Possible new enemy/future update

@nofears-fun

The GMU is actually already doing this. The Ancient Coins we gather and sell to them have a very minor shroudbreaking capability, so in enough numbers they could get a ship safely through. Of course, there are entire regions lost to the Shroud, so finding a path through it without running into wrecks and landmasses on the way would be quite difficult in such a fog. If the Ancient Coin thing doesn't work, well, there's always the Portal. The rock spire in the middle of the central regions is part of the Ancient's network of them, and since they may have created the Shroud (which would explain why it's so deteriorated), they could've built others elsewhere. If someone on the outside could discover and open the other end, it would be possible for them to circumvent the Shroud, but it is no longer possible to open from this side, as the receptacle for the gems that power it is gone.

As for the ships, I'd envision them somewhat like the skeleton ships - their crews are far weaker than us one-on-one, but they have a numbers advantage on their ships. They'd be quite weak to things like cursed cannonballs, since they've only heard rumors of them and never seen any, especially with things like flooding coming in through their cannon ports from ballastballs or damage to them with peaceballs. If they had something like a bilge pump rather than buckets, which was slower than our bailing but was still better than nothing at all, it would be a nice balance between them and the skeleton ships. A bit more resistant to damage, but not as stealthy or quick as the skeleton ships.
We have a defensive advantage, with both knowledge of how to fend off the other threats (such as the krakens or the volcanoes) of the Sea of Thieves and of the layout of the islands themselves. Something that many do not seem to realize is that under threat of such an invasion, there is a possibility the skeletons' leadership would deem it the biggest threat and fight them alongside us, but it is just as likely that the GMU or other navies would simply be another side of the war we already have.

@nofears-fun

For a man-o-war a navy update would be a good place to bring it. I would think that an even larger ship (or just that one) could come from a region of stronger creatures and open seas, which, if out before the navy moves in, could be used against them as well. I think that larger ships should probably stop getting all that much slower in some cases, and perhaps have other disadvantages - two capstans was once such suggestion, or separately turning spars.

@wrs said in Possible new enemy/future update:

This just seems like far too much work for Rare. Will never happen

no, it could and should happen, i think you underestimate rare, it wouldn't be hard, they have the assets for the ship, it would just be implementing them like the skelly ships, not very hard.

@faceyourdemon

The Ancient Coins we've been giving them for some time have minor Shroudbreaking capabilities. There are other ways in as well - the Shroudbreakers themselves, though there are very few of them, or the Ancient's portal network which may expand outside of the Sea of Thieves. The rock structure in the center of the core regions is what remains of one such portal, large enough to sail a ship through.

@nofears-fun said in Possible new enemy/future update:

I have long envisioned this game with a royal navy of sorts. But as @UltmateRagnarok pointed out in another post, it just doesn't fit, since we are surrounded by the shroud (protected in a way) and separated from the outside world. In fact, it is why we are here, because we have a "safe" zone from the outside world, to be pirates.

During that discussion, Ragnarok mentions that no royal navy would dare come against us here, because of the shroud, and the fear of facing so many pirates at a time.

So this got me thinking. What if in a future update, the Royal Navy found a way (similar to how we use the shroud breaker) to get through the shroud, and decided it was time to end piracy? And they formed a fleet to come into SoT to "take back the seas". This forced us into another campaign similar to the Cursed Sails event, where we had to band together to fight off this Royal Navy, and send them back to where they came from. Those Navy ships could have two decks of cannons, and larger crew compliments than we have. They would not have cursed cannonballs, but maybe bring with them some of the weapons we currently lack, like boarding axes and such. Their sailors would be able to board our ships, unlike skellies, but only in close ship to ship combat. And it would be limited in the number of sailors they could send over to board to match our crew size.

Let me know your thoughts on this. Or if you have any ideas to add to it.

So let me get this straight...

You want to make a story campaign, that ends the age of piracy, nullifying the entire point of this games existence? You realize if an actual navy found a way to enter and leave the shroud, they would send countless, unending reinforcements to eradicate piracy once and for all, right? The pirates of SoT may be immortal, but they are in far fewer numbers and have more outdated technology than the navy, they would get overpowered instantly. xD

At what point do people just stop for a second, and ask themselves "Does this actually make sense?"?

Btw, im pretty sure the magic of the Sea of Thieves, intentionally targets non-pirates, thanks to the efforts of the good Pirate Lord, whom actually arranged for the ferryman to allow pirates indefinite immortality.

So even if they did end up finding a way through the shroud, no doubt krakens and megs and skeleton ships would be hounding them day and night until they sink to the depths, so they wouldn't really get the chance to be discovered by normal pirates like you or me... And when non-pirates die, they die... They don't come back to life, so they can't report to their superiors or give feedback to the outside world.

And what self-respecting navy sends ships into the bermuda triangle (That's where the SoT is located), just to never see them again, or figure out what happened to said ships? No, the navy, would never waste time and resources pointlessly like that.

As far as the navy is concerned, the Sea of Thieves is a prison that keeps pirates in, and keeps them away from their civilized world, and so they don't see the need to waste resources trying to enter it... As far as the navy is concerned, the Bermuda triangle, is a pirate prison... And that suits them just fine, suits the pirates just fine too, everybody wins.

And this is why a navy is just a terrible idea, bro... Because it doesn't work, it doesn't make sense. : /

If it helps, you already, functionally have a sort of navy in the game... They're called skeleton ships, skeletons, basically... Just imagine they're human, and enjoy your fight against the navy, bro. :P