Well, I honestly wish that I could have posted this earlier, but now that I think of it, I'm grateful to myself that I took the time to think of this idea further.
So here it is! I present you my idea for a large Sea of Thieves DLC:
SEA OF THIEVES: THE RED CRUSADE
The idea surfaced with the release of the Cursed Sails Update, which resparked my hope for the betterment of this beautiful game. The concept of an AI threat was very well shown with the DLC, and unlike The Hungering Deep, I actually had genuine fun repeating the same battle in a week!
However, I don't think that's enough. Skeletons and magical things are good and all, but what I think this game needs is the very bane of piracy: Imperial control.
Whenever I think of the Age of Sail, the two most prominent things that come into my mind are the Conquistadors and Piracy. Thus, I decided to draw up some ideas of a DLC that could match the two. Thus, the Red Crusade was born.
The synopsis of the DLC is that a massive imperial fleet called the 'La Armada Roja' arrived from the east of the Ancient Isles, aiming to conquer the Sea of Thieves and its treasures. The armada is lead by the ambitious young prince of an unknown empire called Santiago de Atacama, aboard his massive fortress ship that resembles a castle, 'El Torro Rojo'.
Along with him are the mighty Ships of the Line, ready to bear down on pirates who dare to stand on the Red Crusade's way with their two decks worth of firepower.
Now, the ships of the Armada Roja scour around the sea in small groups, searching for any pirates to kill for either honor, bounty or even sadistic satisfaction. Now the inhabitants of the Sea of Thieves ask you this: Do you have what it takes to save us from Santiago's Iron Fist?
GAME MECHANICS:
As said in the synopsis, the waters of the Sea of Thieves will occasionally have small groups of ships patrolling around islands. Fortunately, the Prince's underestimation has made these flotillas small, with at most five ships huddled around together.
The patrol's power is defined by the types of ship in it, separated into three tiers:
-Tier 3 (Weakest): group of three Sloops
-Tier 2: group of four with at least one Brigantine
-Tier 1 (Strongest): group of five ships with at least one Galleon and one Brigantine
Unlike the Skeleton Ships, the ships of the Armada Roja are armored, thus is difficult to sink with conventional means (By that I mean you can't quickly sink it by shooting its lower deck), and is impossible to be boarded unless crippled.
In order to cripple these ships, players must destroy their armor with cannon fire, with each ship type having their own armor level. Once the armor is destroyed, the ship will sink one level down, thus letting players to board them and do whatever pirates do. Here is a list of armor integrity per ship:
-Sloops (7 hits)
-Brigantines (15 hits)
-Galleons (25 hits)
-Ships of the Line (Only present during quests) (50 hits)
THE THIEVISH DEFENDERS:
In order to defend the Sea of Thieves of these greedy invaders, a group of privateers, experienced sailors, merchants and even the imperial defectors banded together to establish a new company called the 'Thievish Defenders', aiming to defend the Sea of Thieves from the Red Armada through brave Pirates.
Just like the three original companies of the game, the Thievish Defenders assign you with a paid task, and provide you gold in exchange for their completion. Just like the Merchant Alliance, there are two types of quests given by them:
-Patrol Hunt:
Players are tasked to wipe out a patrol group last seen in one of the four locations of the map. The ships of the group will be marked with a unique flag up their mast along with different colored sails to differentiate them from the usual ones.
-Sink the Flagship:
Players are tasked to sink the flagship of a relatively large patrol group, which will be definitely stronger than its escorts. Depending on the difficulty of the quest, the flagship will range from a Brigantine to the massive Ships-of-the-Line. Be aware, as some quests will task players into patrol groups with more than one flagship.
Whenever the patrol group is destroyed, a Ship's Wheel will float up to the surface from the last ship sunk. In the case of Sink the Flagship, the last flagship to sink will drop this loot.
From cheapest to most expensive:
-Lieutenant's Wheel
-Captain's Wheel
-Commodore's Wheel
-Admiral's Wheel
THE MAN-O-WAR:
After the intial invasion of the Armada Roja, a group of pirates lead by a former shipwright stumbled across a beached and abandoned Ship of the Line. Deciding to make good use of it, they sold the wreck to a group of active shipwrights, and they reverse engineered the hull, giving birth to the Man-o-War, a type of ship similar to that of the Ship of the Line, but with a lower firepower and minimum crew capacity.
The Man-o-War will have twelve cannons, half on each broadside, and will have a crew capacity of 5 to 6 people. In exchange of having better survivability and firepower, it has a lower mobility and speed.
OUTPOST OCCUPATION:
In order to prevents pirates from banding together and retaliate, the Armada Roja decided to occupy outposts whenever a patrol group can. Tasked to shoot any pirate on sight, the soldiers of the Red Armada patrol around outposts, armed with swords and firearms, all while the inhabitants of these islands beg for a savior to get rid of these invaders.
In game, there is a chance of an outpost of a server to be occupied by the enemy fleet. Just like the tiers of the patrol groups, the occupation intensity will depend on the tier of the said occupation.
Tier 1- A small group of light soldiers patrol the island. Shopkeepers of the outpost will be forced to increase their prices by 1.5x.
Tier 2- A slightly larger group of light soldiers accompanied by elite guardsmen, which have heavier armor and higher damage. Shopkeepers will have their prices doubled.
Tier 3- Two sloops and a Brigantine will patrol around the island, accompanying a larger group of light soldiers and elite guardsmen. Shops will be closed until the occupation is over and Company hubs will not sell quests.
WEEKLY TARGETS (LEGENDARY SHIPS):
Ever since the Armada Roja made their appearance, there has been rumors circling around pirates about unthinkably powerful ships that scour the Sea. Any pirate ship that took that as a challenge have not been seen since their last departure. Just what could these ships be?
