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Special Events for Sea of Thieves’ Sixth Anniversary!Mar 20, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsSix years! Who’d have thought it? It was on this day in 2018 that Sea of Thieves came crashing into the world and we’re still here cooking up new features, you’re still here playing them and we love you for that, and the seas are about to get busier than ever when PlayStation®5 players join in with our ungovernable shenanigans next month. So how are we marking the anniversary this year? Mainly by letting you in on a whole treasure trove of secrets. We’ve got plenty planned for the next few Seasons and thought you might enjoy a taster of what’s on the horizon, which you can get simply by tuning in to the special 2024 Preview Event video on our YouTube or Twitch channels as of today. Press play now to learn about new features on the way to spice up the Sea of Thieves sandbox in 2024! Exciting new weapons? Check. Inventive new tools? Yep. The return of Flameheart and the Burning Blade? Oh, don’t let us spoil it, just watch it: Of course, there has to be an in-game sixth anniversary celebration too. This year it comes in the form of the Sixth Anniversary Celebration, an Event name that took weeks to pull together. Running from March 20th-25th, this sees Legendary Messages in a Bottle washing up on shorelines and settling into shipwrecks all across the Sea of Thieves, rich with promise and ready for the taking. In each one is a Voyage leading to Athena’s Fortune treasure, and you won’t even need to be a Pirate Legend to go get it. Cosmetic rewards? Naturally: just setting sail while this Event is active will award you the anniversary gift of a Golden Sailor Capstan, while pirates who complete enough Voyages sourced from these Legendary bottles can tool up with the thematically appropriate Seaglass Rapier. Did we mention Gold & Glory? That’s right, you can also earn double gold, reputation, Seasonal Renown, Allegiance and Guild Reputation via Gold & Glory boosts while this Event is live from March 20th-25th. Get involved! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/ebadbebd2b14339a1f66bb6c329de25012cae6fa.jpg Can we interest you in Pirate Emporium bargains to accompany your other earnings? We can? Nice, as there’s an Anniversary Sale kicking off today. This one runs from March 20th-28th, with discounts on fabulous cosmetics from Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island and the ever-popular Dark Warsmith collection. The elusive Reaper’s Mark Sails are briefly back in stock too, while the Conductor Emote can be freely claimed by all visitors to the Pirate Emporium for the duration of the sale. We always say there’s no slowing down for Sea of Thieves, but we really have sailed into 2024 ready to battle hard on behalf of players, set on sustaining this world as a place for you to seek adventure and make memories with your crew. Putting in the work at the end of last year to secure Season 11’s January launch was a statement of intent; the 2024 Preview Event, along with our ongoing focus to keep improving in areas such as hit registration and anti-cheat, show that we’re ...Season 11’s Style of Thieves Theme Reveal!Mar 18, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsAs Season 11 bobs along, occasionally dipping below the waves so it can crash back above them in dramatic fashion, we’re slowly ticking off the usual Seasonal activities. But if there’s one thing that players keep asking about in our social replies that’s yet to make its debut, it’s Anti-Cheat. Good news you lot, that’s just arrived in the March update! If there’s another thing we see the odd mention of (not so many it’s annoying, but just enough that it causes a little irritation right on the small of the back where you just can’t scratch no matter how well you contort, or how fancy your hook) it’s people wondering when the next Style of Thieves contest will be. Well get ready, because we’re about to write it… any second now… Sea of Thieves Season 11’s Style of Thieves contest will take place from March 25th-28th! Phew, there we go. Definitely the biggest secret we’ve had to hold on to for quite some time. Usual advice applies – while you’re more than welcome to try on some threads and take your pictures in advance, those four days, March 25th-28th, will open the 24-hour windows in which to enter this Season’s four themes via social media channels. Once a theme opens for entry (you’ll know because we’ll make a post announcing it), it’s up to you to share your stylish screenshots, including the name of the theme you’re entering and any other relevant information. Scroll down and read the How to Enter section for a rundown of the full rules and advice. Once a theme has closed, our crew will pore over every entry to select the sailors they feel found the most fascinating fits (by their questionable taste, at least). That list is then chiselled into stone and dropped onto the desk of the nearest member of our Art team, with potentially destructive results. Regardless of whether their desk survives, they’ll have the final decision on up to 21 winning pirates. Three winners per category, meaning 12 entries total, will take home a pair of the Fashionista’s Finery Gloves – and for the first time in a main Style of Thieves contest, one of our categories is open to groups of three and four pirates! The plan is then to announce the winning pirates via social channels on April 4th. And remember – even if you don’t win, it’s all a bit of fun, and we hope you enjoy exploring some fresh looks for your pirate. Right, let’s talk about what we want you to dress up like this time… {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/1f719707b7be6d5819747ea4432e44a03f564a31.jpg The Themes Each theme will start at 10am UTC on the dates detailed below with entries accepted via a variety of social media channels for a full 24 hours. Red Carpet Embrace the glamorous side of the whole pirating business and dress to impress with an outfit designed for striking a pose every five seconds. Entry date: March 25th Castaway from torn sleeves to scraggly beards, reject hygiene and tell us a tale of survival through slovenly style. Entry date: March 26th Pop Band Gather a group of three or four pirates ...Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 2.10.2Mar 14, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsGame Improvements Easy Anti-Cheat Sea of Thieves is now protected by Easy Anti-Cheat, the industry-leading anti-cheat solution designed by Epic Games to identify and address instances of hacking and cheating in multiplayer games. This anti-cheat solution will be updated outside of Sea of Thieves’ regular update schedule to keep in sync with cheat developers. Updates Virtual Keyboard Support Players summoning the Virtual Keyboard inside the game will now find that a range of new languages are supported: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Korean and Russian.Message of the Day Players will now experience a Message of the Day when arriving in the front end menu, highlighting current Season features, upcoming content and other exciting news within the world of Sea of Thieves.Adventures Tab The Adventures tab has been hidden from the Quick Menu for a more streamlined navigation experience.Report a Player The in-game Report a Player tool has now been extended, providing players with easy access to a web-based route for making a more detailed report through the Sea of Thieves Support site. Pirate Emporium Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium to find out more! New Items – Now in Stock! Stone Islehopper Outlaw Ship Collection Stone Islehopper Outlaw Weapon Bundle Stone Islehopper Outlaw Costume Stone Islehopper Outlaw Banjo Roaring Grog Emote Bundle Gold Curse Whippet Spartan Ship Collection (returning from time-limited promotion) Ravenwood Costume Set (returning from Season Eight Plunder Pass) Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life Big Bundles Blow Bubbles Emote (free!)Introducing the Classics Range A range of older ship collections are moving into a Classics range within the Emporium, and will be permanently reduced in price. Further sets will be added to the range in future after being available in the game for a number of years. The Classics range currently includes 15 fan-favourite ship sets including the Cutthroat, Sea of Sands and Bear & Bird collections. Outpost Cosmetics New Outpost Stock! The Outpost shipwrights have received a new shipment of items from the Maestro set. Players are now able to purchase Maestro ship parts after unlocking The Artistic Souls Commendation. The Outpost shops now offer items from the Flourishing Wild Rose set, with ship parts along with the Heavy Sword and Rapier available after unlocking the Always Yours Commendation. For those wishing to collect further items from the Wild Rose and Thriving Wild Rose sets, the Heavy Swords and Rapiers are now available after unlocking the Always Yours Commendation. The Outpost clothing shops also offer a range of new beards and hairstyles, with the Wild Rose Waxed Hair, Floral Hair and Beard along with the windswept Sweeping Hair. Fixed Issues Gameplay Crews diving to a...Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2024Mar 12, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsSpring is just starting to bloom here at Rare HQ, which means it’s time we got around to the brisk business of rounding up February’s developments! It was a briskly busy month that boasted some extremely exciting announcements, so let’s jump right into the recap… Content Update As always, we had a monthly update ready to go, this time integrating Sea of Thieves with the latest Xbox Game Development Kit, making some visual and technical tweaks to various systems – and, most importantly, introducing the first Collector’s Pet fox as the Reaper’s Heart set expanded again in the month of love. For a full rundown of all February’s changes and additions, or just to find out what on earth GDK integration actually means, stop by the relevant release notes and have a read. With the update behind us, we found ourselves squaring up to another Season’s Community Weekend! That meant encouraging all you fine folks to take to Twitch and watch Sea of Thieves streams, getting that shared Community Emissary Grade up before setting sail and reaping all those increased rewards. At the same time, new Pop-Up Plunder maps had pirates racing to uncover valuable treasures across the seas! All you had to do was find it… News and Features One specific piece of Sea of Thieves news somewhat eclipsed the rest this month, but before that, we had to make sure everyone was fully prepared for Season 11 Community Weekend! Early in the month, our Head of Comms Christina stopped by with all the details and a peek at the goodies on offer for anyone who took part. Then it was time for the big reveal: Sea of Thieves is coming to PlayStation®5 this April, bringing countless more players in to join the crowds merrily playing on our current platforms! This momentous news obviously raised a lot of questions – namely when we can expect this flood of fresh-faced sailors to arrive – so we made sure there was a full article with all the info ready to unleash following the announcement. Even with all this going on, our regularly scheduled programming continued with fresh Spotlight features: a Creator Spotlight with Jon Bardcore, digging into his journey from a two-year-old with a NES to a fully-fledged content creator, and a Community Spotlight on Captain McGuffin, Head of Forensics at Ancient Isles University and contributor to the Sea of Thieves Portugal community. Give them a read! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/a8aea9549eeb42c66f7920673a6c5f406a1f453d.jpg Videos and Streams Getting into the business of the regular content update and Seasonal Community Weekend early in the month, the video team fired off February’s instalment of Sea of Thieves News to get everyone up to speed. Not long after that, the update made its debut and we got to delight in some of the new cosmetics arriving on the seas. Bringing Sea of Thieves to a whole new platform is extremely exciting news for all of us, so of course we were going to have a little fun with the announcement videos. That meant finally responding to som...Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 2.10.1Feb 19, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsGame Improvements GDK Integration Sea of Thieves now operates on the latest Xbox GDK (Game Development Kit). Players on PC are encouraged to update to the latest graphics drivers to ensure the best compatibility and performance. Sea of Thieves now supports DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 where supported by the hardware. While the title will now auto-detect and optimise the experience, players can also choose within the game settings. General client performance improvements should be seen throughout the experience, with PC players seeing the largest improvements. Updates Improved Athena’s Fortune Voyages The Voyage of Legends and Ashen Voyage of Legends have now been refreshed, providing a shorter session experience and consistently delivering rewards for the Athena’s Fortune Trading Company.Improved Raid Voyage Rewards While diving to a Raid Voyage will continue to reward crews with a concentrated number of high-value items, making the spoils easier to carry than numerous lower-value items, the total quantity and value of items awarded and their visual impact have now been slightly increased following player feedback. Crews completing Raid Voyages for the Athena’s Fortune Trading Company will now find that only Athena’s Fortune treasure is awarded.Skull of Siren Song Guild Reputation Guild Reputation will now be earned by taking part in the Skull of Siren Song Voyage when this is active on the server. Crews can earn a modest amount of Guild Reputation when selling an empty Chest of Siren Song, and a significant boost to Guild Reputation when handing in the Skull of Siren Song to Briggsy. The existing gold and Renown earned from these rewards remains unchanged.Emissary Voyage Improvements Players starting an Athena’s Fortune Emissary Voyage in The Devil’s Roar will now be further rewarded with an Ashen Chest of Legends upon completion.Ashen Winds Skull Value The Ashen Winds Skull no longer loses value by being used. Fire away, pirates!Access to Tall Tales All Tall Tales across the Shores of Gold arc, Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life and the recently released Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island are now unlocked and can be played freely in any order.Water Visual Improvements Could the water look any better? When viewed from a distance, the surface of the water now appears smoother, improving its appearance. Pirate Emporium Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium page to browse and buy the latest additions! New Items – Now in Stock! Reaper's Heart Fox Reaper’s Heart Instrument Bundle Reaper’s Heart Lantern Bundle Reaper’s Heart Equipment Bundle Islehopper Outlaw Big Bundle Infinite Depths Big Bundle Wailing Barnacle Pet Outfits Toe Reach Emote (free!) Reaper’s Reserve Bundle (Steam Store) Outpost Cosmetics New Outpost Stock! The Outpost equipment shops h...Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2024Feb 9, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsThe first month of 2024 is officially over, which means it’s once again time for us to huddle close around our lanterns and rake over the latest gossip on what’s been happening across the seas. Settle in and brace yourselves… Content Update After the back-to-back content updates of Season Ten throughout the tail end of 2023, you might have expected a quiet few months while we recovered. But no! It was back into the fray upon our return to the office, hustling to deliver an entirely new Season straight out of the gate. Season 11 swept in with a complete overhaul to how you choose your adventures, complementing the new Quest Table with a rework of reputation and loot across the game. Trying to break down all the changes involved would take too long for this quick round-up, so have a flick through the release notes for the full story. If nothing else, remember possibly the most important detail of Season 11: the rock that has definitely always been there. The new Season also brought in a fresh Plunder Pass packed with stylish cosmetics to unlock alongside all the other new additions to the Pirate Emporium, plus a variety of wonderful items available to earn via the regular Renown track. All that on top of the new treasure types, new Trading Company costumes and even new Trinket space… News and Features As always, a new Season necessitated a new launch article to help direct readers to the most important information as smoothly as possible. We even tried out a bit of an extended format this time to make sure you had all the vital nuggets of information in one place. You’re welcome! We also took the opportunity to add to the ever-growing collection of Spotlights. This time, that meant coaxing Dead-Eye Dray onto the stage and grilling them on their experiences as a writer within the community. Ever wondered what goes into supporting fan-run resources like Merfolk’s Lullaby or Golden Sands Blogpost? This’ll give you some idea! If you’re more into reading than writing, the very end of the month saw the release of the second chapter in the Sea Dog’s Search comic miniseries, continuing Lesedi’s determined hunt for her brother’s soul. Downloading the comic is free, so what are you waiting for? As a side note for news fans, newsletter subscribers get reminders of all the cool stuff going on in Sea of Thieves and we’ve sent out dozens of issues of the handy Pirate Times email round-up too, so if you haven’t already… {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/349cc919d92d7e5204d7f35dede6c7a84b11317f.jpg Videos and Streams The video team are always busy bees when we have a new Season to get out, and January was no different. The latest schedule kicked into gear with the first proper look at what everyone could expect from Season 11 in the form of a Content Update video, followed by a much more detailed Deep Dive in which the dev team were subjected to ruthless questioning about what they’ve been up to. Once our pirate audience was firmly in the anticipatory spirit, it was tim...Season 11 Community Weekend Set to Start on February 24thFeb 7, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsHello sailors! With a new Season comes a new Community Weekend – and February’s event is jam-packed, ready to entertain you with lots of in-game and stream-based antics across the world wide web. If that sounds good to you, then congratulations, you are correct: it’s excellent news, and we’re here to tell you exactly what to expect from the latest 48-hour shindig we’re throwing in honour of you, our wonderful community. But before we get into everything involved with this Season’s community-oriented shenanigans, we need to share the most crucial bit: the date and times of proceedings! Season 11’s Community Weekend will start on Saturday, February 24th 2024 at 11am UTC and will finish at the same time on Monday, February 26th – giving you two full days to collect your Twitch Drops, maximise your gold, rep and Renown gains and swipe some shiny treasures via Pop-Up Plunder. The event also conveniently falls across GameBlast 2024, so we’ll be focusing a lot of our efforts on amplifying and raising money for the wonderful folks over at SpecialEffect. The Sea of Thieves Twitch channel will be alive and ready to shine a light on so many of our amazing community and creator heroes, so make sure you’re following over there to join in the fun. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/4c696a0e117f3c718c318b21f1f969cc721e3b6c.jpg Watch Twitch, Get Rich Season 11’s Community Weekend is another promising piratical party providing a plethora of profitable prospects for players heading online during the period. Let’s get into what you can expect… For those of you who are new here or haven’t participated in a Community Weekend before, let us quickly give you the lowdown on how these Events work. Simply put: this is where we put the power to affect in-game rewards into the hands of you, our players. To raise the Community Emissary Grade (and the associated in-game reward multiplier), our community are tasked with tuning in to Twitch to level up the generosity, with the total watch time powering Grade progress. So all you need to do to help raise the Emissary Grade is watch any of your favourite content creators within the Sea of Thieves category while the Event is live. We can heartily recommend tuning in to our special GameBlast24 Community Stream Team or browsing our Partner Directory if you’re stuck for folks to watch! Every time the Community Emissary Grade levels up, so does the boost to gold, reputation, Seasonal Renown, Allegiance and Guild Reputation – with the top Grade offering two-and-a-half times the rewards for your work. However, it’s crucial to note that these bumper-sized bonuses will only be available to pirates sailing on High Seas, not Safer Seas. Community Weekends are designed to be super-social affairs, so to enjoy all the benefits they bring, make sure you hop onto those shared servers – and remember to keep an eye on the horizon! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/0c2ac197e02b57fe00f674fe516ead4f8a71be48.jpg Yo Dawg, We Heard You Like Free Stuff So would you l...Dive Straight into the Action with Sea of Thieves Season 11Jan 23, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsA new Season arrives on the shores of the Sea of Thieves! On January 23rd, Season 11 introduces some exciting changes and improvements to how you sail the seas, enabling you to dive into adventure faster than ever before while vastly expanding the rewards and progression pathways on offer. In this latest free update, multiple systems have been refreshed to streamline your experience as you sail or dive swiftly from one Voyage, Event or Tall Tale to the next. Onboarding has also been expanded with new in-game tutorials featuring the Pirate Lord, removing some of the hurdles for newer players seeking to get to grips with life on the seas! Fundamental Improvements The primary feature of Season 11 is the revamp of the traditional Voyage loop, and that starts with the Quest Table. Rather than having to return to an Outpost to buy new Voyages from the Trading Companies, you’ll now be able to access all available Voyages and Tall Tales directly from your ship. Using the redesigned Discover Tab, you can see what activities are on offer and browse suggested Voyages suited to your personal stage of progression! Once a choice is made, you now have the option to take the plunge and dive to your destination, throwing you straight into the action. As always, loot can’t be carried with you during a dive, but rewards are no longer fully tied to handing in your treasure; instead, a small amount of Company reputation will now be awarded immediately on completion of a Voyage. You’ll still need to cash in your loot if you want the full payout, but all is not lost if you can’t make it to an Outpost! Of course, diving to your destination might speed up how much you’re able to get done, but setting sail across the Sea of Thieves in the traditional way is perfectly valid, and there are still plenty of reasons to do so. Rewards for completing discoverable events like a shipwreck or Message in a Bottle have been reworked and rebalanced across the board, guaranteeing there’s always something worth finding as you explore. Earn Your Reputation Trading Company representatives may no longer be the source of new Voyages, but you’ll still want to stop by from time to time. Promotions will only be accessible directly from the relevant representatives, for instance. They’re also where you’ll find a revamped cosmetics shop, allowing you to browse all Trading Company clothing and items in a single place. At the same time, the Trading Companies have undergone a major expansion to allow even established players to continue progressing with their Company of choice, as reputation now increases up to level 100 for all Companies apart from The Hunter’s Call. Reach that momentous milestone and you’ll earn one of five new Distinctions, resetting your reputation with that Company while unlocking a prestigious Distinction Ring for your pirate to wear! To help you in this pursuit, Raid Voyages have been added to the Quest Table and will become available as you climb the Trading Company ranks, ...Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 2.10.0Jan 23, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsSea of Thieves on Demand Access all the adventure you crave more quickly than ever before with Season 11’s overhaul of Voyages and encounters! Explore a redesigned Quest system, major expansions to most Trading Companies and new rewards and Distinctions to earn as you progress. On Demand With a Quest Table on board each ship now providing the ability to choose from all available outings and dive directly to the scene of a Voyage, Tall Tale or new Raid Voyage, players have unprecedented freedom to explore everything the seas can offer. The refreshed Discover Tab is also on hand with tailored suggestions! Raid Voyages are new Trading Company-themed versions of World Events with unique treasure types on offer, unlocked from the Quest Table as players climb the Company ranks. For the first time, some reputation is now earned at the point of Voyage completion, but treasure must still be handed in for maximum profit as anything on board is lost if a player chooses to dive again. The majority of Trading Companies have raised their level cap to 100. Reaching Company reputation level 100 now unlocks a Distinction, providing a reward and resetting a player’s level with that Company to allow progress towards the next Distinction. To improve the onboarding experience, new Tutorial Voyages led by the Pirate Lord are in place for new players, covering the Gold Hoarders, Merchant Alliance and Order of Souls. These can be revisited from the Quest Table. To learn more about this new Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated Season 11 page. Season 11 Another Season means 100 new levels to climb by raising your Renown, with racks full of rewards to snag along the way – and an optional Plunder Pass adding even more! Read on for more on all this plus details of the quality of life improvements landing with this Season’s launch... Season 11 Rewards and Plunder Pass Progressing through Season 11 will reward players with the Cunning Serpent clothing set and unique Season 11 specials alongside time-limited Swift-Winged Wayfarer collectibles. Head to the Seasons profile page to browse the new rewards and check your pirate’s progress! Purchase the Plunder Pass to gain access to a plethora of unlockable, never-before-seen rewards from the Well-Travelled Trader set, all available to earn by climbing the levels of Seasonal progression. Purchase in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, or via the Pirate Emporium webpage or Steam Item Store.Season 11 Emissary Ledger Rewards This Season, the Trading Companies each offer a themed Speaking Trumpet and Lantern to Emissaries who represent them well and perform proudly in the Ledgers. Log in and track your performance on the Emissary Ledgers page!Chest of Fortune For the duration of Season 11, the Chest of Fortune will surface following the defeat of an emergent Fleet of Fortune. These special Skeleton Fleet encounters are signified by a glowing red cloud in the sky when active. Crews who retrieve Chests of For...Sea of Thieves Round-Up: December 2023Jan 12, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsOh yes, that’s right, we’re not quite ready to be finished with 2023 just yet. Still one last round-up to squeeze in! Now, we might have been winding down for the end of the year in December, but that didn’t stop us from delivering a Community Weekend, two in-game Events and a monthly content update, did it? Of course not. So let’s take a look at everything you might have missed… Content Update We wasted no time in kicking off the December excitements by hosting Season Ten Community Weekend right at the beginning of the month. With some distinctly fishy Pop-Up Plunder maps pointing players in the direction of highly desirable loot, a reward multiplier growing in line with Twitch viewership and an exclusive Title on offer for Skull of Siren Song victors, the Weekend was absolutely packed with adventures to get involved in. From there, our third instalment of Season Ten was ready to go and so we opened the way to the long-awaited Safer Seas! Letting players explore the world of Sea of Thieves alone or with just their own crew of friends for the first time, this new mode offers a liberating