Allow Loadout Changes on Enemy Ships

@awesomeguy63262

This wouldn't exactly be fair for crews trying to run. All you'd have to do is equip a grapple gun, get to their ship, kill them, then swap the grapple to your preferred weapon. The ability to do this would be a bit over the top, so the devs decided that if you choose to carry a grapple and you successfully board, you're stuck with whatever weapon you brought. No making changes after the fact.

@awesomeguy63262 said in Allow Loadout Changes on Enemy Ships:

One situation where this would be especially useful is when you run into the bug where you're unable to take ammo from the enemy ship's ammo crate. When this happens, you're often forced to leave the enemy ship, return to your own ship to restock or swap to a sword, and then board again if you want to continue the fight. Allowing players to access the enemy ship's Armoury would also provide a workaround for this bug, as changing your loadout refills your newly equipped weapons, allowing you to continue the fight without having to abandon your board.

Nah, they just should fix this bug.

People use the harpoon-gun a lot to have a lot of boarding attempts, if they want an actual weapon to fight the crew, they just should try and board with that load-out instead.

This was removed due to Grapplin' Gun Boardin' Cheez (TM).

Remove that, then fill yer boots.

@europa4033 I understand why the Armoury was locked when the Grapple Gun was introduced. The concern was clearly to prevent players from boarding with a Grapple Gun and then immediately swapping to a full combat loadout. However, I don't think that means loadout changes should remain unavailable in every situation.

At the very least, this could be enabled in Hourglass, where both crews have willingly opted into PvP and running isn't the objective. Alternatively, if the Grapple Gun is the main concern, it could simply be locked in Hourglass or remain unswappable while still allowing players to change between the standard combat weapons.

The original restriction made sense when it launched alongside the Grapple Gun, but today it also prevents legitimate uses of the Armoury, such as adapting your loadout during a fight or working around the bug where you can't take ammo from an enemy ship's ammo crate. I think there's room for a more targeted solution that addresses the Grapple Gun specifically without removing all loadout flexibility on enemy ships.

All sounds good for one side. Until your on the other end getting stomped and murdered without end.

Frankly they should lock the ammo crate as well. Unable to reload guns on enemy ships.

@burnbacon Signing up for Hourglass is literally opting into a PvP-focused system built around gunfights, aim duels, and ship positioning. The entire mode is designed for players who want high-pressure engagements where quick decisions and mechanical skill matter. Because of that, using mechanics like boarding pressure and interior control isn’t some unfair edge—it’s part of the core skill expression the mode is built around.

That argument only looks at one side of the fight. Both crews would have access to the exact same mechanic, so it wouldn’t be an exclusive advantage. If a boarder has enough control of your ship to safely access your Armoury, they’ve already won that engagement. The loadout change isn’t what put them in that position.

As for locking the ammo crate, removing mechanics that already exist doesn’t really make boarding more interesting—it just makes combat more restrictive and punishes players for successfully boarding in the first place. It shifts the problem away from skill expression and more into artificial limitation. If anything, it would make fights feel less dynamic, not more balanced, especially in a mode that’s supposed to reward adaptability and fast-paced decision-making.

An easy compromise would be to have it so you can't swap from just the grapple gun on other peoples boats. So if you board by grapple you are stuck with it but not if you board with other weapons equipped.

@rambobrad I completely agree I just think Rare needs to get their heads together and actually listen to the community, the main reason I made this post was to bring up recognition to the ammo crate glitch.

I just think Rare needs to get their heads together and actually listen to the community

Yeah that has done wonders so far. Or rather it’s not the community they listen to but the louder ones.

Nah they already need to get rid of the harpoon gun, that dumb addition to the game is so op. Solo players are getting smashed because someone from a brig or gally is always in the water with a harpoon gun you do not have time to fight back because you’re constantly fighting off boarders. This game has gone down hill. The harpoon gun is single handily ruining naval fights.

@tek-lt Not if ye know what ye doin'. Blunder Bombs, blunder guns, snipin' them off harpoon as they come in, ship movement so they can't harpoon to ladder from angle or distance.

@skelcurseirl said in Allow Loadout Changes on Enemy Ships:

@tek-lt Not if ye know what ye doin'. Blunder Bombs, blunder guns, snipin' them off harpoon as they come in, ship movement so they can't harpoon to ladder from angle or distance.

I think this is OK if yer a TDM god, aided by mouse n keyboard and probable on screen cross hair for the PC playaz.
Grapplin' Gun Boardin' Cheez defence much harder for those not bestowed with the skills or tools.

Often the board is not necessary merely the repeated distraction can finish off the solo slooper - or certainly make Naval offence/defence not possible.

@pc-monkfish Knowledge checks before skill checks. know how to defend it, practice it and the skills develop. complainin' doesn't.

@skelcurseirl said in Allow Loadout Changes on Enemy Ships:

@pc-monkfish Knowledge checks before skill checks. know how to defend it, practice it and the skills develop. complainin' doesn't.

That sounds like a polite way of saying 'git gud' without acknowledging the inherent advantages of a PC set up Vs Console.

Many solo streamers also say grappling gun is an awful addition to the game and actively avoid multi-crews who are grapplin gun enjoyers.

@pc-monkfish Plenty of sweaty controller players, Fi1es, L8dyHysteria are two that come to mind immediately. you can snipe them during their harpoon, blunder buss them as they climb, blunder bomb them off ladder. The tools are there.

Nah. Not only should the Armory continue to remain locked, but the Ammo Crate glitch should be made permanent, too.

You don't like not having access to stuff on my boat? Don't come onboard. I can assure you that you're not welcome to begin with.

