I'm Getting Tired of This

Last night I went sailing, but I didn't bother to jot anything down. I figured I'd just relax and see how things worked out. The murder rate was rather high again, and I accomplished absolutely nothing as a result. I ended up leaving the game due to being aggravated, but I can't blame my mood solely on Sea of Thieves. After all, I was grumpy in general and that never helps things.

In short, I decided to run a few Merchant Alliance voyages. They're generally pretty straightforward, and if they call for gold animals they can be incredibly profitable. The first voyage called for two black chickens, which is simple enough. I weighed anchor and sailed from island to island, finding no chickens anywhere.

When I finally did find an island with chickens, I dropped anchor, did a quick scan of the horizon, and waded ashore. Some skeletons spawned (and, oddly, kept spawning) which distracted me from the task at hand. As I ran to and fro on the beach hacking skeletons to bits, a galleon with fancy paint, sails, and figurehead pulled up next to my sloop and let fly a deadly broadside.

Not only did these blasts hit my boat, but they also hit me. Between damage sustained fighting skeletons and the cannon blasts, I found myself aboard the Ferry of the Damned pretty quickly. Returning to my ship on respawn, I discovered a pirate steering my sloop. What is it with these people?

I gave him a dose of my blunderbuss, but he survived. He drew his sword and, leaping around like a marine kangaroo, killed me. I found myself aboard the Ferry of the Damned once more. When I respawned, it was on a distant island with a new boat. Obviously, my sloop had been sunk and my chicken cages lost, forcing me to abandon my search for black chickens.

I certainly hope the galleon's crew had fun, because I thought the whole experience sucked. I'd hate to think they might've been disappointed by finding nothing aboard my ship worth stealing.

After abandoning the Merchant Alliance voyage, I figured I'd hunt for treasure with a Gold Hoarder voyage. It ended up with four maps, which I quickly identified and marked on my map. I headed west and dropped anchor near the first location. It was a small island and the treasure (a Seafarer's Chest) was easily located.

After I'd placed the treasure aboard my ship, I noticed another sloop heading my way. I dropped sails, weighed anchor, and was on my way as quick as can be. The other sloop fired a cannon at me, hitting once and knocking a hole in the back of my ship. I adjusted sails and ran away as best I could, but the other sloop decided to follow me.

This lasted quite a while, with me trying to outdistance the sloop. I did put some space between us, but it didn't last. Up ahead a storm was brewing, so I steered in that direction. Maybe I could lose them in the storm. With little else left to do, I grabbed an eye of reach (a sniper rifle, for all intents and purposes) and started taking pot shots at the other boat's crew.

I don't know if I hit anyone (I doubt it), but they must've had a crack shot aboard. The guy handily picked me off despite the rolling waves, rain, and distance.

After an obligatory wait aboard the Ferry of Souls, I returned to my sloop. Someone from the other ship was aboard, and they'd dropped my anchor, grabbed the piddly little Seafarer's Chest I'd found, and were in the process of returning to their own ship which pulled off and left me with a few cannon shots to remember them by. I patched the holes and bailed the water, then gave chase.

I can only assume I followed them because I was irked at losing the only thing of value I'd found in nearly an hour's play time. Maybe I could roll up on them while they docked at a nearby outpost and give a few of their cannonballs back to them, or I could sneak onto the island, find them, and chop them up. Neither plan was realized. I found myself watching them weigh anchor and head back out to sea from the beach of the outpost.

It was at this point I decided I wasn't really in the mood for Sea of Thieves any longer. Playing the game solo is hard enough, but when everyone out there is out for your blood, it makes it even more difficult. I don't think I'll be throwing in the towel just yet, but I'm moving in that direction.

Avast!