alternative approach to the pirate life. Need more info on how it works, along with December’s other additions and fixes? The release notes await. And of course, we couldn’t make it through the festive season without throwing in a couple of end-of-year Events. First up was a Gifts & Glory Event where players could pick up a festive flag and double rewards from all their expeditions, followed by the traditional Grogmanay celebration offering a new notch for your Annual Tankard as we toasted the new year together. News and Features While everyone was preparing to boost their bonuses and smash some grog, we were able to put the finishing touches on our big December release, and thus we finally arrived at Safer Seas! There were a fair few changes packaged in with this new game mode, so we helped out by posting a handy launch article to go with it. December is also the month in which we traditionally invite you to check out some of your personal sea-soaked stats in Your Story So Far – still available to view until January 15th! And further contributing to ending the year with a bang was a fresh round of the ever-popular Style of Thieves competition. Before we could get there though, announcing the themes was essential so that pirates could spend the month preparing their perfect outfit. With all that happening and Community Weekend too, there was only time for one Creator Spotlight in December, so we made sure it was a goodie: meme queen and pirate menace Toxie Sinclaire filled us in on her journey to becoming a Sea of Thieves content creator and highlights of her career. Just don’t ask us what’s going on in some of those Spotlight screenshots. We don’t know and at this point we’re scared to ask. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/9a8d93bfd825da20ff2dc23a8efadd16198cd58e.jpg Videos and Streams In the run-up to the release of Safer Seas, we wanted to answer as many of your qu...Sea of Thieves Release Notes – Hotfix 2.9.2.1Dec 14, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsFixed Issues Gameplay Lost Shipments and Prized Merchant Alliance Commission Voyages are once again available for purchase. Crews taking on a Lost Shipments Voyage should now encounter the correct number of Merchant Crates when unlocking the Captain’s Cabin.Guilds Players who are part of a Guild that has unlocked Guild clothing rewards are once again free to wear the rewards when sailing as part of any other Guild, or outside a Guild session.Performance and Stability Improved server stability to avoid instances of players being disconnected from their session. Known Issues To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article. Full Release Notes These release notes cover a hotfix. For full details on recently added game features, see the release notes on our latest content update. Download and Installation Download Size: Steam: 5.35 GBSea of Thieves Round-Up: November 2023Dec 11, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsSpooky season is officially out the door, which means it’s practically the festive holidays already, right? Well, okay, November isn’t quite the end of the year, but we weren’t going to let that stop us from kicking off the celebrations early with new game content, seasonal fashions and a thoroughly chaotic stream. In case you missed anything, or want a quick refresher on everything that happened last month, take a look… Content Update November heralded the second instalment of the juggernaut that is Season Ten: the competitive Skull of Siren Song Voyage! This new type of World Event calls on players from across the sea to come together and battle it out for the titular ancient artefact. With two treasure maps shared across all participating crews, and a powerful curse slowing down any ship bearing the Skull, the results are frequently as nail-biting as you’d expect. To explore everything in this update, November’s release notes (plus those for the hotfix sliding in at the end of the month) are the place to go. Beyond the anticipated increase in incidents of mayhem and mischief, this update also brought in new Briggsy-inspired rewards for Voyage victors. At the same time, Ravenwood cosmetics from a Plunder Pass of the past embraced their assassins’ roots as the ship set snuck into the Pirate Emporium – and to ensure that you can carry out your kills without compromising your brand, you can now accessorise with weapons and a stealthy spyglass too. Our clothing-related ventures didn’t end there, as the merchandise crew decided to get involved and revealed this year’s real-life Sea of Thieves Festival of Giving jumper. See how comfy Daryl looks? That could be you! News and Features Giving everyone a timely overview of the Skull of Siren Song Voyage on launch day was of course our primary news-based concern for November, and dropping some details into our ever-expanding Season Ten page while we were at it. But the week before that brought another announcement, for the much-anticipated Season Ten Community Weekend at the start of December! After the community smashed it out of the park during our last collaborative celebration, we didn’t want to keep you waiting for details of the next one. With the reveal that Pop-Up Plunder will be making a triumphant (if a tad fishy) return and the promise of more enticing Twitch Drops and login bonuses, the announcement hopefully had you counting down the days. There was of course more Spotlighting of popular players going in in the midst of all that, as we sat down to catch up with a fishing legend both in and out of the game: CJShiz! From tips for new content creators to finding a work-life balance and fishing up real-life Treacherous Plunder, it’s well worth a read – as are any of the articles from our archive of Community, Creator and Legend Spotlights stretching back through the years. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/4d0e4fd75fff48a095a26cacbcb9ba3f29b7aaf5.jpg Videos and Streams As November’s new competitive Voy...Safer Seas Mode Brings Single-Crew Servers to Sea of ThievesDec 7, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsAfter two months of back-to-back content updates, Sea of Thieves completes the trio promised back at the start of Season Ten by introducing a brand new game mode for players to explore: Safer Seas! Allowing exploration and adventure on a single-crew server, either alone or with a crew of chosen friends, this update opens the door to an entirely new way of playing the game. A Peaceful Voyage In Safer Seas, players can elect to sail solo or with a crew of up to three friends, with no other player-controlled crews present in the world. For fresh-faced pirates just starting their journey, this means a chance to learn the ropes without having to keep an eye out for hostile rivals, and an opportunity to understand the world and its key mechanics before diving into the traditional mayhem of the main Sea of Thieves game mode, now known as High Seas. There’s no shortage of content in Safer Seas for players old or new to tackle. As in High Seas, a wide range of Voyages can be undertaken for the various Trading Companies, while World Events are frequently encountered, from fending off a Megalodon attack to striking down fearsome Ashen Lords. The ability to unlock the corresponding Commendations for these activities will also be present in Safer Seas. For story-hungry pirates, Safer Seas still gives access to all the game’s narrative-driven Tall Tales, including the crossover experiences that make up 2023’s Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island and 2021’s Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life. In the absence of enemy crews, you’ll now be able to immerse yourself in all this lore at your leisure, without the risk of being interrupted by anyone who thinks you might have valuable loot tucked away. