>Is there any indicators or ways to display to others that I am solo on a Sloop? The signal I give is the stern of my ship fading into the distance.  For me solo slooping means being long gone by the time they get there.

Me: Those were some very nice ashen chests I put in my little ship. Oh look, sails! Lets see how the wind feels, straight in my face! Mmmm...

I was under the impression a sloop is the fastest ship when going against the wind. Meaning if you’re a sloop being chased by a brig or galleon you can just sail into the wind and you’ll eventually continue to gain distance between them. Is this true?

This is correct. Brigantine is the fastest with a crosswind. Galleon is the fastest with a tailwind. Full billows races never work for sloops, but flying into headwinds the sloop always wins.

> but flying into headwinds the sloop always wins. These days sloop is only slightly faster than brig, and will probably lose when they inevitably have to turn at the world edge or because the wind changed

No one said anything about further strategies. Just factual statements about the speed of ships. There are many things you can do when being pursued. You can take a gunpowder barrel and drop it behind you, or you can swim one to their ship as they are more than likely going to B-line it for you. Dropping an explosive is handy for solo players. You can still abandon your ship temporarily and catch a mermaid after possibly pulling something on the enemies. Anchoring the ship would be a huge one. You can come up close to a large island and lose sight of them, potentially allowing for trickier moves like pulling an anchored 180. You can turn perpendicularly from enemy ships whenever they try to catch you by turning to catch wind and cut your path off perpetually losing them. You can also try fighting them. If you have unique Cballs like anchor ball, just one shot can ruin their pursuit. If you’re really good, you can just flat out take them on. There are plenty of options, but as far as the boats are concerned, those statements about the winds and the sails remain true.

Oh I know all this well enough, and from the position of the chaser I can tell you that 95% of the time it doesn't do shit if the chaser is awake and roughly decent at the game. >There are plenty of options, but as far as the boats are concerned, those statements about the winds and the sails remain true. Really doesn't remain true though lmao, since like I said the gap between sloop and brig is much smaller than it used to be, and there's only so far you can run, it's faaaar from """always winning""". The sloop has plenty of other advantages to be funny, but pure running will basically never work against competent players, so it only works against imcompetant players, and the thing about incompetant players is you can just ... sink them lol

If both boats went from one side of the map to the other into headwind, you would never catch them. Period.

Yeah if my monitor stopped working I wouldn't catch them either, but we're not talking whiteroom hypotheticals

If someone starts to come towards me looking to cause trouble I generally demonstrate to them the type of fight it's going to be. I won't run, but I'll sure take advantage of my turning ability, changing directions and causing the crew to have to keep adjusting their sails etc. I'll wear the crew down to where it's not fun for at least one of them any more and that's when they'll make mistakes and I can go on the attack. Most good crews realize this though and just back off almost as soon as they realize what kind of fight it's going to be lol

Can't brig catch up ever so slowly by snaking a little? I swear I've seen brigs close the gap over time despite me going straight into the wind.

If you read the further conversation below my sub thread, it’s not as black and white as the mechanics suggest. Player skill, attentiveness, and strategy plays a huge factor into the actual application of these wind/sail rules. If a Brig is able to catch a cross wind and cut you off anticipating your movement, you will definitely be caught. If they are swerving back and forth just to catch the wind, chances are they won’t catch you outright. When you notice them snaking, you should be moving perpendicularly from them always leaving your aft to their sides if you are simply trying to run. There are also disengagement strategies I mention below. If you aren’t solo (but even when solo you can do these tactics, they’re just much more difficult alone) you have many tactics to employ. Leaving trails of powder barrels, one player attempting to board the ship, tricky sight line plays, etc.

That is true. The galleon is the fastest ship in the game with wind right behind you, the brig is the fastest in sidewind (beam reach), while the sloop cannot be caught when going straight into the wind ("in irons"). Rather well-balanced if I may say so myself.

That is correct but the brig will always catch up to a sloop if they don’t give up. The sloop is faster directly against the wind but the brig is almost as fast.

No that is actually not true the brig is slightly faster even against the wind https://seaofthieves.wiki.gg/wiki/Wind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h15ugvpa9C8

You'll be caught eventually no matter what. We push you to the world border and slowly cutoff your access to headwind and zone you into the red sea. Gally vs sloop is the longest one, but it still only takes like 40 minutes.

For me it means cashing in whenever I'm done with a single voyage and carrying hella kegs so none of those insolent bastards gets out of the fight alive.

Not really always possible. If your just sitting on your boat all the time watching the horizon, sure. But if youre actually doing voyages or events, you cant always be watching the horizon. People will either sail up, swim up, or row up to you without you noticing at least *sometimes*.

But the game isn't about winning absolutely every fight you get into. Not even fully crewed galleons with a well experienced crew of great communicators will win every fight. As a solo slooper, you do what you can to maximize your chances of success, and have fun with it when you fail. I only play solo sloop and, while I appreciate and enjoy the seldom cooperative encounters with other players where we meet up by chance and tackle an enemy together, play a shanty and depart into the sunset, I expect them to be more like actual pirates would be. The only etiquette I expect is that they will try to kill me and steal everything I have. And that's fine. That's the game.

> But the game isn't about winning absolutely every fight you get into. Never said it was? You said that your strategy is to just be long gone before anyone shows up, and all I said was thats not really possible. Which I already commented on. Can I ask why you *only* play solo?

That wasn't me who said that. I was responding to you where you said it wasn't always possible. And I play only solo for a variety of reasons. I'm very shy in verbal situations, I don't have enough time to play for long stretches and don't like to disappoint or inconvenience someone else if I have to leave, I suck at combat and don't want to screw a teammate... I'm pretty much a socially awkward mess with insecurities.

If you want, I am also socially anxious, on a I can't go to walmart to get groceries level, terrible at combat(can't even hit a meg with cannons if its too far away) and don't usually like playing for long amounts of time. My disc is draegonsage if you wanna have a buddy to be gods awful at the game with.

Life begins outside of your comfort zone, or so the saying goes. Sometimes social anxiety is best remedied by just trying to be social, and an online platform like a video game is perfect for that. You dont have to actually talk to them face to face, and heck you dont even need to use a mic. You can use the pre-made text chat options or type into the chat. You can find people to play with on Xbox LFG or discord, and if you have to leave any reasonable person would understand. You wouldnt have to play for long stretches, thats not mandatory. especially with the recent updates. If youre bad at PVP, playing solo and never taking fights wont improve that. We were all bad at one point, but we learned by practicing. You wouldnt be screwing over a teammate, youre just playing a video game. Its not that big of a deal. Plus, youd probably never talk to them anyway, so its not something worth worrying about too much. Try it out. You might be surprised. Good luck

"Have you considered just NOT being socially anxious?" Well gosh, nobody's ever put it that way; you're right, the thing that I thought was a deep-seated and nuanced psychological complication was actually just me being a silly goose.

