Pirate DLC arcs
The Pirate DLC (Tides of Avarice extension as x4ep1 originally, but Pirate-themed) ships 5 distinct story arcs + the Pirate subscription system. Total content: ~2.4MB MD code, larger than entire base game story content.
At-a-glance
Section titled “At-a-glance”| Arc | Script | Size | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pirate Prelude | story_pirate_prelude.xml | 34KB | Scavenger faction introduction at gate |
| Criminal | story_criminal.xml | 1.2MB | Black market + smuggling main arc (Maestro / Ace / Axiom / Chipmunk) |
| The Fan | story_thefan.xml | 1MB | The Fan story — distress, scrapyard, trading network |
| Erlking research | story_research_erlking.xml | 40KB | HQ research arc — Erlking ship unlock |
| Welfare 2 research | story_research_welfare_2.xml | 52KB | HQ research follow-up to base-game welfare |
Plus:
setup_dlc_pirate.xml(162KB) — DLC initializationgs_pirate1.xml(74KB) — Pirate game start 1gs_pirate2.xml(114KB) — Pirate game start 2
Pirate factions
Section titled “Pirate factions”The DLC’s faction stack:
| Faction | Role |
|---|---|
faction.scaleplate | Scaleplate Pirates (main pirate faction — used by base war subscriptions) |
faction.scavenger | Scavengers (smuggler-scavenger subfaction) |
faction.loanshark | Loanshark faction (Tides of Avarice — antagonist in The Fan arc) |
faction.buccaneers | Buccaneers (Riptide cross-references) |
faction.criminal | Criminal faction (story_criminal references) |
Cross-DLC sectors
Section titled “Cross-DLC sectors”The Pirate arcs touch base game sectors:
| Sector macro | Vanilla name | Used by |
|---|---|---|
cluster_02_sector001 | (Eighteen Billion sector) | Criminal arc |
cluster_08_sector001 | (Pirate hub) | Criminal arc |
cluster_44_sector001 | Scale Plate Green (fallback) | Criminal arc |
Persistent characters
Section titled “Persistent characters”Pirate arc-specific NPCs (across all 5 arcs):
| Character | Arc | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Maestro | Criminal | Black market mentor |
| Ace | Criminal | Heist crew member |
| Axiom | Criminal | Hacking specialist |
| Chipmunk | Criminal | Induction NPC |
| The Fan | The Fan | Title character — distressed Pirate Ace |
| Boso Ta | Multi-arc | Cross-arc commentary (Criminal Ch1, Thefan Ch0, Erlking research) |
| Dal Busta | Criminal | Cross-arc mission comments |
Mod conflict risks (Pirate-specific)
Section titled “Mod conflict risks (Pirate-specific)”- ❌ Pirate DLC required — all 5 arcs fail to load without it
- ❌ Mods that change
faction.scaleplate/faction.loansharkrelations at start affect arc availability - ❌ Mods that disable Scavenger faction break Pirate Prelude
- ❌ Mods that change
cluster_02_sector001ownership break Criminal arc - ⚠ Mods adding mass illegal-ware definitions may interfere with Police_IllegalWareFound detection
- ⚠ Mods overriding Black Market mechanics break Criminal Ch2 hub
- ⚠ Research-tree mods affect Erlking + Welfare 2 unlock paths
Related
Section titled “Related”- Mission encyclopedia — landscape
- Game starts catalog — gs_pirate1 / gs_pirate2
- Faction subscriptions catalog — Scaleplate Pirate subscriptions
- Wiki: DLC handling — Pirate DLC required
The Pirate DLC adds the most “antihero” gameplay content — smuggling, heists, black market, scrapyard scavenging. Your mod’s interference with illegal-ware mechanics, faction relations, or research progression has cascading effects across all 5 arcs.