What is missing i Sea of thieves? What is most urgent to be put in the game to keep and increase the playerbase?

@sharktoothjake Here is a post I had done on new ways to spend your money: https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/91951/new-ways-to-spend-your-money

It involves buying ships, a "home" for each pirate and some other things.

@SharkToothJake

Allthough I feel the reward for grinding is a bit empty.

You made it about the grind?
You like many others dont understand Sea of Thieves.
You play for rewards, gold, commendations, titles and to hear the bingo bell.

I instead play for the adventure, the stories and the glory.

See Rare has made this game for players who play games, not for gamers who game systems, work off / grind levels to get rewarded.

The suggestion shows you havent understand it otherwise you wouldnt want meaning for your gold and make advantages buyable or support solo slooping.

@dadiodude

There are only few or very less players like me around.
I would like the game had no levels, no journeys, no reputation systems.
A sandbox only, sail, find chests from messages in a bottle, fight skeletons, sharks, megalodons, kraken and immerse.
Buy cosmetics for gold you find in chests.
Skeleton Captains woulds have maps too, you had to find them as they spawn random everywhere with their crews.
Megs and Kraken may have eaten chests or captains with Maps or a message in a bottle what lead to more chests = gold for cosmetics.
The Tales would be as they are a story for the sandbox.
The Merchants would be the only faction to deliver goods from A to B.
No levels or rep, just gold to buy cosmetics and all cosmetics available from scratch, nothing gated behind rep only gold.

The whole grind is distracting from immersing, doing self provided tasks, roleplaying, sandbox gameplay.
Instead grind and bragg about levels, insults like you havent earned to be a legend, performanced focussed aproach like speedrunning, tweaking and exploiting where it is possible.
That's not playing honestly, that's what i call gaming the system.

Less people aproach the game like intended and really play, interact socially , make fun, roleplay, immerse and are able to contribute and enrich the world they are playing in.
No they reduce everything to one formular: grind it off, completely exagerate about it and play the game 1000 hours in a couple of weeks and then complain that there is nothing to grind for anymore or the game panders to casuals and remove beginners from Arena and more elitism by addicted gamers compensating and growing their ePeen.

I have yet to meet some roleplayers doing what games like this are made for.
They also bring a tabletop rpg what is about to tell your decisions, story and roleplay the game, immerse into the world enlive, enrich and contribute to it.

Progression segregates players.
Even when only about cosmetics it cause people to be jealous, rush things, exagerate time playing games, exagerate about the meaning of playing games and pixels, make them work it off instead to play.
Make them hamsters in a treadmill operating on slotmachienes.

It's hopeless, people unlearned to play.
They work, earn, grind, exploit, rush, speedrun and miss to play the game entirely.

@dadiodude

You are right of course.
Rare created a sandbox first then added NPC, factions, levels, cosmetics.
As i always say most gamers concentrate only on grinding this.
They completely miss sandbox play and to create content for themself and others.
Do self provided tasks, roleplay etc...
Contribute, enlive and enrich the world / environment.
The "quality" of someones experience is heavily depending of the other players you meet.
Unfortunately the majority is less empathic, more egocentric and taking it all too serious imho.
Therefore toxicity and a lot of desparation takes place.
If people would just play together and for sure do the voyages, tales and commendations but dont focus on this, but focus on playing together especially when competing!
Would take care for the fellow players and their fun.
As above contribute, enlive and enrich the gsmeworld the experience for everybody would improve.
Kill and get killed with a smile on your face, laughing and taking "revenge".
That's is what i think all games are for, but that is not what majority of gamers make playing games about.
The game is great, the players arent that much and thats the only problem.
If Mr. K1llRoxx0r with an k/d ratio of 10/1 would not compensate and only grow his ePeen, but be an empathic, for fun roleplayer there would be no issue encountering Mr. C4sualN00b with a k/d ratio of 1/50!

What the progamers lack is what Uncle Ben said to Peter.
"With great power comes great responsibility."
But the ones with great power dont care for others, they are out to "own" others.
That's what the game lacks.
Game rules and setting is fine.
But majority miss a playful aproach and therefore the exagerating addicts compensating spoil the game for others and spread their elitism.
To take progression that serious and to focus on progression when it is clearly seconded (horizontal, not gamechanging) supports this.
Players, sorry gamers of today are somewhat "brainwashed" by slotmachiene mechanics.

My experiences playing games, and thats more years others are alive tell me, there is no rules or restrictions that work good.
Freedom to act like you want is always best for games!
Not for serious sports competitions, real life and such, but for playing games.
The only thing we need is more players playing with a playful, fun orientated, roleplayish, for fellow players caring aproach.
The fun on the cost of others is no fun, that's toxicity.
We can fight all day if we dont take it too serious and everybody is responsible to contribute to that playful atmosphere.
We dont need pirates who want you to ragequit and we dont need pirates who exagerate about loosing loot.
There is a middlegroud the majority miss.