I want to stumble upon epic adventure.

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    I like the concept of stumbling upon something seemingly mundane, but eventually it leading to a larger epic adventure.

    For sea of thieves, it's the idea of hiding a "legends of the veil"-like voyage in other mundane finds. In this case, I mean you might stumble upon this voyage in barrel notes, mysterious journals, green bottles, or putting mysterious journals into the basic treasure chest as a reward.

    What form should this take? I would say something along the vein of the "veil" quest. It's multi-part, has some voice acting, and is modular in that each individual part may be something different. I would extend that to other "climax" events as well.

    I leave the particular rewards up to Devs, in this case, "it's not about the gold, it's about the glory."

    I know it's unrealistic, but I would love for this voyage to be 'secret' at least for a while.

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  • BurnBacon
    Vanguard
    Insider

    I like how I can stumble upon other crews voyages and either help or steal from them :P

  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    Couple ideas I had for this for casual play

    ghost ship mysteries, this could be randomly found and it would be like a shipwreck but it's a ghost ship that people can board and can "solve" a ghost ship mystery, this could be returning an item back to a loved one (npc) or taking something somewhere etc, It's solved on the ghost ship but then the item/message has to be delivered/returned/etc

    Similar for megs and krakens, they drop mysteries that can lead to npc focused adventures/stories

    It's not something that people that play all day will do forever but it would be cool for casual play and if it's rewarding enough it can still become a part of organic treasure/gold farming.

  • LordQulex
    Captain

    So, world event voyages basically. Something that spawns naturally on the server, you find organically, rotates through a few of them, and is more epic in scale. Specifically, it isn't posted on your mast with a hideous, ghostly note and dagger.

    I could get behind this,

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @lordqulex said in I want to stumble upon epic adventure.:

    So, world event voyages basically. Something that spawns naturally on the server, you find organically, rotates through a few of them, and is more epic in scale. Specifically, it isn't posted on your mast with a hideous, ghostly note and dagger.

    I could get behind this,

    Honestly, It doesn't need to be a "world event" voyage like Siren Song. The goal is to just have something mundane ('oh I found a bottle quest' or 'I dug up a treasure chest, let's see what's in it') and have it spiral into something big for that crew. Sure, it could have a 'world event' vibe like the end of veil, but I would also be happy if it was just a voyage that felt like it had an build up and climax that didn't broadcast it's existence across the world.

    This is a "vibe" idea, more than anything truly specific in execution.

    (Of course, this means you can imagine how you would execute this type of idea however you want)

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @wolfmanbush

    In concept, it's not designed to be something that people will grind (though some would). Instead, it's designed to be a sort of 'stumbled upon' ticket to a bigger adventure. Ideally, I want it to not look special. If it's in a bottle quest, it looks like a normal green bottle, not a special yellow/gold/purple/coral...just a normal green bottle.

  • LordQulex
    Captain

    @tybald A few weeks ago someone had the idea of chaining voyages together for a new risk/reward system. You choose three or five voyages in length, and each one would lead to the next. For instance, you find a bottle that has an XMTS map that digs up a magic compass that points to a journal that gives you a riddle quest to dig up a key to a vault, or a shipwreck, or something. I liked that idea. That sort of vibe?

  • OtherFanboy
    Legend
    Insider
    Founder

    @burnbacon that is always fun tho I do agree finding something like a letter in a barrel that ends up being a mini tall tale or a good sized legends quest why not I love that kinda of exploration not what the game has turned into where all quests and tall tales are right there on your ship with almost no reason to talk with any of the NPCs out side selling loot to them and that's assuming your not either on a Captained ship or a Reaper

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @lordqulex said in I want to stumble upon epic adventure.:

    @tybald A few weeks ago someone had the idea of chaining voyages together for a new risk/reward system. You choose three or five voyages in length, and each one would lead to the next. For instance, you find a bottle that has an XMTS map that digs up a magic compass that points to a journal that gives you a riddle quest to dig up a key to a vault, or a shipwreck, or something. I liked that idea. That sort of vibe?

