hello. i like making lists and ive been thinking about this for a few days, so here. these rankings are from worst to best, and are based off of both coolness of their design and how functionally fun/easy they are to do quests on. outposts, seaposts, forts, small islands, and devil's roar islands are not included.
also, for context, i am a pirate legend with probably around 500 hours in this game, almost all of said hours being on a sloop, and most of those hours being solo. ive only set sail on a galleon about half a dozen times, and ive never stepped foot on a brig. except for sinking them.
--LARGE ISLANDS--
#20: Old Faithful Isle
blech. very large, has a large gorge dividing both sides that is a huge pain to cross, quite difficult to do x-marks-the-spot maps on it, very annoying order of souls spawns, and difficult riddles. also does not get any extra points for design as it's quite boring. easy pick for worst island in the game for me. 0/10
#19: Kraken's Fall
not nearly as bad as old faithful, but the overlapping highground paths make it quite annoying to pinpoint x-marks-the-spots. the riddles usually aren't too bad, but there are a few brutal ones, and order of souls generally aren't terrible, but are still annoying just due to being so big. also no good place to park because of the spikey rock nonsense around most of the island. also not very interesting design-wise. 1/10
#18: Discovery Ridge
another island with a large gorge, and not many distintive landmarks on the map to help pinpoint x's. riddles are harder than average and order of souls spawns are absolutely miserable. i like its design and look a little more than the previous ones, but still quite bad. 1.5/10
#17: Plunder Valley.
gorge. gorges bad. also, x's are very difficult to pinpoint, order of souls spawns are unpleasant, and probably harbors some of the most painful riddles in the game. design is probably the best so far, but still nothing super impressive. 2/10
#16: Wanderer's Refuge
despite its size, its riddles are probably some of the easier ones in the game, and the order of souls spawns aren't too bad. however, x-marks-the-spots on this island are extremely unacceptable. if i see one on my athena's, that's a vote to cancel from me, chief. also, uninteresting design. 2.5/10
#15: Marauder's Arch
easy riddles, relatively easy x's, but... the order of souls spawns. they're pure evil. especially that one spawn. you know the one. the one that takes literally a full minute or two of sprinting to get to, and doesnt even grant you the mercy of allowing you to drop skulls down because of all the rocks, requiring you to make the 1-2 minute run for each and every skull. or use the cannon, but that's easier said than done. i like the idea of this place, but in practice, it's just tedious to traverse. 3/10
#14: Smuggler's Bay
he island too big for he gotdang quests. riddles are vague at best, x's are a pain and a half to pinpoint, and order of souls spawns suck. however, i'll give it points for looking cool. however, i'll also take away points for that cannon in the middle right above the beach. 3/10
#13: Shark Bait Cove
quite easy x's, generally merciful order of souls spawns, but the riddles are somethin' else. i've had to google two different riddle steps on this island alone. design is cool, but in practice it's pretty disorienting to traverse. 3.5/10
#12: Crook's Hollow
x's aren't too bad unless theyre in the mess that is the southeastern quadrant, order of souls spawns can be bad but most are decent. riddles tend to not be too complex, but i have had to google one, and even then it took me a solid ten minutes to find what they had described. also, annoying to park at, because you either have to nestle yourself in the middle while being cannoned at, and potentially get stuck between the south beach and the dock, or park at some random beach. design is okay. i like the caves. 3.5/10
#11: The Crooked Masts
basically just a better version of marauder's arch. still not great, though. not nearly as tedious to traverse, but has its own unique problems, namely with x-marks-the-spots and their tendency to be on small, tiny little outcroppings that you have to jump from the peaks down onto. also, order of souls spawns can be brutal, and riddles can be misleading. now that im writing this, i kind of want to put it lower, but thats too much work. 3.5/10
#10: Devil's Ridge
at an annoying spot on the map, but thats not all my gripes with it. x marks the spots aren't too bad, but sometimes can be brutal. same with riddles, as some of them require you to head into the caves, the entrance to which can be pretty frustrating to find sometimes. order of souls spawns tend to be merciful, but definitely not always. not very interesting, but also nothing too bad about it, in both design and function. 4.5/10
#9: Shipwreck Bay
i actually kinda like this place. it can be annoying to get around, what with the little ring of outcroppings around it, and the central elevated area with the cannons, but the x's are pretty easy to find, the riddles tend not to be too bad (except for one step that shall not be spoken of), and the order of souls spawns are pretty merciful. except for one. you know the one. if you don't, then i envy you. i took this island down a few places just for that single order of souls spawn. but anyway, i like the feel of this place, and apart from some unmentionables, questing here is pretty easy. 5.5/10
#8: The Sunken Grove
simplicity is best, sometimes. and this place is very simple. a big ol donut with easy order of souls spawns and easy x-marks-the-spot pinpointing. however, riddles require you to actually interact with the no man's land in the donut's hole sometimes. that place sucks. a lot. but apart from that evil place, i'm a big fan of this island. 6/10
#7: Cannon Cove
easy riddles and easy order of souls spawns, and mostly easy x-marks-the-spots because of the abundance of landmarks. however, some x's can be a pain if they're deep in the north or southwest forests. also, cannon cove doesnt have a cannon. why doesnt a place with cannon in its name have a cannon. but anyway, it's relatively uninteresting, but its very functional, and i like that. 6/10
#6: Mermaid's Hideaway
the best of the trilogy of islands with two large landmasses connected by a bridge: marauder's arch, crooked masts, and this place. riddles, most order of souls spawns, and most x's are easy as sin, but some x's and skeleton spawns can be annoying if they're up on top. especially if they're on the farther side. also, i just learned this week that this place has caves. neat. 6.5/10
#5: Thieves' Haven
most people probably dislike this place, but i'm actually a pretty big fan. it has a fair amount of landmarks to pinpoint x's and the order of souls spawns tend to be pretty reasonable. however, the riddles are absolute devilry. also, it's one of the few islands with a lot of verticality that actually make it easy to get to the higher ground. marauder's arch could learn a thing or two. and to top it off, it looks really, really cool, and its neat that theres an island that you can just drive into the middle of. and props for making a ladder to the top out of a wrecked ship. clever, cool, and functional. 7.5/10
#4: Lone Cove
as i mentioned on sunken grove, simplicity can be best. it shows at this place. a big, but not too big, solid, oval-shaped landmass, with enough landmarks and land diversity to make x's reasonably easy to pinpoint. they can still be brutal if they're in the north forest, though. order of souls spawns are easy except for when they're in the northwest cave, but even then it's just a little more work. and riddles are easy. also, deadshot dierdre is my wife. 8/10
#3: Crescent Isle
cannon cove but better. thats really all there is to say about this place. easier riddles, easier x's, but maybe slightly worse skeleton spawns. 8/10
#2: Snake Island
i love this place. very easy riddles, very easy x's, very easy skeleton spawns. it's also cool, and allows for very convenient parking. not much else to say, it's just overall great. 9/10
#1: Sailor's Bounty
wonderful place. dripping with flavor with its sprawling dungeons, and despite being one of the biggest islands, one of the easiest to do x's on. riddles can take time, but exploring the dungeon is just fun in its own right. order of souls can also spawn down there, which is actually just annoying and that's why im giving this place a 9.5 instead of a 10. 9.5/10
well there you go. i thought about doing another list for forts, and another for small islands, but while i have too much time on my hands, as evidenced by me making this list out of boredom, that seems a little arbitrary. and i would have included devil's roar islands, but i never go to that place. anyway, feel free to give me your opinions so i feel validated that i spent 30-40 minutes on this
