Pirates of the Burning Sea Preview

MPOGD.com is offering up a preview of Pirates of the Burning Sea, based on what they learned about the MMORPG during a recent IRC chat with the Flying Lab developers.

Of course, resources are an integral component of gameplay. As Maginn continued (clearly warming to a favorite subject), “Resources are needed for certain structures to be built For instance, you can’t build an iron mine unless there’s iron in the port. Placement of those resources is one of the most important determinations of productive efficiency. For instance, you’ll need limestone to refine iron ore. The Spanish happen to start with a limestone resource very near an iron ore source. So as long as those two ports are under Spanish control, they’ll have a very effective iron industry. Now, if the ports are conquered, the Spanish can still produce there – it’s just far, far more expensive, and possibly dangerous if enemy patrols are sweeping the area outside the port.”

Inevitably, this led to discussion about PvP encounters, as someone asked about which ports were expected to be the most contested, and why. Maginn, as a Lead Designer should, knows his stuff, “The ports that will be fought over are the ports in the Antilles (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Santo Domingo, and all the lesser Antilles down through Grenada). It’s a mixed jumble of nations and resources, all of which are necessary for high-end construction. Examples? OK: Zinc, which you need to make brass, which you need for high-end cannons and ship fittings. Ironwood or “Lignum Vitae”, which is used in high end rigging, and teak, used for high-end hulls and repair materials. All of those are only available in the Antilles. This is where most of the endgame action will take place, and the ports are clustered together so much that it’s going to be a very, very dangerous region for PvE and PvP.”