Dewderonomy
Grandmaster
With the creative efforts that lead to galleons, designed with the intent of naval battles in mind, we now need some reasons to go out and use them. That means incentive. Future implementation of a currently vague deep sea treasure hunting element will go a long way to help encourage naval engagements, a true risk vs. reward option for fishing crews, pirates and pirate-hunters alike. From what we know, this system will require groups to sign up with someone who will let everyone know of a location to go to where they can attempt to fish up a deep sea treasure hunting specific rare. Since this will be public, anyone can show up there to fight over the potential loot.
But should there be a cost for this information? Should incentives to encourage naval combat stop at deep sea treasure hunting? This thread will talk about a currency specific to seafaring that can then be used for future naval expansion.
What are doubloons?
Doubloons are a particular currency used for seafaring upgrades and miscellany involving seafaring, fishing and piracy. They would be like platinum, donation coins and even silver - their own system of money for specific benefits and purchases. They could look like copper coins (in game already), not be blessed, and can have a wide variety of uses that could be expounded upon with future updates.
Where would I get them?
I'd say a lot of places, but all specifically at sea. The idea behind the doubloons is that they are earned at sea to be used for purchases for seafaring. Grinding gold on land shouldn't lead to these purchases; it should be a reward for venturing onto the oceans, and encourage players to get out there and start building their doubloon stores for upgrades. Some places you could get doubloons include:
1) The Grotto - certain monsters in the Grotto could have a chance of dropping 1-5 doubloons. Keeping it low means farming and grinding the dungeon won't lead to an excess of them instantly, and still make players rely on going out to sea to earn their doubloons.
2) MiBs - the chests can have a pile of doubloons in them depending on the level, from 1-25 doubloons. This could be the main way of getting doubloons to invest in the deep sea treasure hunting system. With how easy it is to get chests, only getting about 15 on average per chest will be enough to give them a worth while still providing enough that, with a successful fishing run, a fisherman would have plenty to spend on deep sea t-hunting intelligence.
3) Ship Models - ships models can be turned in for doubloons based on the ship type. A small classic might yield 1,000 doubloons while a large dragon classic could be 5,000 doubloons.
4) Sea Quests - as mentioned in another thread, escorting NPCs or transporting cargo could be rewarded with decent sums (50-100) of doubloons, as well as a little gold on the side (standard escort pay, I'd imagine). This can encourage shipping lanes as well as the fishing lanes, leading to piracy and naval battles.
5) Specialty Fish - including lobsters and crabs, if they ever put them in. This could be a cool way to get doubloons down the line if they ever include the AotHS fish as well.
What can I spend them on?
Lots of things, really. There isn't really a limit that these doubloons could be used for, given the nature of seafaring. Some things that come to mind:
1) Deep Sea Treasure Hunting - We know its name, and that's where it stops. What we don't know is how much fishing you'll need *cough110+cough* or how we'll go about getting the coordinates. Let's assume there's a guy in the Den who will offer it for gold. Why gold? Gold is easy to come by; why not use a system that encourages, if not enforces, the fishermen and/or pirates to earn the access to such information at sea? The NPC could demand 100 (or maybe 1,000) doubloons instead of gold (if they intend him to cost anything at all). This makes it an investment into getting the treasure, and one that benefits the hard work of fishermen, not bards or tamers in Shame or Deceit.
2) Cannon - Perhaps cannon aren't purchased at shipwrights, but in the Den from a gunsmith. Or they are purchasable but extremely expensive to do so (10-15K per gun sort of range), whereas with doubloons, they'd only be in the 100-200 range. This would make pirates either loot their doubloons or at least fish up enough doubloons to purchase their guns to turn on innocent salvagers and fishermen. Additionally, doubloon-only heavy cannon (which a graphic exists for) could be costly investments with potential for higher damage output (maybe you can load it up to 35 instead, or it always does +5 damage, shoots farther, something like that).
3) Ship Upgrades - also known as "pimp your ride", this could lead to heavy customizations for ships. Want more HP on your ship? Get some copper plating. Maybe increased magazines that provide a damage bonus to cannon on your ships. Or a fishing bonus, much like mining gloves but for anyone on the ship?
4) Deck Swab - a tool with charges that can delete certain sea monster corpses.
