This is an idea for the upcoming diving spots and underwater structures (not shipwrecks).
What are lost artifact fragments?
lost artifact fragments are a collection of items that can be rarely found across diving spots and underwater structures. They come in 4 different types and when all 4 types are collected they can be combined into a complete artifact.
Bronze sea artifact:
This is the an idea for an artifact which requires the player to find artifact fragments in the bronze sea in order to complete the puzzle.
Rules/how it works:
-
when exploring a diving spot or underwater structure the player will rarely come across a lost artifact fragment numbered 1 to 4
-
players will be able to pick up the lost artifact fragment the same way that a player can pick up cargo
-
the artifact fragment is dropped on death which adds a risk when collecting lost artifact fragments so beware of sharks, jellyfish, pirates and even players
-
the player must then bring the lost artifact fragment to the appropriate npc (maybe an archaeologist npc which can be located in multiple islands) this npc won’t discriminate between different reputation players as their sole goal is to discover artifacts and hence they don’t care about the source
-
once the player hands in the lost artifact fragment they will tick off the corresponding artifact from their artifact journal the same way fish is discovered in the fish journal
-
duplicate lost artifact fragments will instead provide the player with a substantial amount of galleons when handed in
-
once all 4 fragments are handed in the player will receive a completed version of the artifact
Complete artifact:
The complete bronze sea artifact is a type of keystone which can be used in order to access a special underwater structure named the lost pirates treasury (name isn’t final). When the full artifact is complete the archaeologist npc will tell the player that this artifact can be used at a special underwater area and mention the lost pirates. This is to give players a sense of direction, also the player can talk to the archaeologist before even finding a lost artifact fragment in order to learn about them.
Lost pirates treasury (unique underwater structure)
The remains of a long gone group of pirates, although their corpses have long withered their treasury has remained intact. These nameless pirates have been branded the lost pirates and their demise remains a mystery. Explore the secrets of the lost pirates treasury in order to obtain their booty and learn the mysteries of the sunken structure
This is a unique underwater structure and is guaranteed to spawn in every single server and can only be spawned once per server. This underwater structure will be limited to the bronze sea only. Players who have obtained the bronze sea artifact will be able to freely access this special area in any server and are not required to obtain the artifact again.
Players will be able to loot lost chests which provide better loot than normal chests and have the chance to drop unique loot.
Lost chest loot:
- lost pirates vanity (peg leg, hats, logos)
- lost pirate weapons (dual cutlass, hook hand, peg leg, blunderbuss)
- lost pirate techniques (rare techniques gatekept by the lost pirates)
- galleons
- gems
- scrolls
- etc
Once a lost pirate chest is looted it will be put on a respawn timer that will only begin once there are no players in the area (to avoid chest camping). The area will also spawn sharks if players remain inside for too long although oxygen would be an issue anyways. Entering the area will give level 1 insanity and reading any suspicious lore in the area will slowly raise the insanity level.
Conclusion:
This will give players something to work towards when exploring the new content. Furthermore, once discovered the players will be tempted to search more underwater areas in order to discover this unique structure which opens doors to special loot which is only available to players who went out of their way to explore and complete the artifact. This is just one type of artifact I have thought of but this concept could be used in order to create other puzzles and opportunities.