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!

A Night of Murder

Last night I decided to play a little bit and it turned into a bloodbath. My estimation of the average player in Sea of Thieves has dropped several notches. These people are homicidal sociopaths.

Galleon's Grave Outpost spawn-in.
Starting/Ending Rep - GH 23/23, OS 20/20, MA 20/20
Starting/Ending Gold: 30,945/34,785
Gold Earned: 3,840g

An Evening on the Blood Red Sea: For the Gold Hoarders

"A prize raided by the prominent Cheat Daniels"

Consists of two riddle rhymes, one to the Sunken Grove and the other to the Crooked Masts.

Leave Galleon's Grave, spot shipwreck WNW and decide to check it out.

Coast is clear, dive on the wreck of the Hangman's Hate. Recover 2 Disgraced Bounty Skulls (291g, 337g), Villainous Bounty Skull (967g), and Marauders Chest (514g). Pretty good haul.

Return to Galleon's Grave to sell loot. Run aground like and idiot, patch hull. Sell stuff, buy voyage from Henry (80), grab more supplies.

Go to Sunken Grove. Run aground again. Guess it's not my night.

lotrmith, Consummate PvPer

Coast is clear, head to island and follow clues. Find pig crate. And then another. And a third. Sunken Grove is now known as Pig Crate Island. Also find a gunpowder barrel. Leave the last pig crate and the gunpowder on NW island for later pick up.

Find Captains Chest (786g) just sitting in a cave, not part of the riddle. This is good, because the four clues lead me to a crummy Seafarers Chest (256g). Guess that answers my questions about riddle length corresponding to loot value (apparently it does not).

Return to ship, swing around to NW island to get pig crate and gunpowder barrel. Set course back to Galleon's Grave to sell goods.

Arrive at Galleon's Grave, find banana Crate on beach. Sell loot, then raid all barrels on island for bananas. Fill crate and sell to Mandy for 427g. Not bad for bananas.

Galleon arrives to my port side as I pull out of the dock. A player, lotrmith, boards me as the galleon starts to shell my ship. I protest, "Hey, hey, hey! I don't have anything!" but he kills me, anyway.

Re-spawn into sinking ship, my gunpowder and pig crates floating nearby. Craving revenge, I get floating gunpowder barrel and swim towards galleon, intending to use barrel to destroy or cripple said ship. Intercepted by crew (Oceanrider) and killed again, though I got a few cuts in.

Oceanrider

Of course, Oceanrider was defending her ship from my attempted demolition, but like as not was one of the individuals who shelled my sloop when lotrmith murdered me. She's as guilty as he is. To Davy Jones' locker for both of them!

After my second death, and without a ship to go back to, I respawn on Salty Sands. I spot a shipwreck to the SW. Might as well check it out given my distance from Crooked Masts. After a short jaunt, I arrive at the wreck of the Devil's Rage. Coast is clear so I dive, find a Seafarers Chest (213g) and a Foul bounty Skull (129g). Nothing else visible in wreck.

Set course for Crooked Masts by way of Daggertooth Outpost. Long way to go, but I like sailing so it's all good. When I arrive at Daggertooth, I notice a galleon in the distance on other side of the island. Wonder if it's the same group of dweebs that killed me earlier. Too distant to see their sails.

The Wreck of the Devil's Rage

Figure I should sell my stuff in a hurry, then sail to Crooked Masts. As I approach the island, I notice there's a galleon moored there. Sails are up so I can't tell if they're the guys from before. Instead of dropping anchor, I decide to check out Shark Tooth Key for incidental loots and supplies.

Find nothing but supplies and skeletons on Shark Tooth Key. I watch the galleon leave Crooked Masts, wait to see if they notice me. They seem to be moving off, so I head for the island. The galleon (the same one? Can't tell) is still out there.

Spend the next ten minutes running around Crooked Masts solving riddle clues. Get three out of four done before I notice a galleon off shore. It passes around the island, spots my sloop. I watch from shore as it turns sharply and rams my anchored ship. The crash is followed by a couple of cannon shots. I see people leaping into the water from the galleon.

The Galleon what Rammed My Anchored Sloop

I decide to sit down and wait for someone to find and kill me. No one comes. I find out why as both the galleon and my sloop begin to sail away -- they're stealing my ship. Typical.

My mermaid appears, so I dive down into the water and use it to return to my ship. As I spawn in my cabin, the dweeb who stole it (Trappin Dan) blows me away despite my attempts to engage him in conversation.

I respawn on my ship's deck, with Trappin Dan's back to me. Before I can attack him, he climbs the mainmast to the crow's nest. I pursue him, but he leaps down onto the cabin's awning. I don't even know if he's noticed me yet.

I jump to the yard arm, then onto the awning behind him. His back is still to me so I use my blunderbuss to turn him into fish food (and get rewarded with an achievement for my cowardly behavior). He dies and despawns. I look around and spot his galleon a ways off, sailing away.

