7 Wonders in Sea of Thieves,
a Fan Letter to the SoT Crew
1st . ADVENTURE!
Who doesn’t wonder about being a Pirate? A begotten age of freedom, mystery and entitlement to discovery. Only through grand depictions and recent cinema was this society fossilized into our brains, still we only played an audience to these grand adventures we grew up on. Modernizations blessing and curse of technology, allows any of us to explore some of these places only existing in imagination. Rare delivers an experimental and explorable world riddled with a rich environment, holding no guilt or repercussion, and is infinite by design. The ultimate playground for what swashbuckling could have been, yet also yields what WE as players make of it ourselves. The freedom to do, and not do, what you want is purely the Pirates’ philosophy. It's safe to assume violence and action is all people want out of this world, Yet being able to maintain a ship becomes a common mindset amongst most of those who’ve gotten involved. From casting the first sail, to raising anchor, to firing your first shot ( or friend ) from a cannon, even to patching your first hole in eye high water; everything you do in Sea of Thieves feels not just right, but satisfying. Such as Voyages, coordinating Maps and Riddles has been more fun than any of my crewmates had anticipated. Aside from occasional bickering for figuring out mechanics, when we finally found that tiny island or landing that first riddle que, every step of the Voyage gave us some sense of accomplishment. The emersion you feel, be it looking for landmarks or digging mind-numbing holes for the X, is what we all grew up on understanding Treasure Hunters vigorous tricks and tools of trade to safeguarded riches.
Every encounter has been memorable, even the sight of your own ship sinking starts to mentally prepare you for how to avoid future ones. Of course, making any victory rewarding is a difficult feat in games these days. Luckily, there is plenty of scenarios to unfold that are worth the effort. Be it sinking an enemy vessel or escaping with you’re treasure ( or just your skins ), you and your crew will always be hungry for the next encounter. Combat in any game is something all players fester. Despite the bedazzled and fierce hollywoodized fighting we’re used to seeing with Pirate films, timing in SoT is crucial, like with actual fencing and flintlock dueling. Being able to take your cutlass for a quick block or driving it into your first skeleton, you begin to feel a level of superiority and lay waste to any enemy ahead. This wouldn’t be a Pirate game without some sense of Entitlement, and b**o is there plenty! Numerous times in the Beta, after a successful voyage our crew would often see a sail in the distance. This enticement would bring us thirsting for a sudden sense of domination. The beauty and danger in every island is amazing, but at the end of the day, its the Sea Warfare that captured most my friends attention. Asking ourselves, “Do they have treasure too? Could they sneak by and steal our treasure?” Usually reaching the conclusion of, “Did they just adjust their sails? - LET'S GET EM!”. Getting in on action is worth any struggle, because you can keep going even after losing two ships in a day, there's plenty more to explore and do to keep building your riches and memory of the Pirates Life.
2nd . SCALE & SCOPE
From the first rendered in frame of this game, you are helplessly spellbound by the architecture, aesthetic and atmosphere presented before you. Whether you spawn in the bar, in town, on deck or shore, you will be welcomed to the world by a grand visual. This closed beta offered the games basic’s; Sailing, Combat, Voyages and various island (with most of the same assets of trees and rocks, showcase characteristics special to each). Every island is augmented by levels of foliage, size of the island and possible danger as not every island may have the same amount of Skeletons protecting booty. Reading names of some of the islands give you a sense of how peariless; Shipwreck Bay, and nonchalant; Chicken isle, these locations can be. Reading the world map gives a true sense mystery and wonder awaiting every player. Even returning to the same island a couple times, you may discover something new or different each time, be it hidden scenery or a chest just taking a sunbath. On voyages I find myself wondering around an island in amazement by the nature, with breaths of life ( and death ) scattered around each island. Walking around a land that had been visited many times before, gives a presence of danger and anticipation that’s more comforting rather than scary or off putting. Not to say SoT isn’t hard, only a tad conflicting when you’re caught admiring the beauty and detail put into each warning to appreciate its obvious message to stay clear of an area.
Our crew didn’t stop by or explore a Skeleton Fort during the beta, but it was comical to be occasionally grazed by their random fire. Oh how I do want to storm ashore, grab every chest and crush every skull I see, but with limited time, the wait will be set for March. I’d admire the forts from the crows nest every so often, but when you catch one of those towers in your peripheral mistaking it for a ship, can give slight heart attacks. Being able to see for meters on end, even render in faint sails on the horizon, gives you an amazing sense of how vast and open the world really is. Especially in the different times of day and night. If it’s not the bright open oceans waves, or the extended and worth while sun sets and rises, it’s the aura borealis after a storm at night that indoctrinating you into gazing at the world. The elements in play during the time differences offer different levels of skill to exploit. Through others I’ve learned how raised sails during the day and cutting lanterns at night gives more edge to Stealthy pirates both in ambushes and safer Voyages.
