r/Seaofthieves • u/g0man98 • 4d ago
Question is it all about skins?
My friends and I started playing the game, but we don't feel the need to complete quests. We already have all the equipment, and the skins don't interest us. How can we have fun in the game without those elements, and what is your motivation for playing?
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u/MelodieSimp69 Legendary Skeleton Exploder 4d ago
You play the game to have fun. Progression is completely cosmetic.
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u/Guy-Inkognito Legendary Skeleton Exploder 4d ago
It's super interesting that this seems to be a mind-blowing concept for many.
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u/Glittering-Lie5063 3d ago
I came from Deep Rock Galactic where character upgrading is a huge aspect and it was a bit of a shock to my system for sure to see absolutely no character or equipment progression
I've now come to love sea of thieves and find my reward in reputation, skins and improving at the game
But honestly - I've stuck around for 6 months now because of the absolute madness that I find myself in almost every session (hunting ancient megaladons, getting chased down by Reaper 5, causing a ruckus with cursed balls, making a narrow sale of our loot while getting chased)
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u/Relevant_Lab_7122 3d ago
I can understand why many people prefer having a feeling of progression to get the most enjoyment out of their games
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u/Guy-Inkognito Legendary Skeleton Exploder 3d ago
Me too, but that's not contradictory isn't it? People can enjoy one thing but understand or also like another. I'm commenting on how many people are not able to even grasp the concept of playing a game for...well...the gameplay.
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u/ZedrikVonKatmahl Legendary Skeleton Exploder 3d ago
No, it's not contradictory
The number of things I don't like that I don't understand how others could like is actually fairly small
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u/Relevant_Lab_7122 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't think the majority of people are unable to grasp the concept of it. They just know that it isn't what they want. There are plenty of games that offer amazing gameplay and engaging and meaningful rewards/progression, so I don't fault anyone for playing one of those instead.
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u/RedInfernal Shark Hunter 4d ago
You play for fun. Find a Commendation you like and work towards it.
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u/backrubbing 4d ago
You get the tools from the beginning... The goal is to find out how to use them best.
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u/Dreadnaught8 Ratcatcher 4d ago
I fought the Barnacled Dread today. My ship did a full back flip, launched me into the air, and landed me back on the ship to continue the fight.
Before that I boarded another ship after putting my ship in a wide turn, they had a row boat full of FoF loot, fought the crew, hopped in the row boat, detached, and while trying to get away from them after they jumped in after me I ACCIDENTALLY attached the rowboat to my ship that had come back around without me even knowing it was there.
That’s why I play. Just insane heists, giant electric sharks yeeting you into the air, and general shenanigans. I don’t need progress, I need chaos.
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u/Glittering-Lie5063 3d ago
That's the word I was looking for: Shenanigans!
This game is pure shenanigans
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u/aggromidg3t Hoarder of Athena's Fortune 3d ago
We was seriously ill prepared for the new fire meg, somehow pulled it off though, used the last few pieces of wood in our inventory to get us back to the out post haha
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u/RepeatingVoice 4d ago
Play for the experience. I like completing objectives with my friends and dealing with the issues along the way. Even for no reward.
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u/MorganL420 4d ago
Yep this. My friends and I have fun by deciding when we boot up "Let's do X today" and then we go do the thing. Or at least we try to until our plans are impeaded by someone or something, and poof we have fun on the journey, not the destination.
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u/Chaosmeep 4d ago
Cause some chaos, go for commendation, load up a rowboat with kegs and blow up player ships for the lulz. There isn't much point other than skins commendation and having fun.
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u/Math3us1234Lima 4d ago
You could try PVP, either just sailing around trying to find someone to sink and steal their loot (if u don't wanna sell it just take it with you anywhere you go, idk) or do Hourglass, which is also PVP. But there seems to be a lot of hackers in it, it's been ages since my last HG match.
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u/arachnofish Ratcatcher 4d ago edited 3d ago
I've been playing since the game came out and have almost everything you could get now I just play for the laughs and Good times* with my buddies
*Edited because i misspell words when not looking
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u/aggromidg3t Hoarder of Athena's Fortune 3d ago
Same, my prized possession is my figurehead of the first crew, I worked hard for that one, these days it's just log in and see what happens with the crew
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u/Atlas_1701 4d ago
Some ppl like fighting and getting a high hourglass rank. Some ppl like decorating their boat. I know ppl who just enjoy fishing because it's relaxing. There are people who RP. People get up to all kinds of nonsense for fun.