5) Ship Locations - pay an NPC to get the locations of the closest ships, or maybe islands or cities that they are nearby. Something like "There is a ship to the northeast, a ship to the south, and a ship to the north" for the three closest ships (one which will undoubtedly be your own).
6) Spyglasses - special spyglasses that come in three levels (bronze, silver and gold) that help locate ships while at sea. It will provide more coverage than the tracking skill, but only locates ships, not players, and still only within a limited area (each will give a strict search distance; bronze would be like GM Tracking, silver like twice that and gold three times). A cooldown of a minute or two would keep it pretty fair, and it would only release the direction ("a ship is to the north"), not actually track the ship. Remember, this can be used by fishermen to keep a lookout for pirates coming after them, too!
7) Poles and Bait - stronger poles to increase chances of pulling serpents with baits to encourage certain monsters (like kraken) up, or even to get future special fish from the AotHS expansion.
8) Weapons and Tools - grape shot to deal damage to players aboard a ship instead of the ship itself; chainshot to slow a ship while doing half damage to the ship; grappling hooks to stun a ship in extremely close range; Kraken (and Leviathan/Osiredon) slayers; black or silver crossbows and heavy crossbows (blunderbusses and muskets) that act as force+ weapons but make cool sounds when they fire; Davy Jones' Locker - all sorts of things if they wish to keep adding to it as it becomes more popular (we just gotta' get it there).
9) Sea Quests (Again) - didn't I say this was a way to get them? Maybe it's also a way to spend them, by purchasing information leading to smuggling runs. Perhaps it flags your ship and anyone can find out your location by paying information for it (with doubloons, of course). Or maybe where a smuggler's destination is (to lie in wait). The rewards would be higher than the standard escorts, but maybe with a small chance at a smuggler-specific rare (skull mugs, smuggler's cache, and all sorts of goodies).
And last, but not least...
10) The Britannia-class Man-o-War - does this need an introduction at all?
We have the potential for an amazing element of the expansion to really be put to use; as it stands right now, it's not getting a lot of use. People are going out to sea on galleons, though, we just need an organic incentive for these ships to bump into one another out in the deep blue. While I feel the future treasure hunting will do a lot for this, unless it's available back-to-back (which will devalue the rares that spawn), then there's a lot of time between potential naval battles where the galleons won't be seeing much use. I think this system will encourage galleon use, increase the risk vs. reward inherent in the heavy investments of these ships, and also prevent sailors from getting too burnt out on grinding mibs.
But should there be a cost for this information? Should incentives to encourage naval combat stop at deep sea treasure hunting? This thread will talk about a currency specific to seafaring that can then be used for future naval expansion.
What are doubloons?
Doubloons are a particular currency used for seafaring upgrades and miscellany involving seafaring, fishing and piracy. They would be like platinum, donation coins and even silver - their own system of money for specific benefits and purchases. They could look like copper coins (in game already), not be blessed, and can have a wide variety of uses that could be expounded upon with future updates.
Where would I get them?
I'd say a lot of places, but all specifically at sea. The idea behind the doubloons is that they are earned at sea to be used for purchases for seafaring. Grinding gold on land shouldn't lead to these purchases; it should be a reward for venturing onto the oceans, and encourage players to get out there and start building their doubloon stores for upgrades. Some places you could get doubloons include:
1) The Grotto - certain monsters in the Grotto could have a chance of dropping 1-5 doubloons. Keeping it low means farming and grinding the dungeon won't lead to an excess of them instantly, and still make players rely on going out to sea to earn their doubloons.
2) MiBs - the chests can have a pile of doubloons in them depending on the level, from 1-25 doubloons. This could be the main way of getting doubloons to invest in the deep sea treasure hunting system. With how easy it is to get chests, only getting about 15 on average per chest will be enough to give them a worth while still providing enough that, with a successful fishing run, a fisherman would have plenty to spend on deep sea t-hunting intelligence.
3) Ship Models - ships models can be turned in for doubloons based on the ship type. A small classic might yield 1,000 doubloons while a large dragon classic could be 5,000 doubloons.
4) Sea Quests - as mentioned in another thread, escorting NPCs or transporting cargo could be rewarded with decent sums (50-100) of doubloons, as well as a little gold on the side (standard escort pay, I'd imagine). This can encourage shipping lanes as well as the fishing lanes, leading to piracy and naval battles.
