Introducing: The Veiled Ruins, an update proposal to add a new region to the Sea of Thieves! In this update, you can now sail to The Forgotten Expanse: a region with a mysterious past, riddled with treacherous new threats, and full of new rewarding opportunities.
Explore the Forgotten Expanse: a lush region, teeming with life, and home to a new AI threat. Rather than being a collection of islands, The Forgotten Expanse will be dominated by two very large islands (5-6 times larger than the largest islands already in the game) with small islands and coral reefs scattered across the surrounding sea. These two islands were once the home of two forgotten cities, built long ago by the mysterious Ancients. Now, the Ancients are long gone, and the jungle has taken over the ruins of these temples. But beware, the treasures and secrets left behind by the Ancients won’t be easy to reach. The jungle is scattered with dangerous quicksand pits (players slowly sink and have their movement slowed) and carnivorous plants (similar to being trapped in the Kraken’s grasp)! Perhaps rowing your crew upriver into the interior of the island’s lagoons and Cenotes may be the safest route? But still, that distant bloodthirsty drumming you hear may not be your aching heartbeat… A new AI threat is lurking in the jungle and no Pirate is safe!
Battle the Island’s Guardians: A mysterious tribe of masked pygmies. These club and blowgun wielding enemies are small and nimble, move faster than skeletons, and can disguise themselves quite well in the undergrowth of the jungle, allowing them to ambush the unsuspecting trespassing pirates. While the origin of these creatures is still unknown, some speculate they were once monkeys or totems trapped into servitude by the Ancients, cursed to forever protect the coveted gold hidden within the temples. What these guardians lack in fortitude they make up for in speed, stealth, and numbers. (These pygmies would take an appearance similar to the Tiki Demons of Pacific Islander folklore.) Pirates wishing to reach the riches deep within the jungle may think twice, knowing what dangers await them.
Unlock the Secrets of the Ancients: Upon reaching the ruins you will face difficult puzzles, traps, and challenges devised by the Ancients to keep intruders out. Those daring and with the wit to match may just make it through! Waiting for those who succeed, will be a treasure trove unlike any a Pirate has seen before. But be wary, these temple secrets won’t always be reachable. Look to the skies to see if a temple’s treasures may be found, and then those racing to the gold will surely be abound (a temple cloud will appear)!
Meet the Buccaneers: These landlubber pirates have taken a liking to these treacherous jungles, and have set up an outpost on one of the outskirting islands. Sail here to cash in your “Temple Raiding” bounty, or to receive local quests. As these islands are so big, quests and maps will instead zoom into specific locations on these islands. And these said locations will have their own names. For example "Riptide Cove" on the island of "Freebooter Enclave." The time-limited campaign will also start here, following the discovery of the secrets in the Forgotten Expanse. You can also purchase here the three new apparel and ship livery sets!
The Buccaneer set: A rustic worn-leather landlubber set, inspired by the Hispaniola Buccaneers, with a Tusked Boar figurehead.
The Corsair set: A faded red and gold set, inspired by the French corsairs, with a Red Seahorse Figurehead.
The Jungle Raider set: A jaguar pelt and gold adornment set, inspired by the wealthy Madagascar pirates, with a Golden Jaguar figurehead.
Wield the Blowgun: The Veiled Ruin's new poison-inducing stealth weapon! With a slow reload time and little direct damage dealt, one might wonder why anyone would ever wield this weapon. However, those with stealth in mind may find this weapon desirable. It makes very little sound, leaves no trails through the air, and inflicts its victim with a nasty dose of poison.
Play the Pan Flute: Sea of Thieves new instrument! Play it along with your friends during a shanty, or learn how to play its ancient tune — which can stun that angry swarm of Guardians fast at your heels!
Gameplay issues for the Veiled Ruins and their possible solutions:
Worried about traveling deep into the jungle, dying, and then respawning all the way back at your ship? Well, fear not! The Ancients have left behind mysterious obelisks across the jungle that when activated by you or a crewmate, a new spawn location from the vessel of the damned is available. Once one is activated, there’s no turning them off, unless of course, your ship leaves the Island, in which they are then all deactivated. While another crew may not be able to contest your crew’s control of an obelisk, there will be enough scattered around the island for them to control too. After all, each crew can only control one at a time, and changing your controlled obelisk removes your control from the previous one. Get ready to really battle for your control of the Temple’s loot if another crew is challenging you!
Worried about not being able to bring the loot from a temple back to your ship? With the latest introduction of the rowboat, transporting loot can be much easier. With this kept in mind, these two large islands will have intricate waterway networks that connect the ruins in the center of the island with the sea. Each ruin will always have a rowboat in the lagoon/river, and some pirates will have already brought their own.
Worried about your ship being left alone and unprotected while off deep in the jungle? Beaching the ship is the new solution! With the addition of carrying rope:
https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/77025/carrying-rope As suggested here by “bl00d thirty 99,” Players can use this rope to beach their ships on the much wider shorelines of these large islands. Sail your ship close up to the shore, each player attaches their rope, and then… HEAVE! With a ship beached, it can still be damaged, but it won’t sink until it is returned to the water. This allows players to venture inland without having their ship sunk. It can only be returned to the water by the crew members of the ship. You can enter the ship via the rope holding it down on the beach. But be wary, enemy crews can still wait in ambush for those pirates returning with their bounty!
It's up to you and your crew to secure the loot, escape the treacherous jungle, and make off like bandits!
That’s all for my Veiled Ruins suggestion!
If you like this or have any suggestions or critiques, please leave a comment! I’d love to hear what people think!
