How can you call this a PVE game? The rewards aren't worth anything ultimately, they're only a reason to move around the map. The only thing that "increases" is your Faction Ranks, and that only leads to more complex, longer missions with higher gold rewards to buy shit that is ultimately pointless. The risk is encountering real humans who will fuck you up at any turn. And if you're playing solo, that's an additional risk you take. The single person ship is faster, easier to adjust sails into the wind, and four times as maneuverable as the galleon. Playing solo is bullshit until you really know what you're doing (like if you have a bunch of chests, running your ship nearly aground right next to the turn in, because your ship is ultimately expendable). Hell, playing the 3-4 man game is painful unless everyone knows what they're doing. But it's not like it has some steep learning curve. If you're playing this game for PVE, you're doing it wrong.