Sea of Thieves is supposed to be performed as a part of a crew. You and some buddies loot and plunder the seas (and different gamers) as a workforce. That’s not the one method to sail the seven seas, nonetheless. For those who’d desire to sail alone, it’s also possible to take to the ocean on a smaller, extra nimble ship. Taking over the pirate life with none assist might be particularly robust — you don’t have any backup in emergencies, and when you run up towards a crew of different gamers, you’ll need to take them on at a drawback.
It’s doable to succeed on the excessive seas all by your lonesome, although, when you play to the strengths of working alone. You might be smaller, faster, and stealthier than different crews and the galleons you might need to face. For those who’re good about it, you possibly can win battles, escape emergencies, sneak previous enemies, and plunder a complete bunch of loot. Use these tricks to maximize your effectiveness as a solo buccaneer.
Make quick voyages
Each time you choose up gold, full a voyage, or collect a bounty in Sea of Thieves, you run the danger of dropping it. If somebody assaults and kills you, they will take your stuff. In case your ship sinks, you solely have a restricted window to seize no matter you had aboard earlier than it joins your ship on the backside of the ocean. So each time you full an goal, you change into susceptible.
When enjoying solo, attempt to full every voyage as rapidly as doable. Take the shortest route doable and spend as little time as doable on open water. Have a plan in place for what outpost you’ll head to after you utterly your mission and methods to get there rapidly. For those who wind up on the run, your finest guess is to attempt to flip in no matter you’re carrying earlier than you’re killed. Your ship and your life might be changed, however your stuff is not going to be there while you return.
Run darkish
Whenever you’re on their lonesome on a sloop, you’ll want to keep away from battle. Different ships with bigger crews may get pleasure from moving into battle on the excessive seas, however while you’re alone, stealth is the best choice more often than not. Step one to going unnoticed is to douse all of your lanterns so that you’re much less seen at night time. (As we observe in our ship combat guide, it is a good thought it doesn’t matter what).
There are different steps you possibly can take to make your self as invisible as doable. You possibly can conceal from different ships you notice by placing islands between you and them, and you’ll increase your sails while you disembark in order that your ship is much less conspicuous. Take no matter steps you possibly can to make your self harder to identify in all circumstances, and also you’ll reside longer.
All the time be prepared for a fast getaway
Typically talking, each crew is most uncovered when its ship is stopped close to an island. You’re seen to different crews when you’re busy on the island, making it a good time for them to arrange an ambush. Most gamers know that when a crew isn’t aboard their ship, they’re in all probability off gathering helpful stuff value stealing. That’s why it’s essential to take precautions each time you permit your ship to maintain it (and also you) protected.
First, it’s good to follow approaching an island at low pace so you possibly can park near it. As an alternative of zooming in and counting on dropping your anchor, strive reducing your sails as you strategy to glide to a cease in a desired location. Until you’re dealing with storm situations, your stopped boat gained’t drift a lot when you’ve lifted the sails, so that you don’t normally want your anchor to maintain your empty boat from transferring. In reality, you wish to go away your boat with the anchor raised, relatively than lowered, usually. It’s a lot faster to board your boat and drop your sail to make a getaway than it’s to cease and lift your anchor. Leaving your ship together with your sails raised additionally makes it an amazing deal much less seen, and you’ll amplify that impact through the use of the island, rocks, and different pure cowl to cover your self from distant spyglasses.
Whereas on an island, conceal something you wish to convey with you on the seaside however in bushes the place it may possibly’t simply be noticed by anybody passing by, and keep away from loading up till you’re getting ready to go away, so nobody can leap in your ship and steal your stuff when you’re not round to cease them. Lastly, make sure you examine the horizon each earlier than you permit your boat and while you return to it earlier than setting off, so that you don’t get caught by any surprises while you’re not prepared for them.
Agility is one of the best protection
A single-sail sloop strikes slower than a galleon operating at full pace, however a solo sailor has one main benefit towards teams of gamers: You might be far more maneuverable than they’re. To keep away from pursuing ships, rapidly lower your boat between rocks or round islands to place issues between you and would-be attackers, which may make you troublesome or inconceivable to chase though you’re in a slower ship. Your speedy turning is amplified much more at half sail or quarter sail, so follow getting good at adjusting your pace on the fly for peak maneuvering energy.
Your tighter turning radius additionally means enemy ships have a harder time happening the defensive towards you. If the chance arises, strive utilizing a fast flip to ram an enemy ship to trigger them a number of injury (and fewer to you — however be able to do fast repairs). You may be capable to damage the enemy sufficient to gradual them down when you make your retreat. Don’t overlook that dropping your anchor together with your wheel turned may also provide help to carry out a tough, emergency brake-style flip if you’ll want to rapidly change path. It’s additionally nice for rapidly stopping behind a rock or different cowl.
