I proposed three content suggestions in the tester chat over the past month, which I have combined here to gather feedback from the community. Some ideas were inspired by Sea of Thieves.
Summary
This suggestion includes 6 new sealed chest variations, a new fortress event, a new type of treasure map, and a change for treasure charts.
Reason
With new content on the horizon, I have some ideas on how variations/tiers of sealed chests could look, what they may contain, and how they can be acquired. By broadening the types of sealed chests and how they can be obtained, more complexity can be added to existing gameplay systems and upcoming updates, while providing players with new goals to work towards in between updates. I think it’s important to bring up these ideas now because, despite the added effort required, I strongly believe that new chest variants could sustain the game for longer periods and encourage players to engage in diverse forms of content.
Sealed Chest Variations
Buried Sealed Chests
Summary
Buried Sealed Chests
Treasure charts would be the key to discovering buried sealed chests, which resemble bronze sealed chests but are rusted and covered in barnacles. The rarity of the chart determines how many buried sealed chests players can expect to find, ranging from 2-4. In addition to buried sealed chests, treasure charts also have a chance to spawn bronze sealed chests, silver sealed chests, sunken sealed chests, arcanium sealed chests, and cursed sealed chests. Each of these chests would have a specific percent chance of appearing, with cursed sealed chests being the rarest. This would not only make treasure charts a valuable find but also one of the most unpredictable but rewarding side quests to complete. Although not all of these chests will be added simultaneously, when and if they are, they will be included in the treasure chart loot pool, making the only form of content where you have the chance to get all types of sealed chests.
Treasure Chart Changes
From what I gathered, a lot of players agree that treasure charts are needlessly tedious and not worth the amount of effort put into finding them. I understand wanting the player to search for the right location, but I do think there is a better compromise to make the experience a little less tedious. My suggestion is to have it so you still need to use the coordinates to find the island and general location of the loot, but once you are in the vicinity of the dig spot, a red X will appear at the location on the world map where you need to dig (following a notification pop up). This way players still have to find the general location but can skip the tedious and potentially time-consuming effort of searching for ages. I believe this compromise still contains the original appeal of the treasure chart system but helps to reduce the fatigue of doing them.
Dig Sites
Dig sites offer players a fresh means of finding treasure, distinguished from traditional treasure charts. Resembling messages in a bottle, they can be obtained from various sources such as sunken structures, sunken sealed chests, rescued castaways, or even washed up on beaches. Once acquired, players are presented with an image of an island on which several X-marked locations indicate buried treasure. It is up to the player to then determine the island’s identity, set sail towards it, and excavate the loot. Dig sites come in different tiers, with up to four different dig sites available on an island depending on their rarity. The treasures obtainable from dig sites are akin to those from treasure charts, including the possibility of obtaining other sealed chests like bronze sealed chests, silver sealed chests, sunken sealed chests, arcanium sealed chests, and cursed sealed chests.
Silver Sealed Chests
Summary
Overview
Fortress Siege Event: A new world event that becomes available every 30 minutes at a specific fort in the War Seas.
Fortress Siege Event
Introducing the Fortress Siege Event, which adds a new fortress, potentially Fort Castrum, to the Bronze Sea and offers new content for players. The fortress is populated with enemies for players to defeat. Alternatively, enemies could spawn in waves, increasing the challenge. After successfully eliminating all enemies, the vault to the fort will unlock and reveal an assortment of items, including chests and sealed chests. Additionally, a new silver-sealed chest variant would be exclusive to this fort, which contains new items and can be turned in for 100 clan infamy.
When the fort is available to be raided, any player, whether in a group or solo, can take on the fort to obtain loot. The added difficulty and fun come from fending off enemies while under pressure from other players who may interfere to steal the loot. It’s high-risk, high-reward content. Additionally, like Fort Talos, I believe having cannons fire at any approaching ships would add another extra bit of challenge, and also add to the high-risk, high-reward factor.
New Items could Include:
- A new pair of armor
- New ship cosmetics
- New versions of existing weapons
Sunken Sealed Chests
Summary
Sealed Sunken Chest
Sealed sunken chests would spawn in shipwrecks and other submerged structures. They are like bronze sealed chests but are either a blueish-silver or a similar color to sunken armor (a silverish-blue color might be easier to see underwater). They would also have the sunken drip effect and leave a trail of puddles. Sealed sunken chests would contain the same items as regular sealed chests, but also have a chance at giving players new exclusive sunken items.
