My solution to respawning and stealing ships, is for a limited amount of respawns on the ship.
EG:
Start up and have stay have a max of 12 allowed respawns you can buy from the outpost.
So, between loading up on other goods, maps and respawns you have a choice on how you want to take on the open sea. Do you spend more money on Firepower …on a better quest … or on having the man power to keep your ship alive?
A respawn is taken away each time one of your crew choices to start on the ship after they die or use the mermaid after getting left behind. This will open up some more depth and strategy to the game.
If you then want to steel a ship from the other crew all you have to do it fight off all the respawns, once that has occurred in menu an option to trade ships would come up sinking your old ship and giving you their one. (to stop over flooding the server with ships)
So now when you play, and a man goes overboard you have to think about is it worth using a respawn on them or calling out man overboard and going back for them.
I feel something along this line is needed for this game. It's a great game and I'm loving it but it needs some fear to dying and getting left behind.
