This was a post I originally replied to in a post about a 6-8 player Man O' War but i think this is better to combine two ideas.
Pirate Legends need something to work toward that's more than just cosmetic. Why not make the Pirate Legend ship be the man o' war/ship of the line? (I also recommend 5-6 player cap)
Hear me out. This is a big defensive ship that is hard to take down but not equipped to chase a smaller ship. It's built to be a force to be reckoned with, take on long voyages and fend off attacks. (ahem Athena grind)
The privilege of captaining a large ship needs the commitment to achieve legend status and you know that ship has at least one PL on it. Maybe even have a stupid expensive unlock fee so that they are rare and a wonder to see on the sea.
Have a Pirate legend be able to select this ship and captain it (naming optional) and maybe limit one per server (unless they up the map/player limit sizes). Also Athena quests give top rate loot so it's almost guaranteed that a ship of the line will be a worthy target for a few smaller ships (even more so than a fort) as it should be. It will be hard to sink but risk = reward.
Balance:
A man o'war or ship of the line class needs to have lots of firepower but slow acceleration. A sloop should be able to outrun it even with the wind. That way it's a more defensive opponent rather than offensive, luring ships to team up on them rather then them hunting down smaller vessels.
Having more firepower and crew to protect it means big ships would go longer without turn ins, making them prime loot targets for other ships on the server.
This gives a real reward of notoriety in achieving PL status and historically accurate (Blackbeard and his man o' war The Queen Anne's Revenge) as well as giving regular players another reason to team up for a reward as no one in their right mind would attempt to solo one unless they had a death wish.
