Basically, Sea of Thieves is about nasty pirates, of which you are one. However, you apparently can’t be too nasty, at least not to other pirates.
What is Sea of Thieves about?
- You play as pirates in Sea of Thieves, always on the lookout for the next treasure, sailing the seas on your ships.
- After a difficult start, Sea of Thieves has improved significantly over the years and is now considered a really good game.
- As befits pirates, you can also rob other pirates, meaning players. However, some players behave extremely unsportingly here.
Season 8 has brought many new contents to Sea of Thieves. Check out the trailer for the season in the pirate game:
This is how PvP works: Originally, Sea of Thieves had an open PvP system where players could fight each other anytime. However, that wasn’t very well received, especially since some bullies took treasures from new or inexperienced players just before they reached a safe shore.
The system was revised, but there were still some players who tyrannized the game. Now, developer Rare has completely revamped the PvP, introducing a new feature.
Since Season 8, which started in November 2022, PvP fans can now choose one of two factions and join them. They then have the opportunity to hunt ships of the opposing faction and earn rewards. The open PvP still exists, but the new system should streamline the constant bickering and provide PvP-hungry fans with more options.
In the open world, you will then fight in epic battles against each other with your ships, usually in a 1-on-1 scenario. Passing ships without a faction are usually exempt, but they can decide spontaneously to join in and side with either side.
This leads to problems, as a user on reddit shows:
“This is not intended”
What is the problem now? The new system leads to some players apparently coordinating. They exploit the opportunity to participate in battles.
While two opponents are facing off, the seemingly uninvolved players join the clash and immediately shift the balance strongly in favor of their partners, with about 2 ships now facing one. This practice seems to be quite widespread.
The developers agree that such a thing should not happen and was not intended either. In the latest update from January 19, they are implementing changes to make unfair battles less attractive.
Along with the update, a new adventure went online, The Secret Wilds:
This is how the developers react: Shortly after the new system went live and first players complained, a moderator on reddit said that this “is not the intended way” to play the mode.
Now, with an update from January 19, 2023, Rare wants to take steps against this unfair piracy. In the patch notes for the update, it states:
- The chance of encountering a battle with multiple ships has been reduced
- Crews that join a battle between two faction ships do not receive rewards
Whether the changes are enough to put a stop to this play style remains to be seen.
That Sea of Thieves promotes unfair play and not necessarily sportsmanship has been a topic for a while and is not necessarily something that many players seem to be bothered by, even if it happens in tournaments:
Twitch streamer is angry about dirty methods in €32,000 tournament – “Is this allowed?”
