Sea of Thieves is a game like no other – a shared world adventure where players can live out a pirate fantasy against other worldly creatures, tropical storms, underwater beasties and most importantly – other pirates! The game offers something unusual in today's gaming sphere, and that is horizontal progression. The premise being that any player, at any time they choose to start to play is on an even playing field with anyone else. What I feel we need to recognise is that not all players find that satisfying. So what can we change within the game to improve that experience and vary a pirates journey on their way to become legend and beyond?
Sea of Thieves currently offers 3 "Guilds" – The Goldhoarders, which contain riddle and "X" marks the spot quests. The Merchant Alliance, tasking players with gathering animals and resources and delivering them from one port to another. And the Order of Souls, taking players with killing waves of enemy skeletons to gather skulls. Each of there guilds rewards players with gold and reputation. The gold can be used to purchase cosmetic additions for your pirate.
Below are my suggestions for what I think will enrich the world for players that have been here since launch (much like myself) and players that are just setting sail for the first time.
2. Goldhoarders Quest Variation
What can be implemented to improve the Goldhoarders quest progression and bring variety to the player?
It is my opinion the new systems must allow for the following:
· Ability to allow players to understand how many in game days a quest will take to complete. (Useful for solo players or parents!)
· Addition of more cursed chests, adding variety and danger to the journey. Some ideas for cursed chests (beyond the chest of sorrows or the chest of a thousand grogs) include:
1. The Dark Chest – the player carrying the chest becomes blind, meaning other players are forced to guide the player back to the ship.
2. The Magnetic Chest – Causes all compass and map information to spin uncontrollably. Players will have to navigate by the sun and stars to find their way while it is onboard.
3. The Chest of Mischief – unless watched directly by a player, this chest will walk away or jump overboard.
4. The Chest of Pirate Renown – this chest is extremely valuable and can only be delivered to the furthest outpost from your ship (at the time it is dug from the earth). But it also alerts every ship on the server to your location until it is cashed in.
· For riddle quests, they should be more complex and always reward players with a high value chest as a reward. At present, players have no idea what reward will be given for a riddle quest, and many burn them to save time. If Riddles were structured to move between islands, and include things like:
1. Defeating a wave of skeletons in order to unlock the next leg of the riddle.
2. Give any form of supplies to another crew in order to unlock the next leg of a riddle.
3. Carry a certain amount of loot on board to unlock the next leg of a riddle.
· A new form of quest – the co-op quest – requires co-operation of another crew, taking advantage of the "alliance" feature. (In later in document)
3. The Merchant Alliance Quest Variation
What can be implemented to improve the Merchant Alliance quest progression and bring variety to the player?
It is my opinion the new systems must allow for the following:
· Ability to allow players to understand how many in game days a quest will take to complete. (Useful for solo players or parents!)
· Addition of more variety in terms of method to gain Merchant Alliance Reputation – see below.
· Addition of merchant trade routes from outpost to outpost (quickest routes displayed on the ship map via a red dotted line or some other visual indicator). Accepting a "Trade Route" mission requires the player to load 20 crates of various goods to the player ship and carry them to another outpost. The quickest route is then highlighted on the ship map allowing players to plot a course. Unlike the normal merchant quests, these must be completed very quickly. As the trade routes are known, Merchant vessels can be at risk from attack by other pirates. Achievements and reputation gain can be shared by forming alliances with other player vessels, who can then guard the ship.
· Alternatively, as AI ships now exist in the game world, merchant vessels themselves could be the quest, tasking players to guard them from one outpost to another for monetary reward.
4. Order of Souls Quest Variation
What can be implemented to improve the Merchant Alliance quest progression and bring variety to the player?
It is my opinion the new systems must allow for the following:
· Ability to allow players to understand how many in game days a quest will take to complete. (Useful for solo players or parents!)
· Addition of more variety of skulls, including cursed skulls, similar to cursed chests.
· Allow skellies to swim, preventing players from "cheesing" enemy AI by standing on the shore line.
