14. Hunter's Call Update

Most pirates on the Sea of Thieves log in and make a decision to set sail in the service of one of five trading companies: the Merchant Alliance, Order of Souls, Gold Hoarders, Athena's Fortune, and Reaper's Bones. 

There is one faction that is often overlooked: The Hunter's Call. Yes, we all go fishing once in a while. But how often do you log in and say, "Gee, I think today I'd like to represent the Hunter's Call on my adventures!" When is the last time you battled with the Hunter's Call over a fort?

I think there are a few changes Rare could make that would make these fierce fishermen an even more interesting faction to sail for... And encourage fishermen to place themselves in harm's way for their faction, making servers even more lively.

1. Past Updates

The Hunter's Call has received only a handful of updates over the years. Last year, they added nametags for fish. You can now easily see what kind of fish is biting your line and decide whether you want to spend time reeling it in or try for another. It might seem like a minor detail, but this was a huge update for Sea of Thieves fishing. We used to have three people fishing and the fourth would swim around in the water checking what fish we had on our lines. 😂

Season 9 has added three more important changes:

• Bait Crates - Fishermen of yore had to dig for worms with a shovel, but now you can easily buy hundreds of worms from the Merchant Alliance representative before you set sail.
• Sovereigns - The Sovereigns now buy fish. Although they pay less than the Hunter's Call, for the first time we can easily sell fish at outposts. Hooray!
• Adelrick - Since Merrick's disappearance, there has been no Hunter's Call representative at Stephens Spoils... Adelrick has taken his uncle Merrick's post.

Jimi fishing from the top of the lighthouse at Port Merrick in Season 9.

2. Update ideas that have been proposed by others

Captain Falcore has already created a video with some excellent proposals to improve the Hunter's Call faction.

Captain Falcore has already offered a number of excellent suggestions for the Hunter's Call.

Here are some of his suggestions:

• Raise the faction level cap to 75
• Create a Hunter's Call Emissary Flag
• Bring back the Festival of Fishing quests from early 2021
• Have Krakens and Megalodons drop "trophies" that we can sell.
• A new fish that can be caught at the purple haze near sunken shrines and treasuries. (Jimi thinks these fish should be called Coral Lurkers.)
• A rare "golden fish" that you can only catch at a location that appears on the map for all to see like a Reaper's Chest or Fort of Fortune key. 

Sea of Concepts has proposed Emissary Voyages for the Hunter's Call. After reaching rank 5 with the Hunter's Call emissary, you could receive special voyages (just like you do with other factions. Sea of Concepts suggests that these quests might send you somewhere (like the Festival of Fishing quests) but give you a higher chance of catching one of the rare versions of a particular fish.

Sea of Concepts has also created a video with some great ideas for a Hunter's Call update.

I thought all of these are excellent suggestions and hope that Rare will implement them down the road!

3. My Idea for a New Kind of Fish

I'd like to propose another new fish: the Fog Flounderer. As suggested by their name, you will only be able to find this flatfish (based on the real world flounder!) in foggy seas. Conveniently, in Season 9 Rare has expanded the locations that fog can cover. There has never been a better time to add the Fog Flounderer!

Fog Flounderers could be a new fish that lurks in the fog.

4. The Fish of Fortune

Currently, most fishermen tend to mind their own business in some corner of the map away from trouble. I think a Hunter's Call update should include content that pushes them into the fray.

To this end, Captain Falcore has suggested a "golden fish" that can only be caught in a special location marked on the map. (Description and video linked above.)

Photo is from Captain Falcore's video linked above. The place where you can catch special fish is visible on the map for all to see.

I'd like to expand on this idea. 

But for it to work, I would like to make a (bold) suggestion: Like the Reaper's Chest and Reaper's Bounty, the new Chest of Fortune should emit light into the sky for all to see, and it should be visible on the map.

If you go fishing in water close to the Chest of Fortune, you will be able to catch the a rare new fish... I suggest that we name it the Fish of Fortune!

This change would encourage Hunter's Call representatives not only to participate in world events to get their hands on this rare chest... but they would also be forced to defend the chest from other pirates while they use it to attract the attention of the Fish of Fortune.