Treasure Hunting is one of the most iconic things to do in any open world sea-based game, yet in AO, the rewards are thus far lackluster. Of course, there will be more to treasure charts down the line- as is the case with all things in the game. Yet, I see this as an opportunity to throw my hat in the ring and suggest more to treasure spots then simply giving them unique loot pools. There is a chance here to breathe life into the history and world of the Arcane Universe.
At Treasure Spots, a new kind of Sealed Chest can be found rarely, known as an Artifact Chest. These can be taken to Shipwrights to open. The loot table contains some random bits and bobs, a lot of money, but most importantly, a single Artifact.
Due to the value of such chests, the chance of coming across them increases based on the level of the chart, but even commons could give you one. When spawned, they replace the regular sealed chest you usually find at these spots. High tier treasure charts spawn these chests more frequently, but never enough that they would outright replace sealed chests entirely. Instead this gives you a mixed pool of treasure.
What sets Artifacts apart from your typical loot is that they function, initially as treasure items. They can be sold for minimal money- just as one would sell treasure piles or Magius coins. They are items that exist primarily to be sold. However, when brought to a collector, one can see where their true value shines through. More on that later.
The most important aspect of Artifacts to me, is that they are treasure that can tell a story. Stories that are hard to tell through exclusively journals. Item tooltips can read out the history of the war seas, influential figures therein and beyond. A push to make it so you donât need to leave the game and find a lore document to learn more about the arcane universe.
Using the item tooltips, you could tell small stories, leave tidbits of lore crumbs that could satisfy those who are more invested in the story. The stories of the presented items are of course, mere fanfiction, and a bit too long, but the potential is there for new ways for Tech & Vetex to expand upon the universe without having to constantly add an NPC or Journal to tell us about its history.
Down the line, artifacts could even be used to tell the oldest stories of the Arcane Universe to those dedicated enough to find themâŚ
Of course, lore items satisfy lore fanatics, but they need a baser function beyond that to warrant such a large addition into the game. For that, I introduce a new type of npc: The Collector. Collectors are only found in large cities & towns, or in seedy criminal underbellys. They act as a middleman between treasure hunters & those with large purses. Through them you can increase the value of items you have by turning in completed sets.
There would be two aspects of this, the âArtifact Collectionsâ Tab and the âBits & Bobsâ Tab.
Here you can see the core of my idea. By speaking to collectors, you can essentially âsell in bulkâ specific treasure items in exchange for monetary gain- and occasionally some items as well.
So why this? Why not just add whatever valuable item you might get to a treasure chart only loot pool? Well for one, to me this makes treasure hunting more unique compared to other activities. You are completing sets of collections- encouraged to trade with other treasure hunters to fill out what collections you do have so you can turn them in. The large cash reward also makes Treasure Hunting a more lucrative long-term investment.
However having a unique set of models for treasure for every item can be taxing, and there probably wouldnât be too many sets to start, so to ensure this ui is used enough to warrant the work that would go into it, I also made this tab, the âBits & Bobsâ tab.
This tab would be for turning regular item sets in game into collectible sets to set both early and endgame goals and add purpose to collecting/hoarding. Obviously the rewards I posit arenât balanced to everyoneâs liking- but I hope it gives a good idea.
Click Here to view High Res Images of all the models used in the idea:
(The chest Model & Lore Slab model are already elsewhere in the idea so I wont put them here to avoid redundency)
I hold a deep love for the side activities in AO that donât revolve around combat, and would love to see them fleshed out with more depth so they can be just as engaging and interactive as the fighting itself (Okay maybe not THAT deep).
Make no mistake, I understand this is a collassal idea, and would be a huge undertaking. Especially if Vetex wanted a respectable amount of lore-related items added into the game. Which is why I would volunteer myself first and foremost to make the models. Not all the models you have seen on this suggestion were made by me, but half of them were (see credits). I donât say this as a âoh give me a job Vetexâ kind of thing, but to put my money where my mouth is so to speak. This could be quite the project to simply dump on the regular, more talented modelers. So as to not âvolunteerâ someone else for something I know would be a big project, I will throw my hat in the ring first.
Idea Expansion
I cooked up a side suggestion here that I donât want to take away from the core idea, so Iâm instead positing it as a sort of âsecondaryâ thing. An add-on or potential future expansion- whatever you want to consider it.
To expand on the idea with an additional plan for late-term implementation is Magical Artifacts. Youâll notice in the mockup below that there are now jewel slots on the artifact. And those of you with even more attention to detail may note that it seems to have faded gems already sloted in. Not every artifact has the capability of being turned into a magical artifact, only those that make sense. (For example, the bronze bars in the core idea. It would make no sense to slot jewels into those)
Magical Artifacts allows people to use their jewelcrafting skill to boost the value of the artifacts. They can be slotted with any gem, but certain types of gems are more aesthetically pleasing when paired with a specific artifact, so making a specific jewel is more preferred, and will net greater value. Gem quality also boosts the value of the artifact.
In later-game artifact hunting, there could be more demanding sets, where the artifacts players find USED to be magical, but the magic has waned over time. So you must ârestore itâ by slotting the right gems before you can turn it into the collection.
Crim back at it again with the fire suggestions! 
