Rivers

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That's the error then. Pirates (the activity) are not the exception, the Open Seas (location) is. Obviously those are related, but near shore piracy for example is specifically not exempt.

Caravans, even in their water "mode" are already corruption-free PvP objectives though, so the question is pointless as a whole. The OP is asking if they should be able to freely gank low-level players crossing rivers normally or not. It's not about caravans. Those were corruption-free already.

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My apologies. I missed that post (on mobile). There have been so many not-so-subtle similar "requests", lately that I didn't think to question it.

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This is another point I wanted to make. If you cross at the bridge you go right over. If you try to ford it at a deep point, you spend a lot of extra time sitting on the shore while your caravan reconfigures for water, only to have the same "sitting duck" period on the way back. It's a valid tactic if you think you'll get away with it, but there's definitely a trade off that makes bridges and natural crossings valuable. If anything, it's another of the many risk/reward options that Ashes aims to offer.