PVE way to get the skeleton curse and ghost curse

@loneshadow29 I grind PvE comms all the time and I'll be honest, I rarely see another crew often enough for it to be an issue. I have over 500 bilge rats comms. Have several sections of it completed. Yes, sometimes players will fight me and steal my loot but it's legitimately like one in 30 times.

@potatosord I wish I had your luck. in the last 3 weeks, I have come across at least one or more ships looking to try to engage in PvP even if I don't have anything on the ship. This is part of the reason why so many PvE players have gotten seriously frustrated with the game is because they're unable to complete commendations or just try to earn loot and reputation because of constantly dealing with PvP players who some don't really need the gold, they just want to take advantage of other ships. I try to battle other players but it always chain shot to take out the mast, board, drop anchor, kill me, then proceed to sink the ship. the usual meta for PvP players. once again, it boils down to skill level and a lot of PvE players just arent skilled enough to take on veteran PvP players. but my feelings on the subject aside, I feel like if a player wants to grind for PvP cosmetics, they need to grind in PvP. If a player wants to grind PvE cosmetics, they should be able to do so without constant harassment or at least get credit even if they're unable to actually turn in the items

@capt-greldik said in PVE way to get the skeleton curse and ghost curse:

@xorzius

I think that a no-invasion HG option with reduced rep from faction stash turn-ins is a decent compromise. When HG diving was recently disabled everyone had the chance to test accumulating a faction stash level 5 and turning it in for HG rep without the chance of invasion. The conclusion is that it’s slow, even with the level of rep it provides currently. If there were a no-invasion option with reduced gains I think it’s a fair compromise as the participants still assume some risk. For example, if I saw someone doing a ghost fort with HG raised I’d likely raise the opposing faction (assuming my emissary permits it) and attack them. I always do this; if I happen to stumble upon someone with HG raised, and they’re not currently in a match (since interfering doesn’t give rep anymore), I will raise HG and attack them.

This would be very slow gains and simply doing HG, win or lose would be faster, but it would provide an opportunity to play the game normally with HG raised assuming some risk while gaining reduced rep. The cap for gains could even be maxed at 100 for no-invasion HG, while still allowing for gold turn-ins after 100 (or something).I think no-invasion HG would increase HG participation as those reluctant to participate get their feet wet, while also offering an opportunity to acquire the curses for those who for some reason refuse to improve their survivability in the PvPvE pirate game. I had to stick a slight burn in the end there, sorry ;)

Hope this isn’t too late to reply, but I think this might be the best compromise. Hope Rare can consider for those not as good at PVP, or just simply unable to find teams to grind PVP.

@loneshadow29 said in PVE way to get the skeleton curse and ghost curse:

@potatosord and I'm perfectly okay with that. it's just that there needs to be more in the PvP space to keep those players actually interested in trying to grind for those items. if a PvE player wants cosmetics from PvP, then they need to grind PvP. but, it's hard for a PvE player to grind for PvE cosmetics when they constantly have to contend with PvP players that pretty much grind those efforts to a halt.

So, what's stopping them from getting better at defense?

@loneshadow29 said in PVE way to get the skeleton curse and ghost curse:

@potatosord I completely understand that but at the same time, there are plenty of players who simply aren't interested in PvP so wanting a PvE option would be desired. I agree that if people want these type of cosmetics then they should grind for them through PvP, but the reason HG has lost popularity and why Arena was mothballed was because they appear to be designed with the casual PvP player as opposed to the more dedicated PvP players that you see now. There wasn't given enough to keep them interested and either they unlocked everything or they just lost interest. PvE players are interested in a lot of things that go on in the world but they're locked behind a toxic player base that is willing to camp a world event looking for PvP rather than actually using a mode like HG

Record and report toxic players. Issue solved.

