Joel Peters

Welcome back to my chest of thoughts, ever wonder where I got that name from? A widely known pirate sandbox called Sea of Thieves, where tracking down treasure and robbing it from other crews all while a shark the size of your average blimp from World War I smashing into your hole-ridden galleon is just your average Tuesday. In said game you’ll find many a chest, from a measly castaway’s chest with nothing but pennies on the dime inside to a chest of legends, filled with unspoken riches sought after by anyone on the high seas.

But that is the thing, I must specify the high part. You see, this game is an MMO. That stands for “Massive Multiplayer Online”. The whole gimmick of this experience is that you assemble a pirate crew out of your friends, load up your ship with resources, and set sail into dangerous waters where at any point another crew may initiate combat or establish a diplomatic deal. You never know who might be out there, how skilled they are, and what their motives are. This dynamic element makes it so anything you do on these seas feels like a true achievement, and was accomplished in a living breathing world.

However, Rare Games, the company behind this whole thing, has apparently decided that creating an alternate game mode for Sea of Thieves that is the exact opposite of that is a good decision. The Safer Seas will be launching in a couple days, and with it a lot of controversy from players who also realize that this isn’t necessarily the best decision.

At this point I think you can deduce what my opinion on this is. I don’t think it’s healthy to have a Sea of Thieves without any THIEVES. The reason I write about this is because I genuinely come from a place of passion. Since I discovered the game a year ago I have absolutely fallen in love with this world. The sense of adventure and endless amounts of achievements, known here as “commendations”, constantly gives me something to strive for every time I launch the game and wake up in a tavern. I love the feeling of having a trophy shelf of things I have pulled off against the odds of an ocean full of people that may try to stop me. Allowing people to access that world without the threat of other pirates basically kills this sense of achievement.

Granted, Rare is not allowing ALL features to be available on these “Safer” Seas, but a gigantic amount of the commendations are still completely available to unlock. And as someone who dreams to one day unlock them all legitimately, I take major issue with this. I don’t want these to suddenly just be a mark of someone who has grinded thousands of hours into the various milestones, I want these to be true medals of prestige. And as I’ve thought about how to properly articulate my opinion, I have realized that doing it in storytelling fashion is the best way to go.

I have composed a story from the perspective of someone in this world, and thus am forming an “Open Story” to Rare Games, a play on an open letter. I hope it can help to provide mine, along with other’s, views on this whole business.

* * *

I launch into the sea of thieves, and wake up in a tavern, hearing shouts from other drunken sailors and cheerful shanties being played somewhere behind the tables. I hear stories being swapped from those who just returned from their grand voyage, with burn marks covering their jittery faces and their outfits soaked and torn from their battles and losses. While they may not have loads of gold to buy drinks for their listeners, they talk of glory and honour they will forever have to their name.

I feel a twinge inside me. I do not know where it is coming from, but somehow I know that I must get something to my name. Something different. Something that people can look at me and know that I’m not like other pirates. I decide I don’t even want to be known as a pirate, but a weathered hunter that will stop at nothing to serve the Hunter’s Call until my last breath. That will be different.

After convincing the merchant alliance to commission me a ship to deliver some “commodities” I sneak into the equipment shop to talk to my old friend Tony. I ask him to spot me a fishing rod with the intention of paying him back once I reel in a significant catch. “It will be like 20, no 30% of the earnings, I promise!” He doesn’t seem super enthusiastic but he finally relinquishes and gives me something that is too damaged to sell anyways, giving me some nonsensical riddle about the dangers of the sea before handing it over. I thank him profusely, stuff the rod in my castaways coat, and then slip past merchant girl Mandy and board my ship. There will be no time to decorate it with anything fancy, since the senior traders always get upset if we take too long to sail. Can’t come across as suspicious.

After raising anchor and sailing a ways from the outpost, I promptly get interrupted by a crusty old boat of the undead, which interrupts my fishing agenda but doesn’t provide too much of an issue. It isn’t the first time these bony banes have invaded my sunny sail. I actually hope Mandy can see my battle, it may provide an alibi for my absence. After finding some bait on a nearby island, and discovering a nifty little cove to hide my ship, I climb up a rock and prepare to cast off. It’s time.

