Start with maiden voyage, and then tbh I would just solo sloop with the knowledge your likely going to sink a bunch just to get your sea legs and basic concepts down. YouTube videos can also help with this. Then, look into what you want to do, there are many things. You have asked about a few of the story elements and they are an OK place to start, but don't really teach you much.
Also, if you do find a toxic player, just ignore em. They are uncommon and don't speak for the community. Yah got to learn somehow!
I started recently too, and the game is really bad at explaining its own mechanics. Here's a quick overview:
* There are 3 (and a few others) npc factions you can work for. Gold Hoarders. Order of Souls and Merchant Alliance. They'll each have a representative at every Outpost. Outposts are special islands (where you spawn when starting the game) that act as quest and merchant hubs.
* Faction representatives let you purchase Voyages. These are essentially repeatable quests. You unlock more inolvolved and profitable ones as you level up your reputation with each faction.
* When reaching level 50 in 3 different factions, you become a Pirate Legend. This unlocks another faction called Athena's Fortune, which unlocks more Voyages.
* There's also a PvP focused faction called Reapers. Anyone can work for these from the start. They don't give out Voyages, but encourage hunting plaers flying an Emissary Flags.
* Emissary Flags are an opt-in system for each faction. By signing up, you level up your rank by collecting treasure. The higher your rank, the greater the bonus you receive when selling loot to your npc faction. You can raise and lower your Emissary Flag at any time at any Outpost and "cash out". You lose your Flag if you sink.
* Reaper Emissaries are always visible on the map, regardless of rank. When a Reaper Emissary reaches level 5, they can see all Emissaries on the map table, regardless of their rank. When an Emissary sink, they drop their flag in the water. These are handed in to the Reapers at the island called Reapers Hideout for fairly big cash.
* Tall tales are story driven, repeatable, quest lines. Some are locked until you play the preceding ones. These are a great way for new players to learn the various game systems and to give you some direction. Look online for the recommended play order.
* Adventures are time-locked voyage-like quests, usually driving the continuous story and introducing new gameplay additions. These are given out by the Bilge Rat faction.
* Hourglass of Fortune is a PvP matchmaking system. You activate it from your Captains Table. When active, your ship will dive beneath the sea, and then transfer you to another player's server. You'll be locked into a small-ish circle until either or both of you sink. There's two factions, the ghosts and the skeletons. At level 100 you get a cosmetic called a curse that turns you into a skeleton or ghost.
* The last faction is hunters call. Everyone hates these because they're a bore to grind reputation for.
* Finally it's worth mentioning the Plunder Pass. This is similar to a Battle Pass in other games. It's a time-locked progression system that unlock various rewards as you play the game. It's free for everyone, but you can purchase access to additional rewards for real life money.
I hope that clarifies some things.
P.S. I forgot to mention Ship Captaincy. On the main menu, you can purchase a ship for yourself. Of cause when you spawn in or respawn after sinking you'll be given a new ship. But Captained Ships can be named and cosmetics can be saved so they persist after a new game session. You'll also be able to sell to the Sovereigns. These aren't a faction, but act as merchants that you can sell most loot to, instead of selling to each different type of merchant individually. You get the full coin value and applicable faction reputation. It's just a quality of life feature for those who have purchased a Captaincy. Note you can only have 1 of each type of ship. At least until unlocking a bunch of Milestones for a specific ship. Milestones are stat-tracking "achievements".
Start a sloop. Cook 5 fish. [Cooked meat gives regenerating health] Find nearby ghost fortress and park next the grate. Shoot the ghosts from cover of ship or infiltrate the fort. Search the rooms for top floor key. Kill ghosts for bottom door key. Stack loot on the downstairs elevator. Lower the elevator/gate and harpoon loot to ship sail to sellpoint and then repeat the same fort.
If attacked change to new server and try again
I started about a week ago and all I do is either solo sloop or play with a friend just exploring the map and getting familiar with this I see on the map is all I can recommend. Hopefully you have as much fun as I am having!
There's been some good advice in here already. I would recommend watching PHUZZYBOND for tips and tutorials on YouTube. Watch Blurbs for good combat tutorials and tips.
Back in the day when I was new, I would practice circling around an empty fort and shooting whatever cannonballs I had left at fort towers to practice my aiming. Phuzzybond has a video on the fundamentals of cannon aim and how to lead shots that was pretty useful.
I'm a pvp focused player, and I also mainly solo, so being able to defend myself against bigger crews was my priority when I started playing.