New Sunken Items
- Sunken Cannons: Acts like regular cannons, but have the sunken look and effects. Cannon balls would also have an applied effect that looks like water mixed with the player’s magic, similar to sunken sword imbuement.
- Sunken Sails: Sunken sails would look white, with a water-logged appearance and noticeable holes giving a tattered and damaged look. The sails pattern would, fittingly, be a dark blue Greek meander on the edges, with a trident symbol in the middle.
- Sunken Hull Plating: This acts like regular hull plating but with the sunken metal look+ effect.
- Sunken Rams: Acts like a regular ram but with the sunken metal look.
- Sunken Ship Lantern: A new lantern with a bluish glow.
- Sunken Waist Lantern: A new waist lantern with a bluish glow.
- Sunken fishing rod: A sunken fishing rod that has an increased chance of fishing up sunken armor and sunken metal (refer to sunken champion armor section).
- Sunken Figurehead: A figurehead in the shape of a knight’s helmet with two sunken swords forming a cross.
- Sunken Crew: A crew of warriors adorned with complete sets of sunken armor and each equipped with a sunken sword.
- Sunken Quartermaster: A warrior adorned in Sunken Champion armor.
- Sunken metal (refer to sunken champion armor section)
Sunken Champion Armor
Add in the Sunken Champion armor as an upgrade to the base sunken set. This upgrade can only be obtained with sunken metal found around shipwrecks or from Sealed Sunken Chests. Each piece of sunken gear will require a certain amount of sunken metal to upgrade to sunken champion.
Additional ideas
- Sunken rams and sunken cannons can apply a soaked status effect to ships, and if done so in cold regions or during cold weather, will freeze the vessel causing it to significantly slow down.
- Rather than obtaining a sunken crew and quartermaster directly from chests, players could instead receive a sunken note that initiates a mini questline. Upon completing the questline, players would receive the sunken crew and quartermaster, as well as some sunken metal that would be sufficient to upgrade sunken boots or helmet.
- Alternatively, sunken weapons and armor can stay exclusive to fishing, while ship cosmetics, rods, lanterns, and ship crews can be exclusive to sealed sunken chests.
- Ghost ships can have a chance at dropping sealed sunken chests.
New Sunken Weapon ideas
- Katana, Dagger, spear, axe, hammer, bow, cutlass, etc (I think it might be way too much, but sunken everything lol)
Arcanium Sealed Chests
Summary
The appearance of the arcanium-sealed chests would be turquoise with glowing particle effects. These chests would have a chance of spawning from ships that use arcanium weapons, and players would have a greater chance of obtaining arcanium ship parts and weapons by opening them.
New Arcanium Lantern that glows the same color as your magic.
Cursed Sealed Chests
Summary
Cursed Sealed Chests
Cursed sealed chests could potentially spawn from treasure charts or underwater structures near Akurursius Keep, but they would primarily be found in the Dark Seas. These chests would have a distinct appearance, with black coloring and red-purple accents, and an ominous red or purple glow. Since the Dark Seas would be the best way to obtain this item, its contents would be extremely valuable. However, there is a unique twist to these chests that makes them difficult to handle. When players carry the chest, they will gradually gain levels of insanity, starting at level 1. The longer they hold the chest, the higher their insanity level will become, eventually leading to the loss of health and ultimately death. Cursed chests will also randomly damage a player’s ship (not by a large amount) so it will be smart to carry around a hammer just in case.
Spirit Sealed Chests
Summary
In order to acquire ghost ship items and ghostly ship parts, players must track a ghost ship to its final destination, where Spirit Sealed chests will appear. These chests will be the exclusive source of such items, and they will be transparent and exhibit the same color and glow as the ghost ship. Alternatively, if the player opts to engage a ghost ship before it reaches its final destination, the ghost ship will become hostile. If the ghost ship is vanquished, it will spawn spirit chests, but the player will miss out on some of the other chests that could have been found at the original resting place of the ship.
Thought? Suggestions? Have any ideas for additional sealed chests?
