As revealed in Rare's Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life presentation today, the five new Tall Tales included in the Pirates of the Caribbean crossover will take place in new locations. Players will visit The Sea of the Damned, a realm filled with pirate ghosts, and The Sunken Kingdom, a watery world filled with sirens (evil mermaids). The new adventure will also introduce several new crustacean enemies called ocean crawlers who, unlike skeletons, can actually board your ship to attack you.
And unlike the original series of Tall Tales, you won't have to worry about other players interfering with your progress. OtherTall Tales take place on Sea of Thieves' open world map where other players can attack or kill you (or as happened to me and my friends once, steal your ship) while you're busy solving puzzles. When you enter these new locations in A Pirate's Life, they'll function as separate instances. It'll just be you, your friends (if you're playing in a group), and the adventure, with no griefing from other players.
That's especially good news for solo players who can easily fall prey to other crews when trying to complete a Tall Tale. And Rare also says they've designed the new Tall Tales in A Pirate's Life so solo players won't have too tough of a time completing them. There will be checkpoints that save your progress mid-Tale and difficulty that scales with your group size. Plus, Jack Sparrow, who will join you on the new adventures, won't just ride around on your ship dropping boozy one-liners (voiced by actor Jared Butler, who played Sparrow in Kingdom Hearts 3 and other games) but will actually pitch in and help.
"It's such a great addition having Jack Sparrow because not all players play Sea of Thieves in a big crew with other players," said Andy Preston, lead designer. "Some players feel more comfortable playing on a solo ship on their own. But these players, when playing A Pirate's Life, they'll have Jack Sparrow aboard the cannons whilst they're sailing the ship."
New features to look forward to include a new weapon, the Trident of Dark Tides, which can send a blast of magic toward enemies. In the Sunken Kingdom holding your breath will be made easier by plants that release bubbles allowing you to refill your O2 while underwater.
And players who complete all five Tall Tales will obtain a new sea shanty they can play on their instruments. If you've ever been on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, you'll probably recognize it.
The trident weapon and new enemies will also begin to appear around the map in Sea of Thieves once A Pirate's Life arrives on June 22: Sirens and the ship-boarding ocean crawlers won't just be part of the new adventure, they'll become part of the world itself.
