Hi everyone,
So! This might be a pretty dumb idea, but I like to think it has some potential behind it. Sea of Thieves is a great immersive game, and currently the 4 weapons in it (I feel) are actually pretty diverse. But as I was sailing the sea, coming across sharks and other ships, and thinking about the great Megalodon that is to be (maybe) added one day, a thought popped into my head...
The one missing weapon that would make so much sense in this reality, the one traditional weapon that could be crucial to the game, the harpoon gun.
"But wait!" I hear you scream into the murky sky, "What practical uses would that actually have?" Well, let me just say this is not intended to be used against other players directly (although given Rare's amazing sense of humour, I'm sure some hilarious moments could come from it). This weapon would be more of a utility weapon, perhaps dealing increased damage against underwater creatures (including the Kraken), but nearly zero damage against players.
The harpoon gun would only realistically have perhaps two shots worth of ammunition, making it less devastating against PvE mobs. But perhaps the harpoon gun could also be used as a crude boarding mechanism for other ships too. Picture the scene: You have been chasing this sloop down for an hour and you are barely gaining any ground on them. Constantly you have had to concern yourself with people jumping off the back of the boat and boarding you, with no chance of retaliation. You have tried to out maneuver them, to no avail, and several times had to lose ground on the ship you desperately want conflict with due to the risk of gunpowder kegs being dropped in the water. You decide to ditch your musket, take out your harpoon gun and fire. THUNK it hits the back of the ship, but you detach the line (with a right click). One more shot... THUNK, finally, it's successfully hit the anchor point... you start to pull yourself with the harpoon line (with a left click) and slowly drag through the water and crawl onto the ship to the point you hit. You're on board, and finally you can break the stalemate.
Now, this is not to say the harpoon gun would guarantee anyone getting onto another ship, no no far from it. Perhaps the harpoon itself could be interactable, where anyone can remove the pin after a few seconds, but this would require for them to get off the wheel, stop repairing or other responsibilities that might give you an edge.
"But wouldn't that be OP? You could just harpoon a chest of sorrows and drag it behind the ship"... well, maybe you could... but considering you would have to drag it and be unable to perform other ship functions, would it really be worth it? You're ultimately sacrificing occasional bilging for it, and whilst it may help to hide your treasure temporarily, I'm pretty certain the rope line between the player and the chest would be quite easy to spot and work out what's happening.
The harpoon gun could also be used to help players scale rock formations on difficult maps, where solving riddles from beach to peak may be assisted if you cannot locate a path up there (or are perhaps a little too lazy). Heck, you could even add a little bit of RNG in there, maybe if the rope is put under strain for more than 20 seconds there is a 1 in 100 chance of the rope breaking, and the shot being rendered useless.
I feel it would add a really interesting and unique dynamic to the game, and could open up a lot of interesting plays when coming into PvP content. Plus, making it a fifth weapon would really spark up the debate between utility and killing potential, and may even promote stealthier players who can attach onto an enemy ship, get below deck and swap for their regular weapon combo on their ship. Maybe the harpoon gun could minorly tether an enemy to you so they have to stay within 50 feet of you until the RNG causes it to break.
Anyway, this is just a thought. I'm super stoked for the existing things Rare are doing with the game, and just figured I would post this here and see what comes off it.
Happy hunting, and see you on the oceans blue.
First Mate Jessie "Realdawnseeker" Fawkes.
