Arr, Ye Can Switch Servers in Sea of Thieves – But At What Cost?
As a scurvy sea dog who has sailed the four corners of the Sea of Thieves, one question lands in me inbox constantly: "Cap‘n, is thar anyway to switch over to a different server without losing all me loot?"
The short answer is aye! But it ain‘t all smooth sailin‘…
Ye Can Server Switch, But Prepare to Abandon Your Plunder
While server switching be possible, all current methods will force ye to leave behind your haul of chests, skulls, merchant crates and whatever other treasures ye have stacked to the ceiling in yer hold.
The Sea of Thieves dynamically matches crews together to populate a shared world server. According to Rare, each server allows just 5 ships with a cap at 16 pirates.
So if ye want to cash in your haul, ye best stay put! But if ye find yerself on an empty server or just feel like mixing it up with a new batch of scallywags, here‘s how to hop:
Close and Restart Ye Game
Simply exiting to the Sea of Thieves main menu and restarting the game will disconnect ye from the current server and matchmake into a new one upon loading back in.
This be the only official method and resets all yer ship‘s supplies and treasure. So prepare to bid farewell!
Exploit the Portal Hop
Many a sneaky pirate have realized sailing into a portal during a Tall Tale adventure causes the game to swap servers without losing loot!
This be not an intended feature though, and Rare has hinted they plan to remove this exploit to avoid abuse. So hop at yer own risk, me hearties!
Join a Crewmate‘s Server
If ye spy a first mate sailing on another server via ye Xbox friends list, ye can join their session directly.
Again though, doing this abandons all yer plunder back on the old server! Make sure ye consider that before hopping.
Scuttle and Start Afresh
From the crew menu, ye can choose to scuttle your ship and start afresh. This keeps ye on the same server with all the other ships, but gives ye a clean new vessel – perfect for when your old tub is worn out from battle.
Your treasure and grog remains on the scuttled ship though. So this isn‘t a full server hop, but can buy ye a second chance!
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Server Switching
| Method | Keeps Loot | Quick | Risks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Restart | No | Yes | Losing Loot |
| Portal Hop | Yes | Yes | Future Patches |
| Join Crewmate | No | Yes | Losing Loot |
| Scuttle Ship | No | Yes | Losing Loot |
Clearly the portal hop exploit seems the best way to scurry over to fresh hunting grounds whilst keeping your stash. But how long will this trick last?
Developer Stance on Server Switching – Temporary Loophole?
In one of their old weekly video updates, Rare shared their thoughts on this emerging exploit:
"We want to fully understand why players server hop before making any permanent decisions".
So it seems they intend to gather more data and feedback before swinging the ban hammer. Several updates later though, they called out abuse of portal hopping specifically:
"We have heard stories of some pirates aggressively chasing others through the portals to get on their server for the loot they carry".
Together, these comments signal that while portal hopping won‘t ruin your account, the loophole likely will get patched.
My Perspective as an Old Salt
With 500 hours sailing the seas, cursed sails and a pirate legend title under me belt, I‘ve developed some perspectives on server hopping:
Sure, chasing that gold and glory nonstop is an alluring prospect after hauling stacks of chests for hours. But constantly switching servers mid-adventure defeats much of the intended challenge!
The fun of the game is dealing with whatever randomized chaos she throws your way – be it aggressive ghost fleets, megladon attacks, or rowdy pvp crews rolling up on ye out of the fog.
Bouncing around servers to avoid conflict and hunt easy gold feels a bit like cheating at cards, don‘t ya think? Where be the glory in that!
However, after a full night‘s voyage, resetting for fresh foes seems perfectly reasonable to me. Just don‘t let it become such a habit yer crew forgets what open water looks like!
Thar always be room to improve our skills and adapt new strategies against rival pirates. And when in doubt, buy some time by unleashing yer pet parrot or monkey on them!
The Future of Switching Servers
As burgeoning issues like chasing through portals demonstrates, Rare seems focused on promoting fun, fair play across all servers.
While they gather data and feedback, take any opportunity to submit suggestions or concerns ye have! Let your voice be heard whether by email, official forums, or social media. Together as a community both developers and players can better shape the future.
For now though me hearties, best we weigh our decisions careful before server hopping. Be sure yer ready to abandon yer loot, prepare backup plans if that portal be closed by next update, and consider if simply adapting yer strategy may serve ye better!
Now then, what adventure awaits on the horizon today? Methinks I spy fresh sails near the outpost…and they look heavy laden with loot! Huzzah!
Tl;dr Can I Switch Servers?
Aye! But all options reset yer ship‘s status and treasure. Weigh choices careful and avoid overly exploiting. Respect player etiquette and game vision from developers. Adventure awaits on every server!
