Sea of Thieves News

[h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3][p]Improved Weapon Switching[/p]

• [p]When players switch between ranged weapons, the animation and switching times have been reduced, providing a snappier and more responsive experience when firing two shots. The time between firing two ranged weapons is now one second.[/p]
• [p]Previous guards that forced players to observe the full duration of weapon wield animations when switching between ranged weapons have now been removed, allowing players the freedom to cancel animations when moving through the world. While players can once again cancel these animations, they will still experience a one-second gap between firing two weapons.[/p]

[p]Weapon Animation Improvements[/p]

• [p]Wielding any ranged weapon from stowed is now faster, allowing players to react more quickly in combat.[/p]
• [p]Players wielding a weapon while jumping or falling will now see the wield animation at the correct speed. The result is a more consistent visual read for when a weapon is ready to fire.[/p]
• [p]Players attempting to aim down sights while crouched will now stand with their weapon able to fire much more quickly.[/p]

[p]Addressing Extended Loading Times[/p]

• [p]Improvements have been made to how players load back onto their ship after leaving the Ferry of the Damned or when travelling large distances using a mermaid.[/p]
• [p]These improvements should provide a much more consistent experience when returning to the ship, and address the common causes of loading screens becoming stuck. This should also reduce the frequency of seeing glowing green skeletons for an extended duration after returning to the ship.[/p]
• [p]Loading optimisations have been introduced, targeting lower-spec hardware. These should improve the loading times experienced on lower-spec console, PC and handheld devices.[/p]

[p]Reaper’s Chest[/p]

• [p]Crews unlocking the Vault at the Fort of the Damned will once again discover Reaper’s Chests within the treasure hoard.
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Updates[/h3][p]Immerse Spatial Audio Integration[/p]

• [p]Immerse Spatial Audio has now been integrated into Sea of Thieves, providing enhanced depth and precision to the world when playing with headphones. This experience has been fine-tuned by the teams at Rare and Embody for the Sea of Thieves soundscape.[/p]
• [p]Players can enable Enhanced Headphone Mode with a Generic Profile for free within the game settings.[/p]
• [p]To enable a personalised audio experience, players can purchase the Immerse Gamepack from the Pirate Emporium or from Enhanced Headphone Mode in the game settings to create a Personalised Profile. Purchasing the Immerse Gamepack will also unlock the Coconut Headband in-game cosmetic.[/p]
• [p]All players are offered a 14-day free trial of the personalised audio experience from Enhanced Headphone Mode in the game settings. After the free trial has expired, players can still choose to enable the free Generic Profile.[/p]
• [p]Players who create a Personalised Profile can now choose to have their facial scan deleted directly from the Embody page after completing setup.
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[h3]Pirate Emporium[/h3][p]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 browse and buy the latest additions![/p][p]New Items – Now in Stock![/p]

• [p]False King’s Ransom Ship Collection and Ship’s Crest[/p]
• [p]False King’s Ransom Weapon Bundle[/p]
• [p]False King’s Ransom Crown, Jacket and Boots[/p]
• [p]King’s Ransom Jacket and Boots[/p]
• [p]Inner Sanctum Ship’s Crest[/p]
• [p]Hear No Evil Emote (free!)[/p]
• [p]Highborn Variety Ship Bundle (mixed bundle of existing items)
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[h3]Outpost Cosmetics[/h3][p]New Outpost Stock![/p]

• [p]The shipwrights have restocked with the new Purple Resolute Hull, Sails and Flag.[/p]
• [p]The Outpost shops now offer the Regal Hound equipment and instruments.
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[h3]Fixed Issues[/h3][p]Gameplay[/p]

• [p]Players with the Midnight Blades Hat equipped should no longer find they appear invisible within the front-end menu, or appear without clothing when arriving in the world.[/p]
• [p]When other players are observed swimming underwater or on the surface, their pirate should now be consistently orientated in the correct position. This should address a recent regression to hit detection and visual issues for swimming players.[/p]
• [p]Further visual improvements have been made to water effects to ensure a smooth, consistent transition when diving or surfacing.[/p]
• [p]Crews approaching a defended Sea Fort should now consistently find the Fort’s cannons firing at player ships.[/p]
• [p]Reaper Warrior’s Urns can now be placed inside Treasure Chests.[/p]
• [p]The Villainous Skull of Ancient Fortune retrieved from the Sunken Kingdom can now be stored inside Merfolk Statues.[/p]
• [p]Further improvements have been made to Merchant Alliance and Hunter’s Call representatives to rectify consistency when purchasing resources. While players may still occasionally experience issues following this update, this improvement should reduce the frequency of purchases failing.[/p]
• [p]‘The Quest for Guybrush’ – The training dummy in the Trial of the Sword now reacts properly to regular attacks and allows the Tall Tale to be progressed.[/p]
• [p]‘Heart of Fire’ – Mercenary Skeletons will no longer freeze in place if given the Mysterious Key during this Tall Tale.[/p]