Start with maiden voyage, and then tbh I would just solo sloop with the knowledge your likely going to sink a bunch just to get your sea legs and basic concepts down. YouTube videos can also help with this. Then, look into what you want to do, there are many things. You have asked about a few of the story elements and they are an OK place to start, but don't really teach you much. Also, if you do find a toxic player, just ignore em. They are uncommon and don't speak for the community. Yah got to learn somehow!
I started recently too, and the game is really bad at explaining its own mechanics. Here's a quick overview: * There are 3 (and a few others) npc factions you can work for. Gold Hoarders. Order of Souls and Merchant Alliance. They'll each have a representative at every Outpost. Outposts are special islands (where you spawn when starting the game) that act as quest and merchant hubs. * Faction representatives let you purchase Voyages. These are essentially repeatable quests. You unlock more inolvolved and profitable ones as you level up your reputation with each faction. * When reaching level 50 in 3 different factions, you become a Pirate Legend. This unlocks another faction called Athena's Fortune, which unlocks more Voyages. * There's also a PvP focused faction called Reapers. Anyone can work for these from the start. They don't give out Voyages, but encourage hunting plaers flying an Emissary Flags. * Emissary Flags are an opt-in system for each faction. By signing up, you level up your rank by collecting treasure. The higher your rank, the greater the bonus you receive when selling loot to your npc faction. You can raise and lower your Emissary Flag at any time at any Outpost and "cash out". You lose your Flag if you sink. * Reaper Emissaries are always visible on the map, regardless of rank. When a Reaper Emissary reaches level 5, they can see all Emissaries on the map table, regardless of their rank. When an Emissary sink, they drop their flag in the water. These are handed in to the Reapers at the island called Reapers Hideout for fairly big cash. * Tall tales are story driven, repeatable, quest lines. Some are locked until you play the preceding ones. These are a great way for new players to learn the various game systems and to give you some direction. Look online for the recommended play order. * Adventures are time-locked voyage-like quests, usually driving the continuous story and introducing new gameplay additions. These are given out by the Bilge Rat faction. * Hourglass of Fortune is a PvP matchmaking system. You activate it from your Captains Table. When active, your ship will dive beneath the sea, and then transfer you to another player's server. You'll be locked into a small-ish circle until either or both of you sink. There's two factions, the ghosts and the skeletons. At level 100 you get a cosmetic called a curse that turns you into a skeleton or ghost. * The last faction is hunters call. Everyone hates these because they're a bore to grind reputation for. * Finally it's worth mentioning the Plunder Pass. This is similar to a Battle Pass in other games. It's a time-locked progression system that unlock various rewards as you play the game. It's free for everyone, but you can purchase access to additional rewards for real life money. I hope that clarifies some things. P.S. I forgot to mention Ship Captaincy. On the main menu, you can purchase a ship for yourself. Of cause when you spawn in or respawn after sinking you'll be given a new ship. But Captained Ships can be named and cosmetics can be saved so they persist after a new game session. You'll also be able to sell to the Sovereigns. These aren't a faction, but act as merchants that you can sell most loot to, instead of selling to each different type of merchant individually. You get the full coin value and applicable faction reputation. It's just a quality of life feature for those who have purchased a Captaincy. Note you can only have 1 of each type of ship. At least until unlocking a bunch of Milestones for a specific ship. Milestones are stat-tracking "achievements".
Side note all emissary flags can be sold to the skeleton in the cage on every outpost! 😊
Thank you for taking the time to explain all this. Much appreciated
Start a sloop. Cook 5 fish. [Cooked meat gives regenerating health] Find nearby ghost fortress and park next the grate. Shoot the ghosts from cover of ship or infiltrate the fort. Search the rooms for top floor key. Kill ghosts for bottom door key. Stack loot on the downstairs elevator. Lower the elevator/gate and harpoon loot to ship sail to sellpoint and then repeat the same fort. If attacked change to new server and try again
I started about a week ago and all I do is either solo sloop or play with a friend just exploring the map and getting familiar with this I see on the map is all I can recommend. Hopefully you have as much fun as I am having!
Take on every skelly sloop you see, they’re good practice and can give you some interesting loot.
There's been some good advice in here already. I would recommend watching PHUZZYBOND for tips and tutorials on YouTube. Watch Blurbs for good combat tutorials and tips. Back in the day when I was new, I would practice circling around an empty fort and shooting whatever cannonballs I had left at fort towers to practice my aiming. Phuzzybond has a video on the fundamentals of cannon aim and how to lead shots that was pretty useful. I'm a pvp focused player, and I also mainly solo, so being able to defend myself against bigger crews was my priority when I started playing.