Intention low on offense
Simply since you’re in a comparatively fragile ship doesn’t imply you’re defenseless. The Sloop is usually at a drawback in ship-to-ship fight, however beneath the best circumstances, your sea David can conquer a sea Goliath. On the sloop, cannonballs are stationed on the deck, making it doable to reload rapidly. For those who get in an excellent firing place, you possibly can tear into an enemy ship in a short time, possibly even sink it if its crew isn’t on the ball. Bear in mind when firing on enemy ships that you just wish to attempt to strike them under the water line. Harm on the deck doesn’t do a lot to actually affect a ship’s efficiency, though it’s doable to hit gunners with cannonballs and kill them outright. What you actually wish to do, although, is flood enemy ships. It’ll gradual them down, take crew away from weapons to pressure them to do repairs, and customarily trigger chaos.
For those who’re on the offensive and never in a chase situation, use your elevated maneuverability to get behind the enemy ship, or attempt to circle it, relying on the state of affairs. If you will get the positioning proper, you possibly can maintain your broadside and weapons pointed towards the enemy always, whereas taking away their potential to simply hit you. For those who’re compelled to face their broadside periodically, get off the deck and use that point to go under and restore incoming injury, then return to your weapons after they can’t fireplace again.
Follow drive-by drop-offs
Once more, it’s essential to keep in mind that in case your ship is empty, it’s expendable. You possibly can simply spawn a brand new ship if it will get sunk, dropping solely the time it takes you to sail again to wherever it’s you wish to go. With that in thoughts, if you’ll want to money in some loot when you’re being attacked or chased, don’t be afraid to desert ship with the products in tow as you strategy an outpost island. To do that, get in near the island, maintaining the ship straight and at full sail, then hop off as you close to a seaside or a dock. Attempt to go away from the entrance of the ship when you’re being pursued, as you’ll lower the possibility of somebody noticing that you just’ve deserted ship, and keep underwater so long as you possibly can handle. It’s additionally good to choose outposts the place you already know the places of the seller you’ll want to go to so you may make a beeline in your vacation spot with the loot. The hope is that your pursuers gained’t see you escape and proceed taking pictures at your now-worthless ship, but it surely’s at all times doable that you could be have to dash to the end line.
All the time be stocking
You by no means know when an emergency goes to strike on the seas while you’re alone — or with a crew, for that matter — so it’s a good suggestion to repeatedly examine each island you go to for barrels filled with provides. Maintain your pockets totally stocked whereas on the seas so you possibly can rapidly heal, make repairs, or reload your weapons. When getting ready to disembark, drop off all the pieces you’ve in your shops and replenish your private provides on the island. This manner, you’ll at all times have a ton of provides aboard your ship when you get attacked. A couple of additional planks or cannonballs in a foul state of affairs might be the distinction between escape and a watery grave.
Use storms
Storms make it robust for any ship to go about its standard enterprise, and when you’re dealing with a battle situation, heading towards tough seas may truly save your life. Storms have an effect on steering, screw up compasses, injury hulls, and create large waves that make firing cannons precisely a tricky proposition. Additionally they dump rain on ships that floods their holds with water, albeit slowly. You possibly can usually take care of these issues extra rapidly on a solo run than the massive guys. As such, know storm generally is a great tool that will help you get away in a time of want. Taking some injury from huge waves is preferable to getting blasted with cannons.
Play soiled
Lone pirates are pure assassins and/or burglars. As a single pirate with a small, maneuverable ship, you’re in a really perfect place to sneak aboard different vessels and rob them blind when you’re fast and good. Boarding an enemy ship can confuse an enemy crew that’s not anticipating it, and when you’re in one other ship’s maintain, there are possibilities to do some injury. Many gamers will seize gunpowder barrels from islands, for example, with the plan of utilizing them as depth expenses towards anybody who chases them. For those who discover barrels in an enemy maintain, they change into bombs you possibly can detonate to sink your adversaries and throw them into chaos. However even simply getting aboard and stabbing a number of individuals may be sufficient to mess up the enemy while you want (or need) to create some chaos.
You can even doubtlessly mess with adversaries you don’t wish to full-on tangle with. For those who sneak up on an enemy ship in a location the place you’ll want to be, strive setting their sails and letting their ship sail off with out them. The distraction might be helpful that will help you get what you need, and towards a single participant, it’d ship them away from an outpost or an island you wish to discover, reducing the possibility that you just’ll get killed alongside the best way.
Be prepared to lose
Even while you do all the pieces proper and play good, chances are high, a workforce goes to meet up with you, blast your ship, and kill or sink you. You’re going to lose loot to dangerous circumstances and even accidents. Whether or not it is a crippling frustration or a minor inconvenience that provides to your tales of pirate glory comes right down to your perspective. Sea of Thieves isn’t actually designed to be tackled alone, and even with a full workforce, dropping stuff comes with the territory. This isn’t actually a sport about finishing missions, anyway — it’s a sport in regards to the loopy issues that occur alongside the best way. You’ll have much more enjoyable when you’re prepared to have interaction with the goofy stuff in Sea of Thieves than when you’re mad all of your loot winds up on the backside of the ocean.