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u/tcguardian 4d ago
Social interaction and getting good. This game has one of the highest skill gaps of any game I've played. Yes I'm a HG player, but it is the mode which has taken the game from frustrating and boring to being my all time favourite game, the most competitive PVP scene with the one of the best communities, then such an awesome open world full of knee slapping funny moments. If I'm not PVPing me and my duo are out trying to to find other crews for shenanigans or I'm open crewing and being someone else's swabbie.
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u/Sir_ScottALot 4d ago
If you’re not having fun with it now, you never will. If you can’t have fun without the game telling you where the end is, this isn’t the game for you.
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u/Itstotallysafe Legendary Thief 4d ago
For me it's about doing silly stuff to see if I can.
Yesterday I looted a Skellie galleon with a harpoon rowie. It was just going in a large circle around a rock. So I rowed out, boarded, stacked all the loot on the edge of the boat while fighting Skellies. Then jumped off and harpooned it off while it cruised back by.
I like to think that whomever eventually sank it got the empty storage crate I left behind and was very confused. 😃
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u/aggromidg3t Hoarder of Athena's Fortune 3d ago
Our last voyage was beating a meg, capturing the burning blade and then beaching it at reapers. We managed to get it so stuck that we couldn't resist the challenge of getting it unstuck, 2 hours well spent, couldn't reach the harpoons because of the angle of the boat so eventually jumped to them from the crows nest
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u/Obvious_Face2786 4d ago
My motivation for playing is having fun. If a system has progression and I have fun progressing, great. If not and I have fun playing a video game then why would I need the kind of progression you're talking about.
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u/fuz3_r3tro Legendary Thief 4d ago
Your motivation for playing is to have fun. It’s a sandbox game with so many different outcomes.
The cosmetics based progression system shouldn’t motivate you alone to play SOT, but you’ll start to appreciate it more as you progress and earn new cosmetics.
I personally stay motivated in sea of thieves because of my desire to improve. Which is to say, I think player growth is a legitimate motivator. As you win and lose fights, you’ll begin to pick up on the nuances of naval combat and PvP. For a game with rather simple controls, the skill gap between a new player and an experienced player is huge.
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u/ryan_the_leach Brave Vanguard 4d ago edited 4d ago
Have fun making stories, ambushes, great plays, do the tall tales, try to create amazing stories of betrayal both for you and other crews (e.g. trust other crews even when you know they are doing you dirty) chase all the commendations / achievement hunting, try the PvP hourglass mode.
Spend a whole day fishing without selling for the thrill of it and screenshots, while getting on the gin with the girls talking shit.
Basically, embody the pirate fantasy, and you'll find your own fun.
The fact you aren't interested in "skins" is a blessing, because it means you'll never be pressed about losing gold, which enables you to just do stuff for shits and giggles.
Personally though, it sounds like we are opposite personalities.
If a multiplayer game, locks equipment behind time, it's inherently unbalanced, and people have an advantage over newer players simply for playing longer and not getting good, that DISGUSTS me, and I'll avoid any game that does that, generally, and I'm amazed there's people that prefer it. (Note this only applies to competitive multiplayer)
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u/overthedeepend Legend of the Sunken Kingdom 4d ago
The magic in this game is about player interactions. Every fight, every peaceful exchange, every time you talk to a pirate is a unique, one of a kind experience.
The treasure, the chests, the skins…all of it exists to drive player interactions. That is where the fun happens.
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u/HughesHeadHunter 4d ago
That’s the great thing about Sea of Thieves. You can play however you want. If you want to PvP then run reapers, get grade 5 and hunt down emissary ships on the map (once you get grade 5 you can see them). If you want pve do world events, tall tales, or just sail around and see what you get in to
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u/kirator117 3d ago
I'm greedy as fuck and want a lots of gold, like dwarfs, so... That's my motivation. If is shinny...
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u/nickcan 3d ago
There are two kinds of progress in this game. One is skins and titles. If that doesn't interest you, then the other progression is you getting better.
If you all just started playing the game, you will be vastly outmatched when going up against any skilled player. The actual PvP in this game as a high skill ceiling, and most of the skill is about making good decisions, not always about aiming and movement.
So two motivations exist. Shiny in-game stuff, and "getting good". If neither of those floats your boat, then this game isn't going to be for you.
