Sea of Thieves updates: Latest patch notes from update 2.0.10

Update 2.0.9: The Seabound Soul

Download size on PC: 12.9 GB

Tall Tales: The Seabound Soul

Tall Tales: The Seabound Soul 
The crumbling remains of a once-proud Galleon, the Blackwyche, gave Shipwreck Bay its name. Now a ghostly voice calls out from the wreckage. Journey to Shipwreck Bay and seek the captain’s journal in the heart of the Blackwyche to uncover a secret history of binding and betrayal…

The Seabound Soul Commendations 
New Commendations have been added cataloging players’ progress through the latest Tall Tale. These can be found in a new ‘Tall Tales’ section of the Reputation page. By progressing through these Commendations, players can earn new rewards: Pendragon’s Sword of Souls and the Ashen Dragon Sails

The Seabound Soul Achievements – New Xbox achievements can be unlocked by progressing through The Seabound Soul in-game Commendations. A total of 40 gamerscore is available to earn from this update, and these achievements will remain in the game indefinitely.

Ashen Treasures

Key Seeker Voyages 
Although unsure exactly where the Key Masters can be found, Stitcher Jim’s scouts have provided details of their Captains in each region of the world. Upon defeating a Captain, a dropped set of Skeleton Orders will lead players to the location of a hidden Ashen Key, but beware – collecting an Ashen Key will antagonise the Key Masters into revealing themselves and protecting their treasure!

While Jim will offer Doubloons for selling these Ashen Keys, the true prize is locked inside the Ashen Chests that the Keys unlock.

All Key Seeker Voyages are time-limited for the duration of The Seabound Soul update.

Legendary Ashen Guardian Lure Voyage 
Stitcher Jim’s scouts have provided the locations of Ashen Trinkets buried throughout the main regions of the world, and want Pirate Legends to dig them up in order to provoke an Ashen Guardian into revealing themselves. Defeating the Ashen Guardian will result in a dropped riddle leading to the location of the Ashen Chests they’re protecting. Expect to discover a range of Ashen Trinkets and multiple Ashen Chests from this Legendary Voyage!

The Legendary Ashen Guardian Voyage is time-limited for the duration of The Seabound Soul update.

Mercenary Commendations and Rewards 
A range of Mercenary Commendations are available to unlock for participating in the Key Seeker and Ashen Guardian Lure Voyages offered by Jim, earning players Doubloons as well as a soon to be named Title.

All Mercenary Voyage Commendations, Doubloons and Title are time-limited for the duration of The Seabound Soul update.

Ashen Skeleton Ship Battles 
Crews warn of perilous encounters while engaging with Skeleton Ship clouds. Sailing towards this Red threatening cloud will uncover Skeleton Ships carrying a hidden shipment of Ashen Chests. Don’t be too complacent however, these ships now wield firebombs to take on anyone daring to threaten them. On defeat, their stash of Ashen Chests and even a Ritual Skull will be released!

The Ashen Skeleton Ship Battles will become a permanent addition to the world after The Seabound Soul update, allowing players to encounter this threat at any time.

Ashen Guardian and Ashen Key Master Sightings 
With heightened levels of activity across the sea, Ashen Guardians and even Ashen Key Masters have been spotted patrolling on Islands. Keep a close eye on islands as you explore and take them down!

The Ashen Guardian Key Masters will become a permanent addition to the world after The Seabound Soul update, allowing players to encounter this threat at any time.

Ashen Chest Stash Voyages 
Stitcher Jim has retrieved a stash of Ashen Chests for himself, however, doesn’t hold enough Ashen Keys to unlock the tomes within. Within the Black Market, Stitcher offers players a Stash Voyage to collect a quick Ashen Chest straight from the Outpost. These Black Market Voyages can be purchased for either Doubloons or Gold and are repeatable to your heart’s content! 

The Ashen Chest Stash Voyage will become a permanent addition to the world after The Seabound Soul update.

Ashen Treasures Commendations 
A new tab has been added to the Bilge Rats Reputation page, housing a new set of persistent Commendations for helping Jim intercept Ashen cargo and the Ashen Tomes locked inside. Earn Doubloons to spend in the Black Market along the way. 

All Ashen Treasures Commendations will become a permanent addition to the world after The Seabound Soul update.

Ashen Rewards: Volume 1 
Both Stitcher Jim and the Outpost stores now offer a selection of new Ashen cosmetics, rewarding players for collecting the various Ashen Tomes hidden in recovered Ashen Chests. In The Seabound Soul update, players can recover volumes from one of the Ashen Tomes – the Tome of Curses – allowing access to the first set of cosmetics including items from the clothing, weapons, items, and ship sets. 

All Ashen Rewards will become a permanent addition to the Outpost stores after The Seabound Soul update.

Ashen Treasures Achievements 
New Xbox achievements can be unlocked by progressing through in-game Commendations. A total of 35 gamerscore is available to earn by collecting Ashen Treasures, and these achievements will remain in the game indefinitely.

Fire!

Firestarter! 
Players, ships and skeletons can be set on fire, but how does it happen? Fires start in many ways: firebombs can be launched by a rival crew, explosions from a detonated Gunpowder Keg can start a blaze, ships struck by lightning can become a raging experience in a storm and of course The Devil’s Roar is now an even more treacherous place – watch out for those volcanic rocks!

Grab a Firebomb! 
Spawning in barrels across the world, these fire-filled flasks are the perfect way to start a blazing inferno and are added to your resource inventory. You can equip these with the throwable radial or keybind and throw them at other players or skeletons to set them alight, but the real magic comes from loading them into your cannons. When fired from a cannon they can set other ships ablaze!

Pirates on Fire! 
Being set on fire sounds great, right? Well, it’s not. It’s all hot and will make you want to dive headfirst off the jetty. But while you’re on fire, you can run around like a headless pirate and set other players and even skeletons on fire – so it does have its perks!

Ships on Fire! 
So your ship has just a little fire on the top deck – no need to panic, right? Wrong. When a ship is on fire it will slowly spread if not dealt with quickly. Grab a bucket of water and douse the flames before they spread. If fire reaches certain areas of your ship it could destroy your wheel, wreck your capstan, bring down your mast and even put holes in your ship!

Skeleton Ships on Fire!
Skeleton Ships are not impervious to the effects of a firebomb fired from a cannon. Load up, fire upon on the Skeleton Ships and watch the chaos ensue!

Gunpowder Kegs on Fire?
Firebombs, ship fires and even campfires can now be used to ignite a Gunpowder Keg, causing them to explode instantly.

Protect Antonio!
Pets clearly don’t appreciate feeling hot under the collar, whether it’s your ship on fire or the effects of a rogue firebomb – your companion will now flee for safety!

Poor Larry
So, you’re midway through your Merchant Alliance Voyage with a ship full of livestock, and a fire breaks out; you need to deal with that fire before your ship turns into a floating BBQ. But at least you can restock your food barrel if you’re a little slow dousing the flames. Wild pigs, chickens and snakes caught by a rogue firebomb will also cook on the spot, crates or not. Nothing is safe!

Protect the Cargo!
Rum cargo crates can now be damaged when they're in fire or when carried by a player who’s on fire.

What’s That Smell?
Absent-minded pirates be warned, cooking on a ship is now a little more treacherous. Leaving food burning on the stove for several minutes is now guaranteed to set the ship on fire!

Water Barrel?
There is now a handy water barrel on each ship. Head to the middle deck of the Galleon or bottom deck of the Brigantine and Sloop to find it! Run up to it and interact, pumping some water into the barrel so you can grab it for your bucket to help deal with those fires.

Douse Yourself!
Players now have a secondary action on the bucket, enabling them to tip a full bucket of water over themselves to put out a fire.

Superheated Water
While superheated water has been around since Forsaken Shores, players have never been crazy enough to want to collect it. Players will now find they can scoop up superheated water in their bucket and hold onto it, throwing this at other players will scald and damage them!

The Arena

Arena Maps and ‘X’s Change 
When you are given maps, you will only ever be given 1-3 maps. The number of ‘X’s per map has also been slightly decreased, although there still is a tiny chance to get a rare jackpot number of ‘X’s. This means there will always be fewer islands with treasure than crews, encouraging ships to come together and compete over limited resources.

Arena Spawn Point Changes
In line with the increased likelihood that there will be fewer maps to choose from, we have replaced several ‘clock face’ layout starting points with fairer layouts, as these could feel unfair in a one map scenario.

Stocked with Firebombs
Looking to cause some havoc in The Arena? Ships will be stocked with firebombs for those pyromaniacs on your crew, and respawning ships will even receive a restocked supply!

Arena Ship Customisation
You will now see a ship customisation chest in the Sea Dog Tavern where you can customise your ship’s wheel, cannons, capstan, and figurehead for the next contest. Your team colour will still be represented on the sails, hull and flag so that you can see rival crews.

Time for Some New Rivals?
When you’re back in the Tavern following a contest, you now have the choice to matchmake with the same rivals as before or vote along with your crew to find a new set of rival players. This needs to be a majority vote from your crew with the voting being displayed at the top left of your screen.

Triumphant Sea Dog Commendations and Rewards
A new wave of Commendations is coming to the Sea Dogs Trading Company. These Commendations require players to represent the Company and don the Glorious Sea Dog outfits in order to progress, rewarding the new Triumphant Sea Dog cosmetics. Check them out in the Sea Dogs Reputation tab.

Sea Dog Reputation and Rewards
After the successful Arena Weekend, the Sea Dogs are feeling even more generous. Crews fighting in The Arena will now earn more reputation and gold upon completing each contest!

Glorious Sea Dog Rewards
The Glorious Sea Dog cosmetic set is now complete! Head to the Sea Dog Tavern stores to find the Glorious Sea Dog Boots, Belt, Eyepatch, Trousers, Pegleg and Dress all locked behind the Captain of Silver Waters Commendation.