@europa4033 well, a big part of the problem is the skill gap between dedicated PvE players and PvP players. yes, there are videos on youtube and you can ask people on discord to try to help but what good are basic techniques of PvP when you're going against veteran players? that would be like putting a little league baseball team against a minor league club. so, unless they're playing HG where they'll still get some reputation for a loss, if they were trying to turn in treasure or in the middle of a voyage/event, all they get for their trouble is time wasted and losing any emissary levels they might've earned. But, according the more vocal PvP players, that's just part of the game. they're playing "as it's intended" which is all well and good, but it does get to a point to where there's no reason to try to grind for PvE when you're unable to level ANYTHING.

secondly, what would be the point in reporting toxic players? they're simply "playing the game as intended", right? the usual arguments are always get better, abandon whatever it was you're doing and server hop hoping that the next one will be better, or just play Safer Seas. not exactly the type of attitude that screams community among the player base. it's more community amongst a small subset of the player base. and I would be curious how many of those people that support that line of thinking are running voyages/tall tales or is it simply saving time by attacking the players who are doing those things. but it's not going to surprise me that one bit that this post will get locked because the mods will just call out that safer seas is an option and leave it at that. if safer seas wasn't locked down to where it's simply the way the game was in the very beginning, a lot more people would be taking advantage of it. just saying.

@loneshadow29 said in PVE way to get the skeleton curse and ghost curse:

@europa4033 well, a big part of the problem is the skill gap between dedicated PvE players and PvP players. yes, there are videos on youtube and you can ask people on discord to try to help but what good are basic techniques of PvP when you're going against veteran players? that would be like putting a little league baseball team against a minor league club. so, unless they're playing HG where they'll still get some reputation for a loss, if they were trying to turn in treasure or in the middle of a voyage/event, all they get for their trouble is time wasted and losing any emissary levels they might've earned. But, according the more vocal PvP players, that's just part of the game. they're playing "as it's intended" which is all well and good, but it does get to a point to where there's no reason to try to grind for PvE when you're unable to level ANYTHING.

secondly, what would be the point in reporting toxic players? they're simply "playing the game as intended", right? the usual arguments are always get better, abandon whatever it was you're doing and server hop hoping that the next one will be better, or just play Safer Seas. not exactly the type of attitude that screams community among the player base. it's more community amongst a small subset of the player base. and I would be curious how many of those people that support that line of thinking are running voyages/tall tales or is it simply saving time by attacking the players who are doing those things. but it's not going to surprise me that one bit that this post will get locked because the mods will just call out that safer seas is an option and leave it at that. if safer seas wasn't locked down to where it's simply the way the game was in the very beginning, a lot more people would be taking advantage of it. just saying.

To address your first excuse, let me assure you by saying I'm not a day 1 player. I joined and was able to partake in Arena, to help myself get better at pvp. Was there a skill gap? Absolutely. Yet here I am now with 11k hours under my belt and HG gold bones. I got better by actually going out and DOING, instead of finding excuses like blaming it on a skill gap as to why I kept sinking. You're the only person who can close that gap-- which you do by practicing. You make it sound as if there's no hope for any new players joining the game at this point since it's not possible to get better right?

Now addressing your second excuse, Rare doesn't tolerate toxicity, nor should you. Record and report toxic players, who are breaking the code of conduct. If by "toxic", you mean simply pvp, you should know that pvp isn't toxic lol. I don't know what you're looking for here man.

-You make excuses about why you can't get better at pvp.
-You complain about it on the forums, where people tell you to get better, go to a different server, or go to Safer Seas.
-You complain that these solutions isn't the type of "attitude" that screams "community" among the playerbase.
-You insist on placing blame on the actions of other players and make blanket statements as to their motives.

I'm honestly not sure what you want people to say here? You've tripped and fallen on steps, and people are telling you to either get up and keep going, take a different route so you won't fall again, or take a ramp, and you're saying they're toxic for making such suggestions.

If a PvE player wanted to get better at PvP, what advice would you give them?

@europa4033 here's my response...