These are the legendary ships, the most powerful Ships of the Line of the Red Armada that make their positions in the four sectors of the Sea of Thieves. Every week, these ships will change, just like how the Cursed Sails did with their cursed crew.
THE SHORES OF PLENTY:
Week 1: SOBERANO REAL
-Very fast
-Has a forward ram
Week 2: EL INMORAL
-Invulnerable Broadsides
-Well armored stern and bow
ANCIENT ISLES:
Week 1: EL SANTO BRUJO
-Fires green Curseballs
-Drops cursed gunpowder barrels from behind
Week 2: TORBELLINO
-Fires cannonballs that summon whirlpools
-Fires purple Curseballs
THE WILDS:
Week 1: LA SOMBRA
-Hides in a thick fog, occasionally invisible
-Can teleport around the battlefield
Week 2: INCUBUS AND SUCCUBUS
-Incubus has a very tough armor
-Succubus has harpoons and can send boarding parties when up close
THE DEVIL'S ROAR:
Week 1: AGUILA
-Fires high explosive cannonballs (makes at most three holes)
-Has a large bow-facing cannon (Makes at least seven holes)
Week 2: LA DAMA OSCURA
-Deploys mortar rowboats
-Fores mortars herself
WEEK 3:
Finally at the Third week of the DLC, the Final Showdown will begin. At the Ancient Isles, a massive fog will be present just outside the shroud. Upon entering this area, the battle against the Fortress Ship 'El Torro Rojo' will begin. Upon entering, you will not be able to retreat, for you will be pushed back to the battle. Good luck, pirate.
EL TORRO ROJO:
This massive ship is known not only by its size, but also by the castle built on the deck of the ship. Its broadside of 100 cannons can make short work of any fleet foolish enough to confront it. The bow of the ship has perhaps the most dangerous weapon: The Grand Cannon: The massive cannon that replaces the boom. Any ship that gets hits by its massive shell will sink no matter its flooding level. Any other ship around its blast radius will be violently pushed back. Indeed, such characteristics of this ship makes it the Prince of the Red Armada's personal flagship.
The fight against the massive 200m fortress ship will be fought in multiple stages, and the battle will begin as soon as the player/alliance enters the fog.
-Stage 1: The enemy will actively try to use its Grand Cannon against you. When coming close, it will use its broadsides to sink you. TIP: Try to stick to its bow or stern, as there is significantly less firepower there and the Grand Cannon can only fire front.
-Stage 2: The fortress ship will sink just a little bit, and the Grand Cannon will not be used anymore. Instead, the ship will start firing random cursed cannonballs from its broadsides and reinforcements in the form of four sloops, three brigantines and two Galleons. TIP: Try using the enemy reinforcements as meat shields against the curseballs. These ships will drop random supply crates when sunk.
-Stage 3: After you sink the reinforcements, the fortress ship will resume firing conventional cannonballs. Keep shooting it until it sinks down again.
-Stage 4: If the fortress ship sinks down another deck, it will once again call more reinforcements but unlike stage 2, it will actively start shooting conventional cannoballs mixed with curseballs. Reinforcements will be comprised of two Ships of the Line, three Galleons and five Sloops.
-Stage 5: Sinking these reinforcements will make the fortress ship more aggressive. Now, instead of conventional cannonballs, it will fire high explosive shells at the player, which can make multiple holes on the hull and have a small knockback. Along with this new attack and curseball, reinforcements will now spontaneously spawn from the fog individually.
-Stage 6: You've done it. The Fortress Ship is now crippled. The keel has met the sea floor and it cannot move. Its cannons go silent, but the castle of the ship stays firm. You are to now board it, make your way across the halls and broken remains of the deck and confront Prince Santiago de Atacama himself. Be warned, for he is donned with heavy armor and a broadsword, which makes him immune to damage. Find a way to send him to the Davy Jones' Locker, and you have crippled the entire Command Structure of the Armada Roja once and for all. You have done it. The remains of this once mighty ship will stand as the memorial of the brave pirates that brought peace to the Sea of Thieves: You. The Guardian of the Pirates. The Pirate Lord will be proud.
EDIT:
COMMENDATIONS:
I've thought of simple Commendations just like the Cursed Sails. I'll update as I go:
-Red Privateer: Sink 10 Armada Roja ships
-Red Sea Dog: Sink 50 Armada Roja ships
-Red Hunter: Sink 100 Armada Roja ships
-The Sinker of the Soberano Real: Sink the Soberano Real with the Sail of the Shores of Plenty (Week 1)
-The Sinker of the El Santo Brujo: Sink the El Santo Brujo with the Sail of the Wilds (Week 1)
-The Sinker of the La Sombra: Sink the La Sombra with the Sail of the Ancient Isles (Week 1)
-The Sinker of the Aguila: Sink the Aguila (Week 1)
-The Sinker of the El Inmortal: Sink the El Inmortal (Week 2)
-The Sinker of the Torbellino: Sink the Torbellino (Week 2)
-The Sinker of the Twins: Sink the Incubus and Succubus (Week 2)
-The Sinker of the La Nave Nodriza: Sink the La Nave Nodriza (Week 2)
-Thievish Scout: Complete 10 Thievish Defenders quests
-Thievish Shipmate: Complete 25 Thievish Defenders quests
-Thievish Lieutenant: Complete 50 Thievish Defenders quests
-Thievish Captain: Complete 100 quests
-Thievish Admiral: Complete 200 quests
-Guardian of Pirates: Defeat Prince Santiago do Atacama
So there you have it: The core mechanics of my massive DLC idea. I'll add more to it as I go, and would like to receive reviews. Please be constructive, as it will improve the idea even further!
