Something Nefarious This Way Comes...

With the addition of the new Spring update to the game, there’s a mysterious new tower located in MooShu. After receiving a variety of hints, we are able to speculate on what this tower could bring to the game.

Something Nefarious This Way Comes

The word “nefarious” has been used over and over to describe this new tower. While it may just be a creative way of saying “evil”, it certainly could mean much more. Perhaps, it could be alluding to a new villain’s name or plot who is planning something inside of the tower, or maybe just the quest name. However, it seems very likely that this will be side content rather than main – the whole idea of a MooShu tower just doesn’t make sense with our return to Valencia. This isn’t to say that Book XV isn’t coming soon, though – perhaps both the tower and a new world could be released at the same time!

Describing it as nefarious over and over has striking similarities with the barmy update. While it didn’t completely shape the questline, it pointed out a certain line that gave insight as to some of what it would be about. That could very well be what will happen here, with various MooShu NPCs simply describing the plot as nefarious. There are unlimited possibilities at what we’ll find, so only time will tell.

A High Level Gauntlet?

Wizard has the Waterworks. The Tower of the Helephant. Briskbreeze. The Warehouse. Tartarus. So many optional high level gauntlets – as for Pirate, however, there really isn’t anything like that at this point. It would add a lot more to the game, for sure, as optional high level content doesn’t necessarily have to be fit for the “average” gamer. It can be extremely hard for those looking for a challenge and great rewards to go with it.

What would these great rewards be? High level gear, most likely. The issue with this, however, is that it would slowly eliminate the diversity between players’ equipment.  Where Pirate differs from Wizard is that there is no “best” gear – this results in plenty of unique and diverse strategies. Having one best item may not be such a change from what we have now, however; the Dragoon Autocannon (or perhaps the Armada Pistols) was the choice of most Musketeers prior to it being nerfed, and most of the new class weapons from the Crown Shop are better than any regular gear out there.

Having one set of gear that is strictly the best, though, may very well be a great addition to the game – it brings a great amount of potential for even new types of strategies to emerge. Players who are more content with their current playstyles can continue to fight as they normally would, while others may be more willing to adapt to new changes in the meta game.

Additionally, we need something new to farm for! Sure, there’s plenty of unique looking boss gear, but many players would simply want something to stitch to and would have no real use of any of the remaining gear, especially with no way to truly show the rest of it off. Gear with great stats, on the other hand, can be used and even stitched with that unique looking gear. Overall, there would be a much greater incentive to farm for new items, giving players something to do while waiting for a level cap increase and a new world.

Why MooShu?

This is a good question that many might not have even considered: Why was MooShu chosen to be the location of this new gauntlet? Surely there was some reason; game designers don’t just put large instances in random places!

The answer might actually be right in front of us. If we look all the way up to the top of the tower, we can see something that resembles a vortex near the top. While we’ve seen Aquila heavily focused on Greek beliefs (as with the gods), this hasn’t necessarily been true with MooShu (or most other worlds, though Monquista, for example, has many mentions of the Church).

What separates MooShu from these other worlds, however, is its potential is much greater. The Celestial Heavens of MooShu haven’t really been touched upon at all, and stealing power from it would make for a great questline and a nefarious villain.

This also raises even more essential questions: What is the vortex truly for? Where did it come from? How will the villain inside of the tower harness its energy and what will he/she use it for? And, most importantly, can they be stopped?

It would be pretty boring to just walk inside, defeat a few enemies, reach the final boss and then defeat them. What would be extremely cool would be to actually find a way of cutting off the source of power from the vortex, close it, and then defeat the final boss (who is now enraged that their plot has been thwarted though believes that they can find another way to succeed – so long as we are eliminated). Good thing we have a history with insane bosses in the Spiral!

Why?

Why would the villain inside this tower carry out this scheme? Surely there’s some reason – every enemy has one! Whether it’s Ratbeard’s to steal Gunn’s gold for himself, the Wild Bunch’s to take over Tumbleweed Skyway, or Bishop’s to eliminate the Marleybonean Royal Navy, there’s always something.

It could be very similar to General Tso’s drive – with the Emperor out of the picture, it would be a great time to wreak havoc in MooShu so that it can be taken over. However, it could be something even greater. Does the nefarious villain inside of the tower have a history with the Emperor, or perhaps another character we’ve met or heard about in MooShu? Do they just want power? Or maybe having immense power would lead them to pose a threat to the entire Spiral, much like the Armada.

Conclusion

Regardless of what it is, we’ll have to come in and stop them. In whatever manner that may be, it’s sure to be epic. With the tower being mentioned in the Newsletter this month and it being the focus of a recent Pirate101 Vine, it can’t be too far away. Open the doors and let’s find out what’s behind this nefarious scheme!