In Season Nine, the world of your pirate adventures has undergone a careful rebalance, introducing new levels of life and variety to the seas. Here’s a breakdown of the changes:
Fort of Fortune: The formidable Fort of Fortune has been redesigned to provide a more accessible and enjoyable experience for crews of all sizes. This encounter will now occur more frequently, and successful raids on its vault will earn crews the exclusive Chest of Fortune. The fort’s difficulty dynamically adjusts to the number of pirates present, and each wave of skeletons presents different challenges.
Fort of the Damned: Crews taking on the sinister Fort of the Damned will find that the Shadows of Fate and Ghost of Graymarrow now adapt in difficulty according to the number of pirates assaulting the fort. Shadows of Fate will always appear as a single color within a wave, streamlining gameplay. Resources around the fort have been replenished, including food barrels, Ammo Chests, and an Armoury.
Skeleton Forts: The classic Skeleton Fort encounter has been improved and rebalanced to scale in difficulty with the number of pirates attempting to breach the vault. These forts are now stocked with more abundant resources, featuring Ammo Chests and Armouries for players to adjust their loadouts during the battle.
Ashen Lords: The confrontations with Ashen Lords now dynamically scale in difficulty based on the number of pirates involved, offering a heated challenge.
Skeleton Fleet: Heading towards the ominous Ship Cloud indicating a Skeleton Fleet battle, crews will now face an encounter that adjusts in difficulty based on the number of players in the area. The skeleton crews on the Galleons are easier to deal with by boarders, and repairers return to defend the ship less frequently. After defeating a Skeleton Ship, crews have more time to resupply before the next wave, with sunken Galleons dropping Storage Crates of supplies for easier restocking.
Ghost Fleet Encounter Returns: Ghost Ships, summoned through a rift, can once again be encountered before facing Flameheart’s flagship, the Burning Blade. Flameheart himself no longer oversees this encounter, but crews should watch for a swirling tornado in the sky to know when it begins.
Megalodon Encounters: Megalodon encounters now happen in a wider variety of locations across the seas, including areas that were previously less accessible due to their distance from islands.
Shipwreck Locations: Sunken wrecks are now more commonly found between islands rather than in the outer areas of the map, making them easier for crews to discover during their journeys.
Fog Locations: Visibility-reducing fog banks can now be encountered in even more locations across the seas, adding an extra layer of challenge to your adventures.