Trappin Dan, Killer at Large

I'm unsure what the point of stealing someone's ship is given they can just respawn there. Good old Dan had spent time to repair the hull and bail the water out, so he obviously had something in mind.

As much as I would like to go back to Crooked Masts and solve the last riddle, it's way too late and I need to go to bed.

With each encounter I had with a player, I attempted to use voice chat to speak to them in the hope I could avoid further violence. In each case my attempts to parley made no difference at all. For whatever reason they found it more expedient just to kill me. In both cases, I carried no treasure and nothing of any real value, and they gained no profit from attacking me. It was not only a waste of their time, but of mine as well.

I can only assume these people are sociopaths.

I'm going to start a gallery of villains, killers, and thieves on this blog. Think of it as my personal dweeb collection. Hear that, guys? You're dweebs!

Morning Voyage

For some unknown reason, I got up an hour early today. Instead of going back to sleep, I decided to see how much Sea of Thieves I could get in before leaving for work. Turns out it wasn't a whole lot, but it passed the time.

Two line poem = crummy booty?

Dagger Tooth Outpost spawn-in.
Starting/Ending Rep - GH 23/23, OS 20/20, MA 20/20
Starting/Ending Gold: 29,873/30,945
Gold Earned: 1,072g

Irresponsible Morning Voyage: For the Gold Hoarders
"A bonanza buried by the prominent Nastalie Ober"

First chapter of the voyage consists of a map of the Isle of Last Words and a rhyme sending me to Shipwreck Bay.

Traveled to the Isle of Last Words and dug up a Captain's Chest (576g) and a Marauder's Chest (475g). Decide to return to Daggertooth to sell chests, but the rewards seem pretty paltry. I also buy a new voyage from Horace (-80g).

Head to Shipwreck Bay to puzzle out riddle. Rude-ass skeletons shoot cannons at me on approach, suffer hit to starboard side. Drop anchor under cover, patch the ship's newest porthole with a plank of wood.

Venture to island and follow the riddle's instructions. Locate the spot, dig up a Castaways Chest (101g). Mediocre! I wonder if the length of the poem/clue relates to the value of the discovery? This was a two-line rhyme and an incredibly crappy chest.

The Blackwych's mainmast.

The first two parts complete, two more maps appear for the "Final Chapter," but I'm out if time.

Return to Dagger Tooth, sell Castaway's Chest.

No one else was around in the morning. The dweebs must all be in bed. Or working. Or in school. Or prison. Take your pick.

That's all, folks. Avast!

Vanishing Loot: It's a Feature, not a Bug!

Chicken Isle looks like a chicken leg.

Plunder Outpost spawn-in.

Starting/Ending Rep - GH 23/23, OS 20/20, MA 20/20

Starting/Ending Gold: 27,946/29,873
Gold Earned: 1,927g

First Voyage: For the Gold Hoarders

"A prize amassed by the prominent Shantyroinen," consists of a map of Chicken Isle with two Xs marking dig spots. Headed to Chicken Isle with no issues, anchored and disembarked. Located dig spots easily, recovering two Marauder's Chests (worth 294g and 490g respectively).

Spot shipwreck SE of Chicken Isle with galleon in distance beyond it. Wait to see where galleon goes, apparently to Plunder Outpost.

Stopped at wreck. About to dive but a sloop showed up. Left the area to avoid a scuffle, sloop more interested in wreck and didn't pursue.

Going to Ancient Spire Outpost to sell stuff. Spot another shipwreck en route. Galleon in distance heading away. Maybe God likes me after all.

Unexplored wrecks aren't worth a fight.

The Wreck of the Feared Dragon, recover villainous bounty skull (n/a), crate of rare tea (362g), two Seafarer's Chests (157g and 192g). Heading to port.

Arrive at Ancient Spire Outpost. Villainous Bounty Skull vanished. Weird! Sell other items. Decided to return to area of wreck to see if the skull fell through my hull. Skull not there, wreck gone. Stupid bug. Considered someone might have stolen it, but I saw no one anywhere near the shipwreck. If there had been someone, I'm sure they would've killed me.

This isn't the first time I've had stuff fall through the deck. I imagine I might've put it too close to the rail, but I specifically remember seeing it there before I dove back into the water. Probably would've increased this voyage's take by at least 1,000g, but whatever. My 13 year-old boy sarcastically comments, "That's why this game is still in beta." What a comedian. Going to be a bit more meticulous about where I drop this stuff from now on.

Drop anchor at nearby Crooks Hollow for bio break. Take a stroll on island, find Seafarers Chest (247g) washed up on shore. Spotted sloop approaching island, hightailed it away. Was not spotted, no pursuit. Returning to Ancient Spire Outpost.

En route to Ancient Spire, spot shipwreck SE of outpost. Checking it out.

Coast clear, diving. Wreck of the Liar's Fortune. Find Disgraced Bounty Skull (265g) and hungry shark (worthless). Heading back to Ancient Spire. Another sloop to port, anchored near island, no pursuit.

Sold found goods, bought new Gold Hoarder voyage from Herbert for 80g.

All for now. Avast!