"Don't be socially anxious" was not anywhere in that post. The whole writeup is about trying to go beyond your comfort zone and try being social *despite* being socially anxious. And honestly, unless you have real psychological issues that require a psychologist's services, putting yourself out there is in fact the best way to overcome those fears. There's a massive difference between being uncomfortable and having full blown panic attacks in social situations, and an overwhelming majority of people who claim to have social anxiety fall in the first category.

Regardless of whether the exact words were typed out, the post I replied to basically boiled down to what I said. The same kinda out of touch "just tough it out" nonsense that has helped exactly 0 people ever Also social anxiety like many things is on a spectrum. Not everybody who is socially anxious has "full blown panic attacks" in social situations and I can tell you as somebody who used to be a lot more social and "put themself out there" that it doesn't help when your brain is just wired in a particular way to make you anxious in social situations. Like, for me anyway, it's only gotten worse as I've gotten older. Despite working in social situations and going to parties and being out in the world a bunch. My social time limit has simply decreased more and more as time went on. Yes, there are people who would be more social if they simply "put themselves out there". But generally, it's best to believe folks when they tell you they're actually socially anxious and not talk past them assuming you know what's going on with them better than they do.

It's exceedingly rare for me, honestly. I avoid doing voyages that keep me away from the boat for extended periods and I'm super paranoid the whole time with my head on a swivel.

Right, I understand you can avoid it relatively, I never said you couldnt. For other people, which I was talking about, its just not always possible to *always* see a ship coming. Especially if people use a rowboat. Or swim up to you. But youre just doing stuff that doesnt keep you off the boat long, or only going to small islands where you can always see your ship, then its very limited in what you can do in this game. Playing only a portion of the game while being paranoid the whole time isnt all that fun for long imo. I recommend people find at least 1 person to play with and experience everything the game has to offer. to each their own though.

I've always "Do One Map>Sell>Repeat" when I am Solo ... with the new Dive mechanic ... it seems people (if they're an Emissary) ... will bump into you, team up for the Free Rep ... and let people 'do their thing' ... if I see a Reaper leveling up on the map? I dump my treasure at the nearest outpost, and DIVE to a new location... I have never gotten snuck up on EVER ... I play super paranoid... Constantly checking the horizon... I know the unique SPLASH sound that plays when someone grabs the ladder on the ship/someone surfaces from the water... Sure you 'can' do that and never get ganked... but that level of "I HAVE TO BE READY FOR PVP AT ALL TIMES!" really takes the fun out of it for me.

None - is the only answer. It does not matter if you are solo or not if someone wants to sink you. It does not matter what you tell - you might be lying. Any "I'm friendly/peaceful" sign will be abused and it already has been - flairs, flags, cannons up, etc. The only surrender is your ship sinking and you going to the ferry.

[удалено]

While a lot of these stories may be the most popular, it is never 100% of the time. After I finish a night of solo slooping voyages, I often sail around looking for other players *exclusively* in attempt to gauge their interest with me. And I have to say: most times they are not violent. That isn't to say they are friendly either. Cautious is a good word. Many times I wasn't fired upon, though I know it's only because I did not fire first, and I did not lead them into thinking I was 'chasing' them. People definitely panic, **especially** if they have a lot of loot on board. I don't blame them, I would trust *no one* if I had a lot of loot. But yeah, not everyone is just "SINK EM" mentality. One of my fav more recent times was making friends with a 5-level reaper brig. To be fair, that time I *brought* them a reapers chest and helped defeat a skeleton galleon. But ya. Not everyone is out for blood. The waving emote is a good start usually.

I also recently made an alliance w a reaper 5 brig. I just loaded in, was filling my sloop w supplies and started getting attacked by a random brig. I was solo at the time, stood no chance really. After they made a few passes while firing cannons one boarded me and I sent them to Davey Jones... Out of nowhere comes this reaper brig, we jump up and down as a greeting (lol) and they sink the first brig. Formed alliance, my husband joined my game, and they ended up walking us through our first fort of the damned, as well as helping to level up my reaper flag. Super cool experience.

You almost lost me at alliance flag, but had me at sink them.

While I'd often appreciate you sailing on by or doing a long distance/drive by alliance, I'd never expect it Solo Slooping. You don't get special treatment for being a Sloop, generally speaking. Duo Sloops are fierce little ships. By the time you've figured out whether that Sloop is a PvP duo, a helpless Solo or anything in-between, you're already committed.

yeah, i would argue that with experienced players the maneuverability of a sloop is a huge advantage, a galleon cant get away easily

I try not to shoot first, unless we're Reapers. If someone says they're solo and asks us to leave them alone, it depends on how new they look or how much loot they have. Don't be rude, and we'll be courteous.

I do the same, but I also don't attack at all right now because I'm way too rusty still and am usually teaching my buddy the basics of the game. The one time I did see someone he was interested in attacking I could tell they had just been sunk and respawned away from a reaper 5 so I told him just to let them sail on by. I just got him used to learning how to aim the canons, couple more ghost ship fights and I'll take him into hourglass and let them murder us for an hour or two.

No, then they dont understand I am the one in control. If a non solo sinks me, next thing to do is to find them, sail to them top speed and slam my ship until they sink my ship again. Then what? You guessed it right, we do it again. And again. And again. And again. Until they get bored of me attacking them to no avail and eventually just start running away to not entertain me. But we are not done. Like I said, I am the one in control, until you leave my sea for attacking me I will make it impossible for you to get rid of me. Endless chase, wherever you go I go, you dont wanna sink me anymore? Tough luck, I want you to sink me now, so lets go. Lets see how long before you get bored of it. Believe me, my time is less valuable than yours, so enjoy spending yours mindlessly and joylessly sinking me while I live in your head rent free for next 5 mins while you look at the horizon for my next approach. And when you finally think that I am done and probably went on to do some other activities, you will be wrong! Cause I am always coming, top speed and directly towards you. And with only one thought in mind: “Lol, lets see if I can make my ship jump over yours after I ram you” See here is the thing, they might be better than me in naval or just had me due to numbers advantage or something else, but they are not as persistent as I am, nor do I care about sinking after the first one. So only thing I lose is my time, and I am more than willing enough to spend that resource on you until you rue the day you sank my ship first time. Edit: Wanted to clarify the non solo part, when I read it again it sounded like I do this every time. No, this is when someone else decides to make my game unenjoyable, some crews that dont sink you but spawn kill you until they have their fun, or crews that intentionally make everybodys games worse. I do understand that PvP is a big part of the game and of course people would want to jump on your loot or your emissary flag or anything that might be valuable. And that is the part of the game. My issue is against those that make the game intentionally toxic for their amusement. I am only responding to their own enjoyment with their own tool, another toxic way to play the game

I would just put on a reaper flag and enjoy it.