    Honestly? Not really. While I like the idea of chaining voyages, this isn't about that sort of concept.

    The main vibe is really "stumbling onto" the epic voyage. Choosing a chained voyage completely misses the stumbling onto concept. The "chained quests" might fill in for the epic voyage, but my personal preference is that it something a bit more modular and custom built. (i.e. like how legend of the veil is chunked and randomized).

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    As a note, I think the "stumbling onto" incidence rate should be somewhat rare. Not Shrouded ghost rare, but relatively rare. So, if these were ONLY in green bottles for example, it would be roughly 1-in-10 or 1-in-20 (5%-10%) chance of being an epic voyage.

    It should be rare enough that it's not worthwhile to dedicate a session to search exclusively for them, but common enough that it is worthwhile to pick up the bottles when you see them)

    Obviously, the more sources of discovery for the voyage, (barrels, notebooks, openable chests, etc) the lower the overall rate should be to keep the voyage relatively rare.

    Though, in general, I think it should be obvious once you've picked up a voyage that it IS an epic voyage.

  • LordQulex
    Captain

    @tybald said in I want to stumble upon epic adventure.:

    @lordqulex said in I want to stumble upon epic adventure.:

    @tybald A few weeks ago someone had the idea of chaining voyages together for a new risk/reward system. You choose three or five voyages in length, and each one would lead to the next. For instance, you find a bottle that has an XMTS map that digs up a magic compass that points to a journal that gives you a riddle quest to dig up a key to a vault, or a shipwreck, or something. I liked that idea. That sort of vibe?

    Honestly? Not really. While I like the idea of chaining voyages, this isn't about that sort of concept.

    The main vibe is really "stumbling onto" the epic voyage. Choosing a chained voyage completely misses the stumbling onto concept. The "chained quests" might fill in for the epic voyage, but my personal preference is that it something a bit more modular and custom built. (i.e. like how legend of the veil is chunked and randomized).

    Yes obviously you didn't want to vote for it on the table, but the game has a number of built-in mechanics that can be assembled like lego bricks.

    So you find a green bottle that has a (XMTS map) to a (magic compass) that leads to a (ship graveyard). Or a green bottle that leads to a (sea fort) whos captains drops a (riddle map) where you dig up a (vault key) or something like that. You find the bottle, and it has a few already-in-game activities that lead you to a large cache of treasure. Something you can stumble upon and don't know what's in store.

    Would that scratch your itch? I kinda like this idea, but the reason why I like the vote idea too is because my crew often assembles and has the "what do you want to do?" conversation. With this, we could just vote up "go on an adventure" and just sail.

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @lordqulex

    I do like the idea of the vote for a chained voyage. It just doesn't work work with the idea.

    I feel that chained voyage could be "settled for" as a start for an epic voyage, but it doesn't really excite me. In addition, I worry that merely chaining existing voyage together might not provide the level of "exciting discovery" that might cause a crew who stumbles upon it to consider dropping everything and chasing it. It would depend on how the standard quests that get chained together are tweaked/mixed and the rewards available. I could see many of those standard quests as being "links" between set pieces.

    Let's go, in and out, a quick 20 minute adventure

  • LordQulex
    Captain

    @tybald said in I want to stumble upon epic adventure.:

    @lordqulex

    I do like the idea of the vote for a chained voyage. It just doesn't work work with the idea.

    I feel that chained voyage could be "settled for" as a start for an epic voyage, but it doesn't really excite me. In addition, I worry that merely chaining existing voyage together might not provide the level of "exciting discovery" that might cause a crew who stumbles upon it to consider dropping everything and chasing it. It would depend on how the standard quests that get chained together are tweaked/mixed and the rewards available. I could see many of those standard quests as being "links" between set pieces.

