With the announcement of the upcoming anniversary update there was another mention of the golden age of piracy that's still to come. That reminded me to make this suggestion.
I was glad to hear that the golden age of piracy is still to come. I don't want to feel that I've missed it. You might be able to see why people might think that they've missed it. Most of what we do in the Sea of Thieves is either putting former pirates to rest or stealing treasure that used to belong to pirates. There's obviously been a lot of piracy in the Sea of Thieves already.
An age isn't a golden age for piracy just because you say it is. What will the golden age of piracy have, besides players, that the Sea of Thieves didn't already have? Fishing?
Several factors led to the golden age of piracy in the real world.
- Technology - sailing ships.
We already have sailing ships in the Sea of Thieves, so that's good. But the technology of transportation at the time was an important factor. Ships could transport a lot of loot, but could be caught by other ships. - Exploration - the New World.
The first successful colonies in the New World were still new, very young by the measure of nations, during the golden age of piracy. There were many resources in the New World waiting to be claimed. - Politics - Imperialism.
Nations looking to increase their power founded colonies in other parts of the world. They expected the colonies to seek the good of the nation. Travel to and from the colonies increased traffic on the sea. - Economics - Mercantilism.
Nations measured their power by the amount of gold they had in their treasuries. Therefore, there was much gold being shipped from the colonies to the nations. - Wars.
Because imperial powers had colonies all over the world, their wars were fought all over the world. That required them to have strong navies, and motivated them to authorize privateers. Many of the world's most famous pirates began as privateers.
So what can be added to help make the golden age of piracy more amazing?
New regions to explore will always be welcome. Resources other than buried treasure, resources that would attract nations and encourage colonies, would be great. Perhaps we could choose to go after these resources ourselves, or go after those who are going after the resources.
I'd like to see nations come to colonize the Sea of Thieves, or parts of it. That might mean more NPC's. Maybe ships to plunder and towns to raid.
I'd like the option to privateer for one or another of the nations. (But not in a way that limits our options. Giving us the tools to choose sides and then betray them would be great.) This could affect PVE or PVP. Maybe nations would give you a reward if you sink a privateer of an enemy nation.