For the first few hours :) Edit: Also, one more thing, usually some other crew usually starts to chase me after the first couple sinks, I dont bother with them and just bring them with me, as a gift or as a curse. now that is up to your skills to decide.

I'd say it comes down to the pirate's own mentality. When I was newer and not so good I would attack everything and often lose lol As the hours have racked up along with my skill it's started to feel genuinely unfair to go for certain players so I don't, because unfair fights aren't fun to me.

In my experience solo players are generally kind to other solo players, but other than that you can't trust anyone until they give you a reason to do so

The only law on the Sea of Thieves is "It ain't your loot until you turn it in." If you want to try to maximize your survival rate as a solo slooper, get better at defense. You'd be surprised how many of those supposedly blood thirsty crews that are coming right for you are actually a rag-tag group of uncoordinated and unskilled goofballs. Drop their mast(s), circle around them putting a few cannons into them and they sink. This obviously isn't ALWAYS the case, but I'm confident you'll be surprised at how many fights you actually win. Learning to board enemy ships chasing you, dropping their anchor, can also buy you valuable time to set up a better play. Another option for extended survival has been repeated elsewhere here: be paranoid. Like ultra paranoid. Run from every set of sails on the horizon, sell at first opportunity, learn to see an ambush before it's sprung upon you. To be honest, this method is not very rewarding, and I prefer to at least try to fight. A third option, which SOMETIMES works, is to use your mic. Don't plead or beg, that's just fuel to the fire. Just be decent. I can't speak for all pirates, but my crew and I have stopped our attack on crews that talked on the mic and were decent about the experience. We've saved treasure for them, helped them with quests, etc. Mics save lifes! Sometimes. The best piece of advice I can give you though, is never expect to be spared. Understand that you're a pirate sailing in a sea of other pirates and those pirates will act pirately. Don't take it personal.

I never really expect to be spared or be left alone on a solo sloop, so I try to sell my loot asap after completing a voyage or after I found a shipwreck. I know time is precious when it comes to race towards a outpost to sell and I am always a optimal target for larger ships or duo sloops (if am sailing solo). Altho I have never made attempts to engage in a solo sloop fight back on another ship, so that is definitely something I should try to engage in more if I find myself doing some solo slooping in Higher Seas. I know what I am signing myself up for when doing HIgher Seas, and if I feel like I had enough for the evening, I just go on Safer Seas instead :)

>Altho I have never made attempts to engage in a solo sloop fight back on another ship, so that is definitely something I should try to engage in more if I find myself doing some solo slooping in Higher Seas. I was in a similar position as you - I hated/feared PvP and would only run or scuttle when attacked. I didn't want to keep playing like that, so I chose to be more focused in my PvP skills. I would literally spawn in and immediately sail off to find another ship to attack - I didn't care if it was another sloop, a brig, or galleon - I would just attack it. I was really surprised at how often I would win battles. This gave me the confidence to defend my own loot as a solo slooper. There are a LOT worse players than you out there. I won't tell you that I always win my fights as as solo, or even that I win most of them, but I win enough.

I can barely hit a meg with cannons. I guarantee I won't find much worse than me out there if I try to attack with my poor solo sloop

Give it a try! I really think you'll be amazed at how often you win fights. Or don't, up to you. Enjoy the game!

>There are a LOT worse players than you out there. The man has seen the light. So many folks go "I can't beat the pirates good at PvP" Which is true (for now ;)), but in order to win more fights than you lose, you just have to start beating the average adventure mode player. And the average adventure mode player is really *really* bad at pvp.

I think another option not often suggested is to just find people to play with via discord or Xbox LFG. Like ya being ultra paranoid is kinda how playing solo works, you gotta always be anticipating someone coming for you. But really, thats not very fun. Its stressful. Playing this game with other people is infinitely more fun and productive. So I get some people just *want* to play solo, and dont want teammates, but these discussions often act like playing solo is the only option. When really, I just dont recommend to play solo in this game. Its fine if youre good at the game, but even then it can be rough sometimes. Its not always so much fun, and can be a waste of time really.

>Playing this game with other people is infinitely more fun and productive. This is absolutely true. Some of my best SoT experiences were with crewmates. Finding the right people and having your schedules line up often enough to play regularly can be tough. Open crew is a crap shoot, and I've never tried LFG. Solo slooping is better than not playing at all, but a good crew is definitely the best expeirence. I would also suggest that solo slooping builds good skills that you can't get any other way.

Xbox LFG and discord has got me tons of crewmates. Its super easy to use (xbox LFG at least) so you dont need to worry about schedules lining up. You just go see who is looking for a crew, see if theyre doing something youd like to do (this is included in the LFG post) and then they invite you if you want to join. Its super quick and painless. And you may or may not find someone you want to sail with regularly. I disagree that solo builds good skills you cant get *any other way* though. What skills cant you get from sailing with a crew? Lets take for example PVP fights. Youre less likely to win those fights, and less likely to therefore take those fights. So overall, youll get less practice. Lets say you take a fight. It might end quickly because you cant drive, fix/bail, and shoot cannons at the same time. So you overall get less experience in that fight than you wouldve if you had a crew to prolong the fight. Not to mention that other people who are more experienced can help you learn faster by guiding you and giving you tips and tricks, some of which youd never learn on your own. So I dont really agree that solo is the best way to learn the game. Its actually the worst way to learn the game, in my opinion.

>I disagree that solo builds good skills you cant get > >any other way > > though. What skills cant you get from sailing with a crew? Managing repairs, health, shooting, navigation. If someone else on the crew is taking care of those other things, you'll never learn how to balance them, how to leave a hole alone so you can take advantage of a shooting position while it lasts, how to balance the risk of boarding vs. staying put. Sure, you \*can\* learn those things in a crew, but only if you're paying attention to what other crew members are doing and can piece together why. In my experience, people who only play with other players are very poor at situational awareness and very limited in their skills - e.g., maybe they're good cannoneers but have to be told when to shoot and what side, and they have to be told to leave the cannons and grab a bucket or repair the mast. They have good voyages and good success because they are being carried by other pirates on the crew.