Pirate Emporium

• Festival of Plenty – The Pirate Emporium is celebrating the Sea of Thieves’ first Festival of Plenty! With a range of festival-themed player instruments and outfits for all the pets, there’s something for everyone to celebrate with their crew. These Festival of Plenty items are time-limited for The Seabound Soul update, so snatch them up before they return to the vault.
• Cockatoos and Marmosets! – The Skeleton Cockatoo and Marmoset have now left the Pirate Emporium, but fear not – their real-life counterparts have arrived! Head to the pets section to find a range of colourful crested Cockatoos and agile Marmosets. With the introduction of these new breeds, Bilge Rat and Sea Dog outfits are available for both animals.
• Sovereign Pet Outfits – Introducing a more regal look for your loyal companion. Each pet can now dress with distinction and don the new Sovereign outfits. Go to the pets section of the Pirate Emporium to purchase an outfit, then head to the Pet Chest to equip it.
• Sovereign Discount Bundles – For the duration of The Seabound Soul update, you can pick up discounted bundles for the Cockatoo and Marmoset, each dressed in a regal Sovereign outfit.
• Huntress Ship Collection – Prepare for a perfectly dark ensemble! Freshly sourced from the Carrington Institute of Pirate Ship Design comes a ship representing Perfect Dark: the Huntress Ship Collection. A Huntress Ship Bundle is also on offer which includes all the regular ship cosmetics at a stealthy discount.
• Admiral Persona Bundle – Always felt a little superior, more refined than those scruffy pirates around you? Pick up the Admiral Persona Bundle for a fresh new set of core emotes with a whole new level of class!
• Emote Variety Bundle – A range of new emotes have been added in the Variety Pack 3 Bundle! Tell crewmates how you really feel with the I Love You emote, or voice your frustration in the most expressive way possible as you sail towards that rock with the new Despair emote, amongst a range of other new offerings.
• Festival of Plenty Bundle (Store Only) – Available only on the Xbox and Microsoft Stores. Share in the fun and feasting with the Festival of Plenty Bundle. With four fun emotes to help you get into the mood for celebration, four food-themed instruments, plus 1000 Ancient Coins and free bonus gold, you’ll be ready for the Feast! Head to the Store to find out more.
• Expanded Emote Radial – Players now have access to three pages within their emote radial, allowing further customisation when slotting in newly acquired emotes.
• Ancient Coin Balance – Players can check their current Ancient Coin balance alongside their gold and Doubloon balances when in menus.
• Pirate Emporium Browsing Experience – The Pirate Emporium has been updated with a range of browsing improvements. Simpler store navigation, better pet iconography, an improved Ancient Coin purchase layout and hiding descriptions to better show off the items on sale – the Emporium experience is now much smoother!

Black Market

• Wild Rose Weapons – Continuing the beloved Wild Rose set, this month offers the Wild Rose weapons. Collect the Wild Rose Cutlass, Wild Rose Blunderbuss, Wild Rose Eye of Reach and Wild Rose Pistol, all available for Doubloons.
• Wailing Barnacle Items – Not wishing to leave sets unfinished, Jim has stocked the previously unattainable Wailing Barnacle Items! Available for Doubloons, players can pick up the Lantern, Compass, Spyglass, Shovel, Bucket, Tankard, Speaking Trumpet and even Fishing Rod of the Wailing Barnacle.
• Forsaken Ashes Ship – Jim has recovered a shipment of the once-forgotten Forsaken Ashes ship cosmetics, allowing players to complete the set. The Forsaken Ashes Cannon, Capstan and Wheel are all available for Doubloons.
• Dirty Rotten Bilge Rat Clothing – How about something for your gold? This monthly update offers a twist on the Rotten Bilge Rat clothing set. Players can acquire the full set by digging into their gold reserves!
• Inky Kraken Ship – Fans of the original Kraken Ship Set will be pleased to find the Black Market now offering the Inky Kraken design, available for gold! With the full set available for purchase, you can sail away in devastating style.

Updates

• Portable Ammo Crates – Portable Ammo Crates can now be found washed up across the Sea of Thieves. These can hold a stack of 50 ammo for your guns and can be carried to the Ammo Chest found on your ship or on an island to restock the Ammo Crate supply.
• Interactive Campfires – Players can now build and light campfires found on islands across the Sea of Thieves. You’ll need wood in order to rebuild a campfire and your ingenuity to light it. Once lit, you can cook away to your heart’s content, as long as you keep it supplied with wood – but be warned, the smoke emanating from a campfire can be seen by other crews. Protect that Splashtail!
• Collector’s Chests in Gold Hoarder Riddles – Players will now be rewarded with a Collector’s Chest that contains gold and artefacts inside once they complete any Riddle Quest. This change allows us to increase the rewards players get for completing Riddle Maps to bring them more in line with the rewards players receive for completing X Marks the Spot Voyages. Gold inside the Collector’s Chest can be taken immediately and is awarded to the whole crew, but any artefacts found inside are vulnerable and need to be returned to your nearest Outpost!
• Emergent Collector’s Chests with Rewards – Players have been scouring the world and uncovering Collector’s Chests, washed up on beaches and even hidden in shipwrecks. Those empty Collector’s Chests will now be packed full of rewards, with a chance to find a range of valuable reward items and even gold that can be collected straight from the chest into your crew’s wallets. They can even be found in Forts, Skeleton Ships, Krakens and Megalodons. Head out there and hunt them out!
• Emergent Skeleton Captain Rewards – Ritual Skulls can now be rewarded from Skeleton Ship battles, therefore will no longer be found when defeating an emergent Skeleton Captain. Their Skeleton Orders will still lead players to a range of high-value rewards.
• Fort Collector’s Chests – Collector’s Chests packed full of rewards and gold have now been added to the vaults of Skeleton Forts. The Fort of the Damned even receives a full Collector’s Chest with a range of valuable rewards in addition to all the previous Fort rewards!
• Fort of the Damned Key – The Fort of the Damned Key will now be tracked on the map for all players to see.
• Gunpowder Skeleton Movement – Gunpowder Skeletons have had their movement speed slowed down to be a little more forgiving to those unaware of their presence. But these hissing threats are still to be feared, so as soon as you hear that fuse light – run!
• Who Equipped That? – When inside the Shipwright Chest, if another crew member has equipped a ship cosmetic you will now see that cosmetic in your inventory grid in addition to the preview pane confirming that a member of your crew has applied it.
• Stocked Rowboats – Check that Rowboat storage carefully, as Rowboats can now spawn with goodies inside!
• Showing Off – When holding a pet, ‘showing’ them will now have a range of actions they can perform!
• Particle Effects Quality – A new graphics option has been added for PC players: Particle Emitter Quality. This will enable players to increase the quality of some particle effects such as ship fire and water spray, typically by increasing the number of particles spawned. However, it can affect both CPU and GPU performance.

Fixed Issues

General

• Players should no longer find themselves spawning on the Shores of Gold when attempting to take a mermaid to return to their ship.
• Using a keybind to switch to food following a weapon switch now works consistently.
• Hitting the environment with a sword strike will now correctly classify as a miss and delay the player from striking again for the full cooldown.
• The Masked Stranger’s sketches have now been returned to their original locations from Smuggler’s Fortune to ensure players can still unlock the Commendation.
• Players should no longer be able to press themselves into areas of the Galleon and emerge through the hull.
• Players will now be prevented from playing an emote when already taking continuous damage. Taking continuous damage while emoting also cancels the players current emote.
• Players can no longer be affected by the Jigball or Wearyball when already taking continuous damage. Taking continuous damage while under the effects of the Jigball or Wearyball also cancels the player’s current cursed effect.
• ‘The Shroudbreaker’ Tall Tale – Players who migrate after solving the puzzle vault will now find the altar map correctly migrates with them.
• When locating a washed-up Rag and Bone Crate, they will no longer have a delivery time attached to the package so you can hand them in at your leisure!
• Emote and Pirate Phrase radials will no longer intersect with tutorial popups.
• Resolved a rare occurrence where a docked Rowboat could be removed when migrating servers.
• Collecting a Message in a Bottle will once again play SFX.
• Ships on the edge of a storm will now begin to take on rainwater when rain effects are visible on-screen.
• Players can no longer continuously attack an animal after it has died and disappeared, producing SFX and VFX (you monsters).
• Gunpowder Skeletons no longer become paralysed if their Gunpowder Keg is harpooned away from them.
• Sword-lunging into the Pirate Emporium and interacting with the Emporium NPC no longer locks player movement.
• Skeletons spawning on Lost Gold Fort should no longer spawn on top of each other in the same spot. 
• ‘The Legendary Storyteller’ Tall Tale – The Chalice Key and Crown Key are now correctly textured. 
• Corrected a range of cannon icons to ensure they are centered inside the icon and preview image.
• Players carrying the Pirate Legend shanty into deep water will now hear the underwater version of the tune.
• The ship’s wheel, mast and capstan now consistently display damage VFX and SFX when taking damage.
• When using the Vanity Chest to equip an emote, you can now access all slots using the mouse.
• When the last player votes with their dagger, the appropriate SFX is played for the final dagger.
• Resolved an issue causing players loadouts to become corrupted on loading into the game, causing your next visit to the Ferry of the Damned or game restart to reset your loadout.
• ‘Wild Rose’ Tall Tale – George’s music box now shows the correct figures spinning on top.
• Detonating a Gunpowder Skeleton will now chain detonate any nearby Gunpowder Skeletons.
• Interacting with a ship interaction point during a sword lunge will no longer cause subsequent animations to play incorrectly.
• When digging up bait, the ‘Pick Up’ tooltip is now visible.
• The Skeleton Captain on Crow’s Nest Fort will now drop a Fort Key when defeated.
• When throwing water from a bucket, water VFX should now display consistently.
• Resolved an issue causing some servers to exhibit high network activity, causing all connected players to experience high ping.

Fort of the Damned

• Resolved issues in several locations which caused the ghost of Graymarrow to become stuck inside the environment at the Fort of the Damned.
• Dropped Skeleton Orders will now use the correct radial iconography in the quest radial menu.
• Shadows of Fate should no longer spawn on top of each other in the same spot.
• Purchasing a Skull Stash Voyage then sailing away from the Outpost before activating it will now correctly select the Outpost closest to the player’s position when activating.
• Ferryman Statue’s ‘Grate Hands’ will no longer be displayed on an inactive Fort of the Damned when a player somewhere else in the world encounters a Shadow of Fate Skeleton.
• Ferryman Statue’s ‘Grate Hands’ are now cleared once the Fort is completed.
• Ferryman Statue’s ‘Grate Hands’ will correctly reactivate when leaving and rejoining the Fort while in progress.
• Improved the animations used by the Ferryman Statue’s ‘Grate Hands’ to provide more variety.
• Players who are teleported out of the vault when the Fort is restarted are now teleported to their ship.
• On opening the Fort door, the key is now visually removed.
• Gunpowder Kegs spawned inside the Fort vault will no longer explode if a nearby keg is detonated prior to the vault being opened.

Pirate Emporium

• Emotes in the preview pane of the Emporium and Vanity Chest are now presented as they appear on your equipped pirate, reducing scenarios where the preview showed pirates’ hands in the incorrect locations.
• The Coin Toss Emote now shows the coin in the preview when purchasing within the Emporium or equipping from the Vanity Chest.
• Changing the game window size on PC while inside the Pirate Emporium will no longer cause graphical issues with the pet preview window.
• After purchasing an item, the player should no longer be returned to the home tab. 
• When using the Vanity Chest to equip an emote, players can now access all slots using the mouse.
• Defeating an Ancient Skeleton and receiving the pop-up in German now fits correctly on-screen.
• Players browsing the Pirate Emporium now display the correct presence in their Xbox status while playing Sea of Thieves.

Pets

• Pets sitting on the crow’s nest perch when the mast is destroyed will now correctly and safely return to the deck.
• Dirty pets can now be cleaned with a bucket of water when below deck.
• Pets will no longer instantly become clean if jumping in the water.
• Equipping a pet from your Pet Chest while you are already holding another player’s pet will now correctly summon your own pet.
• When navigating the Pet Chest, animals should no longer briefly T-pose when selected.
• After dismissing a pet it will no longer still appear equipped in the Pet Chest.
• Crumbs will now fall on the floor when pets eat food on a moving ship.

The Arena

• Players should no longer find themselves spawning on the Shores of Gold when attempting to use a mermaid to return to their ship in The Arena.

