Right now, most World Event gameplay is centered around either putting in all the work and surviving with the treasure or simply tucking and stealing the treasure. Those are totally valid gameplay loops but what if we had just one new World Event that focused on teamwork over the prior methods. Of course it's a sandbox so players can still do whatever they want at the end of the day, but this World Event and it's mechanics might incentivize working with randos until the Event is over, then they can attack each other, part ways, or maybe make an alliance and become friends.
The concept is simple, the World Event would consist of three parts and at every "checkpoint" players would receive 50 doubloons and 100 at completion. Crews would need to participate and do an unspecified amount of damage in each phase to be rewarded doubloons and the payout scales, so crews that arrive late to a phase might not meet the full damage requirements, so would receive a smaller amount of doubloons. Having a World Event that only pays out doubloons for participation and no actual treasure would be beneficial IMHO because we can get treasure many many other ways, but doubloons are harder to get, thus being more lucrative and on top of that, it could be the one World Event that doesn't incentivize tucking. I also thought that completion of the Event should not only net players 200 doubloons max but also give a players a new bottle quest that lets crews CHOOSE which type of bottle quest to receive. So a bottle icon would be in my quest wheel and when I click it to open it a small screen would be brought up where I could choose any of the existing random bottle quests that can be found throughout the game.
The devs could make the World Event however they want but sticking to these aforementioned ideas might help create a new W.E. that actually brings players together for a short period of time, all with a willingness to work together because it would progress the Event faster and everyone gets paid out for completion. Having just one thing in the game that actually pushes towards cooperation might be a good idea? I know my favorite memories of the game include the Hunger Deep adventure, where we worked with multiple crews to complete and it was a blast!! At least for my crew that did it.
An example of what the World Event might look like:
Phase 1 - Random large island has 3 new skeleton lords walking around, which need to be defeated, alongside endless wave of skeletons that spawn until the 3 are vanquished.
Phase 2 - 3 Skeleton galleons come out of the water and circle the island. Need to be sunk.
Phase 3 - Skeleton Man-O-War comes out, comparable to the size of the Burning Blade. Ship has a shield around it, making it impervious to damage until the Skeleton Lord captain is killed. Then once the Man-O-War is sunk the Event is over.
This is just an example of the World Event, obviously Rare would make it however they want and are able. My main focus is just putting something out into the game the can promote team work before everyone goes back to stealing and fighting each other. EVEN if players want to fight amongst themselves during the event, continuing to take part in the World Event can still net you doubloons and a possible bottle quest, rather then losing everything because you were attacked by incoming or already tucked players.. SO, it would push players to stick around and engage with the content rather than running or leaving when others show up.
Could also add comms to the World Event, with clothing sets and weapon cosmetics unlocked after completing the comms, for players who want more than just doubloons.