• you have 11k hours in HG and arena so you focused on PvP, but you were also playing with mostly people of the same skill level which I believe Arena was set up to do. of course I'm sure you run into a lot more lesser skilled players than you do skilled players, but I doubt it matters just as long as you get the win and any subsequent loot.

• when you have players who are actively camping an event in an attempt to try to battle other players who are looking to complete it or attack players once it's been completed, I feel like that's toxic behavior, but once again, it's not toxic if you're the one doing it. you saved yourself time and effort by wasting someone else's. but , what good would be to report it when the response will be "that's just part of the game". yes, it might just be part of the game but I would love to focus on the parts of the game that deal with the story and actually trying to level factions and unlock commendations which is a lot harder to do. it blew my mind talking to someone who mainly runs HG saying they have 50M gold and gathering up loot just to level their factions while I'm sitting with barely 1M in the bank.

• once again, like many other players like you, rather than accept that this is a reality for some players and actually try to help, you simply call it making excuses and how they're wrong and they should either get better (no options for how) or just go to Safer Seas

• What advice I would give for someone to get better at PvP? well, HG would be out because the few times I've tried, I have been met with cheaters and try-hards so there is absolutely no chance of actually learning. I would suggest Arena if it was still around because I felt like that the matchmaking I think was geared more to that. People would've been able to battle against similar skills and actually try to get better. Since that got mothballed, the only real option is to try to have mock battles with other players on the server, but good luck finding players who would be willing to do that. If there was a way for multiple crews to join up on a single server in order to do that sort of thing, that would be amazing, but it's not. you'll either run into the same PvP players who are not interested in anything other than battle or players who will run the moment they see you because they're trying to complete something and don't want to lose progress. there really isn't much of a way for players to get better at PvP other than just actively search for a fight in open seas or keep throwing yourself against the HG and hope that maybe you might start to learn.

I would love to get better at PvP but I'm not about to waste what little time I get to play just to beat my head against the wall and hope I get better. but if that's my only option, then maybe I'll take the advice from @Ghutar and just take a break, albeat a permanent one. I stopped playing for a couple years because of this exact reason. I bought the PS5 version because I loved the game and hoped that maybe things will have gotten better and it did in the beginning but it wound up going right back to where it was when I previously stopped. no reason to continue wasting my time.

@loneshadow29 said in PVE way to get the skeleton curse and ghost curse:

@europa4033 here's my response...

• you have 11k hours in HG and arena so you focused on PvP, but you were also playing with mostly people of the same skill level which I believe Arena was set up to do. of course I'm sure you run into a lot more lesser skilled players than you do skilled players, but I doubt it matters just as long as you get the win and any subsequent loot.

• when you have players who are actively camping an event in an attempt to try to battle other players who are looking to complete it or attack players once it's been completed, I feel like that's toxic behavior, but once again, it's not toxic if you're the one doing it. you saved yourself time and effort by wasting someone else's. but , what good would be to report it when the response will be "that's just part of the game". yes, it might just be part of the game but I would love to focus on the parts of the game that deal with the story and actually trying to level factions and unlock commendations which is a lot harder to do. it blew my mind talking to someone who mainly runs HG saying they have 50M gold and gathering up loot just to level their factions while I'm sitting with barely 1M in the bank.

• once again, like many other players like you, rather than accept that this is a reality for some players and actually try to help, you simply call it making excuses and how they're wrong and they should either get better (no options for how) or just go to Safer Seas

• What advice I would give for someone to get better at PvP? well, HG would be out because the few times I've tried, I have been met with cheaters and try-hards so there is absolutely no chance of actually learning. I would suggest Arena if it was still around because I felt like that the matchmaking I think was geared more to that. People would've been able to battle against similar skills and actually try to get better. Since that got mothballed, the only real option is to try to have mock battles with other players on the server, but good luck finding players who would be willing to do that. If there was a way for multiple crews to join up on a single server in order to do that sort of thing, that would be amazing, but it's not. you'll either run into the same PvP players who are not interested in anything other than battle or players who will run the moment they see you because they're trying to complete something and don't want to lose progress. there really isn't much of a way for players to get better at PvP other than just actively search for a fight in open seas or keep throwing yourself against the HG and hope that maybe you might start to learn.