    Let's go, in and out, a quick 20 minute adventure

    So the challenge is that the veil has a handful of unique activities. Incorrect paintings, ship graveyard, battle with the ancients, these are all unique to the veil quest. While I understand you desire for more activities, your idea becomes more feasible if existing activities are reused. Yes, I understand this is the main complaint about vanilla Athena's voyages, but it's a place to start.

    I too like the idea of finding a bottle on the shores with activities unique to "Epic Bottle Quests," no one will balk at more things to do. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, if not reuse current activities, what kind of activities would you like to see in these epic bottles? I see what you said about a quest with a build up and a climax, so maybe something that follows a basic three act structure with interchangeable activities.

    The bottle is the inciting incident, obviously, then you have to go to an island to speak to some character that needs your help. (NPC is interchangeable—Pirate Lord, Briggsey, Sudds, Merrick, Belle...) Then you have to overcome two obstacles like (a compass) that directs you to (a captain that drops a special skull), or an (XMTS map) that will have you dig up a (note to the location of flotsam) where there is some other kind of McGuffin. The crisis at the midpoint is a land or sea battle at the rendezvous point where your contact is captured by one of the Skeleton Lords who gloats at you, and you've got to overcome a third obstacle like (finding a note in a shipwreck graveyard) or (battling a bunch of phantoms at a sea fort) to discover the location where (interchangeable Skeleton Lord) is keeping your contact hostage. You've got to go battle some skeleton waves, then maybe 2-3 captains before a Skeleton Lord battle, and some dialogue from your NPC thanking you and giving you some valuable loot to turn in.

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @lordqulex
    Like I said I could "settle for" a chained quest, but in that case it'd need to be boosted with unique or valuable treasures.

    I know I've left the exact activities vague, but that's because I don't know what to fill in.

    Personally I think a modular story system that can mix and match to create a few "unique" stories.

    I think the first part would be a twist on a current munsane voyage or event. (The way a ship graveyard is a twist on sunken ship)

    The second event could be one of several new location based fights utilizing existing locations. (Fort, sea fort, treasury)

    The third would be a twist on a fleet battle, boss battle with new enemies, sea creature battle (Meg or kracken ish)

  • EL C4PITANO
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @tybald, I like it. I hope that they could also add variance in PvE difficulty. For example, some adventures are downright DIFFICULT. It is up to the player to decide and approach with caution, but reap the rewards. Mindlessly swinging at an Ashen Lord for long periods of time can become mundane. Note: I do think this is necessary to keep.

    But stumbling into a dark cave and being unsure if you will make it out, or creatively fighting an incredibly difficult beast hidden somewhere would be fantastic. Perhaps even to the point where additional crew assistance is needed and rewards are shared.

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @el-c4pitano
    Difficulty is hard to get right in the game. You infinitely respawn, so death doesn't really mean much UNLESS the death actually punishes you. Getting killed by an ashen lord doesn't matter much when you just cannon back on and continue to swing your sword at him.

  • EL C4PITANO
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @tybald, true, but getting killed is still not ideal and sinking definitely is the ultimate downer. Most all games, you can infinitely respawn. I wonder if they could make some areas particularly difficult. Perhaps like a long tunnel that you have to survive to reap the rewards at the end. In this case, it may be really a challenge to make it through.

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @el-c4pitano

    I guess I'd put it this way. The gold hoarder is probably one of the hardest fights in the game. But, the reality is that once you've reached him, you've beaten the tall tale. He'll likely kill you, alot. But, you'll respawn in the room, continue the fight, and he'll eventually be whittled down far enough and die.

    To actually make the difficulty 'harder' you'd need to spawn people at an earlier checkpoint, making it more of a chore to get back to him, or reset his health upon the room emptying. Neither happens, so he is, in essence, easy.

  • EL C4PITANO
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    Good point. Hopefully more to come; I’m optimistic :)

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @lordqulex

    I think another reason i want a quest like this is to just to enhance the "island hopping" game play.