@thegrimpreacher As I said before, while this suggestion mainly benefits TDM players, it would also improve boarding gameplay as a whole.

I understand why some players dislike boarders or highly skilled players with good aim, but choosing to play Hourglass means accepting that you'll need to improve every aspect of PvP—aim, cannon accuracy, boarding, and decision-making. Boarding is already heavily countered. Even getting onto an enemy ship can take multiple attempts.

Personally, I am not that good at cannons so when solo queue I usually just rely on aim. When I finally make it up the ladder after 10 failed board attempts only to be hit by the ammo crate bug and be unable to reload, it completely kills the momentum of the fight. At that point, I usually just log off for the day because it's incredibly frustrating.

If your argument is that a bug should be made permanent because it inconveniences boarders, then that's not really an argument for game balance—it's an argument for keeping a glitch.

Boarding is an intended part of Sea of Thieves PvP, especially in Hourglass. Rare has never treated boarding as an exploit, and both crews have equal opportunities to board each other. If you don't like getting boarded, there are already plenty of counters: ladder guarding, blunder bombs, blunder knockback, movement, and simply killing the boarder before they get control.

A bug preventing players from reloading isn't a skill-based counter—it's an unintended mechanic that punishes legitimate gameplay. Bugs should be fixed, not turned into features because they happen to benefit one playstyle.

Turn the harpoon gun into a tool only that cannot grapple to ships and I'm down for them reverting back to allowing anyone to access the armory on any ship.

With the harpoon gun the way it is, that would just further enable the big crew bully meta and further cripple solo play.

Just had a crew who tried to board with grapple. Failed 8 times
Thanks to traps, snakes, blowpipe, crates, blunderbombs, firebombs, and puke.

Idk how it’s op when there more tools to counter them. You have better luck with harpoon on front of ships and walk the line…but nobody sees that as OP?

Meanwhile. Players are able to reload any gun without fail and what even funnier is they don’t share ammo count. :/
Lock out ammo crates so the boarding party has to be well prepared and you know, use there heads more in a tactical way instead of clicking two buttons.

Manage your ammo. Heck I go as far to add back to an old request. Wet ammo. If it’s wet, 50% reduction or if to long doesn’t fire at all. (Nothing worse than wet powder)

@awesomeguy63262

I'm not arguing for a bug at all. In fact, I remember when the ammo box was quite literally locked (with chains and all) to boarders during several Insider test periods a bit ago.

I argued in favor of it then, I continue to argue in favor of it now and will remain supportive of the idea no matter how unlikely it may be to return. Additionally I will continue to support not allowing boarders to change their loadouts as well even in light of your reasoning.

@BurnBacon How are you supposed to apply tactical use when all we have is 5 bullets... at that point boarding is useless, and for the more competitive side of players I can guarantee they wouldn't even care if the ammo crate gets locked in high seas. Taking away a core part of Sea of Thieves would not help but actually hurt it. At the very least enable it in hourglass but not in high seas, fix the ammo crate.

@thegrimpreacher While that may be true (I wasn't around to see that), you're only looking at the tip of the iceberg.

Boarding isn't some niche tactic—it's a core part of Sea of Thieves PvP, especially in Hourglass. The game is balanced around crews being able to board, apply pressure, defend ladders, and fight for control. If you intentionally prevent boarders from reloading or swapping equipment, you're not rewarding the defending crew's skill; you're imposing an artificial limitation on one of the game's intended mechanics.

There are already countless ways to stop a boarder before they accomplish anything. They have to survive getting to your ship, climb the ladder, avoid blunderbombs, avoid being blundered back, win the fight, and maintain control. That's already a high-risk play.

Making them permanently unable to use the armory or ammo crate doesn't make the fight more skillful—it just shifts the balance by adding restrictions that only exist because they're on the enemy ship.

If Rare wants boarding to be weaker, they should balance boarding directly. But intentionally preventing players from using basic mechanics on an enemy ship isn't good game design, especially in a mode like Hourglass where both crews are expected to use every PvP tool available. Genuinely put yourself through the eyes of a competitive player all I'm arguing for is the ammo crate.

@look-behind-you You get the gist...

@awesomeguy63262

I'm not looking at just the tip of anything, dude. You keep insisting upon balance and I 100% disagree. Period. I continue to think it should be very heavily weighted towards the defenders where boarding is concerned and that it should be increasingly difficult for people to maintain control of a boat that isn't theirs.

I was a HUGE fan of enemies not being able to rez their allies on foreign boats when they rolled out that mechanic and even more so about them being stuck with a harpoon gun taking up a valuable weapon slot when and if they DO get aboard. I wish they'd go even further and make enemies unable to access the food & cannonball barrels in addition to the ammo crate, in fact. You should be limited to what you bring on board yourself in your pockets and that's absolutely it. I couldn't possibly care less about the hardships you might have to endure in trying to board. They're well deserved in my opinion.

I believe whole-heartedly that it should be absurdly difficult to succeed at doing so and bordering on impossible for all but the most skilled of sweats to maintain long-term control of an enemy boat if they do manage it.

An unpopular opinion, I've no doubt! But one in which I can assure you that you will not dissuade me of.

I comprehend where you're coming from just fine. There's no misunderstanding of your point; I simply vehemently disagree with it.

@thegrimpreacher What is your hourglass level?

@look-behind-you 'the gist' being enable the ammo crate in hourglass and fixing the nerf Rare didn't intend to have cus Rare is all for fixing "funny" glitches right?

@look-behind-you the entire chat is about the ammo crate glitch not being able to grab ammo??? Literally all I want is Rare to fix the ammo crate glitch if you've ever played hourglass, you have had it.

@look-behind-you

Shhh don’t ruin the illusion. XD