The Arena and how I’m worried

@enf0rcer a dit dans The Arena and how I’m worried :

@corrupt-fellow said in The Arena and how I’m worried:

@enf0rcer Interesting

If you want to hear something quite fasicinating, This Game is actually a great Case into the Study of "Game Theory" as it makes perfect uses of the "Prisoner Dilema" senario where by you have two party which can end with 3 different outcomes.

1. Both party choose to work together to mutual benifit and collectively recive the best outcome.

2. One of the Party decides to backstap the other to earn a individually higher reward for themselves while leaving the other party with nothing.

3. Both parties turn on eachother and they both end up with nothing.

Cause each crew is a neutral party this senario plays out in every encounter the only factor that changes is the amount of trust each party has for the other.

The best part i found is that an A.I. Already discovered the best stratergy for this senario dub the "Tic for Tac" where by the A.I. controlled party would always opt to work together untill it is betrayed inwhich upon it's next encounter it will then choose to betray. This will avg out to coming out even.

However the Majority of Players i find tend to want to work together but the moment they get betrayed they Rage Quit then run to the forums to complian they got Attacked and Robbed in a "Pirate" Game where the word "Thieves" is clearly printed in the title. Instead of simply attempting to Backstab the next Crew they meet.

Anyways some player don't see the true beuty this game offers at it is a Social Game built on player interaction and the Voyages and subsequent grind is merely a guide to drive players into these interactions. It's role was never to be the core gamplay as many belive it to be. Now Instead one large group of players merely want a Singleplayer/Co-Op experience and Another wanting a pure competitive PvP Experience. Which Completly misses the point of this game and why it's special.

you're absolutely right, but the problem for me and my gaming group are rather aggressive players, although we refuse to attack solo sloops. It's frustrating to see that non-stop players are clamoring for an alliance, or that they are running away, and the few times that we can have a good naval fight, they sink in less than 2 minutes ... It's frustrating that for players who are flowing in less than 2 minutes and players who have won without any challenge.

What I hope for the arena mode is to be in big players to have the intense naval battles that we can have. And that uncomfortable players in combat try to improve themselves so that they are more comfortable in the adventure mode! Without being afraid of losing their treasures.

@corrupt-fellow I outlined it in the post above. The way the voyage system is set up slowly starts to exclude the main demographic it is trying to target by increasing the time requirements as you level up.

@d3adst1ck No, it absolutely does fix the problem. Some people want to experience the game on a grand scale by creating stories and adventures with their friends and family. Others enjoy the ship to ship combat, working together in a crew, and stealing treasure. Both can currently be enjoyed in Adventure mode but player interaction isn't always consistent; which is fine because it keeps the game less predictable which, in my opinion, adds excitement to the game.

However, sometimes we can't dedicate as much time to a session as we'd like and in turn we decide to play something else instead. Rare understands that and wants to capitalize on players that can only play for a short period of time or even on players that want to have CONSTANT PvP interaction. Thus, the Arena was born.

It's a smart business move and I think it will pay off in the end.

@je0rgie-p0rgie the problem of long session times becoming more common in the base game will still exist after arena, so no it doesn't solve the problem I was talking about.

Considering the popularity of the solo sloop, it remains to be seen how successful the arena will be as a lot of solo combat is pretty limited and the group combat works infinitely better with familiar crews. Unless the matchmaking system provides better options, I don't think a lot of people will continue with it long term.

But who knows, it may bring back older players who have nothing left but pvp.

@d3adst1ck said in The Arena and how I’m worried:

@je0rgie-p0rgie the problem of long session times becoming more common in the base game will still exist after arena, so no it doesn't solve the problem I was talking about.

So you're concerned with how long it takes to do a single voyage? In your earlier posts you brought up the word "casual" I think we need to define what that word means. Are we talking about time dedicated to playing the game? Or the learning curve required to play the game?

I'd say the game is still very much a causal game even if it might take someone two hours to complete a voyage. Two hours isn't much time and there's no true benefit to reaching max level so there's no need to rush through the levels as quickly as possible. Not the mention the learning curve behind the game isn't all that difficult. We don't need to worry about min / maxing stats, gear builds, abilities, skill points, racial benefits, etc.

Sea of Thieves won the Fun and Serious award for "Best Family/Social Game." Fans talk all the time about how their family can come together and play this marvelous game. I don't think there is an issue with how "casual" this game is.

So it still stands that introducing an Arena style game mode that allows for shorter bursts of the Sea of Thieves experience will help attract players that only have a short amount of time to play. When they have more time they can play Adventure mode.

Sot is a great game, but a pvp mode mixed k/m vs controller is a bad idea, it is in adventure mode.

My only concern is the advantage that PC has over Xbox in PvP.

@flowerofcarnage said in The Arena and how I’m worried:

@enf0rcer Most PvE players didn't play long because they were run out of the game by the PvP players. Rare is finally coming to their senses and realizing that grief based PvP is a bad thing. Making a game where one group of people gets their enjoyment out of ruining the game for another group of people is just bad gaming. The arena is the first step to creating a place for healthy, fun and positive COMPETITIVE PvP. Dividing the community is a great step forward that will allow all those people who wanted to enjoy the game, but couldn't because of grief based PvP, to return.