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/2d973cde967737ef542f73a98b20a16dc0de4240.jpg Reduced Risk, Reduced Reward While Safer Seas presents players with a wealth of content to explore at their own pace, there are of course some aspects of the game incompatible with a strictly single-crew experience. As a result, Safer Seas has a slightly reduced range of activities in comparison to High Seas. For instance, content built around player vs. player interactions has no place in Safer Seas by design, such as Faction battles using the Hourglass of Fate or the competitive Skull of Siren Song Voyage. Similarly, The Reaper’s Bones Trading Company will not be accessible there due to its focus on player combat. There are also some limits placed on progression within Safer Seas to account for the reduced risk in the absence of other players. Gold and reputation rewards will be accrued at 30% of that awarded in High Seas, and Trading Company reputation levels are capped at 40. This means that players will not be able to obtain the coveted title of Pirate Legend without venturing onto High Seas and, correspondingly, Safer Seas isn’t the place to engage with the Pirate Legend-focused Trading Company, Athena’s Fortune. These limitations have been put in place to ma...Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 2.9.2Dec 7, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsSafer Seas Following Guilds in October and the Skull of Siren Song Voyage in November comes Season Ten's third major feature update: Safer Seas, a new mode that offers a way to find your sea legs, immerse yourself in adventure and explore the world as you like with no other player crews present. Available now! Welcome to Safer Seas Whenever you play, you can now choose to play on either Safer Seas, which gives you a private world in which to sail solo or with your own crew, or on High Seas, the traditional Sea of Thieves experience with other roaming player crews added to the mix. Safer Seas mode allows access to the vast majority of content in the game, including all our story-driven Tall Tales. Notable exceptions are PvP-focused elements such as The Reaper’s Bones and Faction battles. To balance the reduction in risk from the absence of other players, gold and reputation are earned more slowly on Safer Seas, and Trading Company rank is capped at 40. Pirate Legends are only forged on High Seas! To learn more about Safer Seas, head to our dedicated Season Ten page or check out the official Safer Seas Explained video. Pirate Emporium Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium to find out more! New Items – Now in Stock! Bonechiller Ship Collection Bonechiller Ship’s Crest Bonechiller Weapon Bundle Bonechiller Costume Returns! Ransacking Emote Festival of Giving Weapons (time-limited, will return next year) Festival of Giving Pet Outfits (time-limited, will return next year) Stand to Attention Emote (free!) Festive Fright Bundle (Steam Store) Updates Sail Visibility Changes A range of sails have been identified that provide an unintended visibility advantage over other sail designs. These sails have now been brought to a visibility level consistent with our other designs, ensuring players have a vast set of customisation options for their ship and aren’t encouraged to use specific sails in order to gain an advantage. The following sails have been updated: Dark Adventurers, Lunar Festival (and Collector’s), Kraken, Venomous Kraken, Ghost, Guardian Ghost, Magpie’s Glory, Nightshine Parrot, Ghost Captain, Blighted (and Collector’s), Shrouded Ghost Hunter (and Collector’s), Thriving Wild Rose, Sea of Champions, Collector’s Dark Warsmith.Skull of Siren Song Voyage Frequency To ensure the Skull of Siren Song remains a coveted trophy for crews to contest, this Voyage will now become rarer on the seas. Keep a keen eye out for Briggsy’s note and get in the fight! Accessibility Aiming Accessibility Improvements Players using the Aim Assist audio accessibility option will now find that the audio cues when aiming at a target are much clearer, with different audio effects for horizontal and vertical positioning to help improve accuracy when aiming at targets. Fixed Issu...Season Ten’s Style of Thieves Theme Reveal!Dec 6, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsSea of Thieves Season Ten is well underway, with its third feature, Safer Seas, due to arrive this very week, on December 7th. But if there’s one remaining activity that’s been on the mind of at least tens of pirates, it’s when they’ll get another chance to play dress-up for prizes in a fresh bout of Style of Thieves. Well, good news, you fashion-hungry freebooters, because these words exist to tell you that Season Ten’s Style of Thieves contest – and your next opportunity to win a pair of the delectable Fashionista’s Finery Gloves – will be taking place from December 11th–14th! While you’re more than welcome to rummage through your wardrobe and take your pictures in advance, these four days will each offer a 24-hour window in which to enter a different theme via social media channels. Once a theme opens for entry (you’ll know because we’ll make a post saying exactly that), it’s up to you to share your stylish screenshots, including the name of the theme you’re entering in your post and any other relevant information. Scroll down and read the How to Enter section for a rundown of the full rules. Then, once a theme has closed, our crew will wade through every entry to select the sailors they feel finds the perfect fit, or at least makes them raise an eyebrow in appreciation. That list is then scrawled hastily onto some parchment, stuffed into a grubby receptacle and hurled in the general direction of a member of our Art team, and they’ll have the final decision on up to 15 winning marauders. Three winners per category will take home a pair of the Fashionista’s Finery Gloves – and for the first time in a main Style of Thieves contest, one of our categories is open to duos! The plan is then to announce the winning pirates via social channels on December 21st. So without further waffle, here are… {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/55bb246c21357dcd6a4570ca2d6dacbf57bfebfc.jpg The Themes Each theme will start at 10am UTC on the dates detailed below with entries accepted via a variety of social media channels for a full 24 hours. Festive Cheer From bright baubles to party hats, don an outfit that says you’re ready to embrace the time of year and spread some good cheer to those around you, and that you’ll happily accept any revelry that another pirate might be offering. Entry date: December 11th Dynamic Duos Whether it’s you and another scoundrel, perching