It's been an active first week in the Pirates of the Burning Sea pre-boarding event (the game's commercial release is January 22).
My inception into the Burning Sea begins with a horrific explosion of cannon fire and splintered wood. I run into the next room and see a gaping wound in the ship's broadside. Ship's Log documents, shattered furniture, and dead crewmen are scattered from hell-to-breakfast. Two other sailors flank the hole in the bulkhead and I see a small, fast vessel passing on our portside, Jolly Rogers flapping in the wind at their mastheads.
Who they are is obvious, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous.
A second later, another volley of cannons rips through the same room I'm standing in, and one of the dumbfounded deckhands is thrown back, dead. A ship's officer is standing by, hands clasped behind his back, his demeanor as cool as the other side of the pillow. W walk towards him, trying to follow suit, but I see a second pirate vessel coasting by as I hazard a glance out of the starboard porthole. We're outnumbered by at least two to one. Probably more.
The officer informs me that we're being boarded. I run topside, flimsy cutlass drawn. I'm greeted by salt-ocean air, a band of fellow crewmates, and half a dozen enemy boarders on the foc'sle deck. I lead a one-man charge, and the chaos of blade-to-blade combat ensues. Picking them off one by one, I swab the deck with those scalawags. With my first desperately-won victory, I brandish my blade in the air.
I stroll back to the Captain's Quarters, anxious to tell the Skipper of our success in repelling the boarders. Instead, as I walk in, I see the captain lying on the deck, coughing, nearing his death, as another officer crouches nearby, tending to the Skipper's soon-to-be-fatal wounds in vain. He dies, and with his dying breath, he entrusts a mysterious map into my possession. A map that will serve as the impetus in following the critical path of the main storyline. The Map of Destiny.
Plus, I've just been promoted to captain of this fine schooner, a fast-moving, four-gun corvette with a lusty wind off the port bow and a crew anxious for a little port-of-call.
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Every player's story starts the same. The only differences lie in the NPC pirate flavor. Be they Los Ladrones ("The Thieves" in Spanish), or the Bloody Arms pirates (plaguing the French), a problem child is named, and a newly-acquired enemy will eventually grow into a long-standing blood feud through the (admittedly) excellent writing of the storied missions.
In creating your avatar, there are four nations to choose from: The British, Spanish, French, and the "nation" of Pirates. On the Blackbeard server, the Pirate population is expectantly high, while Britain and Spain tie for second place. With the French population earning a "light" rating, I cast my lot in with them. No idea why, other than the fact that in the 1700s the Spanish empire was largely in decline, I personally don't want to be stuck eating Bangers & Mash (not to mention Spotted Dick) seven days a week with the Brits, and I can't imagine a terrible amount of organization coming out of a bulbous, self-serving Pirate population. What has France done for us lately? Beyond introducing us to Laetitia Casta, I'm not sure I know or care. Wish me luck.
Further, there are three classes to choose from: Naval Officer, Privateer, and Free Trader. Pirates are pirates are pirates. I'm assuming they have to jerry-rig skills from all three classes, settling to be master-of-none. But don't quote me on that.
So if you see some French privateer named Armand Dresden (what's with the German last name? Again, I don't know), please try to keep the griefing to a minimum. And I'll see you on the sea lanes.
