Hi. I hate Hourglass combat. I hate solo fights going on forever, I hate what it does to my nerves and emotions and I hate meeting a nonstop flow of toxic players that enjoy making other people crash out.
With all of this in mind, I have proposals to change that. Introducing new battles to Hourglass in the form of Skirmishes, new ways to attain great power, and a new event to those worthy of the challenge.
These are short, quick battles localized on the Sea of the Damned and the many places it can bring you that can vary from objective based combat to singular one on one swordfights. The XP payout is the same as playing normal HG battles, streaks build, and you can play special modes where you are either a Lord of Souls, or a Skeleton Lord, facing off against an entire crew at once, after reaching a maximum streak.
MODES
Capture the Chest
Each side of the combat area has a chest locked in a vault. Break into the vault, steal the chest 3 times to win. Crates regularly restock with items like blunder, fire, skeleton bombs, and bone callers. If a match goes too long, victor is decided by coin toss during a draw, or by majority score.
Fortress Raid
One team defends their fortress from an approaching armada of either ghosts, or skeletons, depending on the faction defending. Both teams are supported by new enemy variants that will spawn out in the world: Armored Skeletons, and Soul Golems.
Armored Skeletons are big like a skeleton lord, but slow. They don't hit hard, but they're built to last. Soul Golems are functionally the same, lumbering iron suits possessed by a ghost. Both can knock players back with their attacks, and are resistant to gunfire.
Armored Skeletons can roll after a player to close the distance fast if in a line. Soul Golems can teleport, but their teleports are heavily telegraphed with a shimmer at their popup location, and will immediately attack upon teleporting. Both abilities take some time to activate.
Move a bomb-loaded wheelbarrow to the enemy vault before the fuse burns out.
Tavern Brawl
Both teams are drunk in a large tavern. Each team only has throwing knives. First team to 20 kills wins. Match time is 15 minutes.
Duel
One on one. Beat the other pirate 5 times to win. All you have is a cutlass. There is a 10 second grace period before the gates drop to change your sword skin.
Sniper Duel
Each pirate is spaced across a large crevasse. There are thin paths to get to the other side, but they're exposed. Defeat the other pirate once to win. Match time is 5 minutes.
Challenge the Lord
Face off against a player-controlled Lord. Abilities are relatively the same as a normal skeleton lord, including big knockback explosions, stronger firearms, the ability to change location at random, and summoning allies.
Each ability has limited uses before the lord is reduced to using guns and melee attacks. Lord wins by exhausting each pirate's lives, of which each pirate has 3, other team wins by defeating the lord. The reward for winning this mode specifically is significantly increased allegiance gain, and, a special set of clothing reminiscent of each lord.
The Skeleton Lord is a coat clad, fully clothed pirate sporting a golden Reaper's mask. As they take damage, their clothes will become more ragged until the mask falls off completely, revealing the skeleton underneath. The Lord of Souls is a refined version of a Soul Golem, a heavy suit of armor adorned with pirate clothing. As they take damage, their armor will crack and their clothes will fray. Their helmet will break to reveal a completely spectral phantom.
Both have their own set of emotes for goofing around, if you wish. Additionally, there may be a method to unlock this transformation in the Sea of Thieves itself, but only through a hard-fought world event, and only for a single day in-game. Consuming either a Potion of Athena's Lordship, or a Potion of Flaming Lordship will evolve a pirate into a lord.
Lords cannot heal under any circumstance. Dying as a lord in the Sea of Thieves will drop a Skull or Spectral Ashes named after the player who was once lord. This player's crew will also be banished to the ferry immediately, resulting in a full crew wipe and ship explosion, forcing the entire crew to another session. Any players from this crew will not receive any gold from the sale, even if they find their way to the crew that vanquished them.
The random teleport is replaced by an instant teleport to your own ship followed by a large knockback explosion. You'll know when it's coming. Won't hurt crewmates.
Finally, you will not unlock the cosmetics earned from a streak victory for simply defeating other crews in the Sea of Thieves. The Rewards are exclusive to a max streak pirate in Hourglass. Each pirate involved in the streak will get their own shot to be a lord in their own match, on their own time.
The Event involves a direct attack on Ramsey or Flameheart at two fortresses off of the conventional map, that act as new outposts when the event is inactive specifically for representatives of Athena's Fortune or Servants of the Flame respectively.
The crew to defeat Ramsey or Flameheart in direct combat will be given the potion out of respect for the battle, and all other crews will be banished from the fortresses with their ships sent to a random island on the other side of the map (Loot will be kept on these ships in case someone accidentally sails too close doing something else, though the threshold to enter the event is very obvious, being represented by a wall of spectral energy colored either blue or red depending on which side you're going to. The shroud also envelops the island and causes constant damage for any to enter the area for a 15 minute timer, save the victorious crew, until passing the threshold.). The events each have a timer visible at each Fortress, with Flameheart's having a giant hourglass in the center of the fort. Ramsey's is represented by a clocktower ticking to its own time, that will strike midnight. The timer only ticks for one at a time, and can be hastened depending on activity from the respective faction. Selling loot, sinking opposing ships, and all the rest.
CLOSING REMARKS
This is the concept in full. I will not be changing this document from here on out. The event and implementation of the mode's unique features can be cut if need be.
I understand that this can end up dividing the player base again as did Arena. Be that as it may, we have always been given the choice to play how we wish to play, and Safer Seas, for example, did not spell the end of the game as we know it by having private sessions ready and available, so neither will this.
All of this content can roll out at its own pace, at its own scale, in its own updates. If I had to choose how to roll this stuff out, start with the simple stuff, work up to the grand finale of adding the mechanics to the normal play space
Duels, Tavern Brawls, and Challenge the Lord in one update. Rollout Challenge the Lord midway through the season.
then the next season can add Capture the Chest and Fortress Raid
Then the addition of the new world enemies, ideally as a mid-season update
then the full addition of the world event and potions. The midseason patch will be light, as this is a monumental work load and scaling things back will not be on the table. Title this arc in the story simply as:
The War for The Sea of Thieves
Also, costumes for the transformation...probably not on the table. It's too specific of a mechanic to have skins and they already would look cool as they are. That is for someone else to decide, though. I'm just the person making the concept at the end of the day.
Final remarks: normal Hourglass ship combat will also be fully allowed to take advantage of these changes, players on streaks will get to do everything someone in skirmish gets to. Hey, if you wanna be a real fully guy, hang onto the potion, raise your hourglass, and just wait for an invader. Do something despicable, it'll be hilarious.
Hope y'all enjoy this, I will not be debating in the comments, [Mod Edit]