[p]Reaper Fortresses[/p]

• [p]Crews approaching an emergent Reaper Fortress should no longer find the Event ends abruptly.[/p]

[p]Environment[/p]

• [p]Items from a Weapons Cache within a Reaper Fortress can no longer be grabbed through the walls at Kraken Watchtower.[/p]
• [p]Hatches found in Royal Crest Fortress should now be accessible unless purposefully covered by environmental dressing.[/p]
• [p]Improvements have been made at Hidden Spring Keep to address incorrectly placed environment dressing.[/p]
• [p]Players can no longer walk inside parts of the environment within the Hideout at Wanderers Refuge.[/p]

[p]User Interface[/p]

• [p]Players are prevented from purchasing Ship’s Crests within the Pirate Emporium if they do not yet own a Captained ship.[/p]
• [p]The Quest Table now shows the correct ‘New’ icon on the Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage once unlocked.[/p]

[p]Visual and Audio[/p]

• [p]Music within Smugglers’ Hideouts now plays at the intended volume.[/p]
• [p]Black Powder Barrels once again produce smoke effects after exploding.[/p]
• [p]Players should now appear to hold Gunpowder Barrels correctly when playing at a high field of view.[/p]
• [p]Food placed into cooking pots should now consistently remain visible while cooking.[/p]
• [p]The Brethren’s Masquerade Flag now displays correctly when equipped on a Brigantine.[/p]
• [p]The Skull of the Banished is now placed correctly on the ground when dug up.[/p]
• [p]After throwing a knife, players should no longer feel the camera bob unnecessarily.[/p]
• [p]The pattern on the Alter Ego Hull is now aligned throughout the ship when equipped.[/p]
• [p]The Paper Cutout Emote now has a smoother transition effect.[/p]
• [p]Ashen Age Tall Tales – Players should no longer experience audio issues affecting certain parts of these Tall Tales when playing on lower-spec hardware.[/p]

[p]Text and Localisation[/p]

• [p]The Wrecker of Reaper Fortresses Commendation now displays the correct text in all languages at Grade VII.[/p]
• [p]The Alter Ego Cannon Flare description no longer contains a typo.[/p]
• [p]Localisation has been improved for set names within the Pirate Emporium across Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese languages.[/p]

[p]Performance and Stability[/p]

• [p]Performance improvements have been made to how Treasure Chests are created and loaded by players, addressing a noticeable hitch affecting all players nearby.[/p]
• [p]Performance optimisations have been made to the Horn of Fair Winds to address framerate issues affecting nearby players when in use.[/p]
• [p]Further improvements have been made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session.
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[h3]Known Issues[/h3][p]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.[/p]

[p]If you listen very carefully, you can just about hear the sound of carols floating on the wind, which must mean we’re officially out of spooky season! Before we roll right into the Festival of Giving, however, we have one final order of business: filling you in on everything you might have missed during October. It was a surprisingly packed schedule last month, so let’s not delay…[/p][p][/p][h3]Content Update[/h3][p]Our October monthly update marked the arrival of Act 3 of Season 17 and the introduction of Reaper Fortresses! These give pirates a chance to take on upgraded Skeleton Forts alongside a wave of Phantom assailants and, if they’re lucky, sail away with a highly lucrative Mega Stash. Particularly fortunate pirates could even snag a Mega Stash during the doubled rewards of Ghoul & Glory Weekend, raking in more gold than they knew what to do with.[/p][p]Outside the game, the official soundtrack expanded once again. This time we added in the dramatic ‘Forts of the Flame’ track to accompany you as you delved into the chaos of a Reaper Fortress. For pirates looking for a slightly different experience during their sail, October also saw the addition of some new Season 17-themed challenge prompts to the Compass of Chaos. The new entries bring the total number of possible prompts to more than 300, so there’s always something new to try. Give it a spin!
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News and Features[/h3][p]There was quite a lot of news to keep up with during October, but we kicked things off as always with This Month in Sea of Thieves. From there it was a brief hop to announcing the categories for this Season’s Style of Thieves contest (and later the winners!), before unveiling the victors in the first of two #SoTShot rounds, focused on Movie Moments. Sticking with the theme of spotlighting community achievement, the latest, well, Spotlight, took aim at Makakar, another member of our Stream Team![/p][p]Alongside Act 3, October’s monthly update saw the introduction of our previously announced Second Chance Policy, so it seemed like the right time to gather up all the pertinent details into a news article. With those questions answered, we also shared the results of Season 16’s Big Listen survey, before rounding off the month with a Community Hub update and the second #SoTShot category, Haunted Hulls. All those spooky ships! Terrifying.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Videos and Streams[/h3][p]The October video schedule kicked off with a rapid one-two of Sea of Thieves News and a Content Update video, just in time for the start of Act 3. Those were followed by the expected Developer Update, but from there we broke from our usual planning to bring you a couple of unexpected treats.[/p][p]The first was a Community team stream hosted by our very own Jo, grilling Creative Director Mike Chapman and Production Director Drew Stevens about the current state of the game and its future, all while they were busy Heisting at Royal Crest Fortress. Even more community questions were answered a week later in the official Season 17 Podcast, before finally, a second late-breaking Developer Update revealed some changes to our schedule for Season 18 – which will now be kicking off in December.
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And that’s all we have for you this time, folks! November is shaping up to be a slightly quieter month than October’s wild ways, but we’ll be back in a month with all the highlights nonetheless. Until then, find us in all the usual places including Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Twitch, our Forums and Discord server. Drop us a message if you have any feedback you’d like to share – otherwise, you have one more month to raid those Reaper Fortresses and earn your Seasonal rewards, so get sailing![/p][p][/p][h3]Previously in 2025:[/h3][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: September 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: August 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: July 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: June 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: May 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2025[/p][p]Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2025[/p]