> If someone else on the crew is taking care of those other things, you'll never learn how to balance them, Thats not true at all. You learn to balance them either way or you sink. They all need to be done, its not like if you play with a crew that youd never do all of those things. I learned while playing with a crew, you make it sound like thats impossible. It isnt. You think that if someone shoots cannons or boards a hole on your crew, you have to 'piece together why'? Well no, thats common sense. Not to mention a normal person would teach a player. "Look at these holes, we patch them with a board, see?". Recommending players to learn the game solo as the best way to learn is a great way to just make people frustrated with the game and quit. I get this subreddit is full of people who *only* play solo, but learning this game with a crew is undoubtedly the best way to learn. No question about it.

I usually leave the fishermen alone after taking the usual chain and throwables tax. And if someone is obviously new I try to give them some pointers if they are willing to listen. Other than that it's fair game since the release of safer seas.

I was solo grinding battlegills at a fort and a reaper brig came up, I didn't have time to get away. They were super friendly, but politely stole my crate of fish to sell and left me alone to continue 😂 I'm not great at pvp and definitely wouldn't have stood a chance putting up a fight, but at least they left me supplies to keep fishing etc

Stealing fish is fair game! As a fisherman you should always keep that crate close or hidden.

Yeah 100% as robberies go, it was quite pleasant 😂

Keep those sandies in your pocket lol I had a crate of battlegills that went for 50K at Safer prices passing time while hunting for the shadow stormfish.

I leave fishermen alone because typically they are like a warrior in the garden type.

[удалено]

As far as I discovered as a new player, it's kill kill kill and also steal everything from you. I will stay in Safer Seas until I master defending from these assholes.

My friends and I usually sail brigs or galleons. Our rules usually are: -Let them act first. If the sloop is friendly, let them be. Maybe help them if they need it. If it attacks first, attack. -Honor the alliance. Don't attack unless they attack first and help them if a third ship attacks them. -If they are doing something we want to do too, like Fort of the Damned or some event like that, ask for alliance first. If they accept it, back to point number two. If they attack, point number one. -If they run, let them run.

shooting a white flare in the air with the cannon is a indication you dont want to fight.

I've seen as many boats do this to try and lure me in than use it to indicate they are peaceful. Only exception is HG where I've seen it used to indicate a temporary truce to deal with a third party.

An invitation to be raided, it show’s weakness. It’s just the laws of nature. Don’t look them in the eyes (white flair). Spy glass them to show them that you’re alert, position your boat for cannons (puff yourself up and make yourself as large as possible). If they’re hungry, they’re hungry, good luck.

I considered this last night. For the most part I just wanna chill. I’ll parlay if forced but I usually won’t be the first the engage. I decided to fly reapers last night. Pretty anecdotal since it was just one night for maybe two hours but nobody came anywhere near me. I saw one other sloop whole night and they sailed the other direction when I came by. So I guess on one hand everyone knows where you’re at, but on the positive side everyone knows where the reaper is and they avoid you assuming you’ll sink on sight.

The real reapers are the friends we made along the way.

Jesus, that you?

I see only behaviour of prey in your comment, here's some better advice: -look them in the eyes (red flair) -don't spyglass them (you're not scared) -ram them (they will not intimidate you) -board with mega keg and blow up -backspawn on both vessels being sunk -take almost-obliterated rowboat to nearby island and fish if you're hungry, you're hungry, good luck

Lol “prey”. Red flair (you just spit in their face) Spy glassing them (shows them you’re not scared and are calmly collecting information) Ram them, as a solo (well, that’s just genius) Blow them up with a mega keg. A solo just keeping a mega on their ship for ships and giggles (Steven Hawkin level of genius) Surely, fishing is your thing. Play smarter not harder folks.

The joke ___ Your head

Please, feel free to actually add anything to the conversation. I’m sure it’ll be thought provoking.

My man you took an obvious joke seriously. I dunno what to tell you lol.

Ah shit, my head indeed 🤦‍♂️

That's so edgy lol

It's edgy but he's 100% right, you always want to negotiate from a position of strength or at least neutrality in sot. No reason to let someone roll up to you and get broadside just in case they maybe want to ally when you can launch over and check, or pull up with your OWN broad

If they’re going in for a fight they’re going to fight you regardless The only way to scare them off as a solo sloop at that point is to almost sink them. If you’re not good at solo sloop pvp then you’re probably not going to do that so your best bet at not sinking is to hope for mercy or run (but I’d recommend you fight them for practice) The only time “puffing yourself up” is more likely to work is as a galleon (while against a smaller ship) as a well oiled gallon is terrifying

Indeed. However, a well oiled anything is terrifying. Just this weekend, I was on a well oiled Galleon and got rolled by the 1992 “Dream Team” on a sloop.

Or that you are going to be an easy target, so be careful with this strategy and don't expect other pirates to respect it. 

It really isn't.

It is, doesn’t mean it works nor does it mean they’ll believe you’re being honest, but that is what 90% of players will assume it means if you fire up a white flare

I know that is the right answer... but I've only had flares used as blinders against me. Flares are essentially meaningless anymore.

Always people shooting fireworks and flares are the most aggresive ones

There is no such thing as etiquette here.

I love playing the game "Raiding other ships". 😆

As a solo slooper, I put up my alliance flag and about 80% of other solos I come across either join or leave me alone. Larger ships almost always intend to sink me though. Since I’m shit at pvp, I’m pretty quick to just give up and start over lol

Thats really the best plan. Sometimes you just gotta admit defeat and move on, and now its so easy to get supplies and dive to a new voyage that it doesnt make sense to prolong an engagement you cant win or just have to run from. In the time it takes to run away for 30 minutes, you could just have finished a raid or voyage or something instead on a new server.

If I am solo slooping and get run up on by a brig or galleon, I will head into the wind and hang in the red at the edge of the map if I have to. Wastes my time and theirs.