The day slips by, and I appreciate the view I have from my perch as my pile of fish grows. Galleons fight on the horizon, while a brigantine gets dragged down to the bottom of the sea by an angry kraken. A couple of sloops sail dangerously close to where my mast sticks out, but they seem focused on the fort ahead that is active. The glowing red skull indicates the presence of a lot of danger, but a lot of treasure. I am almost tempted to fight for it myself, but decide it isn’t worth losing the catch. I must stay focused to complete my goal. If I don’t, I risk losing it to the ocean that seems unnaturally alive, full of dangers and minds of other crews, whose intentions I have no way of knowing.

At last I run out of bait, and feel that my ship cannot hold another fish. It is time for the final step in my plan. A grand cook off to solidify to the Hunter’s Call that I know what I am doing, despite the merchant alliance flag hanging from the hull. I hope no bloodthirsty reapers notice that while I sail to Port Merrick. I have heard that the various sea forts across the seas have access to large kitchens, but I am not particularly interested in evicting the angry phantoms to find out. I don’t need to. I know of a secret kitchen above the tavern at the former golden sands.

The sail there is more challenging than I would personally prefer, thanks to a persistent megalodon that probably isn’t too happy about me catching his comrades. Oh well, nothing some good sail management can’t handle. However, as I approach the port to cook up my catch, I notice a crew with a ship gleaming full of treasure at the sovereigns. If I come any closer they will surely assume I am a threat, and come to eliminate me. I think carefully about what to do. If I take too long to finish my mission the merchant alliance will know that I am a liar and send word to the ferryman to scuttle my ship. I can’t afford that. I must pursue the kitchen despite the risk.

As anticipated the crew is sending over a boarder as I approach the docks, where hopefully trader Mavis won’t know what I am up to. To my surprise and relief the pirate speaks out in a friendly voice rather than a gun shot. I discuss with them how I am a fisher and that the merchant flag isn’t anything but an excuse for a ship charter. The friend chuckles and confirms it’s the oldest trick in the book. After we converse a bit longer he offers to raise an alliance together, allowing me a tempting share of his crew’s riches, and them some reputation with the hard to please Hunter’s Call. I think about it. As much as I want the honour for myself, I decide that the catches will still be under my name, and I could do with the gold. I agree, to his glee. He even offers I join their guild, but I don’t feel ready for that yet. I don’t like the expectation.

Now that that is worked out, I grab all my fish in a crate they offered me, and start the cook above the tavern. Outside a little window besides the oven, I see my ship sink into the depths as the sun sets. I guess my conversation with the other crew was overheard by Mavis, and she reported me to the ferryman. Oh well. I don’t need the ship anymore. I saw a rowboat by the docks I can load my crate onto, and I intend to make use of my rowing skills for the final chapter of my voyage. While I wait for the last of my fish to cook, I hear something besides the lively shanties emanating beyond the tavern. An anchor dropping and then being raised, an unmistakable mark of a crew that knows what they are doing, prepared at a moments notice for combat.

I quickly grab my fish off the grill and tense up. I hope to the pirate lord that they don’t notice me. Surely they don’t know of this hidden kitchen. I hear footsteps approaching the tavern entrance as a jumping pirate runs over to the mysterious stranger, who I realize could easily blab my location. I vow to devote my life to Flameheart if he does. Fortunately, he seems too occupied with his drink to care about what is going on. The pirate grabs an emissary flag from the Athena table, and runs off, jumping like a goon like he did before. I exhale sharply. I am safe.

As I row over to the nearest seapost with my crate of cooked goods, I look up to the star-lit sky and appreciate how far I’ve come. Being a hunter isn’t about how fast you can catch fish. It’s about how you are able to catch, cook, and deliver those fish while living in the dangerous waters that is this world. After all, it is the Sea of Thieves. And the commendation I earn today will forever remind me of that.