I noticed a very small amount of people putting up a ruckus because, and I'm guessing, they aren't good with battling other players on an even playing field (Yes SoT is an even playing field. It all comes down to experience and how well your tactics are.) The whole concept of this game from the very first ad was no micro-transactions and items to give others a step above the rest.
Many argue that SoT was never a PvP or PvE game or vice versa. The final answer is that this is a PvP game in a PvE world. You got other ships with real players sailing about the world on their own agenda and then you got quest with enemy NPCs and patrolling threats such as the Megalodon. With these known FACTS it is and accepted as a PvP system in a PvE world.
Now with that being said, some would argue that system preference would allow for better tactics and straight up fighting and I'd have to agree. I'm experiencing this first hand. Never will I go back to play SoT on console, but this is only a factor of input devices...
Now just because you have poor tactics and end up losing your battles a lot more frequently than others doesn't mean the game was "imbalanced." What it means is that you have poor strategies and give excuses as to why you lost.
So if you stockpiled gunpowder and knew a ship was coming directly for you yet you ended up sinking and also stated 3 of your additional crew members were on land at the time, then that sounds like you're not very good of a player to begin with...