  • LordQulex
    Captain

    @tybald said in I want to stumble upon epic adventure.:

    @lordqulex

    I think another reason i want a quest like this is to just to enhance the "island hopping" game play.

    "Island hopping" game play can be enhanced by increasing the spawn rates of bottles and captains, and increasing their value. I'm a firm believer that in game design you need to reward intended behavior as opposed to punishing unintended behavior (unless the unintended behavior is toxic or anathema, in which case nerf it to the ground). I think we should be able to find a captain or a bottle every other island at least. The captain will drop a skull, so the quests they drop should dig up treasure chests and goods crates (i.e. GH and MA loot). I also think that you should find bottles more frequently in flotsam sailing around. I think it would break up the "set sail, raise emissary, do activity, repeat" grind and enhance "sail around and vibe" experience which my crew enjoys.

    But I do agree with you that the cycle needs to be broken. I like being able to focus on an emissary. I believe voyages will always have a place in the game and in the lore. But I would love to just hop in, raise an emissary, and go on an unknown adventure. Find a bottle, kill a captains, salvage some flotsam, conquer a fort on the way... I want megs and krakens and emergent ships to drop desired loot and not just be an ignored speed bump along the road. Raising an emissary (IMO) should suggest to the game what variety of loot you want dropped, and any activity should drop a certain amount of value of that variety of loot; essentially every event you do as an emissary should be treated like a raid whether you dive or not. I know this is a challenge because loot is generated when the event spawns (you can see the loot in the basement of a for through the cracks), but this would let you do anything and focus on anything; i.e. "be free to write our own adventure."

    I like the "sail around and find out" experience but these random spawns aren't lucrative enough for my crew of late to say anything except "oh we're flying merchants," because blue is my favorite color and I want their rings, "are we going to vote up a lost shipment?"

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @lordqulex

    I think new emergent activities would be useful. Things like a compass that you find washed up on one of the larger islands that points to a small stash (say sea-fort raid (5-6 treasures) sized), that you have to find and fight.

    Obviously, that's not the epic in this thread, but something about general improvement.

  • Prescafatty
    Commander
    Insider

    In each new season, a MacGuffin is added to the game—a cursed ball, grapeshot, grappling hook—some fun new tool. But it's a secret and you don't know what it is—it's never in trailers or any pre-season buzz.

    To find out what and where it is, players find emergent clues in treasure chests and bottles—small hints that start to point toward a new temple, sunken ship, vault, etc. Pirates who discover the location must fight their way through traps and puzzles to obtain it. Once liberated, pirates are the first to test out (and boast about) discovering a new piece of SoT gear.

    These MacGuffins are opportunities for players, content creators, and the community to share clues, or keep them secret and try to be the first to solve the mystery. After a season wraps, the item is added in permanent rotation to barrels or washed up on shores. In the next season, there's a NEW MacGuffin added somewhere to the world, awaiting discovery.

    They start with the Season 14 treasure chest that players can use to sneak around in—I'd brave a temple to give that a try.

  • Tybald
    Marauder
    Insider

    @prescafatty
    It's not a bad idea, but there's some realistic issues with it. One, these get tested in insiders, so, the secret really won't stay secret long...

    Second, these are good once, then fade away. It's cool, but even if not spoiled, can only be experienced one time.

  • Prescafatty
    Commander
    Insider

    @tybald said in I want to stumble upon epic adventure.:

    @prescafatty
    It's not a bad idea, but there's some realistic issues with it. One, these get tested in insiders, so, the secret really won't stay secret long...

    Second, these are good once, then fade away. It's cool, but even if not spoiled, can only be experienced one time.

    Yep, you wouldn't test the new feature in Insiders (hearsay I know but it happens with content Rare wants to keep secret). I disagree with the "good once, then fade away" assessment, since we'd be adding a new feature to the game that would persist even after the season ended.

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