorials covering those topics.

The real question is whether only this style of gameplay is actually fun or not. Shouldn't there be more opportunities to play together and to compete against each other as groups? Shouldn't there be more meaningful long-term goals than simply "I buy a new hat" or "I unlock achievement nr. 37274"?

You can do that in Custom Servers within two weeks.

Trying to do such things on a server with max 5 other ships - 2 (or more) might be in an Hourglass fight, others might have other things planned or already got the hat/sails whatever.
"Forced" coorperation doesn't sit well with a part of the community of players; some prefer to do their own thing and dislike interacting with other crews (even when friendly !!), others expect other crews to sabotage or just to fight when there is someting worth doing together.
It's not even for the loot for some crews; we had an adventure where you got transfered to another instance with a couple of other crews and there was a big chance there was one crew just waiting for new crews to arrive to shoot them with cannons or one-sided TDM.

Because of this lack of content and meaningful interactions, crews tend to play in isolation and certain players just do PvP all the time due to nothing more to do. Solo players, especially casual and newer ones, often lose interest because the game feels too one-dimensional and overly centered around PvP.

Well, it's a PvPvE game - there will be a chance that there will be PvP; there is Safer Seas to experience 95% of the non fighting other crew content part of the game for people who don't want any PvP.
I wouldn't have played this game if it was PvP or PvE

Shouldn't there be more meaningful long-term goals than simply "I buy a new hat" or "I unlock achievement nr. 37274"?

I make my own goals.
Like with the Renown/season pass/Faction leveling number stuff. I dont follow the routes, I make my own path.
Map says go to this island, it 4 squares away to the East....Im going north and stopping by every island and once I reach the edge of the map, turn around.

Maybe instead, I'll sail around wherever the wind is going forward instead of fighting it and stop by islands. Maybe dont leave outpost and buy a fishing bair crate and fish until its empty :p Who to say what my goals are.

The goal is to make the adventure whatever nonsense I want to do.

@jefemarques4545 said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

Nice to see this, i've been thinking of this for at least 2 years now, I play casually and want to experience adventure mod a little better, playing solo is always a grind.
But i do think a little bigger tbh, having a real big island (50+ regional players) as a neutral/safezone outside of the sandbox, something that you can either access via portal, diving or joining directly there.
In this area you can interact with players to: Invite them to your ship, Join their ship, Join pvp mode, Join Last standing mode, Join Custom Server (new feature).

While I wouldn't mind such a hub - outside of the Adventure servers - I'd have to say No to the join PvP / LSS modes as this will just increase teaming against the others. Have three friends you normally sail on a Galleon with, go to the hub and sign up for the same LSS solo sloop and now it's 4 ships against 2 where the two other ships didn't sign up to fight against a fleet of 4.

@goernolero said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

@europa4033
Your response is interesting, but it misses the point somewhat. Toxic players should absolutely be reported, no question about that. However, they are only a symptom. The game itself has changed in that regard.

Of course, you can keep an eye on the horizon, stay vigilant, and avoid fights, and that can work reasonably well. But that's not the point. The real question is whether that's how people want to play. Do you want to miss out on large parts of the content because you can't reach an underwater shrine alone, or spend extended time on a larger island where you can no longer see the horizon? Do you like to run All the time you see a sail somewhere, even if you have nothing to worry about.

If you want to experience that content, you're forced into Safer Seas, where significant portions of the game's content are unavailable. And even Safer Seas is only treating the symptom of a much larger underlying problem.

The game is lacking content and motivation. If veterans with 1,000+ hours of experience have nothing better to do than sink new and casual players, then this game will eventually die. It's already at a critical point, and I genuinely want the game to survive and recover. That's where this feedback is coming from. That is the point I try to make.

Maybe, as a long-time player, you can't relate to this perspective, or perhaps you don't see the issue because the game is fundamentally different for you. And that's perfectly fine. In the end, the game should offer something for everyone. Players should be able to relax, experience adventures within a PvEvP environment, engage in PvP, form alliances, and compete over treasure—but in a healthy balance.

If people "don't want to play like that", instead of asking Rare to change the core concept of the game, perhaps realize that this game isn't for you. Perhaps I should go to the Counterstrike forums and say I just want to relax and take it easy, go around exploring, instead of players always shooting me. I'm sure that community will support me asking the game to be changed to accomodate how I want to play.

I started this game way before Safer Seas and Sovereign were a thing. I got sunk on a daily basis by other ships, and had to learn to defend my ship. This game gives everyone the freedom to play how they want, and defending your ship is on you, because while you don't owe anyone a fight, they don't owe you a pass. Whatever it is that is preventing you from learning how to defend your ship, lucky for you, Safer Seas exists. No- you're not going to experience the main game in Safer Seas as it's not a PvE server.