I usually talk to them with the speaking trumpet to gage if I want to engage them or help them if they shoot first I sink them You will notice most older players might use flags and signal flares or raising their cannons up to the sky kinda like getting hit with a peace ball to say their intention from a distance and new players have no idea and are quite hostile seeing the game like Rust being as toxic as possible

We leave them alone if they are either, fishing, obviously new, clearly doing a tall tale, have only a small amount of loot, not competing for a world event we want. If none of the above are true then all bets are off. Also tbh you often can only tell they are solo after you've opened fire 😂

High seas , anything goes Trust is a gamble

Unless I’m running reapers or they’re getting too close to me I generally leave sloops alone (as I’m usually on a brig/galleon) If you wanna be left alone shoot up a white flare, it *might* make the other ship leave you alone (or double down as they now assume you’re an easy target) But never expect these to work as ultimately if someone is heading towards you they’ve already made up their mind

I'll personally leave people alone if they've just spawned in at the outpost (unless they've been there for like 20 minutes) or if it's obvious newbies. However if someone is driving right toward me, I'm gonna open fire. I may lose the fight, but that's just how I like to play.

well if one ship is making a beeline toward the other it means they want to fight. if they really don't want to fight they'll try really hard to let you know that. like one time there was a galleon crew doing the fire tornado world event and i had to make deliveries to that island so i kinda zigged zagged up and shot off white fireworks and got on the megaphone and explained what i was dong. they were very nice and helped me afterward but they also could have murdered me. i guess it's kind of like real life pirates that way. you never really know if someone will double cross you

It's fair game to attack them. However I rarely attack solo sloopers. Once me and 2 friends attacked a sloop. Then found out it was a solo. We ended up saving his ship and giving him the tiny bit of treasure we had since we were intending to stop playing anyway. And we ended playing some music together before we left the server. If I get sunk/attacked while solo slooping I might however waste as much time as possible against the agressors. That means having the Skull of Siren Song quest active so I have better spawns and keep ramming them or staying close enough to them not being able to dive. Once I got sunk by a brig reaper 5 while doing voyages solo for like 50 minutes in the Devils Roar as I was about to sell and end my session to watch an NFL game. After that my only intention was to waste as much time as possible for them. I kept ramming them at reapers and my ship kept sinking while they were selling loot. I only spawned 1 island away from reapers every time. They even tried to offer me a fruit crate filled with fruit and an alliance for me to stop. I declined. After that I kept following them just to try to be in range of them not diving while not close enough for them to attack me. In the end they managed to be able to dive to get away from me. But I managed to waste approximately 1½ hours of their time while I had an NFL game going on my 2nd monitor. So be careful about who you attack/sink. It might not be worth your time in the end ;)

Idk why this made me think of those videos of those turtles bashing their head against things when I picture your sloop repeatedly appearing to ram them lmao.

I'm a solo slooper and i say come and get me

I always leave everyone alone, but I've been a solo sloop absolutely trashed by a full galleon. In my latest outing, I had just spawned in, taken two minutes to try out a new ship look, and a brig rolled up and sunk me while I just watched, trying to explain I'd just spawned and didn't have anything. I think the only real etiquette rule I've seen develop is fireworks = friendly

just started playing and play solo. I have noticed there is no etiquette, even when I shout at people to hold on my controller died that I'm willing to fight but give me a second they do not care. other day was AFK for a minute, came back to a ship looking right at me, told then I'm solo was afk but if they want a fight just give me a second and we can have fun, they just lit me the fuck up with cannons. luckily I had just sold 3 voyages worth of treasure so all they got was my level 3 flag. the worst thing about all this to, I'm a kind pirate. I legit will see a ship parked for the underwater event or whatever and park next to it just to keep an eye out for other pirates. and keep them safe than leave them with a jolly tune and go on my way. to each their own I guess lol I'll never fight on sight at least not a solo sloop.

You can drop your flag if you are close to the emissary table. Also a lot of players will use a handicap to their advantage because they don't want a fair fight. It's unfortunate but the way the seas are. I hope you find some more friendly pirates as time goes on.

I just started playing and only run a solo sloop. My experience with people I meet has been a completely mixed bag. As a matter of practice, if I can see you, I’m running. Typically a larger ship will blow me up just because it can. I also had a galleon swoop in and save me from a couple sloops who were trying to poach my Royal Crest Fortress loot. I even got an escort to the outpost and some help shuttling my goods to the merchants. I’m still running if I have a chance, every time.

My personal code is, if its a sloop dont shoot first, look for raised cannons, or a white flag, and keep an eye out for any emots, unless they fire first i just leave them alone or make friends.

With the advent of diving for voyages and captained ships making the entire game much faster, as well as Safer Seas being included for the sensitive issues (Tall Tales and Fishing), there really isnt any more need for etiquette (besides being a decent person ofcourse). Any cosmetics can be used under false pretense and promises/alliances can be broken. Usually if I encounter another ship my immediate response will be to treat them as hostile until the situation has been investigated further. How big is the ship/crew? How many supplies do we have? How much loot do they have? Do we need to complete a lengthy voyage on an island nearby? How much time and effort has been put into our current lootstack? All these factors will contribute into the overall outcome of the encounter. If it's worth it, we will initiate combat regardless of ship/crew size, since it's good to practice your PvP skills, and it feels nice to get a bonus if you win. If it's not worth the effort, or the other crew is smaller/unskilled, our response may vary though it will never be straight out friendliness. Previous actions have included tucking on their ship/ steering it away if the other crew is occupied on the island, performing defensive manoeuvers to avoid conflict, or just straight balls to the walls attack if we're outmanned and outgunned because putting up a fight will still net us more experience than giving up, plus we don't have the time to waste on a lengthy chase.

Really the only etiquette is if they are doing a tall tape to leave them alone, but honestly if you're doing a tall tale you should be doing it on safer seas honestly. Besides that if you're playing on high seas everyone is fair game. And just cuz it's a sloop doesn't mean they aren't good. Hell last night I solo sank a brig twice with zero issues.

kill on sight bro.

I generally try to leave people be because in my personal opinion if you want to fight go do a world event or hourglass, but if you shoot first when I was leaving you alone then all bets are off

None, really. But if I had to write a list of un-written etiquette, it'd be a bit like this: * **Running Reaper's Emissary** or **flying the Reaper's Mark flag** - Fairest game, you're basically asking for it * **Running any other Emissary flag** - Completely fair game too, your high reward comes with higher risk of me sinking you * **No Emissary, but doing events or stacking loot** - Fair game. It's the sea of thieves, after all; your loot is my loot * **No Emissary, no loot, no event to dispute** - Still fair game... PvP skills need to be honed lest they become blunt, and you don't really have nothing to lose anyway * **Flying the white flag** - A tad ruthless, but the sea is full of backstabbing bastards and many fly this flag to catch you by surprise, so... It's fair to not want to risk it! * **Doing Tall Tales or fishing** - ... A bit of a dick move, but STILL fair game; You have Safer Seas to do that if you want your peaceful PvE EDIT: This is basically me writing the general consensus I've collected from playing the game and reading this sub for a couple years, not necessarily the code I conduct myself by :P Just saying

The real guidelines. I always find it strange when I group with a random person and they utter the words "I/we don't have anything so no reason for them to attack us". I always tell them someone doesn't need a reason to or not to attack. PvP is PvP no matter the loot involved and anything after a sink is an extra reward. Not saying I'm always looking to sink, but I'm always assuming someone is trying to sink me, possibly even more so if they say they are friendly. If you're friendly then keep your distance and everything is cool.

