The announcement of Shrouded Spoils and the content within it honestly made my heart leap. Many great features that had been requested for a long time were finally going to be put into the game. But the announcement of this new game mode didn't sit right with me. It seems like a step back, rather than a step forward. Why? Because, the longer the development of this game goes on, the more I have the feeling that Rare is compromising on the very things that make/made this game special in the first place.
A Shared Open World Adventure game, where you can decide your adventure has now expanded to Shared Open World Adventure game with a competetive mode. Wasn't it Craig Duncan who said they would never do stats, to ensure players wouldn't go around boasting how awesome their k/d is or how many ships they've sunk? (not saying there will be stats, but the chances are high if you ask me) We already have PL's that refuse to acknowledge anyone that isn't one, and are convinced their opinions are more important than non PL's. I'd rather not see an expansion of that sort of entitlement and arrogance because they have achieved some arbitrary thing in adventure mode and now believe they are more important than everyone else.
Yes, we do not have all information available. But this will undoubtfully impact the adventure mode. Sea of Thieves was, from where I'm sitting, created to be a different kind of game. A game where it's not just about murdering everyone and getting to the top of the scoreboard. You made your own scoreboard, and you achieved it however you wanted. A family friendly game, it was called, where players who have never played a multiplayer can come in and be on the same level as everyone else. That same level won't change, although arena players will much quicklier develop in pvp than non arena players.
You might argue that it will still be that way as they are separate kind of game modes. But can we honestly say that this sort of murder mentality won't carry over to the adventure mode? That the influx of players Rare hopes to attract with this, will likely not give two cents about doing anything other than sinking ships ?
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with pvp and doing so. But for a game that has been so set on trying to bring people together through alliances, bilge rat adventures, enemy encounters, this sure seems to be something that will have the complete opposite effect which is an effect that will (in my eyes) linger much longer than any of the "bringing people together" additions have.
Perhaps that is the road they want to pursue, and that is totally great for them. But depending on how this plays out, the magic of Sea of Thieves that drew so many players who wanted to play something different than a competetive game where your rank is all that matters. That magic might just turn into a curse with the addition of the Arena making this into something a lot of players never wanted.
I guess the only thing we can do is wait, and see. Hope that pioneer Feedback is truly heard and improvements made where neccessary. But this gamemode is coming, and nothing will change that.