3rd . COMMUNITY
Who you share these encounters with is variously rewarding. Building a rapport with random or familiar crew members only benefits everyone’s experience, which constantly becomes the center point of every voyage or sail hunting; the Experience. Most games may hinge on a pattern or key as a means to completion, but perfection is not the way to victory in SoT. Aside from the occasional Skellie’ guards and potential Sea Monsters, every encounter with other players is crucial in split second decisions and communication. The open ended maintenance to the ships allows every crew member to juggle different tasks in different scenarios, as long as everyone's thinking in a team dynamic. Learning the sounds and effects if the ship is in danger, or if resources are low, are only a few responsibilities not only One person can handle alone. Setting assigned roles certainly keeps a ship afloat, and encourages a lot of trust amongst players. Everyone relies on the Steerer of the ship to have good judgement, just the same as they can only keep the boat afloat based off feedback given to them, such as the ships course for any impending dangers like collisions or warfare. The crew has to work cohesively, even in open ocean where it may be clear, lollygagging can be very limited, as distractions may lower a crews guard just enough to lose, EVERYTHING.
In the occasion of those who may butt heads with other crew mates, resorting to old fashioned timeouts can resolve quite a few issues ( or potentially fester in more ). Just as their are unfriendly players, there are some very smart and noble players. They may be shy or unfamiliar to the co-op aspect, but just need some guidance out of a momentary shell. Being able to vibe and mingle with fellow pirate enthusiasts makes for a great adventure to look forward to. There are some that may be too serious or lackluster in encouraging others to think outside themselves, whereas a good player can adapt to any type of toxicity. It's Not easy trusting players you don’t know yet, but faith in the game is what makes it worth the leap into random play if you can’t find a friend to bolster up with. Some of my best encounters with random crew mates. In the start of one of first few matches, I had been voted into jail as part of an initiation. I played along, making them laugh, until the ship became lodged into an outpost and attacked by another galleon. I went down with the ship, but was welcomed into the crew in a hilarious fashion. This was such an experience I wouldn't find in anything else I’ve played. Role playing even for those brief moments of action or drama can really turn the tide of the game. Thats something ive realized most players accept with this than with any other shooter out there today, THIS IS A GAME, HAVE FUN!
4th . MISADVENTURE
We’ve all done it, and if you haven’t, you’re lying to us and yourself. Mistakes are just as important a part of the games as having enough nannar’s and planks to save your booty. Taking the wrong turn, saying the wrong direction, misreading a clue, even missing a cannon shot, are some obstacles we all have faced in some point in the SoT experience. Tech Alpha and Closed Beta each offered obstacles every pirates faces on the high seas. Accepting responsibility, regardless of which role or duties you’ve taken on, is key to maintaining the crews longevity. Honing in on important responsibilities is something all games emulate, but not many rely on timing and patients of other players. Some people can’t work in a friendly environment, some are more aggressive in personality than others. A reckless or hot headed player is just the way of video games. How we deal with others will determine how you play as a crew and if your ship will stay afloat. In some cases, mistakes can work in favor. Being able to adapt to a fallen or overboard crew mate, can make or break a ships moral. If only one person can steer, an they die, no one else with confidence or understanding of the ship could crash it.
Just as someone not recognizing the sounds of planks busting below deck, a lot can happen in the heat of battle or chaos of a storm. Much like life, Failure is needed in SoT. Trial and Error will educate a crew’s captain in places where victory may blind them. The internet and game guides will only give us a glimpse into what we can do, the rest is up to us and our decisions, as a player and crew. There’s also plenty of room for compensation for making mistakes on the high seas. In one case you might have spent several minutes digging for chests to no avail till a mate scoops it in one go, you can make up for it later by plowing cannons into the side of another vessel. That's one of the many beauties to the mechanics of design in SoT, where some areas may be more or less uncomfortable for some, there’s always another job or opportunity for someone to pick up on the go to keep the crew afloat and prosperous.
5th . TREASURE
Vanity, aspiration, greed, are all fuel for the Pirate in all of us. Sinking your shovel into that first chest, is just as evigerating as the 42nd chest ( even though it’s a crying b*****d you have to serenade the rest of the voyage ). Although the Alpha and Beta offered only Treasure hunting as a focus for testing the progression, it was certainly enough to keep everyone on board thirsty for the next chest. More maps filling in your inventory becomes exciting and less intimidating. A vacum of risk and reward on the edge of your heel or in the distant horizon, every moment awaits a reward to be claimed. Cashing in your first chest becomes a contagiousness for more, be it decking yourself out in the current pirate garb or shiny new tools and instruments. With purely aesthetic purchase with your loot, expression becomes another prong that gets us all really hooked in.