Environment

• Moved the tooltip to remove a pet from an animal cage to make it more visible on-screen.
• Info text should no longer be displayed when sailing through the Devil’s Shroud approaching the Shores of Gold.
• Shadows will no longer be cast from the mountains in the evening on Plunder Outpost.
• Players should no longer become stuck between the shipwreck and dock in the Pirate Legend Hideout.
• Players should no longer become stuck next to a tree on Smuggler’s Bay.
• Players should no longer become stuck between rocks on Ashen Reaches.
• Players should no longer clip into the floor when climbing the southeast ladder on Fort of the Damned.

Known Issues

• Cosmetics Saving Across Sessions – Some players may find that after equipping cosmetics then leaving the game, upon their return those cosmetics will no longer be equipped.
• Sailor of the Shores of Gold Title Not Unlocking – Some players may find that after having completed the Seeker of Grand Adventure Commendation, they are not awarded the Sailor of the Shores of Gold Title.
• The Seabound Soul Subtitle Formatting – Players may find that some dialogue subtitle text in non-English languages is cut off. The team is working to get this issue fixed as soon as possible.

Update 2.0.8: Fort of the Damned

Download size on PC: 7.7 GB

Fort of the Damned

Ritual Skull Seeker Bounty Voyages
Stitcher Jim has warned of the presence of a dangerous new type of Shadow Skeletons ambushing pirates across the seas. While Duke doesn’t know the exact locations of these Shadows of Fate himself, he does know where to find Shadow Captains holding treasure maps leading to these dangerous entities. While these treasure maps also lead to high-value rewards, Duke warns players to collect to the Ritual Skulls they find as they will be needed to take on the Fort of the Damned!

Duke will even offer Doubloon rewards to players who don’t want to take on the ominous Fort. Pick up a free Bounty Voyage from Duke for your region and head out to take them down! Pirate Legends are offered a more rewarding Bounty Voyage allowing them to retrieve multiple Ritual Skulls along with other rewards. All Skull Seeker Voyages are time-limited for the duration of the Fort of the Damned update.

Ritual Skull Seeker Commendations and Rewards
A range of Mercenary Commendations are available to unlock for helping Duke fight back the Shadows of Fate emerging across the sea, earning players Doubloons as well as the ‘Skull Keeper’ Title. All Skull Seeker Voyage Commendations, Doubloons and Title are time-limited for the duration of the Fort of the Damned update.

Ritual Skull Bilge Rat Stash Voyages
For those eager to take on the Fort, Duke sneakily stashed some Ritual Skulls away during Dark Relics and now offers players a Black Market Voyage to pick up a quick Ritual Skull from the Outpost itself. These Black Market Voyages can be purchased for either Doubloons or gold and are repeatable to your heart’s content! Bilge Rat Stash Voyages will become a permanent addition to Duke’s Black Market after the Fort of the Damned update.

The Fort of the Damned
Dark forces have seized Old Boot Fort and begun their eerie rituals, twisting it into the Fort of the Damned! Pushing through the mist to reach the island, crews must light the six Ferryman statues with the correct Flames of Fate retrieved from the Ferry of the Damned to release the ritual altar. Sacrificing a Ritual Skull to the altar, crews can summon forth the Shadows of Fate and fight back the horde before facing off against a familiar ghastly apparition.

Those fearless enough to take on the Fort will announce their presence to the rest of the world via a new red skull cloud visible to all crews on the horizon. Success bestows a range of high-value rewards from a bountiful supply of Stronghold Kegs, chests and skulls through to a guaranteed Chest of Legends and two Reaper’s Chests in the vault. Be sure to check the ship’s map! The Fort of the Damned will become a permanent addition to the world after the Fort of the Damned update, allowing players to tackle this threat at any time.

Fort of the Damned Commendations and Rewards
A new tab has been added to the Bilge Rats Reputation page to house a new set of persistent Commendations for helping Duke deal with this threat. Earn Doubloons to spend in the Black Market along the way, as well unlocking the ‘Raider of the Damned’ Title. All Fort of the Damned Commendations and rewards will become a permanent addition to the world after the Fort of the Damned update.

Ferryman of the Damned Rewards
The Outpost clothing stores have been stocked with a selection of new Ferryman-themed player cosmetics to celebrate the Festival of the Damned. All Ferryman of the Damned Rewards will become a permanent addition to the world after the Fort of the Damned update.

The Arena

Duo Sloops
Sloops have now entered The Arena! You can team up with one crewmate to compete against four rival Sloop crews in this duo experience. Open crews will still match you with one other player for anyone looking to jump straight into the action.

New Arena Locations
Six new contest locations have been added to The Arena, each with two variations. These new contests will feature chests on Outposts for players to find and cash in, along with even more daring Sea Dog delivery locations.

Minimum Crew Size
To help ensure a competitive experience, a minimum closed crew size is in place for the Galleon and Sloop Arena modes. This ensures you get a great experience each time from both your own crew and any crews you face on the seas.

New Features

Dueling Banjos?
Players will now find the new banjo instrument on the second page of their item radial. Join in with your crew with all the regular shanties on your new banjo!

Skeleton Captain Sightings
Reports from across the Sea of Thieves tell of roaming Skeleton Captains sighted on islands. These will drop a Villainous Skull upon defeat, in addition to a Skeleton’s Orders map pinpointing the location of a buried stash. These stashes provide a range of high-value rewards, including a guaranteed Ritual Skull and a strong chance of digging up a Reaper’s Chest!

Support for ‘Toggle’ When Using Items
A ‘Reduce Hold to Use Item’ option has been added to the accessibility settings. This allows many items to support toggling where previously a player would have to hold. Players can now aim a weapon and block with a single press, or raise their lantern or check the time with a single press.

Resolution Scaling
A new video option has been added for PC players to dictate what percentage of your current resolution the game renders at. For example, if a player sets this setting to 200% and their current resolution is 1920x1080, the game will render at 3840x2160 (4K). Settings higher than 100% will negatively affect performance but will improve graphical quality. Settings lower than 100% may improve performance but reduce graphical quality.

Smile, You Son Of A…
Defeating a shark by detonating a Gunpowder Keg in its vicinity will now earn the player the ‘Smile, You Son Of A…’ achievement.

Pirate Emporium

Skeleton Pets!
What better way to explore the eerie Fort of the Damned than with a Skeleton Cockatoo or Skeleton Marmoset perched on your arm? These special skeleton pets are time-limited for the Fort of the Damned update, so grab them while you can.

Bilge Rat Pet Outfits
Each pet can now be decked out in a ragtag outfit worthy of the Bilge Rat moniker. Go to the Pets section of the Pirate Emporium to purchase an outfit before heading to the Pet Chest to equip it.

Cutthroat Ship Collection
Prepare for a Supreme Victory! Fans of Killer Instinct will recognize the sight of Fulgore spearheading the new Cutthroat Ship Collection. Pick up the individual Cutthroat items or the Collector’s Figurehead and Sails to get that Ultra Combo. A Cutthroat Ship Bundle is also on offer which includes all the regular ship cosmetics at a nice discount! 

Taunt Emote Bundle
Feel the need to throw some shade at your rivals? Pick up the Taunt Emote Bundle for a range of combative emotes to ensure they know who they’re dealing with!

Emote Variety Bundle
A range of new emotes have been added for the Variety Pack 2 Bundle! Give crewmates the Slow Clap for that awful parking job, or rage at your opponent with an Angry Fist as they sail off with your treasure-laden Rowboat.

Emote and Ship Tabs
With our emote and ship collections growing, new tabs have been added to the top bar of the Emporium to allow quick navigation between sections.

Cursed Companions Bundle (Store Only)
Available only on the Xbox and Microsoft Stores. Spread a little spookiness with the Skeleton Marmoset and Skeleton Cockatoo – cursed pets for a cursed pirate! In addition to these spooky companions, this bundle also contains the Taunt Emote Bundle and free bonus gold!

Parrot Starter Bundle (Store Only)
Available only on the Xbox and Microsoft Stores. Get a headstart with the Parrot Starter Bundle, packed with items from the Pirate Emporium plus free bonus cosmetics and gold!

Black Market

Wild Rose Clothing
Introduced in the Shores of Gold Tall Tales, this month offers the beginnings of the Wild Rose clothing set. Collect the Wild Rose Jacket, Hat and Dress, all available for Doubloons.

Wailing Barnacle Clothing
Duke has heard your plea! This month he’s stocked the previously unattainable Wailing Barnacle clothing, allowing pirates to complete this soggy set. Available for Doubloons, players can pick up the Eyepatch, Hook, Pegleg, Gloves, Belt, Trousers and Boots of the Wailing Barnacle.

Fearless Bone Crusher Weapons
Continuing the Bone Crusher theme, Duke is offering the Fearless Bone Crusher weapons this month. Available for Doubloons, players can acquire the Fearless Bone Crusher Flintlock, Blunderbuss, Cutlass and Eye of Reach.

Redcoat Executive Admiral Clothing
How about something for your gold? This month sees the release of a new twist on the Executive Admiral clothing set. Players can acquire the full set by dipping into their supply of gold!

Deep Ocean Crawler Items
Continuing the Ocean Crawler theme, this month Duke delivers the Deep Ocean Crawler items for players to earn. By digging into their gold reserves, players can acquire the Deep Ocean Crawler Bucket, Compass, Fishing Rod, Lantern, Pocket Watch, Shovel, Speaking Trumpet, Spyglass and Tankard.

Outpost Cosmetics

More Feminine Clothing Options
Outpost clothing stores now stock a range of new dresses, skirts, leggings and shirts suited to female pirates. However, as with all clothing on the Sea of Thieves, everyone is free to dress however they please. Does your absolute unit look quite fetching in that crop top? Rock it!

New Hair Dyes
Outpost clothing stores now stock a range of colorful new hair dyes for you to pick from.

New Two-Tone Hair Dyes
Pirate Legends can venture into the Pirate Legend Hideout to purchase a range of two-tone hair dyes exclusively from the Hideout clothing shop!

Hunter’s Ship Set
Outpost shipwrights now stock the remaining cosmetics needed to complete the Hunter’s Ship Set. Players will find the Hunter Cannons, Capstan and Wheel available for purchase.

Banjos!
Outpost equipment stores now also stock a wide range of banjos for purchase. Grab your favorite and pluck out a tune!

Change of Underwear?
All pirates now can change the color of their underwear through a new tab in the Vanity Chest.