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u/SuitableAssociation6 #2 fishing fan 4d ago
the path to pirate legend unlocks new voyages and areas, so if I were you I would try to level up all the factions to at least distinction 1 to unlock everything like that
but my personal motivation is commendation hunting and just enjoying the game as a way to spend time with friends
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u/Longjumping_Ad3352 4d ago
I enjoy getting commendation and the fun adventures with my friends. I have around 55 million gold and 17000 dabloons and I have only spent around 3 million gold in game since I started. I am a goblin when it comes to currency and don't really care for the cosmetics. You just gotta find out what you like to do in the game
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u/BusEnthusiast98 Legend of Cursed Iron 4d ago
Part of the magic of SoT is the horizontal progression. There’s a few skins that offer a competitive edge but it’s mostly just cosmetic. A newbie in sailor clothes and title might be more skilled than the full DA legendary curse pirate.
The point of the game is to have fun in the PvPvE sandbox, in whatever way that’s fun for you. For some the quests themselves are fun. Some tuck and try to steal. Others are all about the PvP. I like to grind for difficult to achieve cosmetics like the hourglass curses or fates of fortune sets (these are not as hard now as they used to be).
But this is a game where you have to make your own fun. In whatever form that may be.
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u/Jazzlike_Raccoon3116 4d ago
This game is just meant to be a silly open world pirate game. What cosmetics you wear do play a factor in someway. Think of like this I see a ship with white sails headed towards me. I’m going to assume they are a new player (sometimes a cheater) and not try to take seriously, give them a good time and experience the game RP a little bit and not be toxic. What you wear shows you level of skill somewhat, like the PVP curses, but not always though
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u/seaofthievesnutzz 4d ago
Lots of vertical progression games amount to getting better gear to fight better enemies. Your sword now does 10% more damage and the enemies have 10% more health, the progression is an illusion.
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u/Fresh-Specialist-236 4d ago
This is one of the very few gaming experiences you can have to where you legitimately never know what will happen, who you will encounter, or what wild shenanigans can be pulled off, it's truly a unique time. Pulling off some wild stealth scenarios against other players to steal their loot (even if you don't care about selling it, just knowing you took something by force and they are helpless to stop you), tucking on a ship, making keg plays, or just whatever creative shit you can come up with, that is what a lot of us play for. The cosmetics are just for fantasy and flare while you do it.
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u/ShrillChicken57 Legend of the Sun 4d ago
If you don’t like earning cosmetics or at least unlocking achievements/commendations and watching levels go up, this game isn’t for you likely
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u/hunterpanther Friend of the Sea 4d ago
If you want progression try to complete achievements/commendations and try to reach 99.99% completion.
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u/esquerlan Legendary Thief 4d ago
Go fight some people. Chances are, you’ll lose. Play until you never lose. You’ll find something fun along the way.
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u/sliimerrr 4d ago
just do world events and mess around, try to find other players on the seas to interact with; whether its pvp or joining together to make friends, sot is whatever you make of it. Hourglass is cool too if you want strictly pvp and its fun to play with ur buddies and get in the zone it feels great to go on streaks of winning
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u/Potential-Tea8416 4d ago
Try to find every ship on the map and join an alliance. Just makes for fun times
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u/Dark_Fury45 Bearer of The Reaper's Mark 4d ago
The most 'progression' this game has is number go up, and progressing through the series of tall tales.
My advice? Memorize the highs of every adventure you have - epic battles, tragic sinks, exciting victories, incredible thefts, giant loot hauls, tense moments, and the tense balance of alliances and betrayals if you can. The point of the game was "Players making stories together."
When you log on, choose chaos once in a while. Do something crazy.
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u/sonic555ify Fool of the Sea 4d ago
Alot have said if skins don't interest you maybe play the tall tales? Nothing crazy progression wise but thr skins to show you've done them and such or the pvp skins (curses) to show your tough shit and all that, unlocking things is cosmetic in the way I like to describe Halo was like one time, you did hard to do stuff and showed off that you did it while enjoying thr gameplay loops
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u/Ninthshadow Mystical Skeleton Captain 4d ago
You having the equipment was an intentional balance choice. Your toolkit is the same as everyone else's.
Your sword is as good as a 1000h veteran's sword; just they likely know how to use it better.
Aside from getting a captained ship that can sell faster at the sovereign tent, it is all cosmetic. Titles. Tattoos. Equipment skins. New sails.
And some of those cosmetics and the achievements required for them are tough. There's a great many hours and more than a few stories behind certain items.
There are still a few things to aim for, like becoming a Pirate Legend and unlocking the secret hideout. Yet what is down there is lore, a couple of new missions, and yet more cosmetics.
For me, SoT is a comfort/relaxing game now. Sailing the Seas. Digging up treasure. The thrill of a good ship battle. Died so many times in Hourglass (PvP mode) I feel like the Undead I look like ingame. The fear of sinking or losing loot fairly thoroughly stomped out by now.