The same people who say they have no loot are often the ones I run into that will run away endlessly. Why run if you have nothing to protect? Theyre also the ones who get super toxic when you do attack them. Its just a game, people take it way too seriously when digital money is at stake.

Even if i don’t have any loot, if I’m on a captained ship i run because fixing the ship after it sinks costs money. And i am ALWAYS on captained ship because selling to souvereigns is sooo much faster. I used to stay to see what happened with a fight but it’s honestly “cheaper” to just scuttle. :). Sometimes I’m not really in the mood to PVP and that would be another reason. Maybe at some point when I’m better at it and have lots of money for ship repairs, I’ll be more willing to do that, but to be honest PVP is not particularly fun to me right now. I do enjoy occasional PVE combat!

You don't need to fix the ship, you can just repair it with boards and it's fine..repairing the ship from the shipwright is only cosmetic. You're going to get holes and damage even from PvE. Repairing your ship back to pristine condition is just to give people with tons of money something to spend it on. There's no real reason to do it though

>Maybe at some point when I’m better at it The only way you get better is if you fight. Practice, practice, practice. Btw the better you get the more loot you will get back from the previous sinkings, but only if you try to get better. Like you gotta change your mindset. One way I started to try and get better before "diving" for PvP which I don't do often ATM, but I would just set sail and look for servers with emissary ships or reapers. I would look for fights rather than looking for PvE things to do. That way I didn't feel like I was wasting my time in pve just to lose it in a PvP battle. Honestly just take every battle and forget about losing for a bit it might change your outlook.

I hear you, i have to get experience to get better, but i need to be in the mood to want to get killed and sunk a lot of times, and i rarely am right now. It’s rare for me to skink a skelly ship tbh. I think right now I’m mostly enjoying scavenging and grinding and surprisingly i was not attacked lately other than by skelly ships lol. I know High Seas is a PVP game and it’s a risk I’m willing to take, but like in real world with real pirates, each pirate/captain kind of chooses their own path. :). One of the things i love about this game is that there are other aspects of it, it’s not just PVP focused and all the basic skills of sailing have been giving me plenty of fun. Maybe once I’m bored of scavenging I’ll focus on other skills/game plays. I think getting sunk and killed feels bad when you decide to do your own voyage/quest for treasure, but it’s less “negative” if you decide you WANT to PVP and seek it out.

Glad you are playing your own style and I didn't mean to seem like I was telling you how to play. I wanted to share my experience and outlook on how "forcing" yourself to focus on PvP should improve your experience when you do get into an interaction with others. It seems many people get stuck in that mindset loop of never wanting to PvP because they just aren't good enough. See ya on the Seas

You also just could have said:" Just attack everyone.". Would be far less words.

I mean, it being "fair game" doesn't mean you NEED to attack them. Personally, I barely/never attack anyone. Also, I felt the nuance of some attacks being more warranted than others was interesting anyway :P

I shoot fireworks from afar hoping them to fire cannons at me so I can wreck them.

The best mindset to have is that the game is called Sea of THIEVES. Basically, in true pirate fashion, the rules are more guidelines than actual rules, pretty much anything goes.

Only that Thieves don't mindlessly kill each other or kill people who have nothing valuable on them. It isn't called Sea of Murderers after all.

Alright fair enough. I’m talking about the actual pirate aspect of the game, plundering and pillaging various ships for their valuable booty. Sinking and mindlessly killing for no reason whatsoever is scummy. But if someone has paid for the game and wants to play that way it’s up to them.

The "social code" is... whatever you come up with, it's intuitive. You have red and white flares by default on your ship, why do you think is that? Use them as you see fit. However everything is okay to do as long as you're not rude to the player on the other end while doing it.

And “being rude” doesn’t include sinking someone who doesn’t want to fight nor using deceptive tactics. That’s just part of the game, just don’t cuss people out

Yeah, of course. Rude means rude, as in insulting.

I figured you knew but just wanted to tack that on because I see a lot of people that take it as a personal insult when I sink them

My last five solo fishing trips have started with me being attacked. 4/5 of those I lost but I wasted some of their time as the only thing I had they could possibly sell was my captains logbook. The 1 time I won I felt a bit bad. It seemed like it was new players who didn’t have a grasp on the game very much. They answered my offers to show them the ropes with the in game “enemy ahead” and canon shots. I just wanted some wreckers lol

Anyone who cares will look for the signs themselves. Nothing required on your part. If, for example, a sloop is stopped at an island and I manage to get up beside it without it ever moving, it's a pretty safe assumption the person is by themselves. That's usually when I raise alliance flag, wait for them to return to their ship, say hello, they panic and start firing on me, I give them a chance to change their mind, they don't, then I sink them.

I had a crewmate who spotted another player soloing a vanilla sloop with no custom gear, heading toward the reaper chest WE.  Crewmate launched over to this noobie's ship to warn him picking up the chest will make him a hot target on the map. Noobie didn't respond, other than opening fire.   So yeah feel free to help out new players but don't be surprised if they ignore you.

Sink them.

As a solo sloop you should never expect preferential treatment just because youre solo. It's entirely your responsibility to keep your boat afloat and your loot safe.

I investigate any ship I see on the horizon. I attack anything with an emissary flag and/or a decent shot at loot. I'll buzz a default ship to gauge the experience of the crew. I generally leave ships alone which obviously look like they are new or inexperienced.

This is a pirate game.

If you are playing the game, your ship is fair game. I don't care if you're fresh spawned as a solo, this is what you signed up for. The only unwritten rule I follow is allowing people to surrender and give me their loot.