Updates

• Rag and Bone Crates – Following the events of Smuggler’s Fortune, Rag and Bone crates have begun washing up on shores, allowing crews to continue unlocking the persistent Commendations. These can now be delivered to Seaposts for five Doubloons and no longer have a delivery time requirement. 
• Reaper’s Chest Payout – Players will now be rewarded with 25 Doubloons on cashing in a Reaper’s Chest!
• Cursed Chest Payout – The Chest of Sorrow and Chest of a Thousand Grogs are now worth significantly more gold and reputation when handed in!
• Defy the Storm! – In true death-defying pirate style, taunting the storm by wielding your sword now increases your chance of being struck by lightning. And when it does strike, expect it to pack more of a punch… see you on the Ferry!
• Skeleton Ship Battles – The Skeleton Ship battles found around the outskirts of the world in The Shores of Plenty, The Ancient Isles and The Wilds have been replaced with two more central ship battles placed near the middle of the world, making them more accessible with a shorter sailing distance. The Devil’s Roar Skeleton Ship battle remains unchanged.
• Where Have You Been? – When your pet has been out on an adventure, they now come back dirty from their travels. Firing them out of a cannon also covers them in a little soot!
• They Must Be Hungry! – When offering food to your pet (or even to someone else’s), they will now quickly nom away the treat.
• Picking Up Your Pet – When selecting your pet from the Pet Chest located on your ship or at an Outpost, they will now instinctively jump onto your arm so that you can see them.
• Pet Previews – The monkeys are now much happier when viewed in the preview window of the Pirate Emporium. The parrots now also look much more excited and will dance when previewed.
• Actions Through Sprint – On coming out of a sprint, an action such as aiming or blocking will be re-triggered as long as the button is held. In common scenarios, players taking aim then sprinting will find that when they exit sprint with the button still held their character will resume aiming, where previously they would need to release then refocus their aim.
• Sword Swing Distance – The distance a sword swing can reach has been reduced.
• Breaking Through the Shroud – On retrieving the Shroudbreaker from Grace and plotting a course into the Devil’s Shroud, players will now find a revised visual and audio experience as they pass through the mystical barrier hiding the Shores of Gold from the rest of the world.
• Raining on Your Cargo – Improvements have been made to how cargo responds to rain in a range of environments. Cargo Run Plant and Silk Crates should now only become wet from rain when players can see the rain on their screen.
• Arming the Sea Dogs Tavern Exterior – In Adventure, Ammo Crates have been added to the Sea Dogs Tavern exterior. This should improve the pace of combat for crews choosing to defend this landmark.
• Sea Dogs Tavern Exterior Challenge Route – In Adventure, modifications have been made to the reverse challenge route to make it a little less punishing.
• Cursed Cannonballs – When held, Cursed Cannonballs now emit a purple or green light.

Bug Fixes

General

• Players should no longer find themselves spawning on the Shores of Gold when attempting to use a mermaid to return to their ship.
• Aiming or blocking shortly after sprinting will now correctly aim the weapon. 
• Attempting to block following a sprint will correctly initiate block, and other players will see them blocking.
• When igniting a chain of Gunpowder Kegs, they will now explode in chain order.
• Players can no longer ‘prime’ a weapon, enabling them to perform a double shot with dual guns.
• Switching to another item or weapon while casting a rod will no longer cause player animations to break.
• Performing a sword lunge into water will no longer play the lunge animation twice.
• Tapping the left bumper or [Q] should now switch back to the previously selected item from that radial.
• The harpoon Rowboat is now blocked from passing through locked doors or being manipulated into a position where it can retrieve items through locked doors.
• The hands on the Ocean Crawler Pocket Watch no longer clip into the watch.
• When equipping a dress, the player’s trousers or shirt are no longer hidden.
• Players can no longer leave the Ferry of the Damned without passing through the door.
• Players standing in a certain location on a Galleon will no longer be pushed through the hull.
• Items held in players’ hands should no longer start to jitter the further they are away from the center of the map.
• When purchasing a Letter of Recommendation, the shop item now automatically locks without needing to refresh the screen.
• Players who are in a limping state prior to server migration no longer become stuck in that state after arriving on the new server.
• The Make Friends emote once again allows players to become friends.
• Resolved scenarios where tooltips could display the incorrect yellow-highlighted words.
• Replenishing the ammo of a stowed weapon will now correctly refresh the ammo counter.
• A range of cannons have had their player placement revised to ensure players climbing inside are correctly nestled inside the barrel.
• The Storage Crate can now correctly take an item into each slot and fill the whole page.
• Removed the word ‘emote’ from all emotes in the UI.
• When retracting a fishing line, the moment a fish is hooked no longer causes the player to become briefly stuck.
• The oars on the Rowboat should no longer become invisible when climbing in.
• The Brigantine can once again be fully emptied of water!
• The Seeker of Tales Commendation description has been revised to better match the unlock criteria.
• Health regen is paused by the player taking damage. Eating cooked food while taking damage over time will no longer cancel out the damage.
• Selling a snake to the Merchant Alliance now correctly removes the snake audio effects from the world.
• Lighting has been revised across a range of lanterns to ensure they are not too bright.
• Movement animations should continue to play correctly when multiple players and pets are all animating in close proximity.
• Wielding a cannonball while interacting with a raised cannon should no longer cause the cannonball to appear in the incorrect location.
• Interacting with a Chest of a Thousand Grogs now plays the correct audio effects, and dropping it correctly stops the audio.
• Equipping the Fearless Bone Crusher Flag on the Brigantine now displays the correct flag.
• The Glorious Sea Dog Blunderbuss now has the correct icon when previewed in the armory.
• The session setup panel in the Sea of Thieves main menu will now display the correct information when accepting an invite.
• ‘The Revenge of the Morningstar’ Tall Tale – if defeated by the Captain, the battle music will now correctly end.
• Destroying a gunpowder-wielding Shadow Skeleton will now correctly destroy the skeleton.
• Projectile VFX should no longer pass through walls when fired at close range.
• Cooking smoke VFX updated to be clearer and show a better transition to cooked.
• Water leaking VFX now plays in correct hole locations on the middle deck of the Galleon.

Pirate Emporium

• Pirate Emporium vendors will no longer accept chest hand-ins for gold and reputation.
• While the game is open, purchasing Ancient Coins from the Xbox or Microsoft Store now correctly refreshes your game balance.
• Ancient Skeletons’ footsteps are now distinctly heard when spawning alongside many other skeletons.
• Players can no longer cause the Ancient Coins purchase screen to stay on-screen by leaving the Pirate Emporium.
• When previewing emotes in the Pirate Emporium or Vanity Chest, they should now be placed centrally in the preview window.
• Places where [Q] and [E] are used as button prompts can now also be clicked with a mouse.

Pets

• When pets become scared by surrounding danger, they will no longer repeatedly play their scared audio effects.
• The ‘unequip’ option in the Pet Chest now correctly previews the result.
• Dropping a pet in the Sea Dogs Tavern hot tub no longer causes it to fall through the floor.
• Pets perched on a mast will no longer become stuck in place if the mast is destroyed.
• Pets placed on a perch spot by someone other than their owner will no longer stay in that spot indefinitely.
• Pets no longer become stuck beneath a cannon if player leaves and returns to the ship while they are perched.
• Playing an instrument then switching to an emote will now correctly cause your pet to switch to an emote reaction.
• Pets eating food given by players will now use appropriate crumb effects.
• Stroking your pet while in water no longer stalls the stroke animation.
• When another player feeds your pet, they now animate correctly.
• Pet SFX should now correctly match the animation being played in all scenarios.
• Pets should no longer walk off the side of jetties when turning around.
• Improved pet navigation on Old Faithful, Plunder Outpost and Shores of Gold.

The Arena

• Joining an Adventure session via an invite received while in an Arena lobby will no longer play the incorrect intro sequence.
• ‘New Maps Available’ Toast should no longer appear before the contest begins.
• Approaching the end of a contest, there should be no time where a crew becomes unable to gain or lose score.
• Color palette of the Sea Dogs Ship Set revised to ensure the sail and hull colors match.

Environment

• Campfires have now returned to Sailor’s Bounty.
• Players can no longer pass through geometry and get underneath the island on Marauder’s Arch or Smuggler’s Bay.
• Players should no longer become stuck between or near trees on Smuggler’s Bay or Shores of Gold.
• Players should no longer become stuck underneath a stairway in the external part of the Sea Dogs Tavern.
• Players should no longer experience incorrect collision around the gatehouse cannons on Lost Gold Fort.
• Cliff face collision at the beginning of the Sea Dogs Challenge route revised to prevent players from bypassing part of the challenge – sneaky!
• Skeleton navigation improved to prevent skeletons becoming stuck on Hidden Spring Keep.
• ‘The Art of the Trickster’ Tall Tale – the Trickster’s Lair encounter has now been relit to ensure each lever is noticeable.
• Resolved incorrect rendering when leaving the caves on Sailor’s Bounty.
• Exterior lights no longer bleed through the ceiling of the tavern while inside.

Known Issues

Cosmetics Saving Across Sessions
Some players may find that after equipping cosmetics then leaving the game, on their return those cosmetics will no longer be equipped.

‘Sailor of the Shores of Gold’ Title Not Unlocking
Some players may find that after having completed the ‘Seeker of Grand Adventure’ Commendation, they are not awarded the ‘Sailor of the Shores of Gold’ Title.

Update 2.0.7: Smuggler's Fortune

Smuggler's Fortune voyages

Download size on PC: 6.78 GB

Following the delivery of Reaper’s Chests to Duke during Dark Relics, he’s now managed to crack open the chests and reap the valuable items inside. Unfortunately, alongside all the treasures, it turns out that many of the Reaper’s Chests simply contained bones, rags and shards that Duke has no idea what to do with, so he’s been burying it all at Shipwreck Bay until he can figure out a more sustainable plan. In comes Stitcher Jim, claiming he’s turned over a new leaf and wanting to prove himself. Rag and Bone Voyages are the result, with the following types available from Duke:

Note: All Rag and Bone Voyages are time-limited for the duration of the Smuggler’s Fortune update.

Reaper’s Grave Voyage
Stitcher Jim has struck a deal with the local Seaposts to acquire Duke’s excess stock. Grab yourself a free Reaper’s Grave Voyage and set out for Shipwreck Bay to dig up the crates before heading to a designated Seapost to cash them in.

Seapost to Seapost Voyage
Some Seaposts need assistance in moving their crates to Seaposts on the outskirts of the Sea of Thieves, so pick up a free Seapost to Seapost Voyage to help them manage their cargo!

Legendary Reaper’s Grave Voyage
Pirate Legends are tasked with a Reaper’s Grave Voyage requiring them to load their ship with even more cargo before heading out to their designated Seapost for disposal.

Smuggler’s Fortune Commendations and Rewards
A range of Mercenary Commendations are available to unlock for helping Duke and Jim deliver their cargo. You can also earn Doubloons to spend in the Black Market along the way, as well unlocking the ‘Bone Haul Bearer’ and ‘Bone Haul Bandit’ Titles.

Black Market 

Duke has begun to take a more prominent role at the Outposts. After retrieving a huge haul of Reaper’s Chests during Dark Relics along with investments from the Trading Companies that he schmoozed during Black Powder Stashes, Duke has now opened his Black Market shop!

Duke’s Black Market offers a range of unique items, from new cosmetics through to variants of previously time-limited cosmetics. These offers will only last until the next Monthly Content Update when the stock will be refreshed, so grab them now!

Fearless Bone Crusher Clothing
This month Duke is offering a twist on the previously available Bone Crusher clothing set by introducing Fearless Bone Crusher clothing. Available for Doubloons, players can acquire the Fearless Bone Crusher Jacket, Fearless Bone Crusher Dress and Fearless Bone Crusher Hat.