Voyages bring the real puzzle solvers out of most the crew members I’ve played with. Even with random people, we all shared the same sense of urgency, excitement and discipline as well when bring back something rare to the ship. The mechanics behind some of the more unique chests are great in terms of strategy and diversifying the sometimes tedious run of the mill delivery of chests back and forth ( worse if your captain anchors on opposite side of vendor ). Debating where chests, and other future treasures, are kept offers another strategy to the table of security. With a good sense of community, keeping track of riches becomes second nature. Be it paranoia of loss or desire for more treasure, everyone's input is necessary for a common sense of security. Where do you keep the crying chest, which place is easier for us to have access to a 1k grogs but still hard for someone else to take it, or where to keep powder kegs for minimal damage to ship to be used or sold for later? etc.
6th . HISTORY & MYTHOLOGY
Pirates, in one aspect or another, can be trailed back in every major world powers history. Whether it was means to braving the new world, or bringing order to the high seas, the open ocean has always been one of humanity's greatest frontiers. Legends and myths, tell tales of pirates in mass scaving the seven seas, plundering and pillaging anyone they wanted. Somehow hollywoodization has turned these Terrorists of the old World into iconic anti-heroes and rulers of freedom in a primitive age. The grand mystery behind sunken treasures and buried tombs of gems of passed on adventurers, WHERE THE HELL DID IT ALL GO?; Are they lost forever, or just right under our noses. The concept of a captain going down with their ship, or treasure, is one archaeologists only recently explored through mythos and historical depictions of off handed encounters and rumor. The Theme of curses and playing with death has also been a feature adopted into the iconization of Pirating and lore.
Pirates seemed to never want to stop, not many encounter expellment from the lifestyle, it's usually ride or die. This dedication to doing whatever you want, is a spectacular realm for fantasy and “what if death could be played with” ideas. Ghost stories of unfetter souls haunting our world, maybe scary in the old days, but brings out the joy of our inner childhood. Being exposed to history, real or fake, taps into exciting parts of our brain that encourage free thinking and imagination to fuel motivations. Being inspired to complete a quest, free a soul or just claim their leftover riches, there's a drive of completion we as an audience turned gamers have hungered for. The few crewmates I’ve had and met through experiencing the Beta and catching up on developer videos, diving head first into the Legendary boss-figured NCP will only be a portion of the adventures fun. Finding the connections between the riddles, the skeletons moving, future alliances etc. make you wonder how they will all be related and thrive Together.
7th . ANTICIPATION
I’m going to level with you all ( who ever kept on this far ), I was only able to play the Closed Beta for about 2-3 Days. We all have lives, things are going on that may not make us all aware of certain things.. ( Like joining the Insider Program WAY sooner >.< ). In those several dozen hours of non-stop gaming, I honestly had not been as hooked on a games beta in such a long time! Just a sample of this game's most basic mechanics feels great. Being able to tune back from intense action shooters, into a calmer co-op focused prerogative grants more freedom and reward, with time. With so much left open to wonder about, I immediately dove head first into EVERY Developer video, BTS, Tales of the Tavern, and Content update I could binge. My mind still races with joy with what's to come and what's still laid mystery for us to discover on the journey to legend. Of course, the fantasy behind this game is superb. Pushing around skeletons now, will not be taken for granted in March when tougher, angrier and vastly outnumbering skeleton crews awaken from their guardian graves. This game offers an amazing opportunity to fine tune a community into a non-toxic and more proactive environment for players of all genres. There is something for everyone that has any love for video games. The combat is simplified, yet is still difficult when panic or focus pour over you in the heat of it. Puzzle solving and locating geographical landmarks, takes a slower pace for everyone to relax and exercise other parts of the mind for a while and rely on input from the crew in a different but just as essential means.
Personally, I am to the moon excited about the Merchant Trade Alliance. As rewarding as delivering a couple Captain's Chest is, or collecting skulls from a mini-boss may retain as well, the Shopping list of animals and objects to collect seems like an amazing solo challenge; Make you feel like a real smuggler of the sea. I have no issue with Rare keeping us on the edge of our seats to display the Kraken in all its glory. That’s easy to talk about, and half the internet is already, so I’m not going to [ for now ]. I will most likely get lost sailing in the beauty of the world. Before even firing cannon or draw a cutlass on another player, there’ll be a good several hours on my Mixer of just exploring the open ocean; coast by diverse islands, or plunge right into obviously dangers area. I, and many others, seek simple exposure to all of the hard work put into this massive sandbox. Solo voyages may be longer when stuck in a daze of amazement, but every mishap will be taken back as a memory worth treasuring. Needless to say, Sea of Thieves is something truly special. Rare is offering everyone the amazing opportunity to portray a Pirate, build rapport and relationships with people they would never have in much any other game that's around today. March 20th cannot come any sooner, even though I had not been part of the Insider Program very long ( regretfully ) I have fallen in love with not just the concept of this game, but also the design and artwork direction. Hands down, Seat of Thieves will give sequels to other anticipated games I had this year, a run for their pre-orders.
Sincerely and Eagerly,
KiNG of ACEz / KAPTN KLUTCH,