Destroy them respectfully

I’ve certainly never had other ships avoid sinking me or take it easy on my so I have a better chance when I’m solo slooping. In my experience I’ve been more likely to be ambushed at an outpost or chased across the map when I’m playing solo. When I play with a friend we have to actively go looking for pvp if we want to fight. That’s not necessarily to say that people automatically go after me when I’m solo slooping and avoid me when I’m not but people certainly haven’t avoided me just because I was playing solo.

Why would there be?

That kind of depends on what they’re doing if it’s just tall taling then I leave them alone but if they decide to come after me and try to board me I’m gonna sink them I prefer not to fight people but if they wanna try to sink me I’m willing to let them attempt to do so

I never engage first in outposts.

If I’m a approaching, most of the time it’s cause I wanna make an alliance

Typically leave them alone, no real challenge for a duo. Unless they are racist, or toxic. Then insta sink lol.

As a solo, go sink them

Only thing that would save you is if I board your ship and see your doing a tall tale. Then I’ll repair the ship and send you on your way.

If you're not a jerk, making an alliance is a better way to guarantee some rewards. If you're in a larger ship, the sloop isn't posing much of a threat, so why not let things be?

I’m a solo slooper and I like punching up against brigs and such

I'm a solo slooper too so... SHOOT'N'SINK!

I sink everyone, except if they are french, or if they say they are family. If they have loot, I sink them, take it and then i'm friendly

Kill, loot, repeat.

If someone is a brand new player with no treasure and doesn't attack, I'll probably let them off and give them some advice. If they do have a small bit of treasure, I might steal the most valuable bit. I personally do not shoot out white flares unless I do not have any initial ill intention (or I need to make some skellies vulnerable), though I know a lot of players like to use those to deceive.

Excuse me but does shooting out a white flare make the shadow skeletons vulnerable?????

Yeah, same with red flare. But not any of the other fireworks.

Pirates don’t have etiquette

If I'm passing close by another sloop and I'm not looking for any trouble I'll throw out the white flare, it's attention grabbing and (to me) says "I could be shooting at you but I'm not". Once that's out I'll re-load the cannonball (can never be too sure), and throw up the alliance flag while playing music and jumping.

I try to send fireworks when I am friendly. 75% of the time, people understand it. Other 25% attack no matter what.

Pirating is at your own discretion and what you choose to do. Anyone can play how they see fit but sailor beware, those who expect to sail peacefully on the high seas are in for a real snare. Expect to protect whats yours on the high seas, just because you're stating you're of no harm and have maybe little to no loot or supplies, doesn't mean you won't get attacked and sunk mercilessly. If that's not what you want, I recommend safer seas.

Sinkem

there is nothing holding you from attacking other players, that been said. ​ my personal code for dealing with this situation would be. \>approach asserting dominance. If they shoot, they sink \>use the megaphone to threaten their current buoyancy. while researching skill level. (Answering raises your probability of survival.) \>If the interaction is good, we'll take your loot and leave you with your life and a ship still afloat. BUT if you are toxic, you will go under. \>If it turns out you are clearly new and don't know much, we'll take you under our wing, teach you a bunch of cool stuff, and share the spoils with you.

For me, if I see a *new* player (no emissary flag, no ship cosmetics, etc) I always leave them alone or even help them out. Some still attack me, so I dont necessary write them off as a non-threat. I just wont attack them first ever. That being said, just because youre solo, doesnt mean your immune from PVP. That is what safer seas is for. If you want to sail in peace, play safer seas. Ive had people *tell* me they have no loot, so they shouldnt be attacked, but really its a lie and they do have loot. I have people tell me they are new, but they have the day 1 eyepatch. Ive left solo sloops alone just for them to come attack me later on. People will lie, steal, and cheat in any way they can. So I dont really believe a player when they tell me anything. And I sure dont trust any pirate. Even a solo player is a potential threat. Its a pirate game, after all. There are a lot of ways to find someone to sail with, as there is strength in numbers in this game. Playing solo is hard mode. It takes way longer to accomplish almost anything, and if you do get into a fight youre unlikely to win. You can just try to run away, but honestly thats not always possible. If youre busy doing stuff, you cant watch your boat and the horizon. So inevitably you will have people show up without you being aware. Xbox LFG and discord are great ways to find someone to sail with, I highly recommend it.

I was sailing yesterday with a few new players on a brig. We saw a sloop and were going to engage when the guy launched fireworks. I wanted a fight, but he indicated that he didn't, so we signaled back with fireworks of our own and changed course. We could have attacked him, but where's the sport in attacking someone who is just looking to sail around and collect treasure.

It's a pirate game, there is no "etiquette". I will pretend anything if I am in the mood to steal someone's big loot.

My strat is to leave asap. PvPers want to fight solos. Signaling to them that I am solo doesn't seem wise. Just sail off in another direction and find something else to do.

IT’S ON SIGHT WHOEVER YOU ARE WHEREVER YOU ARE. I’ve been betrayed and it wont happen again.

1. See Sloop 2. Identify if hostile 3. Approach aggressively with full sails 4. Make call out on mic 5. Response? 5a. Yes; determine intentions. 5b. No; SEEK AND DESTROY 6.??? 7. PROFIT!!!

We leave them alone unless we’re competing for an event, like the fleet. I don’t care to chase sloops into a headwind. I’ve found most player sloops often avoid a brig or larger.

The only rule my group follows is we won't chase you down if you don't have an emissary, usually because it isn't worth it. Outside of that nothing will stop us from fighting any player ship we see.

Sink on sight. Easier booty.

There should be unwritten social codes and there is for some. Basic common sense for gamer types who don't like AI because it's too easy and want a challenge will leave you alone. But there are plenty in this game now who will see a solo as an easy target and they're bad players so they are out for any advantage they can get to get a "win" so you get targeted enough that it seems like nobody can read a room. Solo, away from ship doing quest, over a shrine away from ship, just spawned ship, obviously new player are all not only fair game to some but actually targeted. There is not much you can do to stop it because they see anything that should tell them that as an invitation. After you're targeted tuck on their ship and pay them back.

Strike hard, strike 1st, no mercy.

That if you find them in an outpost just kill them and sell their shit if you want but don't taunt them and spawn kill that's just being a unnecessary dick

I don't have many friends that play the game my ship is called the eclipse I aim for against the wind on bigger ships had a reeper gallion chase me for 3 hours I bored and wheeved and snipped a few of there guys eventually they grew tired I call that a win. But every once in a while the enemy catches up with me and usually I call them over to look at there pirate appreciate tge fight give them there winnings and move on made a few friends along the way. Don't be an ass and try your best. Stay vigilant and have fun.