Fearless Bone Crusher Ship
In keeping with the Bone Crusher theme, Duke is also introducing the Fearless Bone Crusher ship livery range. Available for Doubloons, players can acquire the Fearless Bone Crusher Hull, Fearless Bone Crusher Sail and Fearless Bone Crusher Flag.

Deep Ocean Crawler Weapons
Something for your gold? This month Duke introduces a twist on the Ocean Crawler set with the ‘Deep Ocean Crawler’ weapons. By digging into their gold reserves, players can acquire the Deep Ocean Crawler Cutlass, Deep Ocean Crawler Flintlock, Deep Ocean Crawler Blunderbuss and Deep Ocean Crawler Eye of Reach.

Letters of Recommendation
Players are now earning a steady stream of Doubloons through the on-time delivery of Rag and Bone Crates and hoarding of Reaper’s Chests, in addition to the Mercenary Voyages being made available for free! So under the provision of the Trading Companies, Duke has begun restricting the flow of Letters of Recommendation. Players will now be only able to purchase a single Letter of Recommendation for each Company in each month.

The Pirate Emporium

The Pirate Emporium is now open! The Emporium offers only the rarest goods that have been smuggled into the Sea of Thieves. All these exclusive items can be yours in exchange for Ancient Coins, a new currency in Sea of Thieves purchasable with your hard-earned real-world money. You can access the Pirate Emporium from the Sea of Thieves main menu before jumping into the game, or at an Outpost via the new store opened above the Order of Souls tent.

Parrots and Monkeys – Looking for a feathered friend to sail beside you with the wind in its feathers, or a nimble companion to follow you deep into an underground cave while you explore ancient ruins? The Pirate Emporium offers a range of parrot and monkey breeds for its grand opening, from the cheeky Parakeet and proud Macaw parrots through to the nimble Capuchin and wise Barbary monkeys. With each breed offering a range of different colours, there’s plenty of choice!

Sea Dog Pet Outfits
Each pet can be dressed in a fetching Sea Dog Outfit. Fancy an eyepatch for your Capuchin or a bandana for your Macaw? Go to the Pets section of the Pirate Emporium to purchase an outfit before heading to the Pet Chest to equip it.

Sea Dog Discount Bundles
For this month only, you can pick up discounted bundles for the Macaw and Capuchin, each dressed in a fashionable Sea Dog outfit.

Bear & Bird Ship Collection
Fans of Banjo-Kazooie will find a brand new livery available for purchase. Whether you pick up individual Bear & Bird ship items, the full set or the Collector’s Figurehead and Sails, you now have various ways to show your love for the famous duo. A Bear & Bird Ship Bundle is also on offer which includes all the regular ship cosmetics at a nice discount!

Emotes Variety Bundle
You can now express yourself in all kinds of new ways with a Variety Bundle of emotes, some of which are also sold separately.

Emote Selection
The Vanity Chest has now been updated with an emote tab, giving players the ability to configure their emote radial however they like. On purchasing a new emote, players can now replace an existing emote with their shiny new one!

Ancient Coins
Ancient Coins are the currency of choice for the Pirate Emporium. When inside the Pirate Emporium, F to access a range of Ancient Coin packs for purchase on your Microsoft account without leaving the game.

Ancient Skeletons?!
Pirates have begun to report sightings of a mysterious Ancient Skeleton carrying a giant sack of Ancient Coins while out exploring on islands. Even though it flees on sight, lucky pirates may be able to defeat the skeleton before it returns to the ground and collect the Ancient Coins it leaves behind. Stay alert for the distinctive sound when it clambers out of the ground and take it down before it disappears!

Pets 

With the grand opening of the Pirate Emporium, a range of personal pirate pets has at last arrived on the Sea of Thieves. Whether you fancy an exotic parrot or mischievous monkey, head to the Emporium to purchase a loyal companion for your next adventure!

Where Are They?
Just head to the Pet Chest outside any Outpost Pirate Emporium or on your ship to select your new companion and bring it along with you on your adventures.

Name Your Pet
Once a pet has been selected in the Pet Chest, you’re free to name it however you see fit. With your pet selected, F to access the naming window – but keep it clean!

Pet Outfits
Once purchased from the Pirate Emporium, fetching new outfits can now be equipped on your loyal companions. Each outfit is unique to a specific breed of animal, so head to your Pet Chest and dress up your favorite!

Follow the Leader
Pets will instinctively follow you as you traverse the Sea of Thieves, from joining you for a drink in the tavern to feeling the wind in their fur or feathers far out at sea.

Hanging Out
When on your ship, pets remain idle before picking a spot to hang out. Look out for your monkey perching next to the wheel as you sail your ship, or your parrot taking a nap on the Captain’s table while you vote for your next Voyage. Perches have even been added to the Rowboats!

Stay!
While holding your pet, you can place them directly onto one of the hangout spots set up all over your ship. Then they’ll stay put even if you leave the ship and head off into the world, for those times where stealth or focus is key!

Pet Cages
Working pet cages have been added to all ship types! Swing the latch and you now have a handy place for your favorite companion to sit which is a little more out of the way.

Look Out!
Your loyal companion will react to the world around you and cower when you and the crew are in danger! Don’t worry, they can’t be hurt, but they might need a bit of fuss once you’ve vanquished any threats.

Picking Up Pets
You can pick up any pet you find in the world, whether it’s yours, a member of your crew’s or even a rival pirate’s. Once picked up you can give them a good fuss and then show them off to others. When showing off your pet, other pirates can feed it, stroke it and even take it from you to play with.

Dismissing Your Pet
If you are away from your ship and looking for a quick way to dismiss your pet, head to the ‘My Crew’ section in the Game Options. Under ‘Pet Management’ you have a quick way to return your pet to the Pet Chest.

The Arena updates

• Arena Cross Play – Xbox players now have an option in the main settings menu before jumping into a game session to enable an Xbox controller preference for Arena matchmaking. This will search for Xbox players using controllers and attempt to match you with players who have also selected this option (but if not enough players are found with this preference, you will be moved to a mixed-platform game so that you can still get into the action). If you set this preference to ‘Off’, you will be matched with all players including those on PC and any Xbox players using a mouse and keyboard.
• Meg Head in the Tavern – During your time in The Arena’s Glorious Sea Dogs Tavern, you will now see the magnificent trophy head of the Megalodon that DeMarco himself defeated!
• Arena Non-Verbal Messages – While inside The Arena, non-verbal pirate phrases have been revised to provide more tactical use in Arena contests.
• Arena Welcome Message – When joining The Arena by going into the Tavern or straight into a contest, players will now be shown a welcome message informing them of their team name, color and iconography.

General Updates

• Rejoin Your Game Session – When disconnected from the game due to a sudden exit, game crash or network issue, players are now offered the chance to rejoin their game session once they return to the main menu. Game sessions are now kept alive for a short period of time after the last crew member disconnects, providing a 10-minute window to return to the session without losing progress.
• Aggressive Skeleton Ships – When out sailing the world, crews will once again hear eerie sounds from the depths as aggressive Skeleton Ships breach alongside them to attack. Skeleton Sloops have entered the fray too, ensuring different crew sizes encounter an appropriate challenge! When sailing on a Sloop, crews should no longer encounter an aggressive Skeleton Galleon and will instead find themselves attacked by a Skeleton Sloop. Brigantine crews have a chance to encounter both Skeleton Sloops and Skeleton Galleons, while Galleon crews will always encounter the most challenging Skeleton Galleon.
• Roaming Skeleton Sloops – Skeleton Sloops have now been seen roaming the seas outside Skeleton Ship battles. A challenging clash for Sloop crews or a potentially easy target for larger crews – either way, head out there and claim those rewards!
• Storage Crates – There is now a chance to find washed-up Storage Crates out there in the world. These crates can be carried and used to store anything that you could put into a barrel!
• External Sea Dogs Tavern Challenge Route – In Adventure, if you head to the Glorious Sea Dogs Tavern in the center of the world, you can find a new jumping challenge route. Head to the top of the tavern through the staircase and track your best times or try to beat your crewmates by ringing the bells at each end. The Challenge Route can even be attempted backwards to ramp up the difficulty!
• ‘Shores of Gold’ Final Cutscene – After breaking through the Shroud, uncovering the Shores of Gold’s secrets and fighting their way through the caverns, crews skilled enough to defeat the fabled foe will experience a new final cutscene showcasing their epic journey.
• Blunderbuss Knockback Balancing – We’ve reduced the range at which a Blunderbuss shot will apply a knockback to a rival player, so you now must be much closer to get that knockback. The distance a player is knocked back by the shot remains the same!
• Gunpowder Keg Hit Detection – Improvements have been made to ensure hitting gunpowder kegs at range is more consistent with ranged weapons.
• Explosive Damage on Ships – When ships are affected by explosions (gunpowder kegs, volcanic rocks etc.) they now use a new more realistic damage model using an inner and outer blast radius. This new setup ensures that greater damage is applied closer to the explosion, and less damage further away.
• Harpoon Aim Support – Firing a harpoon at a player or treasure Item now has a much greater chance of connecting with your intended target, even while on a moving ship!
• ‘Wild Rose’ Music Box – Players can now interact with the music box in the ‘Wild Rose’ Tall Tale in order to play the Wild Rose Theme.
• Reaper’s Chest VFX – The Reaper’s Chest now has a new smoky visual effect when discovered in the world, and the light pillar has had a further effect pass to ensure its visibility at all times of day/night.

Fixed Issues

GENERAL

• Joining a crew located close to an active Skeleton Fort should no longer cause pirates to lose their ability to interact with the world.
• Players killed by falling lava rocks and their immense splash damage will now correctly be offered the red light from the Flames of Fate on the Ferry of the Damned.
• Sword attack animations will now correctly play when under the effects of venom and being attacked by skeletons.
• Players enabling ‘Replace Gamertags’ should no longer see true gamertags on ship map controls and Voyage banners.
• Players enabling ‘Replace Gamertags’ should no longer have the chance to see a debug gamertag when crews migrate to their server.
• Players enabling ‘Replace Gamertags’ while in proximity to multiple players will now correctly scramble all gamertags in view.
• Migrating to a new server while your ship mast is down will no longer cause your ship to act as if the mast is up once migration is complete.
• Players joining a server, should no longer have a chance of spawning on the Shores of Gold.
• ‘Hunter of Wildsplashes’ Commendation now correctly awards the ‘Hunter of Wildsplashes’ Title.
• Players should once again be able to repair their mast after having their mast downed and being hit with a Riggingball.
• Wielding a glowing item no longer causes lighting around the player to change.
• Movement and emote animations should no longer begin to freeze when eight players come together and animate simultaneously.
• Switching between Arena and Adventure rapidly on the front end will no longer cause a drop in framerate.
• Interacting with a barrel then leaving the game idle will no longer cause the UI to become unresponsive on your return.
• Assigning different keys to ‘Turn Previous Page, Turn Next Page’ should correctly unbind any previously bound keys. These options can no longer be bound to the same keys as movement.
• Changing the Global settings in the ‘All Other Crews’ menu should now correctly display this setting change when viewing each individual player without needing to close and reopen the menu.
• The global ‘All Other Crews’ settings should no longer display as ‘YES’ when they are set to ‘NO’. This was a visual issue as the settings were configured incorrectly.
• Corrected grammar issues on Reaper’s Chest non-verbal messages.
• Players will no longer hear oar splashes when rowing the Rowboat on dry land.
• When a Sloop has been emptied of water, splashing footstep SFX should no longer be heard.
• The Mercenary Wheel now casts a shadow.