5) Specialty Fish - including lobsters and crabs, if they ever put them in. This could be a cool way to get doubloons down the line if they ever include the AotHS fish as well.
What can I spend them on?
Lots of things, really. There isn't really a limit that these doubloons could be used for, given the nature of seafaring. Some things that come to mind:
1) Deep Sea Treasure Hunting - We know its name, and that's where it stops. What we don't know is how much fishing you'll need *cough110+cough* or how we'll go about getting the coordinates. Let's assume there's a guy in the Den who will offer it for gold. Why gold? Gold is easy to come by; why not use a system that encourages, if not enforces, the fishermen and/or pirates to earn the access to such information at sea? The NPC could demand 100 (or maybe 1,000) doubloons instead of gold (if they intend him to cost anything at all). This makes it an investment into getting the treasure, and one that benefits the hard work of fishermen, not bards or tamers in Shame or Deceit.
2) Cannon - Perhaps cannon aren't purchased at shipwrights, but in the Den from a gunsmith. Or they are purchasable but extremely expensive to do so (10-15K per gun sort of range), whereas with doubloons, they'd only be in the 100-200 range. This would make pirates either loot their doubloons or at least fish up enough doubloons to purchase their guns to turn on innocent salvagers and fishermen. Additionally, doubloon-only heavy cannon (which a graphic exists for) could be costly investments with potential for higher damage output (maybe you can load it up to 35 instead, or it always does +5 damage, shoots farther, something like that).
3) Ship Upgrades - also known as "pimp your ride", this could lead to heavy customizations for ships. Want more HP on your ship? Get some copper plating. Maybe increased magazines that provide a damage bonus to cannon on your ships. Or a fishing bonus, much like mining gloves but for anyone on the ship?
4) Deck Swab - a tool with charges that can delete certain sea monster corpses.
5) Ship Locations - pay an NPC to get the locations of the closest ships, or maybe islands or cities that they are nearby. Something like "There is a ship to the northeast, a ship to the south, and a ship to the north" for the three closest ships (one which will undoubtedly be your own).
6) Spyglasses - special spyglasses that come in three levels (bronze, silver and gold) that help locate ships while at sea. It will provide more coverage than the tracking skill, but only locates ships, not players, and still only within a limited area (each will give a strict search distance; bronze would be like GM Tracking, silver like twice that and gold three times). A cooldown of a minute or two would keep it pretty fair, and it would only release the direction ("a ship is to the north"), not actually track the ship. Remember, this can be used by fishermen to keep a lookout for pirates coming after them, too!
7) Poles and Bait - stronger poles to increase chances of pulling serpents with baits to encourage certain monsters (like kraken) up, or even to get future special fish from the AotHS expansion.
8) Weapons and Tools - grape shot to deal damage to players aboard a ship instead of the ship itself; chainshot to slow a ship while doing half damage to the ship; grappling hooks to stun a ship in extremely close range; Kraken (and Leviathan/Osiredon) slayers; black or silver crossbows and heavy crossbows (blunderbusses and muskets) that act as force+ weapons but make cool sounds when they fire; Davy Jones' Locker - all sorts of things if they wish to keep adding to it as it becomes more popular (we just gotta' get it there).
9) Sea Quests (Again) - didn't I say this was a way to get them? Maybe it's also a way to spend them, by purchasing information leading to smuggling runs. Perhaps it flags your ship and anyone can find out your location by paying information for it (with doubloons, of course). Or maybe where a smuggler's destination is (to lie in wait). The rewards would be higher than the standard escorts, but maybe with a small chance at a smuggler-specific rare (skull mugs, smuggler's cache, and all sorts of goodies).
And last, but not least...
10) The Britannia-class Man-o-War - does this need an introduction at all?
We have the potential for an amazing element of the expansion to really be put to use; as it stands right now, it's not getting a lot of use. People are going out to sea on galleons, though, we just need an organic incentive for these ships to bump into one another out in the deep blue. While I feel the future treasure hunting will do a lot for this, unless it's available back-to-back (which will devalue the rares that spawn), then there's a lot of time between potential naval battles where the galleons won't be seeing much use. I think this system will encourage galleon use, increase the risk vs. reward inherent in the heavy investments of these ships, and also prevent sailors from getting too burnt out on grinding mibs.