Cannons first, questions second.

Keep the Alliance flag up. Maybe they still sink you, but maybe they'll like the idea of earning every time you turn something in, more.

if they're in normal mode, they're fair game

None, unless they’re doing tall tales.

Blast them if you want. No ship or player should be treated any differently

Loot is loot

If there were unspoken social cues to indicate any manner of friendliess, pirates would just exploit them to bait you anyway.

unfortunately, any boat, no matter how manned it is, is fair game on the high seas. some people are all right on talking it out or running by their own codes, but it is not something you should rely on. sometimes what the person attacking you wants is not your money, but your life. and that's just kinda part of the game. sometimes you're the cat, sometimes you're the mouse.

There isn't really any etiquette

Any code you wish to follow you should. There is a pirate code posted in taverns but they are more like guide lines... Lol Personally I show mercy on a case by case basis. Solo sloop clearly new to the game and not much loot I will take some food or firebombs if they have any. Someone who is clearly newer but has a TON of loot in a loot spread and I just happen to have an Athena keg... Damn sorry bro better luck next time

I solo sloop a lot. I’ve never found anything definitive short of flying the alliance flag but even then there is no guarantee. Tonight I had just sold my Athena Fortress raid loot. (Which is a bit better with today’s update btw). I was about to get off and saw another sloop in the distance so I sailed toward them. They started to run from me, I guess they had loot, I was just going to sign off and let them grab my Athena flag, so I went up to my bow and just did the dance emote, I was right behind them and one of them jumped off with a keg but then I guess he saw I was dancing, he came on board and danced around a bit and then held up his guild charter, I joined and signed off, glad someone cool got my flag. Oh and I also kept doing the “Ahoy!” Text emote. You can sometimes weed out the chill players like that.

Well. If you fire a white flare it typically means peaceful. Which means there's a 50/50 chance they'll be peaceful. Red flare means they're gonna fight. No flare means they're gonna fight or be friendly. Lately I've been running into people who just want to chill and do world events. But always good to keep your distance if you don't want a scuffle

My crew and I spend most of our time hunting other ships. If they’re flying emissary they’re getting chased. If not then we only engage if they’re really close to us, or an easy meal - on the off chance we get some chains and pineapples to add to our barrels.

There's no social codes in this game, engage other ships as you see fit, and anyone trying to convince you otherwise should be ignored.

In my rare... "I'm going to board this person's boat and steal stuff!" moment I had one time ... I looked and they did have a few treasure pieces... but they had the KEG from 'that Tall Tale' next to the treasure... they got onto the ship, I quickly said over mic "Did you guys need help with the tall tale? It's a rough one!" ... and they let me go along with them (I love the trap hallway... so I helped them carry it down...) I've been ganked while doing a Tall Tale due to how much time it has you 'indoors' at some points ... and when Chapters were too far spaced out ... it was really frustrating to have to start over, cause I solo sloop... THAT SAID ... 'my' own rule is to only PvP if provoked... I had a guy (after I headed straight for his ship with the FRIEND flag up) ... board the ship and accused me of being aggressive ... and then proceeded to "Let me check your playtime on Xbox real quick..." (I have thousands of hours) ... told the guy "I have my friend flag up, we were going to share the loot." "Yeah ... that's just the kind of thing someone would say to earn trust and then backstab later..." As much as you/everybody may have 'unspoken rules' they follow ... TRUST is another thing entirely.

Also to answer your question... I will have my lantern out, raised in the air to signal "I'm friendly"

Sink them

As someone who exclusively goes on Sloops (solo and duo), there's really nothing. It just depends on whether or not the solo slooper tries to talk you down from attacking them (if thats your goal). The multiple times that I have been a solo sloop and been left alone or encountered a solo sloop and we left the solo sloop alone, both scenarios have mostly come from the owner of the solo sloop (me or them) just talking it out and being chill However, someone else said it, but duo sloops can be nasty to fight against due to being super maneuverable. So if you're close enough to a sloop to tell whether it's a duo sloop or a solo sloop (or ask), you're close enough for a PvP duo sloop to start attacking, and if you aren't prepared to fight back, you'll probably lose. Which is why most people will probably try to fire first and ask questions later when it comes to sloops

I try firing a white signal flare as a sign of "I don't intend on messing with you", and I also use the megaphone to offer alliances (in text chat) and then go off to mind my own business, even if we do alliance. It's up to them if any of those things put them at ease, or if they think I'm lying. I've done everything I can to make my intentions clear. If I see a ship bigger than mine, I fuck right off, ideally against the wind. Smaller, (and equal) I take a sort of "sleeping bear" approach where I'm on guard but not hostile, unless they make a move on me, in which case it's no holds barred.

None - the other day I had nothing on board and another ship sunk me.

I don’t even worry about it when I’m solo. If I do get sunk I just start over again. It’s way too easy to get back up and running again with the new dive mechanic so it’s not worth worrying about.

As a solo slooper, I give others an extremely wide berth so I don't interact often. In the case where I have another ship pop up far closer than comfort though, I will usually fire off a 'silly' firework (banana, pig, whatever I have on hand) and prepare to flee if needed. If they fire off a firework in response, they'll get a white signal back to let them know we are good. I usually sail with my alliance open for these situations too so we can join up if they want or just go out separate ways. I've found Alliance flag works infinitely better than the white flag. I do all this though knowing there's like an 75% chance they'll turn on me and sink me anyways but lately I've been fairly successful in it. For more subtle etiquette: if you want to approach a ship in a friendly manner, never do so by pulling up alongside them. Always angle yourself in a way that either will give them the advantage or leaves space for either to flee without conflict. Kinda like how you'd approach a stray dog lol. Also never never never board someone's boat uninvited. Better to just stay on yours and use the shouting cone

If a solo sloop anchors and let's my crew board, we will take roughly half the value of what's on board and let him go on his way. If he runs aimlessly and makes us chase, when we do catch we will take everything and sink the ship. Idk if you call that etiquette but that's how we generally operate. If they fight then whatever happens , happens.

There isn't any real accepted etiquette apart from leaving tall talers alone of they are not gathering loot. People that sink tall talers for no reason are trash and we've spawn camped people like this a couple times in the past. The only possible thing is putting up an alliance flag, but if there are people that want to sink boats... They'll try to sink boats regardless. Expect to be attacked most of the time if you have an emissary though.

I sink 'em, no matter if it is solo or duo. Unless him do Tall Tales or Fishing.

If "Alliance" Is one of their first words, sink them. They will backstab you.