THE ARENA

• ‘Reduce Held Interactions’ toggle now supports handing in Sea Dog chests in The Arena.
• Players can once again interact with the Pirate Code in the Sea Dogs Tavern.
• Players are now unable to interact with NPCs during server migration.
• Contest scoreboards will now display all crews’ scores formatted based on your locale consistently in all places. 
• Players unable to matchmake when joining The Arena will now return to the lobby and stay in their crew, allowing them to retry.
• Signing out of your profile while ‘Searching the Seas’ for an Arena lobby will no longer cause the game to crash.
• Text shown on The Arena intro should no longer be cut off.
• Following migration to a new tavern, the cannon and wheel in the Sea Dogs Tavern become usable once again.

TALL TALES - SHORES OF GOLD

• ‘Stars of a Thief’ – Migrating before placing the Star Jewels into the statue will now correctly open the statue, revealing the totem.

ENVIRONMENT

• Loot should no longer spawn in an inaccessible place inside the Molten Sands Fortress vault.
• Resolved collision issues preventing items from being dropped and retrieved inside the Order of Souls tent on Galleon’s Grave Outpost. 
• Resolved incorrect collision on Fetcher’s Rest volcano.
• Players should no longer get stuck between rocks in certain areas of the treasure room on the Shores of Gold.
• Players should no longer get stuck in the chasm on the Shores of Gold.
• Players should no longer get stuck under the island at Lone Cove.
• Players should no longer get stuck between rocks on Sharkbait Cove.
• Players should no longer get stuck in the rafters of the Three Paces East Seapost.
• Players should no longer be ‘safe teleported’ when walking between large rocks on Kraken’s Fall.
• Players should no longer become stuck behind the Gold Hoarder tent on Morrow’s Peak Outpost.
• Resolved a LOD issue on large boulders found in the world.
• Resolved a LOD issue when viewing textures inside Wanda’s Hideout.
• Textures should now render correctly when sailing around Sunken Grove.
• Sailing through an area close to the Isle of Last Words should no longer change the lighting levels.
• When moving around the ship, waves will no longer sometimes appear to flicker.
• Players should hear more consistent audio when encountering spike traps on the Shores of Gold.
• Resolved a clipping issue on Fort ladders on Keel Haul Fort.
• Resolved a gap between rocks on Ashen Reaches.

Known Issues

• Tall Tales – Commendations Showing as Incomplete – Some players may find that after completing Shores of Gold Commendations and receiving their rewards, the Commendations still show as incomplete.
• Combat – Inconsistent Aim Down Sights or Blocking – When exiting a sprint, immediately attempting to aim a gun or block with a sword can result in the action not triggering and the weapon returning to a wielded state.

Update 2.0.6 Dark Relics

Dark Relics: Duke has been asked for help by the Order of Souls! Despite boosting their arsenal with gunpowder kegs last month, the Order found themselves raided by a nefarious crew of skeletons who stole a set of powerful artefacts known as Dark Relics, spiriting them away to far-flung corners of the sea. The Order didn't have time to determine the full extent of these Relics’ mystical properties, but they could prove to be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands...

As if that wasn’t enough, shipments of a mysterious new chest emblazoned with the Reaper’s Mark are now turning up in the waters of the Sea of Thieves. Where have these chests come from, and why are so many ships being sunk while transporting them? Duke feels that it’s too big a coincidence for these chests to be unrelated to recent skeleton activity – they’re up to something, but what?

• Dark Relic Voyages – The Order of Souls’ representatives have begun to experience visions of skeleton activity across the sea, including rituals performed with the Dark Relics and what appear to be Ritual Skulls. They want those Dark Relics back before something catastrophic happens, and will pay good money to anyone who can retrieve them. Duke has been tipped off to the potential locations of these artefacts, and will offer pirates a range of Voyages costing five Doubloons to seek and retrieve them. All Dark Relic Voyages are time-limited for the duration of the Dark Relics update.
• Dark Relic Athena's Fortune Voyage – Pirate Legends are tasked with a Voyage to head into The Devil’s Roar to collect more of these artefacts. Costing 10 Doubloons, these Athena Voyages yield more Dark Relics than a regular Voyage. The Mysterious Stranger is also very curious about the Ritual Skulls and will personally take them off the hands of Pirate Legends. All Dark Relic Voyages are time-limited for the duration of the Dark Relics update.
• Dark Relics Commendations and Rewards – A range of Mercenary Commendations are available to unlock for hunting down these dangerous artefacts. Earn Doubloons, unlock the new Relic Hunter and Relic Collector Titles and purchase the Mercenary Cannon, Mercenary Wheel and Mercenary Capstan ship cosmetics for taking part in the search. All Dark Relic Voyage Commendations, Doubloons, Titles and rewards time-limited for the duration of the Dark Relics update.
• The Reaper’s Chest – Keep an eye on the horizon for an eerie pillar of light reaching skyward. Upon reaching its source, players can obtain a new Reaper’s Chest and the pillar of light will be extinguished. But beware: once collected, the Reaper’s Chest will appear on the ship’s map of all rival crews on the seas! Return these chests to Duke if you can, who will take them off your hands in return for Doubloons. Following the Dark Relics update, the Reaper’s Chest and Doubloon rewards will persist as an emergent encounter in the world along with a way to earn Doubloons regularly.
• Reaper’s Chest Commendations and Rewards – Returning Reaper’s Chests to Duke will unlock a range of Mercenary Commendations and Doubloon rewards along with the new Death Defier Title. Following the Dark Relics update, the Reaper’s Chest Commendations, Doubloon rewards and Title will still be unlockable and obtainable.

Updates

• Ranged and Melee Hit Detection – Players will now find that engaging in combat with other players out in the world is much more responsive. When targeting a rival player or skeleton then taking a shot or swinging a sword, players should find that the hits are more consistently registered and damage applied as expected. Hit detection improvements across the game include ship-to-ship, ship-to-water and water-to-water player encounters.
• A Rowboat with a Harpoon?! – Players may come across a rare new type of Rowboat abandoned throughout the world. These come with a harpoon attached, allowing rowers and their passengers to have even more fun on the sea!
• Barrels of PLENTY! – Players can now find a greater range of items within floating Barrels of Plenty. Be sure to stop and check them out as you may find skulls, artefacts, chests, Merchant Crates, Mermaid Gems, Messages in a Bottle or even gunpowder kegs – why not use these inconspicuous floating ‘mines’ to your advantage against rival crews?
• Harpoon That Meat! – Floating meat left behind by defeated sea creatures can now be harpooned back to your ship.
• Harpoon That Keg! – Harpoons can now latch onto gunpowder kegs to enable you to pull them back to your ship.
• Tall Tales: Legendary Storyteller – New Puzzle Locations – The Legendary Storyteller Tall Tale has had a range of new puzzle variants added to new islands for a more varied experience during each playthrough.
• Tall Tales: Fate of the Morningstar – New Puzzle Locations – The Fate of the Morningstar Tall Tale has had a new island setup for a more varied experience during each playthrough.
• Arena Matchmaking Improvements – When entering The Arena as an open crew, players will now be prioritised to load into a tavern waiting to start rather than an active contest. This should ensure contests start more quickly and come closer to our full crew and player count, while also ensuring players start contests at the beginning to maximise their chance of competing.
• Configuring Controller Look Deadzone – A new setting has been added named ‘Gamepad Look Deadzone’, allowing players to change the size of the deadzone on their controller’s right stick. When you push the right stick, it will not change your in-game viewing angle until it has left this deadzone. You can find a more detailed guide to this new configuration option in our Support Article.
• Configuring Controller Response Curve – A new setting has been added named ‘Gamepad Response Curve’, allowing players to tweak the response curve of their controller’s right stick. You can find a more detailed guide to this new configuration option in our Support Article.
• Improvements to Muting Other Players – The Game Options menu has been restructured to split the ‘My Crew’ and ‘Other Crews’ pages. In Adventure these settings remain unchanged, but in The Arena all players currently playing on your server are shown in the ‘Other Crews’ list. This makes it easier to see who is on your Arena server and provides the ability to mute their voice, text and phrases individually in addition to the global ‘All Other Crews’ settings supported previously.
• Replace Gamertags – Players now have a new option to ‘Replace Gamertags’. When enabled, this replaces your gamertag, your crew members’ gamertags and any gamertags of pirates you meet in the open world. If anyone else on your server enables this feature, the replaced names will match for everyone allowing players to strategise and shot call as before. If you encounter another player in the world who has chosen to replace their gamertag, their true gamertag will still be visible to you to ensure you know who you are playing with.
• Hide Crew Gamertags – A new setting has been added called ‘Show Nameplates Above My Crewmates’. This setting allows players to show/hide the nameplates/gamertags of all their crew members as a further aid to reducing the impact of stream sniping.
• Keybinding for ‘Hide Non-Crew Gamertags’ – Players can now assign a keybind for the ‘Show Nameplates Above Other Crews’ option. This allows fast access to showing/hiding the gamertags of rival players should you need to identify them.
• Audio Experience – Various improvements have been made to the overall audio experience, including effects for digging up bait and cannonball impacts on wood. 

Game Balancing

• Stronghold Keg Skeletons – Pirate Legends will now encounter the threat of a lumbering skeleton wielding a devastating Stronghold Keg when tackling a Pirate Legend Voyage – so be prepared to run!
• Skeleton Lord Ability Chaining – Skeleton Lords encountered during Tall Tales can now use their abilities in sequences to aid them in combat. For example, a Skeleton Lord can now initiate a knockback and summon reinforcements or teleport to a new location (or both) before players can recover.
• Gunpowder Skeletons – The Gunpowder Skeleton spawn rate has been reduced while players are out exploring Islands.
• Emergent Skeletons – When freely exploring the world outside the constraints of a Voyage, the difficulty of emergent skeletons has been reduced to ensure newer players have a safer time exploring. For players on a Voyage, rank-appropriate emergent skeletons will still spawn to challenge you and your crew.
• Skeleton Difficulty Across Higher Ranks – On higher-rank Voyages, crews will encounter fewer skeletons with large health pools and instead face off against more skeletons in waves, reducing the frustration of those longer, more drawn-out skeleton encounters.
• Sailing a Sloop in the Storm – When sailing through a storm in a Sloop, the storm’s effects on the handling of the Sloop have been reduced and the Sloop’s wheel will be pulled less aggressively.