5. Skull Forts
· Remove the ability for players to stand at the doorway of the main fort and slash at the walls, "cheesing" the enemy AI to complete a fort as quickly as possible.
FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS, IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS - Overview
6. Ship Respawns
Players currently respawn after being sunk with a small number of cannon/wood/bananas.
What this can mean is that a crew that successfully defeat a crew, only for them to return within 5-10 minutes to deal more damage and dwindle the winning crews supplies.
Solution: On first spawn into the server, crews start with the current amount of supplies. If a crew is defeated, a ship HAS to return to an outpost and visit the Shipwright to restock with the default amount of supplies.
7. Combat
At present, I would describe combat as serviceable – certainly it feels unique to Sea of Thieves and is in keeping with the easy going nature of the game. With little to no aim assist, the mechanics feel dominated by specific design choices (five bullets/one shot/long reload times) which have numerous negative consequences. The reload time in particular results in significant downtime during fights, mostly spent bunny hopping and trying to avoid getting shot.
Suggestions for improvement:
· Allow players to pick ammunition from the dead/defeated. (This could be limited to PVP engagements only)
· Active Reload mechanic – reward players for skilled play by allowing a faster reload if timed correctly.
· Sword combat is slow and unresponsive –strange delays after swinging and a lack of feedback and impact. Overall responsiveness should be improved.
· Melee weapons could have different properties – for example, a two handed weapon could be slow but powerful, while a rapier would be faster but lighter in damage dealt.
· Axe – allows enemy players to pry planks from repairs made to create leaks in an enemy ship. Would only work on previously repaired holes.
8. Future Long-term Ideas and Gameplay additions
Below is a list of ideas and thoughts I've had that I feel would add to the game in a positive way.
· Alliance – Players that want to co-operate with other crews can enter into a formal alliance, allowing gold earned via quests to be shared among multiple crews. To initiate this, a player can enter another players ship and place an Alliance Quest on the Captains Table. The crew can then vote to accept the alliance. Once accepted, all gold and reputation is shared amongst the crews. This alliance can be broken at any time by opening fire or betraying the crew.
· Grappling – At present, the only way to end ship vs ship combat is with one ship on the bottom of the ocean. The only way to board is to ram and jump on, or to wait in the ocean as the ship sails past and grab a ladder. Using a grappling hook, crews can hit a ship and tether them, dropping anchor and pulling the ship closer. Crew can defend this by chopping at the grappling hook once it has hit the ship.
· Mast damage – if a crew successfully hits a mast, it can result in torn sails and a drop in speed. Sails can be repaired via a new resource (cloth)
· Fire – Fire can spread on a ship and can be put out with buckets of water.
· Kraken difficulty increase – at present the Kraken is a mere inconvenience. The Kraken should move faster, cause more damage and become a frequent genuine worry for a crew on the sea.
· Instant rewards/loot – If players achieve something, there should be a reward. If a crew defeats a kraken, they should be awarded cosmetic items (be that directly, or via a loot spawn from where the Kraken is defeated). The same can be said for the Megaldon. Additionally, although care is needed to ensure PVP does not become the primary game play style, rewards should be given for successful crew take down. If I want to be part of a feared crew, let my crew gain notoriety.
· In-Game Clans (Ship names) – if you join a clan/crew, a player can choose to display the crew title. For example – on viewing, my pirate would display "Sikamikanico – Pirate Legend of the Black Hurl". Clans could earn notoriety among the Sea of Thieves.
· Port Royale – a safe harbor where pirates in a session can dock, play card/dice games and do silly pirate things. Defended by AI pirate cannons.
· Snow/Ice Biome – perhaps a future expansion. Blizzards and icebergs….
· Whirlpools – could occur around some sort of sea monster?
· Legendary Pirate End game additions – the Legendary cave needs to be realised,with additions to customisation for Legendary ships, such as:
1. Custom Wheels
2. Custom Lamps (Colour/Design)
3. Haunted Sails
4. Altered profile in comparison to a standard Galleon (Same functionally, just more epic visually)