Let me preface this before anything else -no, not a paid cosmetic loot chest, like most would expect (Overwatch, League, etc)!
That said, let's dive in!
I've been thinking of ways that Rare could revitalize/renew/maintain consistent interest in current world events, without having to massively upheave how they function. With the advent of the new and current Stashes event, and seeing how active Skull Forts are, I've remembered how hectic and fun regularly contested WE's are.
I then looked at some of Rare's current and past concepts, namely the Chest of Fortune, and the Ashen Chests. Both of these concepts aim to allow the player to earn cool cosmetics, for obtaining and turning in these chests, and it got me thinking of something better!
Enter: The Cache of Boundless Possibilities.
This cache is a new, sought-after loot item that can be obtained as a reward for every current, and future main World Event - the kicker? This cache contains a random cosmetic item from a new set.
Now you might ask, "how would this revitalize, and incentivize consistent World Event play/battles?" Each season, the Cache of Boundless Possibilities not only refreshes it's set of cosmetics, but it also is updated with a new look for the physical loot item, to reflect that season's cosmetic theme (similar to how the season pass does). The CoBP would contain a full set of cosmetics (ship livery, clothing, weapons, and equipment).
Let's talk functionality, and how it would work. Each world event's end loot pool would have one of these caches added as a reward. As the cache is a physical loot item, this would incentivize players to not only participate in ANY world event to obtain this loot, but also incentivize other crews to battle for supremacy to procure this lucrative booty! Not only that, but there could be commendations/rewards tied to how many of these caches are turned in (title rewards, ship decorations, costumes, etc).
A cosmetic from the set is rewarded to the player/crew upon turning in the cache (only the crew who physically turns in the cache is eligible to obtain the cosmetic, so alliance cheesing would be pointless). One issue I had with the Ashen Chests/Ashen Dragon cosmetics, was the issue of repeat tomes - to fix this with the CoBP, once a player/crew obtains a cosmetic, they cannot get duplicates.
Here's where some people might disagree with this idea; as the Cache is seasonal, that season's cosmetic set is limited time for that particular season for a time, not permanently. Before we get out the pitchforks, and complain about FOMO, my idea to combat this works similarly to how seasonal cosmetics have historically returned; they are brought back into the gold shop a few seasons later either for a large gold sum and/or locked behind commendations. This would allow those who participate in the world events to have special cosmetics to show off their dedication, but also allow people who may have missed it to obtain them at a later date.
I really think this would be a great medium to revitalize interest in the rotation of World Events, and would rekindle that fiery determination of year one Fort Battles, without having to majorly change loot pools, values, etc. I do understand and respect that creating a brand new set of cosmetics on a seasonal basis might be challenging, but I also think that this would make a lot of folks happy.
Please let me know what you think! :)