alongside your favourite pet or standing as sidekick to one of the Sea of Thieves’ resident legends, we want to see pairs of pirates posing as powerful couples! Cosplays of actual twosomes and completely original getups both encouraged. And yes, you read that right, two players may enter together (and both win Gloves!), just please remember to name the other pirate you’re posing with. Entry date: December 12th Winter Wear Time to ferret out the fluff and start accessorising for warmth – we want to see snug smugglers doing their best to keep out the cold for this chilly category. Entry date: December 13th Smar...Sea of Thieves Release Notes - Hotfix 2.9.1.1Nov 28, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsUpdates Skull of Siren Song Curse Balancing While all ships continue to be afflicted by a curse once the Skull of Siren Song is on board, Galleons and Brigantines will now be further slowed by its effects. Fixed Issues Skull of Siren Song Voyage The Chest and Key recovered during the Voyage can now consistently be used together to unlock the Skull. Crews returning the Skull of Siren Song to Captain Briggsy should now consistently find that she is able to take the Skull and complete the Voyage. ‘Lords of the Sea’ – Players are now prevented from taking Skull of Siren Song Voyage items into the Siren Spire during this Tall Tale. Crews who have engaged in an Hourglass battle will now be able to participate in the Skull of Siren Song Voyage, but will experience a grace period after their battle before the note is delivered. Players in larger crews should no longer receive multiple ‘Quest Received’ notifications when starting the Skull of Siren Song Voyage. Players are now prevented from burying Voyage items that had only been partially uncovered.Performance and Stability Improved game stability to reduce scenarios where players experience an unexpected exit from the game. Known Issues To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article. Full Release Notes These release notes cover a hotfix. For full details on recently added game features, see the release notes on our latest content update. Download and Installation Download Size: Steam: 5.71 GB Compete for the Skull of Siren Song as Sea of Thieves Season Ten ContinuesNov 16, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsThe second major update in Sea of Thieves’ Season Ten has arrived! Building on the new content introduced with Guilds in October, this update unleashes a new type of World Event in the form of the Skull of Siren Song Voyage. This emergent, competitive Voyage pits crews against one another in a race to unearth and claim the titular artefact, all at the behest of the legendary Captain Briggsy. Crew Vs Crew The hunt for the Skull of Siren Song introduces a new competitive event to Sea of Thieves. When a Voyage begins, all players on a server will find a ghostly note pinned to their ship’s mast, offering them the chance to set off in search of this ancient and potent prize. If they accept, they’ll find themselves in possession of two maps directing them to the Skull of Siren Song Key and Chest – but the catch is that every other crew joining the Voyage will receive the same maps. From there, players will have to battle it out to locate the Key and Chest on separate islands and bring them together to release the Skull of Siren Song within. Making things more challenging is the fact that once the Chest and Key are claimed, their locations will be broadcast to all other crews by means of map markers and eye-catching beacons on the horizon, leading potential rivals straight to the pirates who possess them. By fending off their foes long enough to unlock the Chest, players can finally get their hands on the fabled Skull of Siren Song. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/924f10aaac6ad51902cf68cc958008cc199ee39f.jpg Even then, the mission is not over as the prize must be delivered to Captain Briggsy. In this, the Skull is both a help and a hindrance: it contains tremendous power that can be used to bombard enemies with blasts of deadly soundwaves, but it also carries a heavy curse. On land, the Skull will summon Coral Skeletons to its defense, and at sea, it causes a ship’s progress to be considerably slowed, allowing rival crews to more easily close the distance. The Voyage concludes with a race to Briggsy’s beacon to hand over the Skull, leaving a single crew to emerge victorious and claim the spoils! Race for Rewards Fending off all other crews is no mean feat, and the rewards for delivering the Skull reflect that. The hefty pot of gold is just the start: you’ll also begin unlocking new Commendations that track how many times you dig up a Chest or Key, how many Chests you unlock and much more. Compete in enough Voyages and you’ll earn exclusive rewards. With a Flag, Figurehead, Sails and Trinket on offer, you’ll be able to redecorate your ship to celebrate your victories, while Captain Briggsy’s Jacket and Mask present a more personal alternative to update your style. There’s even the coveted Composer of Siren Song Title awaiting pirates who truly prove their mettle in battle and complete all Siren Song Commendations. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/62dc99daf1218173f85d9036ccbb99c5984cae16.jpg Fresh Fashions Elsewhere in November’s content drop, a new update means n...Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 2.9.1Nov 16, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsSkull of Siren Song Voyage Following on from Guilds in October, the second of Season Ten’s major features is this brand new competitive Voyage – delivered as a shared emergent World Event that can be joined by any or all crews on a server, triggering a dynamic race for the prize. Available now! Seeking the Skull of Siren Song When a ghostly note appears pinned to the ship’s mast, accepting this Voyage will see Captain Briggsy bestow the crew with maps to the Key and Chest of Siren Song. With other crews in competition for the same Key and Chest, players must get their hands on both items by whatever means necessary to release the powerful Skull within – but possession of each item shows the crew’s location to other players! The Skull of Siren Song is a formidable short-range weapon, but also carries a curse that slows down the ship and summons Coral Skeletons to its aid on land. The crew with the Skull must head for Briggsy’s beacon and hand it over to claim rewards and make progress towards unlocking unique themed cosmetics! To learn more about the Skull of Siren Song Voyage, head to our dedicated Season Ten page or check out the official Skull of Siren Song Explained video. Guilds Since the launch of Season Ten, the team have been assessing the progress made by Guilds across a range of different play styles. November’s update brings some balance changes to ensure that various play styles allow for Guild progress at similar rates. Guild Reputation Balancing Crews cashing in treasure across all Trading Companies will now earn significantly more Guild Reputation for their efforts, allowing these Guilds to progress much more quickly. Guild Reputation earned by crews through the Hourglass in the Battle for the Sea of Thieves will now be slightly reduced. Combat Improvements