Due to the fact that we know almost nothing about the dark sea, most of what I will tell you is my purely subjective assumption, so decide for yourself whether to read it or not.
I’m going to talk about each stage of the dark sea and what it should look like in my mind
Stage 0 - Thick Fog
This is what separates war seas from the dark sea. It does not allow you to see what is in the dark sea, being outside of it. This stage is unremarkable
Stage 1 - Calm sea (0 - 2 km)
This area is not completely covered with thunderclouds yet, but there are much more of them than in the bronze sea. The visibility range is still high here - about 500 meters, which is equal to visibility at night in WOM. In fact, here you can still find everything that was in the bronze sea - Pirates, islands and structures on them, but here it is random. In reality, this is just a precursor to what will be waiting for us next
Stage 2 - Rough Sea (2 - 7 km)
Storm clouds tightly cover the sky, the visibility range is reduced to 250 meters, your ship constantly receives damage from rough seas. Pirates are harsh here, and the shores of the islands are rocky. Sea monsters (Aberrant and Behemoth) will appear here. The things and structures that can be found here are unique and unusual. Pirate fortresses, towers of dark magicians are a common thing here. Sometimes sunken ships can appear next to small stone islands (Diving to the bottom here is much more dangerous because of the dangers of the underwater world, but the reward is much higher). There could be interesting things here, like scrolls of lost spells and some rare equipment
Stage 3 - Light magical pollution (7-15 km)
The weather here is extreme, the intensity of the rough sea is much higher. The visibility range here drops to 150 meters and the fog is already dark here. Magical pollution slowly reduces the stability of the ship (very slowly), which limits the duration of the ship’s stay in the dark sea. Also, the water here causes damage to players. Abyssal beasts rarely spawn here. The pirate ships here are very different from others - they are made of a material that allows the ship to absorb magical pollution and use it for its own purposes (This makes them much stronger and more dangerous). The islands have a high rocky coast, and the structures here are very unusual - They, like ships, have learned to absorb magical pollution pollution. Impregnable fortresses using magic to destroy your ship and towers with magical barriers will become an integral part of this stage of the sea. Sometimes something more dangerous can happen than the extreme weather of the dark sea - Magical weather. In fact, I do not know if Vetex will make all the options for magical weather in accordance with basic magic, but in any case, this thing will destroy you. Permanent damage to the crew and the ship, regardless of stability, insanity and the serious impact of pollution on the stability of your ship will seriously damage your ship, if not destroy it. Things like lost magic and powerful equipment could be found here.
Stage 4 - Average magical pollution (15 - 25 km)
The weather here seems quiet at first glance, but in fact this place is much more dangerous than it looks at first glance (There is only magical weather here, which is not permanent). Magical pollution becomes a serious threat (If stability drops below zero here, then your ship itself will begin to take damage depending on how much stability has dropped), and magical weather becomes commonplace. The purple fog is filled with magical pollution, which causes mild insanity in the crew (The fog changes color if there is magical weather). Everyone who lives here is either an incredibly strong magician, or is an undead being controlled by incredibly strong magicians. Undead ships emit a black, all-consuming aura. The islands here have their own aura with some element. This means that there will always be magical weather around the island of the element whose aura the island has. Among the structures here will be giant towers with necromancers and islands with the ruins of a former civilization filled with undead. Abyssal beasts will appear here more often than before. Lost magic is a little more common than before, and you can also find scrolls of cursed lost and ancient spells here.
Stage 5 - Strong magical pollution (25 - 40 km)
Dark purple fog, constant magical weather, dangerous insanity, extremely strange ambient, high stability damage - these are the first threats that can be found here. Apollyon beasts could appear here. Ancient magic and ancient cursed spells could be obtained here. I don’t have enough imagination for the rest.
Stage 6 - Total darkness (40 - ? km)
It’s absolutely dark here. The fog of death cancels your regeneration and completely neutralizes any healing, but you are unlikely to be able to take fatal damage here. There is no magical weather here, but even without it, this sea is extremely harsh due to insanity and magical pollution. You can go infinitely (almost infinitely) far after this stage. Incredibly rare you can meet anomalies here and their frequency depends on the range of progress in it. The behavior of anomalies is completely unpredictable - they can do anything (Most of them are incredibly dangerous). There are no things here that you could get or anything else due to the lack of islands and NPCs, thereby making this sea also empty. Also because of the engine you may be shaking here
The end of the world (? km)
if you are incredibly lucky with an anomaly or because of a glitch you were thrown incredibly far away (Or you are just a cheater), then you can find blue lights notifying that you are very close to the edge of the world (Which should not have been). Going further, you will see the sky, which is now not covered by clouds and a cliff, falling into which you will fall into the void. Here you will be seriously shaken because of the engine
