To introduce a new ship, one that is larger than the Galleon, into SoT has been discussed various times in the community. The usual conclusion of these threads is that making such a ship available to the players would cause a lot of problems regarding balance and server population. So I wanna talk about the possibility of adding ships like that to the game exclusively as AI opponent in a unique world event. Due to the pirates life Tall Tales we know, that a ships with more than 4 cannons per side can work for certain gameplay purposes. The Skeleton Galleons we fight right now are a decent enough challenge, but the do not pose a real threat to experienced crews. A Skeleton ship with a considerably heavier broadsside could be a nice change of pace if implemented in the following way.
I was thinking of a ship with 8 to 12 cannons per braodside and the AI behaving in a way that they would not fire the cannons sporadically, like other skeleton ships, but more rarely in coordinated broadsides as they were common in real maritime battles in the age of sailing. This would reward players who have a good understanding of their ship's manuverability and severely punish moving into the enemy's broadside.
A normal skeleton fleet event is a prolonged battle agains a few weaker enemies and ressource managment is its most difficult aspect. Fighting a single much more powerful opponent instead would make for some good content epic battles and feel a lot more rewarding than sinking a few smaller ships. I am hoping for an event where even surviving is a strugel. If the AI ship has enough cannons that fire all at once, even a Galleon's crew would have to stop whatever they are doing to take care of the repairs as a team if they take a full broadside. The concept of cooridanted broadsides would be especially fun it the Man'O'War uses different ammunition in a that manner. Imagine 8 different cursed balls hitting at once or a broadside of fire bombs setting your entire ship ablaze.
So the basic concept is to take the risk-reward balance to a new extreme with this boss fight. Make the loot worth a FOTD, but one enemy broadside could end you if you are slacking. Also... seeing a ship twice the size of a Galleon on the horizon would be an imposing sight. A good spot for this event could be the southern part of the map, as the wide open ocean would be benificial to a ship of this size.
What are your thoughts on this?