I would love to get better at PvP but I'm not about to waste what little time I get to play just to beat my head against the wall and hope I get better. but if that's my only option, then maybe I'll take the advice from @Ghutar and just take a break, albeat a permanent one. I stopped playing for a couple years because of this exact reason. I bought the PS5 version because I loved the game and hoped that maybe things will have gotten better and it did in the beginning but it wound up going right back to where it was when I previously stopped. no reason to continue wasting my time.

1- Incorrect about Arena. I was new to the game and had to learn by actually doing. I was sunk a lot. No Safer Seas to help me out, no sovereign to help sell faster, etc.

2- Yes. That's how World Events work. It's not toxic to contest a world event. Toxic behavior is anything that breaks the code of conduct/rules Rare has. Record and report. No idea why you think leveling factions and doing commendations are "hard to do". Safer Seas gets you to lvl 25. Sovereign helps you sell much faster. Those things didn't exist when I earned my levels/achievements.

3- You're here making blanket statements and removing accountability again, "I can't get better at the game and it's not my fault, it's those toxic pvp players to blame! They won't let me complete a world event!" Wait what? No options for how? I'm so glad you asked. Here's what you do. Load in the game, collect resources, sail over to other ships and sink them. Or, do solo hourglass and practice. You have nothing to lose but the resources you just collected. Those are your options. What did you think I and many others did to learn pvp, since you mentioned me and other players like me?

4- I already have my gold bones from HG. Did I meet cheaters? Yes. Did that stop me from achieving my goal? Heck no. Excuses. You seem to think Arena was skill-based. As a new player who KEPT TRYING to get better at pvp there, I assure you it wasn't. You said it perfectly. Throw yourself against hourglass and start learning. Go out and sink ships on the server. Start learning.

5- And like I said, it's those players who are determined, tenacious, and want to get better, who will. Every pvp practice I put in, definitely wasn't a "waste" for me as I closed that skill gap and learned from experience. I loaded up this game and my first thought was about getting better weapons/gear, then I was hit with that surprise. You complain about Safer Seas, yet as a new player, I would've really appreciated it back then. Trust me, I've been sunk way more times than you have, but I was tenacious and I learned. Now it's your turn, but it seems you're not interested.

You've made several comments about having pvpers help train PvErs, but I ask you- how are we supposed to do that, when they quit/leave and don't bother and aren't interested in getting better, but just sit back and make excuses as to why they can't?

P.S. Last year, I met this streamer called SpinalCrush. He streams as well. He's a semi-quadriplegic that plays SoT HOURGLASS and PVPS with his mouth, chin, and has limited use of his right hand. He shows his opponents no mercy and his skills are amazing. Your excuses about a skill gap,... toxic players that tell you to practice or find your solution in Safer Seas (which you then complain about)...you saying there's no options for how to get better, are indeed excuses.

@loneshadow29

you have 11k hours in HG and arena so you focused on PvP, but you were also playing with mostly people of the same skill level which I believe Arena was set up to do. of course I'm sure you run into a lot more lesser skilled players than you do skilled players, but I doubt it matters just as long as you get the win and any subsequent loot.

You're blatantly ignoring all his points or you're having very bad comprehension issues, so lemme rephrase, and I'll try to make it super simple:

1. @Europa4033 once had 10, 20, 50 hours not 11k hours. Because, you know, that's how everybody starts - with zero.
2. He was initially getting stomped on by veterans. Like everyone else.
3. Instead of crying on forums, besides PvE he kept doing PvP as well to learn, and didn't avoid it
4. He got better, so he's now running more into people of lower skill, cuz he's honed those skills over 11k hours.

