What's up forums,
Im a big sea of thieves player (even if a new one) and I spend a lot of time sailing around on my own. Lots of time on uneventful waters has led to a lot of observation, and there's something I've always thought was missing. Why is there no sort of fishing?
Fishing was a huge part of the Golden Age of Piracy. People realized that there was an adequate supply, seeing as they literally were surrounded by miles of water, and if you weren't a shipwright or a merchant, you were probably a fishermen. Small canoes and schooners would set out with nets and poles (the crank reel was invented about mid 17th century, in 1659) and the demand was huge for dried and salted fish, especially as a ration for naval troops. Of course where there was a market for something, there were pirates, and many fishing vessels had to employ mercenary and royal guards to protect from constant raids on the small, usually underarmed vessels. So why not bring this aspect of pirate history to Sea of Thieves? Well after some research, I found out that fishing has been possibly teased by the devs, so I decided, why not throw out my suggestion how it could function?
Here's my idea if how this can work:
Add a fishing rod to players equipment (like the shovel and compass). The base rod could be a simple cane pole, and more rods can be made to match existing sets, like the Hunter or Merchant sets. Maybe some of the set rods can show crankreels like how they were during that time period. Using right trigger (I play on xbox, so I don't know the binding for that on Windows 10!) Would cast the rod out. But if course, ye' can't just throw your line anywhere and expect to catch fish. You have to find where the fish are biting. You could only be able to catch fish if you casted your line in certain points in the water. These points could be around the many islands in the game (with a few sprinkled in open water) and could be signified by the water churning with a pod of fish in a circular area, with gulls circling overhead of the school (a real life behavior of seabirds). By casting your line there, and with a bit of angler patience, a fish could bite your line, signified by the end of your rod being tugged down jerkily. By holding down the right trigger when a fish has bitten, you would reel it in (failure to do so in time would mean losing the fish). By default, you would catch a generic fish (The model could be based off of the Atlantic Cod, which could be a nice nod to the historic demand of the fish in Europe during the 16th and 17th century) and be Aptly named "Fish." Riveting stuff. Once a fish is reeled on successfully, it would be added to a player's inventory like bananas and planks, with a stack limit of 5. Fish could be stored in your ships food barrel, and could be eaten for healing much like bananas could, except for only a fraction of the health gained, and with a chance to make your pirate start vomiting (Arr, I guess buccaneers can't stand sashimi!).
A new type of merchant crate can be added, like the cannonball and plank crates, made especially for these fish (perhaps the model could be a basket with a lid, and a fish tail sticking out for immersion!) That holds around 30-50 fish, and can be sold to the Merchant's Alliance once full for about half the price of regular merchant resource crates. The reduced healing and price nerf would help to compensate for the availability of fish.
But this is Sea of Thieves! What would the addition of such a useful new system be if it was just about boring, tedious grind. Nobody wants to just take bland fish, put them in a bland crate, and sell them to a bland merchant. There are bigger, more exotic fish to be sought, lurking in the waters right below you.
When fishing, instead of a generic fish, you could have a chance to catch a Prize Fish. These fish would have special models, and function like a treasure item similar to a chest or skull. When a Prize Fish is caught, the fishing pole would be put away and exchanged for the fish being held in your hand (by the tail would make the most sense). You could not run while holding a prize fish, and they could be picked up and put down in the same way as crates and chests. They could even occasionally flop up in the air when set down on land (in reality fish would obviously suffocate if left out of water, but since the pigs you capture somehow need feeding every couple of minutes or they'll STARVE, I dont think fish somehow defying death when out of water is a huge issue). Caution must be used however, as if Prize Fish were dropped into water (or even if enough bilge water gathered up in your ships hull, and the fish got covered), they would disappear within a few seconds, escaping to tell the tale. Prize Fish would have different rarities, and include real life species of fish as well as some ideas of fiction. For example, an Angelfish could be the most common Prize Fish, the most likely to pull up and less valuable, while something like a Barracuda could be more mid-teir, more valuable and a little harder to catch, And occupying the highest tiers could be skeleton fish, a fish that defies all laws of common sense and made of gold and gems, or even a tiny terror of the deep; a baby kraken!
Of course, again due to availability over other of the in game valuables, Prize fish could not be worth too much gold (I personally wouldn't let even the rarest fish sell for more than 300 to avoid inflation).
Just think about how well this could benefit immersion:
Maybe you'd like to play just as a fisherman, taking your sloop out to your best fishing holes and scrambling to avoid and defend against pirates seeking your slippery haul.
Or perhaps your crewmates have asked you to hold back on the beach to keep an eye on your ship, and you spy a churn of fish close by. What a wonderful way to spend the wait, and gain a little extra resource and pay.
Or even if you just wanted to take a break from digging treasure and fleeing from Skeletal Crews, content to just cozy up in a rowboat with your line in the water as the sun sets behind you.
I have a lot more in mind on how fishing could be added, like a net you can attach to your boat that collects generic Fish over time, or even a new faction of fishermen that send you to collect said baskets of fish and bring back Prize Fish, but send you hunting Megalodons and even Krakens in their desire to conquer all that roam in the seas, but I've rambled enough for now. This is a suggestion, so feedback and other people's ideas and feedback is appreciated.
Also I apologize for spelling and grammatical errors, I'm forced to do this on mobile.
Let's make this a thing, Mateys.
