Totally agree with this post.
And I’ll add something that’s probably an unpopular opinion...
I find it absolutely mind-blowing that this mode was released in its current state. The impression it gave me is that Rare and the entire game design team are comfortably living off what made SoT successful from the very beginning: its naval combat gameplay. Unique, fun, satisfying, immersive.
At the end of the day, that’s the one and only reason why I still enjoy playing LSS so much. It’s certainly not because of: the map that feels like a half-finished Tall Tale prototype, the six items there are to unlock (for a game that relies heavily on cosmetics and customization, honestly guys, bravo — that must have taken you ages), the lack of time to collect flags, the fact that you get teleported instantly without being able to pick up anything if you win by finishing in the last zone (because yes, the portal teleports you immediately… are you serious???), the ridiculously low reputation gain, the countless bugs that came with this delayed update (teleportation issues, disconnects, inability to start because a ship is detected in the area, and so on), and apparently the complete inability of the game design team to innovate or humbly move in the direction players have been asking for for YEARS. Is your ego really so massive that you had to rush out this update players had been requesting for so long?
I’ve been a fan of the game since day one, and I expected a lot from this update... but it’s become painfully clear that the one thing Rare has consistently excelled at with SoT over the years is systematically disappointing its community.
Last ship standing itself is not innovative in any way. It’s basically a BR version of Hourglass with more ships. So the foundation was already there. All you had to do was add some flavor to it, spoil us a little — the few loyal players still sticking around. Even that, somehow, you managed to fail.
This update honestly feels like a middle school assignment copied in a rush from something found online, without even taking the time to fix the mistakes or change the date to make it believable. You threw this at us like bread crumbs to ducks, expecting us to be satisfied with it. Well, no.
I genuinely think you treated your players with contempt. And I hope you realize it, because if you don’t, that’s honestly concerning.
This game was originally a gem, and it keeps getting sabotaged more and more every year.
So thank you to the original game for still offering such fun and addictive naval combat gameplay — it’s genuinely a blast, and as long as there’s no serious competition, I’ll probably keep hopping in for some PvP from time to time. As for the future... don’t be surprised if we no longer expect much from you. We’ve understood for a long time now that the current decision-makers’ ability to listen and innovate reached its limits years ago.