No Most player left out of the sheer lack of content. This was universally agreed upon. While yes many did complian about greifing the problem came from what a player Viewed as Griefing. Becuased PvP Encounters Lack a Defind Structure PvE only Players started to justify any PvP act as Griefing. Both Sides Had to understand this was a PvEvP enviroment. So a Player PvPing was just as valid as a player PvEing. PvEer faild to understand they were in a PvP arena and the Game failed to Provide An OutLine to what was Considered Legitmate PvP. Which is why there was so many post asking for things like a Bounty System. In my Personal view PvP wasn't ever about the combat but the tactical and stratigic nature of Stealing Loot. But some PvPer wanted merely more ship combat. So in the End cause Rare decided to give more PvE content without also expanding on the PvP is were the Problem lies.

Adventure mode is getting better and better with every DLC. The content is rolling in. NPC Pirate skeleton ships, The Meg, Karen and all the other PvE content is really starting to flesh this game out. I look forward to a future where adventure mode is eventually so jacked with content that they can get rid of grief based PvP altogether and have 2 separate healthy communities both enjoying the game the way they want.

So you want a striaght PvE Mode. Guess What you can go to LFG or Discord and Find yourself a Farming server.

But Understand that is Completly agianst the Foundamental nature of the game. As the Loot Was Designed to be Stolen. If They wanted to make a PvE only Game they would have simply given you the Gold and Rep once you Picked up the Loot. This Was never a PvE Game.

@jejesasa said in The Arena and how I’m worried:

@enf0rcer a dit dans The Arena and how I’m worried :

@corrupt-fellow said in The Arena and how I’m worried:

@enf0rcer Interesting

If you want to hear something quite fasicinating, This Game is actually a great Case into the Study of "Game Theory" as it makes perfect uses of the "Prisoner Dilema" senario where by you have two party which can end with 3 different outcomes.

1. Both party choose to work together to mutual benifit and collectively recive the best outcome.

2. One of the Party decides to backstap the other to earn a individually higher reward for themselves while leaving the other party with nothing.

3. Both parties turn on eachother and they both end up with nothing.

Cause each crew is a neutral party this senario plays out in every encounter the only factor that changes is the amount of trust each party has for the other.

The best part i found is that an A.I. Already discovered the best stratergy for this senario dub the "Tic for Tac" where by the A.I. controlled party would always opt to work together untill it is betrayed inwhich upon it's next encounter it will then choose to betray. This will avg out to coming out even.

However the Majority of Players i find tend to want to work together but the moment they get betrayed they Rage Quit then run to the forums to complian they got Attacked and Robbed in a "Pirate" Game where the word "Thieves" is clearly printed in the title. Instead of simply attempting to Backstab the next Crew they meet.

Anyways some player don't see the true beuty this game offers at it is a Social Game built on player interaction and the Voyages and subsequent grind is merely a guide to drive players into these interactions. It's role was never to be the core gamplay as many belive it to be. Now Instead one large group of players merely want a Singleplayer/Co-Op experience and Another wanting a pure competitive PvP Experience. Which Completly misses the point of this game and why it's special.

you're absolutely right, but the problem for me and my gaming group are rather aggressive players, although we refuse to attack solo sloops. It's frustrating to see that non-stop players are clamoring for an alliance, or that they are running away, and the few times that we can have a good naval fight, they sink in less than 2 minutes ... It's frustrating that for players who are flowing in less than 2 minutes and players who have won without any challenge.

What I hope for the arena mode is to be in big players to have the intense naval battles that we can have. And that uncomfortable players in combat try to improve themselves so that they are more comfortable in the adventure mode! Without being afraid of losing their treasures.

I understand how you want more Naval Battles, and there nothing wrong with that. The fact is that the Main Objective of PvP in this game was the Loot not the Ships. Your Goal as a Pirate was to Grab another Crews Loot and bring it to Your Ship while defending the Loot on Your Ship. There never was an Objective to Sink ships unless that Ship Had Loot. I'm fine with adding a more Naval Combat I'm just agianst Adding it as a Replacment to actual Theift PvP and instead turning it into CTF.

@corrupt-fellow this "Arena" mode is something Im uninterested in. But no one seems to be thinking of the benefits to having a Pvp oriented mode.
The main reason I think Rare is doing this is just to balance the game, to find out if theres exploits and maybe even make combat tweaks or enhancements.
The only I can see the Arena being a mistake is if they have cosmetics locked in the main game behind an Arena rank or commendations, forcing players who may like the cosmetics to play Arena when they have zero interest in it.

I don't have enough time in SoT to really have a valid opinion... so take this with a grain of salt!

In general, I'm usually against splitting the player base into several modes. This can splinter the player base and make the game feel a little less active.

On the other hand, with SoT map size being so small (24 people max) there's really never going to be a problem filling it (if there is, we have a different problem!).

An additional benefit then is that this may make Adventure mode more in line with what "PvE" players want, and the Arena mode can become a bit more what "PvP" players want... this I think is a net positive.

I understand the concerns, but IMO, the more players active in the game the better off we probably are. Also, Rare is one of the few studios I trust to at least try to this the right way :)