Diving & Safer sea mentality killing the game.

The Seas are drying up

Once again. Seas are dying/drying. How long has it been since the last time this game died? :p

As a mostly-PvE player, I do think diving has taken away something special from the game. When players were more invested in a server, there were more fun social interactions, more opportunities for alliances (maybe betrayals) and more interesting things happening. But diving is encouraged because Raids are the only way to get certain loot.

I've no real interest in playing Safer Seas long-term... paid subscription co-op or as-is. I did a fair bit when there were framerate/server memory issues on High Seas earlier this year and Safer Seas just ran a lot better at the time. But it's not my preferred way to play. I like the unpredictability of High Seas and running into interesting folk, even if that happens less.

But, for me, the biggest problem with the game was introduced at the same time as diving to voyages; standardised loot. There are very few activities that don't give you predictable loot now. There's no real surprise to what you get from a voyage anymore, and I do think that has greatly contributed to apathy towards loot and, in turn, the game. Everything just feels rather rote nowadays in that regard.

Granted the game unfortunately isn't as popular as it used to be with only a fraction of the original player base still actively playing and over 50%-80% of the original peak player base no longer playing anymore.

But Safer Seas isn't the reason for the shrinkage of player numbers... well at least not the main one. from what I've observed the two most common reasons I've heard people say why they don't play anymore is either they find the game "boring and or repetitive". With the other most common reason being "the game takes up more storage space than what its worth".

Most of it boils down to most people just not wanting to spend the time to wait and download a 100gb game that they consider "mid".

It is sad but unless Rare finds a way to somehow magically make the game smaller the player base is gonna remain more small and or less consistent in size. they could also try and go the route and make the game free-to-play but im not sure if that would change much that and a next-gen update could also help but that wont happen until Microsoft drops support for the Xbox 1

@magus104

I know it's an unpopular opinion but safer seas behind a paywall needs to be a viable way to play. It cant be that current restrictive mode if you want to make money off it. Streamers will be the only ones paying for this service because it gives them features to do stuff with their communities, and even that what maybe 2 dozen people will buy in?

They should've never allowed Safer Seas Fleets. It was the most ridiculous and dumb idea they could've come up with.

They should've stuck only with Private Servers subscription and called it a day.

The moment they announced SS Fleets, they just poked absolutely every single PvE extreme that ever played the game. Before that, there was only a post or two once in a while, and those got locked by mods. Now since then, obnoxious demands on topics about SS haven't stopped. 😂

It's Sea of SS Crybabies now. And Rare absolutely deserves all the backlash with that stupid idea. They backed themselves into a corner.

Loss-loss situation. Either continuous backlash from SS crowd, or backlash from the rest of the playerbase if they cave to SS crowd and remove more restrictions.

Somebody should've taken away their shovels on time, cuz they just can't help but keep burying themselves deeper lol.

@burnbacon ever since season 14

@swagalisous7451

Nope. Ever since game became a thing. But my money is when arena opened.

@magus104

You won't earn gold or commendations on the custom servers.

Diving definitely made the game more accessible but it should be refined. Make server hopping less attractive and stop giving people a motivation to server hop.

• Remove all low tier dives - chest digs, bounties etc. Keep dives to world events and sea forts - those with specific loot for the emissary type. Can only re-dive when that event is complete.

• On a dive an emissary flag reverts to Grade I. This also includes Reapers. Hourglass excluded.

• Stop boosting single world events like Ashen MegaStashes. This just encourages server hopping.

• CoF gets retired. New chest placed in FoF with similar commendation and new cosmetics/same mechanics of the CoF currently.

• All emergent World Events have RNG loot with a chance to get a Lost Shipment style quest to a MegaStash and CoF.

• The exclusive chest has a lifespan of 5 grades. It naturally builds up demand and desirability and encourages engagement when it is moved to wider loot pool.

I wish it was possible to start world events from your quest table and have them appear in the same server you are in instead of having to dive to them all the time.