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  1. #1

    Gamemode Suggestion [Merchant's Run]

    Alright so this is running with the idea that there are even alternate game modes at all. But I got this idea while considering the effect of Wind and Currents in the game with a fellow Discord Servermate Sharkseant. The idea being a game mode where knowing the map is key, and understanding how wind and water currents affect your ship can be the difference between exiting the game mode with a cargo full of loot, or shuffling off with not a penny to your name.

    Welcome, to [Merchant's Run]

    The basic premise of this game mode is very simple. There are two teams, one team is the Merchants, the other team are the Pirates. They spawn on opposite sides of the map, the Merchants are trying to escape the Pirates, and the Pirates are trying to sink the Merchants.

    In practice it's of course more complex. Starting with...

    The Team Mechanics
    The Merchants are the interesting point of this game. Their load outs are uniform, and overall they can pretty easily outgun the pirates. But... there's only so much room on their ship for Cargo. The better armed you are, the less loot you're carrying. If you fully arm yourself, you're carrying so little you may as well not even be playing the game mode as you'll get more loot from just playing the PvE content. But at the same time if you only carry loot, you're completely defenseless. How you choose to outfit yourself decides how you play.

    I'm going to presume that in every game mode where you can play as a Pirate, you are able to bring your own custom ship into the game mode. So this side isn't too complex. You start the game on the side of the map that the Merchants need to reach in order to escape.

    With the basics of equipment out of the way, next comes the matter of Team Composition and Tactics. It's pretty well assumed that all of the Pirates are using their best ship-killing equipment. But how are they coordinating? Well the Pirates and Merchants are both made aware of the outfitting of each merchant ship to help with this. The Pirates may decide to split up and search for Merchants to try and find all of them before they escape, or they could group up and gang up on merchants.

    The Merchants meanwhile may decide to focus on maximum cargo and split up to emphasize their best chances of escaping with some loot. Or maybe they'll have one person would go max cargo and the other three go for maximum firepower and protect the defenseless teammate.

    The possibilities are quite large.

    The Map
    Obviously there should be more than one, but the emphasis should be on how the maps are generally laid out. There's open ocean at the spawn of both the merchants and the pirates, and in between is a stretch of islands, outcroppings, sand bars, etc. It's easy to get stuck in irons if you go the wrong route and don't listen to your navigator. But if you don't feel like navigating that mess, you could always go to the side. The central area should be roughly 2/3rd to 3/4ths maze and with a bit of open ocean between the two sides.

    Sure, it's faster, it's less hassle, but there's also MUCH less cover and it's easily accessible by anyone in the outer edges of the island maze. Gonna roll that dice that there isn't a pirate ready to pounce?
    ---
    So there it is. My idea for Merchant's Run. I hope that the Devs at least enjoy reading this, even if they can't implement this. Have a good one ya'll.
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  2. #2
    I like it
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  3. #3
    ballon009's Avatar Senior Member
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    Bad idea

    Originally Posted by LeviathanWard Go to original post
    Alright so this is running with the idea that there are even alternate game modes at all. But I got this idea while considering the effect of Wind and Currents in the game with a fellow Discord Servermate Sharkseant. The idea being a game mode where knowing the map is key, and understanding how wind and water currents affect your ship can be the difference between exiting the game mode with a cargo full of loot, or shuffling off with not a penny to your name.

    Welcome, to [Merchant's Run]

    The basic premise of this game mode is very simple. There are two teams, one team is the Merchants, the other team are the Pirates. They spawn on opposite sides of the map, the Merchants are trying to escape the Pirates, and the Pirates are trying to sink the Merchants.

    In practice it's of course more complex. Starting with...

    The Team Mechanics
    The Merchants are the interesting point of this game. Their load outs are uniform, and overall they can pretty easily outgun the pirates. But... there's only so much room on their ship for Cargo. The better armed you are, the less loot you're carrying. If you fully arm yourself, you're carrying so little you may as well not even be playing the game mode as you'll get more loot from just playing the PvE content. But at the same time if you only carry loot, you're completely defenseless. How you choose to outfit yourself decides how you play.

    I'm going to presume that in every game mode where you can play as a Pirate, you are able to bring your own custom ship into the game mode. So this side isn't too complex. You start the game on the side of the map that the Merchants need to reach in order to escape.

    With the basics of equipment out of the way, next comes the matter of Team Composition and Tactics. It's pretty well assumed that all of the Pirates are using their best ship-killing equipment. But how are they coordinating? Well the Pirates and Merchants are both made aware of the outfitting of each merchant ship to help with this. The Pirates may decide to split up and search for Merchants to try and find all of them before they escape, or they could group up and gang up on merchants.

    The Merchants meanwhile may decide to focus on maximum cargo and split up to emphasize their best chances of escaping with some loot. Or maybe they'll have one person would go max cargo and the other three go for maximum firepower and protect the defenseless teammate.

    The possibilities are quite large.

    The Map
    Obviously there should be more than one, but the emphasis should be on how the maps are generally laid out. There's open ocean at the spawn of both the merchants and the pirates, and in between is a stretch of islands, outcroppings, sand bars, etc. It's easy to get stuck in irons if you go the wrong route and don't listen to your navigator. But if you don't feel like navigating that mess, you could always go to the side. The central area should be roughly 2/3rd to 3/4ths maze and with a bit of open ocean between the two sides.

    Sure, it's faster, it's less hassle, but there's also MUCH less cover and it's easily accessible by anyone in the outer edges of the island maze. Gonna roll that dice that there isn't a pirate ready to pounce?
    ---
    So there it is. My idea for Merchant's Run. I hope that the Devs at least enjoy reading this, even if they can't implement this. Have a good one ya'll.
    Skull and bones is not a battle royal. If you want a battle royal, go to another game. This is a mmo there are no modes. There is campaign with a story and multiplayer world. Where everyone exists as ships. It’s not like sea of thieves, you grow your armada and your ship.

    And you battle others. You get points then upgrade your ship, your island your hero etc. Your weapons your gear. That’s the loop. As such it is a lot like Destiny 2. But where everyone is hostile
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