Fixed Issues - General

• When successfully blocking a sword strike, the defender will now correctly see the block VFX and block animations.
• Players holding on to the bottom rung of a ship ladder are once again vulnerable to damage from ranged weapons.
• Players are no longer able to harpoon the fishing float, but we enjoyed the videos while they lasted!
• When placed on a moving ship, gunpowder kegs will once again take damage from sword attacks.
• Players will no longer be staggered when on a ship located close to an island experiencing an earthquake.
• Devil’s Roar geysers no longer kill you instantly and now launch you up into the air.
• Fish caught and left on fishing rods will still be visible following server migration.
• Players will no longer appear visually distorted and snap back to an incorrect position if migrating servers while on a ship’s ladder.
• Pirate phrases are now present for all raw fish types.
• Skeletons should no longer have audible clicks/pops during footsteps and vocalizations.
• The audio experience has been improved when cooking on a Galleon so that players can clearly hear the cooking sounds through the grate.
• Traps located inside caves will no longer be heard by players outside the caves.
• Smaller female pirates now correctly grip tankards with decorations attached such as the Glorious Sea Dog Tankard.
• Navigating the Settings menus then restarting the game will no longer show the previous Settings options highlighted.
• The front end Session Setup panel is now cleared correctly when joining a crew through an invite.

Fixed Issues - The Arena

• It is no longer possible to harpoon players who have already been killed in The Arena.
• Players will be removed from the tavern cannon when migrating to a new server.
• Taking damage while sailing into the Devil’s Shroud no longer causes the screen to occasionally flash.
• The Glorious Sea Dog Shovel now has correct digging VFX.
• Ship liveries no longer display graphical issues on the inside of the Sloop’s hull.

Fixed Issues - Shores of Gold Tall Tales

• ‘The Legendary Storyteller’ and ‘Wild Rose’ – Quest Books have been rearranged to better support non-English languages and prevent text overlapping.
• ‘Revenge of the Morningstar’ – Quest Book text layout has been improved to resolve issues when localised into other languages.
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – The Shroudbreaker now plays appropriate VFX when breaking through the Devil’s Shroud.
• ‘Stars of a Thief’ - After placing the Star Jewels in the statue to retrieve the totem, leaving the area and returning will no longer cause the statue to close and the totem to be lost.

Fixed Issues - Environment

• Devil’s Roar geysers should no longer erupt from wooden platforms.
• Players can no longer get stuck on a barrel near the Sanctuary Outpost tavern.
• Players will no longer find plants clipping through rocks on Lone Cove.
• The pond on the southeast tip of Old Faithful Isle has been filled with water.
• ‘The Shroudbreaker’ Tale voting book on Plunder Outpost should no longer flash under lighting.
• Resolved incorrect collision on Fetcher’s Rest volcano.
• Resolved placement of island dressing causing clipping on Sailor’s Knot Stronghold.
• Resolved incorrect material on ruined boat on Fetcher’s Rest.
• Pond reflections on Crescent Isle now display correctly at all times of the day.
• Resolved flickering texture issues in The Arena tavern Interior.

Known Issues

• Gunpowder Keg Hit Detection – While improvements have been made across the melee and ranged hit detection in this build, in situations of intense movement and action, players may continue to experience issues hitting gunpowder kegs at range. This is not a regression but something that became more apparent following the improvements to player vs. player hit detection.
• Tall Tales Commendations Showing as Incomplete – Some players may find that after completing Shores of Gold Commendations and receiving their rewards, the Commendations still show as incomplete.

Download Size - 6.44gb

Update 2.0.5 Black Powder Stashes

Reaper’s Black Powder Runs: Duke is challenging crews to face off against rivals in an explosive new Reaper’s Run, the ‘Reaper’s Black Powder Run’. These dangerous new voyages task crews with hopping from Fort to Fort finding Gunpowder Kegs, buried Merchant Crates and even guaranteed Stronghold Kegs! With two routes to pick from, crews should keep watch for rival crews as they trek the East Fort Run or West Fort Run. Tackling these voyages with your Reaper’s Flag raised adds extra risk to your voyage but unlocks some unique rewards. These voyages can be repeated if you dare!

Black Powder Smuggler’s Runs: For crews looking for a less competitive challenge with the same explosive consequences Duke, is offering a set of ‘Black Powder Smuggler’s Run’ voyages. These new voyages take crews into each region of the seas to collect buried Merchant Crates, Gunpowder Kegs and even guaranteed Stronghold Kegs for the Trading Companies. Pirate Legends have an exclusive voyage tasking them to venture into the Devil’s Roar and brave the threats to reap even more Stronghold Kegs! These voyages can be repeated to your hearts content once completed.

Trading Companies Stockpiling: The Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls and Merchant Alliance Trading Companies have begun stockpiling defences and will now reward players for handing over Gunpowder and Stronghold Kegs. Not wishing to be unprepared, the Mysterious Stranger has also begun rewarding Pirate Legends with Athena’s Fortune reputation for handing over Stronghold Kegs.

Mermaid Gems: Duke has heard word of Mermaid Gems being scattered across the world; Washed up on Islands, inside Skeleton Fort Vaults, inside Sunken Shipwrecks and even inside the bellies of Krakens & Megalodons! – the Trading Companies are eager to take these off your crew’s hands.

Mercenary Commendations and Rewards: A range of Mercenary Commendations are available to unlock from your crew’s explosive efforts out on the seas.  Earn Doubloons, unlock Titles and purchase newly available ‘The Inevitable Reaper Flag’, ‘The Inevitable Reaper Sails’ and the ‘Mercenary Figurehead’ for taking part in Duke's latest challenges.

Balancing

• Hunter's Call Rewards – Now that they have established a booming business, The Hunter's Call has the capital to reward players with greater Gold and Reputation gains for cashing in fish and meat.
• Tall Tales Skeleton Lord Balancing – Captain Briggsy, Captain Graymarrow and the Gold Hoarder now have a more balanced encounter for two person and three person Crews.
• ‘The Shores of Gold’ Gold Hoarder Encounter – Players engaging in the final encounter will now be given more time to complete the battle before the encounter times out.
• Sunken Shipwreck Rewards – Diving into a sunken shipwreck, players now have the chance to find Gunpowder Kegs, Resource Crates and even Mermaid Gems in addition to all the other previously found rewards.
• Improving Resource Crates – Players are more likely to find fruit, cannonball and wooden plank resource crates washed up on beaches across the world.
• Mermaid ‘Return to Ship’ Improvements – The mermaids are more helpful, appearing more quickly and in a closer location for players when you need them the most.
• Cursed Cannonballs - Effect Durations - The duration of effects for all player curses have been reduced. The duration of effects for Peaceball, Riggingball and Ballastball have also been reduced. 
• Cursed Cannonballs - Anchorball - Anchorball still lowers/raises the anchor but no longer locks it out from being used for a time afterwards. The Helmball and Barrelball remain unchanged.
• Cursed Cannonballs - Skeleton Ships – When engaging a Skeleton Ship, the frequency in which they fire Cursed Cannonballs has been reduced.
• Megalodon Encounter Balancing – We’ve done a wide balancing pass on the Megalodon encounters out in the world. When encountering a Megalodon players should more clearly be able to identify their personality from how they act around the ship and attack, allowing you to strategise on how to engage with them. Fleeing from a Megalodon to a nearby island will cause her to quickly give up and leave the area rather than lying in wait under the waves for an extended period. Crews on Sloops and Brigs are now much more likely to encounter a more balanced encounter, while still proving to be a challenge to take down.
• Sloop Mast Damage – A damaged Sloop mast now takes half the time to resurrect to provide a more balanced experience for smaller crews.
• Eye of Reach Skeletons – Players will now only encounter Eye of Reach wielding skeletons manning certain posts on a Skeleton Ship. These skeletons no longer spawn on islands or during encounters.
• Skeletons on Cannons – Skeletons on islands are less accurate with cannons and take longer to return after being killed.
• Escaping a Skeleton Ship – When chased by an emergent Skeleton Ship, crews no longer need to put as much distance between them before the Skeleton Ship decides to let you escape.
• Morrow’s Peak Outpost Geysers – Geysers on Morrow’s Peak Outpost in the Devil’s Roar now spawn much less frequently.
• Devil's Roar Volcanoes - Volcanoes encountered in the Devil’s Roar do not hit ships as often.

Accessibility Improvements

• Support for ‘Tap to Interact’ – An option has been added to the Accessibility Settings known as ‘Reduce Held Interactions’, which allows many ‘Hold to Interact’ actions to only require an initial tap. Players must still stay within range and wait the full duration of the action.
• Radial Menu Support for ‘Toggle’ – An option has been added to the Accessibility Settings ‘Toggle Radial Menus’ which allows radial menus to be opened and closed with two separate button presses rather than a button being held and released.
• Radial Menu Support for ‘Sticky’ – An option has been added to the Accessibility Settings ‘Sticky Radial Items’ which allows radial menus to stay selected when releasing the analogue stick.
• Radial Menu Support for Keyboard Bindings – All radial menu’s now support selection using number keys in addition to using the analogue stick. These keys can now also be re-binded in the Keyboard Settings page. 
• Support for ‘Escape’ to back out of Settings pages in stages – An option has been added to the Accessibility Settings ‘Escape as Back’ for Keyboard & Mouse controls. When toggled on, the ‘Escape’ changes its function when navigating the settings menus. When drilled into submenus, previously Escape would return the player all the way back to the top-level menu – with this setting enabled, Escape now steps the player back through each menu requiring multiple presses to return to the top-level menu.
• Support for Mouse Hover in Settings – When using a mouse to navigate the settings menu, hovering over an item no longer automatically selects it and requires players to click to select to avoid accidental selection while navigating. This does not affect navigating the settings with a controller.
• ‘Let Games Read to Me’ Message Priority – When triggering multiple narration messages, there is now a hierarchy to manage the order in which narration messages are played. Narration of server messages takes priority and pause any current message, playing immediately and queuing up subsequent messages. Narration of UI messages is second in priority and will play if no other message is currently playing. UI messages will not queue and will override a currently playing message. Player chat messages are third priority and will only play if no other message is currently playing.
• ‘Let Games Read to Me’ Player Chat Messages – The first chat message from a player will begin with "[Gamertag] says", with any consecutive messages from that player dropping the “[Gamertag] says” so that multiple messages will be read out as if they were part of one larger message. As soon as there is a break in speech however, the player’s gamertag will be read out again at the start of the next message. 

Updates

• Crew Member ‘Join’ & ‘Leave’ Notifications – Crew members now receive a notification when a player joins or leaves their crew.
• Tall Tales ‘Shroudbreaker’ New Puzzles – The Shroudbreaker Tall Tale has had a range of new Vault Puzzle variants added to provide a varied experience each playthrough.
• Tall Tales ‘Cursed Rogue’ New Puzzle & Briggsy Fight Locations – The Cursed Rogue Tall Tale has had a range of new Puzzle variants added. Crews will now find new locations for Skeleton Crews and buried quest items and will engage Briggsy in different locations on islands for a more varied experience each playthrough.
• Tall Tales ‘Revenge of the Morningstar’ New Puzzle Locations – The Revenge of the Morningstar Tall Tale has had a range of new puzzle variants added to new islands for a more varied experience each playthrough.
• Digging up Bait – Players now have a chance to find fishing bait from digging in the world. Digging on beaches, shorelines and grassy areas will yield the different bait types, happy digging! The amount of bait found in island barrels has also been reduced as part of this change, however crews will still find they can acquire some stock at outposts and sea posts to prepare for their journey.
• Interactive Hatches – The Shipwrights have added player-controlled hatches to both Sloop and Brigantines. Brigs have hatches added to the small window in the Captain’s Cabin, Sloops now have hatches on the small windows which players can close to help defend from attacks.
• Outpost Tavern Audio – Tavern ambient audio experience has been enhanced to be more interesting for players.
• Audio during Pirate Selection – The ambient audio experience has been enhanced when selecting a new pirate.
• Session Setup Panel – When navigating the front-end menu and selecting your game mode, ship type and crew type – there is a UI panel showing the choices that you have made when setting up your session.
• Controller & Keyboard Settings Menu - Improved the layout of the Controller and Keyboard screens on the settings menu.