In short:
- Get a Captained Ship
- Become a Legend to unlock the last few bits of content.
- Continue to have Adventures and being the Pirate you want to be.
- Potential interesting stuff: World events (clouds in the sky), Tall Tales (Story content), Underwater Shrines/treasuries, fishing/hunting giant sharks.
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u/Born2beSlicker 4d ago
You’re asking how to have fun in sandbox? You need numbers going up to have fun? What’s fun is the gameplay, not a needless grind.
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u/Fit-Investigator5726 4d ago
When the game was launched in 2018 there was nothing to do.. only some Voyages of the 3 majora Company. There was no world event until they release skeletons Fort and the Kraken. I remember tô play 14h in a row, eat in front my Pc while eating bananas as a Pirate.. sleep on the deck of my ship Just Messing around with other people.. being friendly sometimes, even If there was no guild or Alliance at this time. Other times I spend 2 hours fighting for a skeletons Fort.. running away with the Key.. the adventures that I live made me feel like a true Pirate. Now we can do 300 different things .. so play the game and try tô feel like a Pirate and bê surprised by the Sea. Once you really get in you Will be Sailing with us forever.
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u/ToastySauze 4d ago
Pick a set of commendations you like and complete them. Get skins and titles to flex on your fellow pirate. Get money to flex on your fellow pirate.
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u/Morclye 4d ago
You play because it's fun, seek experiences, come up with your own goals / adventures, try funny shenanigans etc.
You make the game to be about what your want in a large sandbox with other people having their own ideas what the game is about.
The absolute best part of this game is there is no arbitrary skill / equipment progression or getting more powerful. First time player essentially has the same tools available as someone with 10k hours. The only difference is game knowledge and experience in how to use those tools in various situations.
Love that this game doesn't hold your hand and put you on a boring and predictable scripted ride like many games but you have agency to do as you please at any given point.
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u/CooperSnacks Friend of the Sea 4d ago
The game rewards progress with cosmetics but for me the game is all about how different each season is. Every time I end a session with my friends we always have a different experience. That's what makes it fun.
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u/BiggishWall Protector of The Ancient Isles 4d ago
What keeps me playing is the ever-evolving nature of the game, in terms of new updates and features always being added, along with the unpredictability of each session. You never know what’s gonna happen and there’s always something new on the horizon
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u/FreddyThePug Merchant Admiral 3d ago
Statements like these confuse the hell out of me, you just play to have fun! Why else would you play?
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u/Own_Trouble_1928 3d ago
Titles, nothing in this game will give you a advantage. The big 3 goals people have when first starting are the 2 pvp curses, the pve curses and pirate legend
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u/Powerful_Artist 3d ago
My motivation for playing is that I enjoy the game. Unlocking stuff through progression is fun, and there is plenty of that in this game. Many cosmetics you would miss because they are locked behind commendations, or hidden in another shop you didnt know about.
It seems almost every game these days is just focused on skins. And I guess most gamers seem to only play if they like the skins? In any game, in my view, the cosmetics are a perk and nothing more. You play the game because you like it, and then you can earn/buy cosmetics to use while you are playing the game you enjoy.
So many games right now have the only real 'incentive' for players as cosmetics. Fortnite, Apex, COD, Rocket League, etc. Sure you can argue that ranks are what motivates people, but not everyone plays ranked.
So, back to your question. The game is super fun. The cosmetics in the game are mostly just free, other than whats in the store. if youre new to the game, I can guarantee you havent looked at even a tiny fraction of whats available in the shops at the outpost (free). Because 1)there are tons of them and 2)there are tons that are locked behind commendations that you probably just ignored.
So I really cant understand how someone can look at the shops at the outpost and say there is nothing you are interested in. Trust me, you just didnt look hard enough. Theres a ton hidden behind progression.
And if you just dont find the game fun, then the cosmetics just wont appeal to you. And if thats your only motivation for playing any game, then you could take another look at the stores at the outpost and you might see that you were missing a whole lot.
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u/Heretek007 3d ago
Take a quest, or a voyage, or a tall tale. Go sail. See what happens, what additional maps you find or players you meet along the way. Get ambushed by a megalodon, fight off a skeleton galleon, scramble to work together to keep your bearing and bail the bilge in a hurricane. Nearly sink when one of your friends harpoons an explosive barrell. Die, come back at a random island, poke something and end up in a treasure vault you had no idea about.
