How To Be Less of an Obvious Target on the Sea of Thieves
I get it, not everyone is a bloodthirsty pirate. Sometimes, yes, you do want to just sail from island to island, digging up chests and shooting the odd skeleton. But sometimes people seem to target you and annoy you. The reasons are varied, either they see you as a threat, you have something they want or they just want to sink a ship. Luckily, there are some ways you can make yourself less of an obvious target.
Use bright colours
This sounds counterintuitive, because normally being brightly coloured suggests that you are a threat. However, if you use all the bright stuff, people will just assume you’re a ‘party boat’, someone who just wants to chill and have fun. Think about it, what ship would you more likely see as a threat, one that’s got bright stripes on the side and pink sails, or a ship with black hulls and all the Dark Adventurers gear they can afford? The Parrot gear is always a good choice, since most of its sets are brightly coloured. However, I’d avoid leaving yourself unpainted and making yourself look like a newbie, as more experienced players will definitely pretend to be noobs to lure you into a false sense of security.
In particular, if you genuinely don’t want to harm anyone, then you can use things like the Glitterbears sails. Glitterbeard refers to a member of Rare’s staff, James White, who passed away in 2020. The Glitterbeard quest, beard and gear were all added as a sign of the guy’s friendship. While the worst of the worst will still attack no matter what, there’s an unwritten rule that peaceful Glitterbeard users get left alone.
Don’t use an emissary flag
Really, this should be obvious, but no one reads the message that pops up saying “emissaries can make more money but are at risk of being attacked”. If you are using an emissary flag, then you are putting yourself at risk. Having an emissary flag means you are at more risk of being attacked by another ship, who will almost certainly know that 1. you have loot on board and 2. you also have a flag that’s worth taking and selling. After all, why raise an emissary flag if you don’t plan to get lots of loot to sell?
This is triply true if you are using a Reaper emissary flag. Reapers are THE PvP faction. They are immediately shown on the map, visible to all other players, with a large sign saying “come fight me bro!”. And you should. Reapers are the bad guys, while they can make the most money, they also benefit the most from attacking you. So you should attack them, steal their flag and sell it to the Mysterious Stranger for Athena’s Fortune rep. Reapers are expected to fight and are almost always violent, so if you don’t want to be attacked, stay away from them.
This also applies to Guild Emissaries, who can sell pretty much anything, anywhere, and get a bonus for it. Which means they will have the most loot of all, and thus be the biggest target.
Don’t use the Battle Flag either
The Battle Flag is a red flag with a skull on it that immediately marks you on the map. While it looks cool, it basically works the same as a Reaper emissary flag, but without any of the rewards. For the most safety, you are best off using the Alliance Flag at all times, and joining alliances when you can.
There are other ways of being seen on the map. Picking up Reaper Chests will mark your ship with a glowing, twisty beacon, which can be seen from across the map AND across the sea. Joining the Skull of Siren Song voyage and picking up the chest, key or skull itself will all mark your ship with a blue beacon, as well as an icon on the map. But the Skull of Siren Song is a PvP-based world event anyway, so if you don’t want to be attacked, you should ignore Briggsy’s note. Or at least don’t pick up any of the items.
Don’t carry tons of loot on you
People can see the glimmer of loot from very far away, and very often loot is stacked on the front of the ship for easy selling. Doing things like the Fort of the Damned and the Fort of Fortune are also massive beacons that scream “I’m here, doing something with lots of loot!”, while things like ghost and skeleton fleets are a bit safer.
If you really want to carry lots of loot, then store it below deck, so it’s out of sight. But I’d recommend avoiding carrying lots of loot in general, because you never know when something might happen. Even while doing PvE stuff, sometimes you can get overwhelmed, especially if you’re being attacked by skeleton galleons and a meg at the same time.
Don’t do anything stupid
There are lots of little things you can do to make someone think you are a threat. Carrying kegs, attempting to board another ship, firing cannons at random, coming too close, things like that. If you really want to show you’re peaceful, raise your cannons so they’re pointing upwards, and use a white flare as you pass close to people to show you are not hostile. If there’s someone at the island you need to go to, politely explain what you’re doing and park your ship far away so that they don’t run into you. Luckily, the Sea of Thieves has plenty of outposts, so you can always sail a bit longer to a different outpost that isn’t occupied.
Generally, you just want to avoid people. As long as you don’t get in other people’s way, most people will leave you alone.
None of this will guarantee you safety (at least, not on High Seas, you’ll be safe on Safer Seas), but if you want to brave High Seas, then hopefully these tips will help.