Fixed Issues

General:

• Resolved an issue allowing players to sprint while changing weapons in order to fire two shots in quick succession when wielding two guns.
• Resolved a stability issue causing Gunpowder and Stronghold Kegs to sometimes explode during server migration.
• Killing Skeletons while under the effects of Cursed Green Cannonballs now correctly progress the following commendations: The Curse of The Foul Grog (Grogball), The Curse of The Dancing Demon (Jigball), The Curse of The Black Viper (Venomball), The Curse of The Sandman's Revenge (Wearyball), The Curse of The Fools Stride (Limpball), Master of Cursed Iron and Legend of Cursed Iron.
• Using a Gunpowder Keg to destroy a Skeleton Ship will now correctly count towards Skeleton Ship Commendations.
• Players and their crews will receive credit for engaging with Kraken and Megalodon encounters even if they are on the Ferry of the Damned and/or have lost their ship when the encounter ends.
• The Megalodon Makeup description now correctly refers to the player having to complete the ‘Hunter of the Great Maw’ Commendation to unlock.
• Dropping a one-handed item onto a lantern set dressing object no longer causes the player to be unable to pick up the item.
• Pirate Hideout audio reveal now plays at the correct location at Golden Sands Outpost.
• When ‘Let Games Read to Me’ and ‘Speech-To-Text’ are both enabled, transcribed messages will not be read out by ‘Let Games Read to Me’ because that message was already spoken across voice chat.
• The description for the ‘Athena’s Voyager’ Title now correctly identifies the unlock criteria.
• Pirate Hideout audio reveal now plays at the correct location at Sanctuary Outpost.
• Floating meat from Megalodons, sharks & Krakens now will bounce off your ship if sailed through.
• Revised the description of the ‘Legendary Treasure Hunter’ title, to correctly identify the unlock criteria.
• Players will now correctly hear ringing in their ears whilst under the influence of grog.
• Taking a bite of food while quickly interacting with barrels no longer causes the incorrect icons to be shown in the Barrel UI.
• Players will now be able to access the second page of a radial menu after rebinding their Item Radial/Map Radial and Interact/Disengage keys.
• The Pirate Phrase Wheel now has messages for Raw Fish; Devilfish, Battlegill, Islehopper, Pondie, Wrecker and Plentifins.
• Anchoring your ship on the west side of Plunder Outpost no longer puts your ship out of range for the Ship Customisation Chest. 
• The Ship Flag box now uses the correct iconography and descriptions when trying to un-equip a Flag.
• Skeletons can no longer navigate into areas players cannot reach on The Crow’s Nest Fortress, preventing the fort encounter from continuing.
• Keyboard rebinding for ‘Slot 8’ is now correctly named.
• Dropping a Merchant Crate now correctly plays the crunch sound effect to indicate it has become damaged.
• When multiple players are interacting with the same barrel, the UI will no longer occasionally get stuck.
• Shops will close automatically if a player takes damage or is harpooned while browsing.
• The ‘Toggle HUD’ is no longer available in the Front-End Settings Menu.

Arena:

• The Legendary Flintlock now correctly unlocks when completing the ‘Legendary Sea Dog Commendation’
• The Legendary Flintlock now sits correctly in the player’s hand and aligns with the target when aiming.
• Players will now receive a popup when earning the Victorious Sea Dog Blunderbuss after completing Grade 5 for the Legendary Sea Dog Commendation.
• Leaving the Arena while the contest start music is playing will no longer cause the music to continue to play on the front end.
• Players will be removed from the tavern cannon when migrating to a new server.
• Resolved an issue with the level of detail on some dressing items in the Arena Hand in locations.

Tall Tales - Shores of Gold:

• Players who are joined by friends who have progressed further in the Tales will now correctly be able to vote on that Tale to begin. Crew members will always be able to vote on the latest Tall Tale unlocked by any member of the crew.
• Books previously used as world decoration have been removed to avoid confusion with Tall Tale Voting Books or Tale Journals.
• The Tall Tales Reputation page now supports a wider range of written languages without overlapping text.
• Players interacting with objects in the world while opening and closing a Quest Book will no longer find the book pages become blank.
• ‘Art of the Trickster’ – Crews who are killed and subsequently migrate while engaging with the Trapmaker’s Lair encounter will no longer find the encounter to reset back to the beginning.
• ‘Art of The Trickster’ – The Skeleton Waves now consistently spawn during the Trapmaker’s Lair Encounter.
• ‘Art of The Trickster’ – The ‘Captain of the Lair’ now consistently spawns at the end of the Trapmaker’s Lair Encounter.
• ‘Fate of the Morningstar’ – When releasing a trapped soul, leaving a returning to the chest will no longer replay the animation.
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Resolved a number of areas where geometry would disappear inside the trap chasms.
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Looking out from inside a waterfall no longer makes the cave appear as if underwater.
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Players should no longer become stuck if jumping into the rocks when leaving the Gold Hoarder encounter and jumping off the waterfall.
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Players should no longer be able to climb out of the environment in the trap chasm.
• ‘Shores of Gold’ - Players can no longer become snagged and stuck moving around inside the Compass Vault on Shores of Gold.

Environment:

• Mutineer Rock is now better identified on the ship’s map and correctly matches players’ X Marks the Spot maps.
• Dagger Tooth Outpost now renders correctly when viewed from a distance.
• When a Skeleton Fort is inside a storm, it will no longer rain inside the vault.
• Players should no longer become stuck in the corner of the Sea Post Shop and become safe teleported.
• Players should no longer become stuck between two palm trees on Marauder’s Arch.
• Players should no longer get stuck and fall through the ground inside a tunnel on Marauders Arch.
• Players should no longer become stuck when navigating the stern of a sunken shipwreck.
• Players should no longer get stuck between palm trees and the market stand on Plunder Outpost.
• Players should no longer clip through parts of the environment around Galleon’s Grave Outpost.
• Players should no longer clip through parts of the environment around Plunder Outpost.
• Certain wooden barrels found around outposts in The Wilds no longer have corrupt textures.
• Lanterns hanged around Mermaid’s Hideaway are now correctly attached to their posts.
• Island Pools will no longer have incorrect reflections on Plunder Valley.
• Players can no longer find missing textures on a cliff face on Old Faithful Isle.
• Waves should no longer been clipping through the geometry in a cave on Crescent Isle.
• Removed a misplaced crate on Sunken Grove.
• Removed misplaced rocks on Lone Cove.
• Removed misplaced tree clipping through rocks on Crooked Masts.

Known Issues

• ‘Stars of a Thief’ Unable to retrieve Totem – After placing the Star Jewels in the statue to retrieve the totem, leaving the area and returning will cause the statue to close and the totem to be lost.
• Ranged & Melee Weapon Hit Detection – In areas of intense movement simulation, players may experience firing shots or striking a target that subsequently do not cause damage to their target. Scenarios of ship to ship and water combat are the most affected.

We knew that Rare planned to expand Sea of Thieves with content updates after launch, but the last big update focused entirely on fixing technical problems (see the next page for the archived story). Now that things have settled a little, Rare is ready to talk about what else is coming. The answer: a lot of stuff, including weekly events, a new ship type, and a new area. 

Coming in early May, the first big content update, called The Hungering Deep, will add 'a new AI threat' to the world, as well as 'a number of new mechanics' and some unique rewards. The event sounds similar to the kraken, in that it can "bring crews together" and may require them to work together.

After that, Rare plans to release two more content updates this summer, and then three more before the end of the year. The first summer update is Cursed Sails, which will add a new ship type, and the second is Forsaken Shores, which will add a 'perilous part of the world to explore.' Both will also include new 'mechanics,' new events, and new rewards. All of these updates will be free.

Rare also says it's planning to run weekly events, which will begin after The Hungering Deep releases. "Arguably there's not enough reason to go out and explore," says executive producer Joe Neate, which these events are meant to rectify by stashing more rewards throughout the world. He also hinted at "new mechanics" that could come in these updates, including "cursed cannonballs" (not sure what those are but they sound good) and "skeleton thrones," which are literal thrones that could appear in hard-to-reach places, waiting to be found through a spyglass.

Watch the video above for all the available details. Everything discussed so far addresses issues I brought up when we talked recently about the problem of 'content-driven' games, so I'm excited. I especially like that not every event may be fully detailed in patch notes: you might just find something new in the world one day, which is very much what I want.

The first Sea of Thieves client update is a 19.53GB download

Published Mar 27, 2018.

In a developer update posted today, Rare discussed Sea of Thieves' launch troubles—difficulty connecting and delays receiving in-game rewards top among them—and what they've done so far on the server-side to correct them. The latest set of fixes, however, come by way of a massive client update which constitutes a full redownload of the game: 19.53GB on PC.

The size of the update is a trade-off, says executive producer Joe Neate—it was get these fixes out now, or wait until the patch could be made smaller. "Our ideal scenario was that we got that patchwork done and we released a smaller patch, but we've made the decision to get that full game update [out there] because of all the fixes it's got which is going to improve the experience for everyone," he said, "but it is a full game size update ... you're going to be downloading the client again."

Note that just because it's a big download doesn't mean this is a content update. The new client includes bug and performance fixes—you can read the patch notes here—while updates which add to Sea of Thieves' pirating framework are coming down the line.

"I think we want to use a separate update to really talk to that [player feedback]," said Neate. "Like, what are the top feedback points, what's our view of them, and what kind of steps are we going to be taking ... we have a plan, we have a roadmap, but then when you get this wealth of data and information and feedback from your players it really starts impacting kind of, 'OK, what actually do we want to go and tackle next?' So we're right in the middle of those conversations."

"We are listening," said studio head Craig Duncan, "We're seven days in, so we're still very much absorbing that [feedback], and we'll try to get back in front of you guys in a video where we talk about some of that stuff, most likely 'top issues and sentiments' version, rather than—because these are bugs and service scale issues."

Once the client and servers are working together with minimal bugginess, then, we should expect to hear about how Rare plans to build on Sea of Thieves. The next client update will also be "much smaller" in size, says Rare, reiterating in the release notes that the priority here was to get the update out as soon as possible, regardless of size. 

Client release 1.0.1 is available now. Because the Microsoft Store is bad, it didn't notify me that an update was available, and running Sea of Thieves without downloading the new version returns a 'version mismatch' error when connecting. To force Sea of Thieves to update, navigate to 'Downloads and Updates' in the Microsoft Store client and click 'Get Updates.'