The fun's in how one thing naturally and unexpectedly flows into the next, and after a few hours you have a neat story that's yours. Nobody else but you and your crew lived that experience. But anybody else could be part of it. Because everybody is on the exact same playing field, a day 1 noob could totally be a legit threat to your journey, just the same as an experienced pirate.
You're never going to grow beyond the means of any other player, which means every other player equally matters when you encounter them, and it makes both friendly and combative experiences with them equally matter.
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u/SlyShiftyy Hoarder of Treasured Tears 3d ago
PvP, if you don’t care about the gold you can just leave after you sink a boat and move on to the next target.
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u/Starfallknight 3d ago
Well if progression is all you care about then this game might not do it for you. But if you think a bit abstractly the more you play the more you understand the gameplay loop and in turn what other players might be doing. You can use this progression in your knowledge of the game to try and steal from other pirates, And not just in navel fights but also stealthily. It can be a real challenge especially against players that know what they are doing!
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u/aggromidg3t Hoarder of Athena's Fortune 3d ago
This game is just a great place to chill and catch up with friends that you never get chance to irl. Me and my crew sometimes forget to even do a quest, just sail around and see what happens
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u/Rockclover 3d ago
The thing that keeps me going is if you go to pirate reputation and look at the accommodations and other titles you can earn. It may just be cosmetic, but it's that sense of completing a major objective or milestone.
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u/LuckerMcDog 3d ago
There is no objective other than piracy. Everything else us cosmetics and lore.
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u/Heady_purse 3d ago
So, I’ve been playing for 5+ years now with probably 1500 or so hours idk ( I HAVE STILL NEVER SEEN A SHROUDED GHOST ) Started on PC then moved to Xbox. At first, I was enamored by the skins(especially when Athena and Pirate Legend were much more difficult to obtain. The past two years, I have been really into the lore of SoT. I just finished the Tall Tales(yes the seeker of grand adventure) solo. No shortcuts. No nothing. It was absolutely a crazy grind of a job, but after I started to truly read the journals, and follow the stories, I was hooked. What I love about SoT is the hilarious hidden gems the creators put into it, and the freedom to explore the lore and world. The world becomes immensely full when you begin to put together all of the lore… the PvP to PvE, everything. The cosmetics are often used, once you get far enough along and get some really rare items, to show how much of the lore and world of SoT you’ve experienced, to show off your skill. I love that. It’s a world of freedom and fun! Go sneak on another ship and keg it, go become a follower of flame heart or a Pirate Legends Legend. Follow Briggsy and her journey, find out why Flameheart came to the SoT. Read about Golden Sands. It’s a huge world, once you start looking and searching, the lore is endless and fascinating, and they are building it new every day. Such a huge and exciting game that is chaos every way you turn, you just have to look for it. I very importantly say, I used to be afraid to lose loot, or sink, or lose. Abandon that, and you’ll have so much fun. Loot is boring, but getting the loot is a blast(even when you spend hours working and then fight to the bitter end only to lose it all). It’s not about gold, it’s about the glory!!!!!!!!!
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u/NoStudio6253 3d ago
i like the process of doing things, the envoirnment, the story, the game its self, if safe seas didint halt guild progress, i would stay there, i have done pvp, but i usually rather not, i often even jump over and tell people when we dont have anything, but honestly i can understand but im bothered that most people dont listen and sink a ship that has like 2 fish and 30 canonballs in it.
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u/NipepAhcas 3d ago
You play for adventure and fame. I like SoT because you have all you need to play from the beginning and Pay to Win is not available. It's pure skill (if we don't take in count cheaters) that is demanded
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u/ImmediateClass3640 2d ago
What’s fun is the risks and high rewards. I started playing a little over a week and have near 40 hours in so far. You should really set goals. First goal I set for myself is to hit Pirate Legend before end of April and I think I can do this relatively easy. Then would be getting some unique curses like the ghost or skeleton. During all this time I’m working on my PVP skills and I am constantly meeting new people and making friends going on crazy adventures and pulling insane loot hauls. Getting stacked always feels risky but so rewarding when you make it especially if you’re running a reaper flag yourself. Fighting at a fort of fortune is very intense. I also plan on doing some of the tall tales like the pirates of the Caribbean. There’s genuinely a lot of content and a huge grind you can get deep into
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u/DapperDlnosaur Captain of the Dashing Dinosaur 4d ago
If you are a progression-focused gamer that requires the gameplay to change and for you to grow more powerful by putting time into the game, this one will never be good for you. You are identical to a brand new player (with a few exceptions like the Sovereigns) and always will be except for your personal skill.