---

Now you see these 4 steps? That's every SoT veteran player ever. Nothing is stopping you, or any other new SoT player to do the same thing.

But you won't, cuz it's of course easier to find all the excuses possible, and simply ask devs to roll over for you, so you don't have to put any effort. Lazy to the max, and so so sad.

• when you have players who are actively camping an event in an attempt to try to battle other players who are looking to complete it or attack players once it's been completed, I feel like that's toxic behavior, but once again, it's not toxic if you're the one doing it. you saved yourself time and effort by wasting someone else's.

Read those 4 steps above. Same applies. And nothing there is toxic. The only person who is acting toxic is a person who refuses to learn, berates others who do and who did, and constantly cries about it on every single given occasion.

but , what good would be to report it when the response will be "that's just part of the game".

It is part of the game. And it is a valid response.

yes, it might just be part of the game but I would love to focus on the parts of the game that deal with the story and actually trying to level factions and unlock commendations which is a lot harder to do.

Play Safer Seas. Nothing story related is locked there, and nobody is challenging you there. But we all know that's not the reason why you're complaining.

You simply want access to everything without ever having to respect the gameloop, and without ever having to respect other people's effort over years of playing.

• once again, like many other players like you, rather than accept that this is a reality for some players and actually try to help, you simply call it making excuses and how they're wrong and they should either get better (no options for how) or just go to Safer Seas

He's right. Those are weak excuses. Get better, or go to Safer Seas if your ego can't take it.

the only real option is to try to have mock battles with other players on the server, but good luck finding players who would be willing to do that.

Mock battles 🤣 Absolutely fitting name. Of course nobody wants to do that.

Why would they? When they can have real battles both in the adventure or HG.

I would love to get better at PvP but I'm not about to waste what little time I get to play just to beat my head against the wall and hope I get better.

Everybody else did. Even when they didn't have much time. Your choice for purchasing a game that revolves around skill that needs to be exercised and improved.

but if that's my only option, then maybe I'll take the advice from @Ghutar and just take a break, albeat a permanent one.

Goodbye!

@loneshadow29

I honestly don't know what you expect. Your car has a flat tire on the side of the highway, and you're not able to go anywhere/make progress. People tell you to either fix it yourself, flag someone down for help, or call a tow truck, and you're saying those answers are either toxic, or go against the definition of "community", and you're somehow unable to do any of those options, and are unhappy with the limitations of Safer Seas.

For some reason, being real with yourself and saying, "I need to practice more in this area," isn't possible, you don't have time, and place blame on "toxic" pvpers who are--guess what-- practicing their pvp skills on you. You already acknowledged there are youtube guides you could watch, and crews you could join on discord, yet you say you have no options as to how to get better.

You're correct when you say I don't accept that this is a reality for some players. It's only a reality for those who aren't interested in getting better, and the fact they come to the forums and want full progression on safer seas, PvE ways to earn PvP curses, and claim PvE players are helpless and can't defend themselves or make progress due to toxic pvpers, isn't fair when they themselves have no interest in becoming players who can defend themselves.

But you'll continue being broken down at the side of the highway, and blame everyone else, the game, and Rare, for not giving supportive options in cases like yours, because getting better, is clearly off the table.

@burnbacon I started playing HG only to get the curses, but I actually have started to love the game mode and the skill I have gotten from playing it. I started it only for the curses and now I'm playing for fun, on my way to gold bones. So no, not all players who play it for the curses stop as soon as they get them. As well, a lot of the skeleton curse parts require SO MUCH more work. If you want the wheel built body you have to get 100 wins on AF ships AFTER the ritual of the flame. You can't get that without some level of skill, loss farming doesn't get you wins.