Gunplay in Motion The removal of quick switching in October’s update created an unwanted wield delay during regular gunplay, preventing players from firing quickly after moving. While preserving the original quick switching fix, this update now readdresses the change to ensure that when firing a weapon and switching, players who move a short distance are no longer forced to use the full wield delay and can fire much more quickly.Improved Hit and Kill Markers The hit markers shown when striking targets with a projectile weapon have been redesigned with a more distinct style. Shots that kill the target now also show a red kill marker, confirming the kill directly from the server for improved accuracy. The Graphics Settings menu also offers the option for a High-Contrast Kill Marker to improve visibility for those who need it. Pirate Emporium Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium page to browse and buy the latest additions! New Items – Now in Stock! Ravenwood Ship Collection (returning...Sea of Thieves Round-Up: October 2023Nov 13, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsAh, October, the month when the veil between the Sea of Thieves and Sea of the Damned grows thin. It was a month filled with spooky happenings and delights, as well as a peppering of definitely-not-spooky but still very exciting updates. That means there’s a lot to get through, so let’s get right into the highlights, shall we? Content Update The big news of October hardly needs an introduction, but we’ll give it one anyway just in case you somehow missed it: Season Ten has begun! This much-anticipated shake-up of the Sea of Thieves formula began by introducing Guilds, allowing players to team up with pirates beyond their standard crew and work together to unlock new rewards. The update also included a number of quality-of-life upgrades for players to enjoy, with the full list of changes explained in the accompanying release notes (plus short and sweet hotfix notes in the closing days of the month). At the very end of the month, Halloween couldn’t pass by unnoticed. Alongside a suitably spooky sale, pirates got to dive into Ghoul & Glory and set sail for doubled gold, reputation, Renown and Allegiance. There was even the Rapier of the Damned and a Legendary Search for the Skull of Destiny Voyage on offer to anyone who logged in during the event for maximum spookenings. Did you remember to save a treat for the Ferryman? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/5fb7e31e7a646cdaf0944264cab971b42d34b470.jpg News and Features We started October in the midst of Community Weekend chaos, with the final few Pop-Up Plunders appearing and everyone scrabbling to hand in their loot before the rewards multiplier ended. Trying to sum up everything that happened here would be impossible, so it’s a good thing our very own Social Media Lead James has you covered with his Community Weekend retrospective! Phew. Saves us a job. From there we jumped into Season Ten with both an launch article and an Xbox Wire post summarising all the main features of the update and where to find more information. Production Director Drew Stevens even popped by to share a State of Play update in the Forums a few days later as we ironed out some kinks. Over in community news, two more names made it onto the coveted Spotlight roster. First up, creator YooKay dropped in to share his journey though the Sea of Thieves community and how he became a content creator. Towards the end of the month he was joined by PvP legend PeiRei, who let us in on a few tips for people trying out Faction battles for the first time. And for those who want to check in on another legendary line of battlers, the latest Sea of Thieves comic series, Sea Dog’s Search, kicked off in October and can be read for free! It seems like Lesedi’s been busy… Videos and Streams Before we got to anything else, we were due a Sea of Thieves News episode and the Video team were ready and waiting to deliver early in the month. They were joined by guest Drew, who took a few minutes to go through some of the most widely discussed technical aspects ...Plot a Course for Season Ten Community Weekend, Starting December 2ndNov 9, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsPirates! If there’s one thing you know we take seriously, it’s celebrating how brilliant you, our players, all are. So it should come as no surprise to you that we’re very serious – and also very excited – about Season Ten’s upcoming Community Weekend, which has officially been scheduled to start on Saturday, December 2nd at 11am UTC. Lasting 48 hours, this latest Event promises to celebrate our wonderful players and spoil sailors with a plethora of goodies and Pop-Up Plunder offerings. You can see the announcement in our very latest episode of Sea of Thieves News below. We know what you’re thinking – and yes, it does sound wonderful, and of course we’ll tell you more! So let’s get into it… Stream of the Crop To raise the Community Emissary Grade, players will once again be tasked with tuning in to Twitch to level up the generosity of our active multiplier, with the total watch time powering Grade progress. It’s that simple: all you need to do to help raise the Emissary Grade is tune in to any of your favourite content creators within the Sea of Thieves category between 11am UTC on Saturday, December 2nd and 11am UTC on Monday, December 4th. Every time the Community Emissary Grade levels up, so does the boost to gold, reputation, Seasonal Renown, Allegiance and Guild Reputation – with the top Grade offering two-and-a-half times the rewards for your work! With the introduction of Guilds in Season Ten, we’ve of course made sure that the boosts apply there too, giving all Guild Members a golden opportunity to fast-forward their progress with chosen bands of buccaneers. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37295600/842673b9bb2592f96f5dcfbdafdf2b7158503175.jpg Don’t Stop the Drops Watching your favourite Sea of Thieves creators is fun, and so is helping level up the multiplier – but that’s not all you’ll get for tuning in to Community Weekend escapades! As you might’ve hoped, we have a whole new suite of Twitch Drops to share with you over the Weekend: the Eastern Winds Ruby Pristine Jacket, Gilded Phoenix Pistol, Eastern Winds Ruby Wrap Dress and Gilded Phoenix Blunderbuss will all be on offer throughout the 48 hours. Just like last time, we’ve also got a cheeky extra Drop up for grabs should the community collectively rise to the challenge: if you all manage to get Sea of Thieves into the top 10 game categories (by highest number of viewers) on Twitch at any point during the Weekend, the Obsidian Captain’s Drapes will be released as an additional Drop until the end of the Event! These Obsidian Captain’s Cabin customisations are only available through engaging with our Community Weekends, meaning that chances to score these swish items are few and far between – so we recommend doing your best to get this one banked early. Pop-Up Plunder Returns After the last Community Weekend, we were delighted to hear that you loved Pop-Up Plunder. So, of course, we’re bringing it back! Everyone’s favourite game of dig spot roulette returns for Season Ten Community Weekend with a re...