Protected Outposts

Rule #1 I follow in the sea of thieves: Unless a storm or an earthquake eruption is active in the vicinity, NEVER drop anchor. As such, the #1 tip I have for new or inexperienced players is to learn how to dock without the need to drop anchor. I know it can be a hassle, but remember this, although it might seem like it is, an outpost IS NOT a safe area, a home base, or the players main hub. The ship is the home base, and it's the responsibility of the crew to keep it safe. Things are sold at an outpost, and yes, down time can be had at an outpost, but it is done at your own expense. The game isn't over until the ship sinks, so if your turning something in, keep in mind the ship is what ties you into successfully turning in all items. It's like a heavily weaponized mobile fortress that must be protected from the hands of others. With that said, you must also know when your at your most defenseless and at your weakest. Which is basically any time you get off the ship. Before getting off the ship, scout the area out at sea, and plan a defender role for a crewmate if necessary. While on the island continue to scout the area out at sea with great frequency. Once back on the ship and sailing to an outpost, scout it before going in, plan ahead as you will be at your weakest in the following few minutes. Once all items are sold, you succeeded. If the ship goes down it's of no dire consequence. However, if you don't wish it to go down, continue to scan the area in moderate frequency aand remember the blind spots for the ship (Up front and the rear). Relaxing time is done on board of ship. Any down time else where should be monitored. Keep "One eye open when you sleep"

@thebirdofflame4 said in Protected Outposts:

So, every time I go to an Outpost, and there is another crew in the area, they generally try to kill me, sink me, steal from me etc. While I have no problems with the PVP on the open sea, as I can shoot or run to counter others, it is a different story at an Outpost.

People go to an Outpost to drop off loot, buy from stores, or just hang out with their crew, but all of these things require anchoring the ship in the bay, putting you in a vulnerable position to others.

And they know it. I can have an entire IRL day playing the game on the open sea without PVP occurring, but at an Outpost my chances of encountering PVP go up astronomically, as there is no deterrent from camping Outpost to attack players. The reason I see this as a problem is that some players seem to dedicate themselves to these kinds of attacks, seeing it as a guarantee that you cannot escape quickly, as well as that when a player comes to an outpost, they usually have some loot to offload that can be stolen.

I believe that offloading your ship should not be a constant life or death PVP struggle, and thus suggest implementing some sort of system that somewhat restricts combat at Outposts so that players don't get attacked immediately after docking. This would make Outpost be seen as less of a race to offload everything before another crew comes in, and more of a place for friendly meetings.

I suggest this as currently there is no way to relax in-game as the constant threat of PVP everywhere makes it feel stressful to do anything that makes the game enjoyable. I would love to meet other players in this game without it being an immediate death match on first sight. If you have read this far, I thank you for your attention. Have a nice day!

I completely agree. First, the sign in the tavern that states combat is on the seas is blatantly false.
Second, this situation makes selling loot impossible for a solo player since every ship is faster. I understand that solo is the hard mode of the game, but "impossible" and "hard" are different things.
Third, it's a bit nonsensical and immersion breaking for a small civilization to just sit there while there's a literal war going on around them.
Fourth, it doesn't provide combat experience. Dying at an outpost isn't a matter of fighting to the death, but simply one crew/player getting a single cannonball shot while spawn killing the player. If someone wants to fight, at least let it be a fight, rather than tactics that don't give both players a chance. I know Sea of Thieves is a game of playing dirty, like a pirate, but that just takes away from the experience.

I know it'll never happen, Rare themself has said it multiple times, but I'll support safe outposts 'till the day I die regardless.

None of the treasure is yours until you've turned it in. Adding any sort of protected area in this game would be a horrible decision for the game. The ability to show up and shake things up at the last minute before you turn in is important to some of the stories and scenarios that can be created in this game.

Furthermore, outpost camping is very easy to avoid. If you see a mermaid around the outpost, then leave.

@ottersteeth said in Protected Outposts:

@nefnoj I almost always solo sail. I've sailed almost every ship. And it happened only once to me that people were (seemingly) camping at an outpost. Unless you have to hand in items at a specific location, you can sail to the next one if you're really not sure.

I have been attacked and killed at outposts, there's no doubt about that. People sometimes try to steal your treasure. But it is very rare. And I think I've been killed more often because of them thinking I would attack them than to steal my treasure.
More often than not, when they see you are not attacking them, they will leave you alone (at least in my experience). Give a friendly wave when you spot someone on the island.

Oh definitely, I'm exaggerating solely for the sake of the argument, I've only had outpost issues once, and it was on me for not noticing that ship. Additionally, I feel (and hope) that predatory PvP play has been dying down lately, I haven't been attacked nearly as much as I've used to.

@theunionjames said in Protected Outposts:

I respectfully disagree. The danger at every turn is what makes the game fun.

Im with this dude, it doesnt make it impossible for solo players.. you just have to respect your place in the pecking order, for example, i roll up at the outpost last night with all manner of goodies to sell... glance over my shoulder and see a brig coming in, so i drop the sails and have it on my toes to the next outpost, bosh, job done..

In furtherance to this being at risk
at the outpost is just natures way... watch a program by the bbc's much
acclaimed david attenborough and you'll see what i mean.. antelope thinks 'im a touch hank' so he has to wander into the open plains for a spot of lunch... lioness is minding her own on the side lines, sees the antelope and dinner is served..... 'its the ciiircle, the circle of life!!!' Cue elton!

I'm not going to over the reasons, since they're pretty much all exactly the same reasons as people have already mentioned in this thread, but I completely oppose this idea. The real reason I'm posting though is for all the solo sloopers out there that might not know:

@nefnoj said in Protected Outposts:

Second, this situation makes selling loot impossible for a solo player since every ship is faster.

The solution is to sail directly upwind. The sloop is the least effected by catching poor wind (to my knowledge, it seems to be true anecdotally). You are the fastest sailing ship, but only when going upwind. Brigs will probably be able to keep up with you if they're good, but Galleons can't. The best thing you can do as a deterrent for either is juke people out by anchor turning while hidden behind rocks and sailing the opposite direction (as long as that direction is upwind), pulling a short 180 and sailing right past them (again, upwind only, and you'll take shots, but you can repair before they can turn and follow up. Peaceballs also negate this problem. Just look out for boarders, that's is your weakness. Get real good with the anti-personnel combat mechanics. Double-gunning is a super effective way to prevent boarders), or tacking upwind and taking pot shots just to be annoying

Also: always keep all and any cursed cannonballs on your person. A well piloted sloop that's tacking upwind and lands a anchor/rigging/helmball is the most annoying thing ever and not worth anyone's time to chase. If you anchorball a galleon while going upwind, they're nearly guaranteed to give up, possibly brigs too