@potatosord BTW I have wheel built. Ally 420+, ~310 serv ~115 guard

@loneshadow29 I'm someone who you would consider a PvP heavy player. I do a lot of hourglass, I'm 1/3 of the way to gold bones. I don't attack most people I see. I know I could sink most crews I see, when it has come down to it I have sank 4 man galleons, and even gotten a handful of wins in solo brig and solo galleon hourglass. I still mostly peacefully enjoy comms and PvE play, as well as roleplay being my most favourite way to play, and the literal only reason I decided to play hourglass. I wanted the curses so I could roleplay as a skeleton ship, or roleplay as a ghost. I have a lot of fun with the sandbox and non violent player interactions, moreso than any kind of PvP. Before I ever played hourglass, I was a weaker player. I would more often run from people trying to rob me. I would get mad if people refused to leave me alone when I had nothing of value, not even an emmi flag. Hourglass has given me not just more skill, but more confidence. Not only would I not run from people I would in the past, I likely would be able to repel and sink them now. Most of them weren't even massively better than me. I think you need to just saddle up and grind hourglass a bit. I said it before and I'll say it again, for my first 30 levels at least I was not consistently winning 50% of matches. Even after that up until maybe level 50 I was only winning maybe 50-60% of matches. Just keep going and you'll get better.

The current system works perfectly as designed. The grind seems long, but match making does weight easier fights to you first 100 levels. My son and I got our curses in the last couple months. We played more on bonus weekend events and just played together a few nights for an hour during the week. The curses are cool enough, but what we actually realized we liked more was the confidence we got for playing the game. We don't worry about being attacked anymore. We also learned to work together and communicate together better. You may not like the idea of PVP, but I think if you give it a chance you may find some things in it that you never expected to enjoy.

I find hourglass to be one of the most frustrating thing for me in this game, not because it's pvp but because it tries to be both competitive and casual at the same time and it gets in it's own way of being fun and rest of the game. I do think Hourglass does need to be reworked a lot but I also still believe the main way to level up in it needs to be pvp, but I would love some pvp adjacent things to do that could supplement the leveling. The worst part is Rare keeps making pvp focus voyages and world events like the Burning blade that they could tie Hourglass into someway maybe like a hardcore mode for those things.

yeah and i pls want to be able the get the wild seas curse while hourglassing cause i suck at PVE. awesome. thx.

I don't understand how tf people can stand loss farming, you get like a 20th of a level

@iamshark6221

It easy. Simple and makes matches faster.
I can’t figure out why people allow themselves to fight long matches where they will complain about runners or other stuff.

Lose farming just chill

@iamshark6221 1700 losses to a curse. Lose 10 games a day, maybe 45 minutes a day, you get the curse in 6 months. Just watch a YT video on the side or scroll tiktok. It's barely noticeable compared to some town management games.

@xorzius This goes against the entire point of hourglass. Its a replacement of arena and offers rewards like arena did. Nothing about it is supposed to be easy, pvp in most games is hard. Sea of Thieves is not different.

@cursedsot

This goes against the entire point of hourglass.

What is or was the point of Hourglass? Give players a place for instant pvp instead of sinking ships that dont fight back or sit at islands. Finding like minded pvp wannabe?

Its a replacement of arena and offers rewards like arena did.

and I dont see any Arena things to compare to HG. Both different, by large means.

The rewards....are just that. "You played enough HG to achieve a curse, good job. Now continue to unlocks more of the curse and show off" That pretty much it at this point.

If you think there needs to be a PvE way to get the HG curses then you also have to agree that there should be PvP ways to get the lore curses. You do not get one without the other. I want a way to get gold curse without having to do 45 hours of the same tall tales over and over. I want a way to get shark curse without having to kill megs and hunt boars for teeth. But those things are locked behind specific things to do. So if I want them, I have to do those things. If you want HG curses, you have to do HG. If I want a lore curse, I need to play the lore. If I want a PvE curse, I have to do the PvE. If I want an emporium curse, I have to use my credit card. These are the requirements to get those curses, whether you like it or not.

BTW, there is a way to get the curses without actually fighting, you just need to do 400 hours of level 5 faction loot grinding.