If you're not happy with Safer Seas being restrictive, custom seas will be here soon, and you can do as many FotDs as you want. If you're still not happy with custom seas, and are still being prevented from learning how to defend your ship, perhaps this game isn't for you. Asking Rare to change the core concept of the game just because "whatever reason", bothers you, is not on Rare. This is a PvPvE game.

The game is lacking content and motivation. If veterans with 1,000+ hours of experience have nothing better to do than sink new and casual players, then this game will eventually die

Always content. I am 100% maybe 99% sure a large part of the players here who just do HG stuff havnt done any of the larger content and only complain about HG stuff. Then we have the PvE-only people who haven't touched any of the cool content either because requires maybe pvp.

With some stuff requiring sinking players/Ships or very least, just hit a ship with certain items.
With 8 years now under SoT belt, it wouldnt be a shocker if next year game dies...it old game for a live. serves game. Not many can handle that but SoT has. Then again, ive heard "game is gonna die if this dont change" every year for past 8 years.

PPlayers should be able to relax, experience adventures within a PvEvP environment, engage in PvP, form alliances, and compete over treasure—but in a healthy balance.

Is this not happening now? I can tell yeah, my last few days joining random crews has been just that. Half of them are returns who missed 6 years of content and 0 knowledge or even care of the "communities." Troubles with Rare. I even ask them if they have any issues with the game.
In most cases, it's simple stuff like save outfits or maybe changing your name. When asked about being attacked/sunk/toxic players.

What they do? "It part of the game isn't it?"

You make quite sweeping statements about the game being so pvp focused without backing up any of your claims with actual evidence. It is clear from your description of being attacked everytime that you're frustrated and exaggerating to try and push the narrative you're trying to present.

Here is some actual evidence from my perspective that the general game design has moved towards supporting pve over pvp:

Diving, it is so easy to move server now engaging in pvp can be difficult if all the other crew wants to do is run
Captaincy and sovereigns, the efficiency of selling loot is so different to previous that the actual window of opportunity for theft has been greatly decreased
Aiming of content for casual gamers: from probably the inception of sea forts, a lot of content has been designed to promote short sharp sessions being possible, existing content has also been made easier..world events scale to crew so a solo can complete an event (if competent) in a shorter time than ever without any prep work.

I know you'll likely take this as im purely pvp orientated and I will admit I enjoy it but actually I like variety, and on discovering any crew is pretty new I generally either leave them or actively help them. I don't see bullying newbs as fun or a good idea as it gatekeep the community.....that being said the choice is important, if you as a new player have some rare loot that I still need absolutely I will take it.
Your bounty system has been suggested many time before but actually it is a veiled punishment for those who engage in pvp. If the core design is a mechanic that makes the game harder then this is the devs telling you that the form of playstyle you are choosing is not something they want. Worth taking a look at the content they put out including general narrative around what they consider as toxic behaviour. They have always designed this game in mind with the risk of pvp being part of the thrill of the game and a balancing factor in the fundamental design.

@dolksbr said in Frustrations as a New/Solo/Casual Crew – Ideas to Improve the Experience:

Dude you're absolutely right. Some people here in this post look at the game with their experience and claim the game to be the same for everyone. Every region is different, every server is different. I totally agree with you, and yeah this game should have an alternative way for those who don't enjoy much of PvP, but like online gameplays, with other players.
I've played the game for a while and literally every contact with other crews were the same: they shooting me, for absolutely no reason, even though I spammed "let's avoid conflict" and have no loot on my ship.

You have 170 hours bro.. Not to be rude, but that's still learning the ropes. Right now it might feel like everyone is attacking you, but part of the game is learning how to be on the look out for other ships, knowing how to position yourself to not be easily attacked. Yes, as a newcomer it sucks to get stomped.. No one is saying that PvP doesn't happen or everyone's experience is the same. Imagine if I went and started playing a game like League of Legends for example and got upset that I was losing, even though I just started and didn't know the champs, builds, laning, etc. Imagine if I hadn't ever played Escape From Tarkov and then got upset that I never made it out of raid because I don't know the spawns, the right ammo to bring in, who to target, places to avoid, etc. My point is that every game is structured from the start and players need to learn how to survive and thrive in those metrics. Crying that they need to continue making SoT easier, when it's always been a PvPvE game since the start just seems silly. Rare have done many many things to help newer players, but at some point you either got it or you don't. Implementing new restrictions on veteran players so that swabbies can come in and have it easier just won't work... Encountering PvP is just part of the grind and those that stick with the game eventually and don't give up eventually become better PvPers. I think the OP is finding the game difficult and instead of grinding it out like everyone else has done, he wants a quick easy solution from Rare to make the game easier.. That's just my thoughts. Btw, I love helping out new players on the seas and it would be nice if that was the same for every player, but it's an online game and we can't police everyone's decisions. All the OP has to do is just get back on a new sloop and keep sailing and don't sweat getting attacked. It's gonna happen. Learn from those engagements and try a different tactic next time.