[p]What do you mean, it’s a week into November already? Not to worry – we may be running a little behind, but we wouldn’t miss out on letting you know what’s coming up on the Sea of Thieves calendar this month. So settle in somewhere warm, lend us your eyes for just a few minutes and we’ll get right to it…[/p][p][/p][p]Sea of Thieves Season 17: Act 3 Continues – Thursday, November 13th[/p][p]In case you hadn’t heard, there’s been a bit of reshuffling to our plans for the rest of the year. The headline news is that Season 18 will now be arriving in December, which means another month of testing your mettle against Reaper Fortresses before Season 18’s new features lure you elsewhere for your treasure. Expect to hear more about what’s set to arrive in this new Season later in the month![/p][p]Before then, the next regular update lands on November 13th, in which our recently announced changes to weapon switching make the jump from Insiders to the live game. This update also introduces Immerse spatial audio, offering pirates a chance to listen to the sounds of the Sea of Thieves in a way they never have before. Meanwhile, the False King’s Ransom collection makes its debut in the Pirate Emporium, and if you have gold rather than Ancient Coins to spend, you’ll find new Purple Resolute ship parts along with Regal Hound equipment and instruments in the Outpost shops.[/p][p]If you want to know more about how and why the Season 18 schedule has changed, Production Director Drew Stevens has the lowdown in the most recent Developer Update…[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Twitch Drops – Friday, November 14th – Friday, November 21st[/p][p]Stream viewers delight: a fresh round of Twitch Drops will be unleashed following the monthly update, enabling dedicated viewers to pick up free gold, Renown and Voyages, as well as the Winded Brawler Emote, Gilded Phoenix Tankard, Thunderous Fury Sails and previously unreleased Amethyst Mercenary Flag.[/p][p]As always, all you have to do to get your hands on these treasures is make sure your Twitch and Microsoft accounts are linked via our Twitch Drops page. Then just tune in to any participating Sea of Thieves streamer on Twitch while Drops are live! Anyone can stream and offer this particular set of Drops, but if you’re not sure who to watch, you can always check our Partner Directory or Community Stream Team to see who’s online from our gallery of popular Sea of Thieves streamers.
[/p][p][/p][p]Pirate Emporium Black Friday Sale – Thursday, November 27th – Tuesday, December 2nd[/p][p]As we race ever closer to the festive season, the annual tradition of Black Friday is almost upon us. And the Pirate Emporium has a substantial offering this year: between November 27th and December 2nd, you can expect to enjoy discounts on a massive variety of sail designs. As is traditional, the Golden Skull Sails will also make a time-limited return for the duration of the sale only.[/p][p]To accommodate the sheer scale of sails on sale, you won’t find the Black Friday items in the traditional Sale tab; instead, you can browse them in their usual tabs within the Emporium.[/p][p][/p][p]'An Ancient Call (Return to The Devil's Roar)' Release – Friday, November 28th[/p][p]Finally on this month’s list, the Sea of Thieves soundtrack is expanding once again. We finish off November with the release of new track ‘An Ancient Call (Return to The Devil’s Roar)’, teasing some of what you can expect in Season 18 with the usual Rare musical charm. The track will be available on all the usual streaming services, so keep an ear out and your headphones ready.[/p][p][/p][p]All of which brings us to the end of November and the end of another This Month article! It’s a bit of a quieter schedule this time around while we put the finishing touches on Season 18, but be sure to watch our social channels for all the latest news on what’s happening and when. Until next time![/p]

[p]From now until November 3rd (10am UTC), treat yourself to boosted reputation, gold, Renown and Allegiance for your spooky skulduggery. Good luck, pirates, and try not to fall for too many tricks...[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

If you're having trouble getting into Minecraft, Helldivers 2 or Sea Of Thieves right now, it might have something to do with a Microsoft outage that has taken services such as Azure offline. All three of the aforesaid games are experiencing spikes on DownDetector.com, and there are reports of disconnections and failed logins on social media. The outage has also affected various possibly more consequential non-gaming things, such as airline bookings and banks. On the upside, it seems to have taken down Microsoft Outlook.

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