TLDR; I did exactly what I hate being able to do in this game - I wasted someone else's time. And it felt cheesy.
I did it.
So the night began with me just hopping on a solo sloop to see if I could snag a Reaper's Chest or die trying... As I approached the one available from afar, I notice not 1... not 2... but 3 other ships racing toward it. All a little closer to it than I was.
No way I was going to win that naval incursion, so... what did I do? Headed for the nearest outpost - the one the winner would likely race to in order to sell it.
My only hope was they weren't smart enough to keep their eyes on all of the other ships (including mine, and didn't notice me peel off from the pack...) and they would't send an advance crew to clear the tavern before they brought it on shore. They did neither.
So I waited on the shore as they all duked it out in the distance, cannon fire ringing out. One ship sank, and the other two raced for an outpost... I couldn't tell if they were in an Alliance or not. But they were fighting as they got closer, and one sloop was able to break away far enough to break for Sanctuary. I was right. I was at Sanctuary.
As the ship pulled up to the dock, I assumed it was the one carrying the chest. I went inside the tavern with my blunderbuss loaded and cocked.
He set one foot inside the door, boom - 1-shot.
I sell the chest to Duke.
I just wasted at least 30 minutes of his time and he has absolutely nothing to show for it.
Good story, eh? But doesn't the end sound just a little cheesy? Like, I shouldn't be able to 1-shot someone, in any situation. There should be some chance the other player has to come back in a fight.
That may be the only scenario of this whole thing where I come out on top... but I also feel its the most common scenario. Am I just a smarter player? Or did I take advantage or exploit game mechanics and/or weak human/computer interface to put him in a defenseless position?
I have no idea if that guy logged off, quit, or came back searching for me. But if he did, I'd just tell him "it's a pirate game" right?