Sea of Thieves News

[p]As pledged in this year’s Community Direct, as part of our ongoing commitment to better dialogue and transparency, we conducted one of our largest ever player surveys with Season 16’s Big Listen. In the spirit of this concerted effort towards improving transparency, we wanted to share with you how the results of this survey shook out and how we’re thinking about some of the signals we received.[/p][p]Before we get into the nitty gritty, we want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to give us their feedback. We’ve found the results genuinely illuminating (as well as confirming a few assumptions and hunches), and it’s given us a clear set of priorities to think about. Of course, game development is hard and change doesn’t happen overnight – but we are listening and focusing our efforts on the things that matter most to you, our players.[/p][p]We discussed these results at length on the latest episode of the Sea of Thieves podcast, so for those of you with 45 minutes to spare, tune in below to hear Creative Director Mike Chapman and Production Director Drew Stevens talking about what this means for Sea of Thieves’ future. However, if you’re after the key headlines, please read on – we have them all right here![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Season 16 Headline Learnings[/p][p]First up: one of the big learnings from this survey was that among the thousands of folks we asked, we saw a significantly stronger affinity with Athena’s Fortune than The Reaper’s Bones – 64% to 36%, which was a surprisingly large margin to us given the closely fought battles of Adventures gone by.[/p][p]So, going into a Reaper-themed Season with Season 16, we’ve been able to recognise retrospectively that the majority of players might not have vibed with the overall theming. While this will perhaps have coloured some of the survey perspectives, there are still all kinds of great insights we want to share with you all.[/p][p]The overall player rating for Season 16 was 6.1 from our active players which, while not phenomenal, was a good result. Over a quarter of active players rated the Season as an 8/10 or higher, and less than 6% rated the Season as 1/10 or 2/10 – so there’s some recognition that, broadly, it was a solid experience. We’re always going to want to see that score go much higher, but given the transitionary nature of Season 16, it’s been heartening to see that players reliably took some enjoyment from its offering.

[/p][p]Season 16 Content Highlights[/p][p]Those helpful Mercenary Skeletons of the Order of Bone and Blade were the highest-rated feature by far in Season 16 – their user rating came out on top, followed by the unsealable Reaper’s Chests and new cosmetics. The new Voyages introduced during Season 16 were broadly rated as fine, but players did not express a particularly keen desire to play them again – so we can recognise that there perhaps wasn’t the intended replayability appeal there.[/p][p]We’ve heard this feedback, and for those who are interested, Creative Director Mike Chapman provided some good context behind the decision to introduce these Voyages on our latest podcast. In the same way that we fleshed out The Hunter’s Call at the beginning of the year, we wanted to expand the offering for The Reaper’s Bones – and these Season 16 Voyages are a solid entry-level introduction to Reaper play, as PvE experiences that bring a little more PvP threat.[/p][p]We were more surprised by how little awareness and understanding players felt in general around the new Season 16 content. The Voyages ranked more highly for comprehension, which makes sense given they’re very much aligned with the Voyage structure our pirates are used to. However, around the new tools like the Cannon of Rage and Mercenary Skeletons, there was a sense that many players weren’t fully aware of them or didn’t feel well-informed about how they worked.[/p][p]This is a sign we’ve already begun taking cues from, levelling up the UI Seasonal Tabs and Deeds to promote better discoverability of the content we’ve been introducing in every Act. A version of this went live with Season 17, and Season 18 will bring further refinements – so we hope to see these data points change more positively over time.[/p][p][/p][p]Game Health[/p][p]Overall game health was rated 3/5 by our active users, with quality and stability being the key areas of technical performance we struggled with most. However, one of the biggest signals we got from this survey was that it’s the player-driven health metrics impacting the experience most of all.[/p][p]Cheating and toxic behaviour from other players were rated 2.6/5 by all respondents. From our community sentiment, customer support contacts and game telemetry, we’ve always had an awareness of this problem – but to see it so concisely summarised in a low score was a stark reminder that we still have much to do in this area.[/p][p]We do have some key improvements coming to Hourglass Battles to address some of the encounter-based toxicity, which Production Director Drew Stevens talks about in the latest Developer Update. But, more critically, we need to take a step back and look at how we influence players and gameplay at a fundamental level, to make encounters with other crews feel fairer and more fun.[/p][p]Toxic behaviour is a huge topic to tackle and it encompasses so many parts of the experience, but we’re committed to finding a path through to change those numbers. More on this as it comes, but we’re teeing up a second, more in-depth survey to dig into the heart of this issue so that we can prioritise related areas for work moving forward.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Community Relations[/p][p]As part of this survey, we also wanted to know what you thought of how we were communicating, and if you felt we were listening to your feedback. These are perhaps some bold questions to ask, but again, as we said in the Community Direct, we’re serious about improving community relations and bringing players’ perspectives to the forefront of our decision-making.[/p][p]So: first, we asked if you thought we were listening to the community. You scored us 3/5 on this, with 43% of all active users rating us a 4 or 5. However, nearly one in five players (19%) scored us a 1/5, believing that we do not listen to our players at all – so it’s clear that while some feel there’s a foundation to build on, we need to do some work here to win back your trust and prove we’re listening.[/p][p]Since the Season 16 Big Listen survey went out, we’ve made some advancements here based on your feedback: we’ve introduced 110 FOV, made the incoming spatial audio experience more player-friendly, worked on weapon switching, adjusted Season 17’s Reaper Fortress loot pools, and we have plenty of other feedback-inspired irons in the fire. We’re hoping to see this effort reflected in Season 17’s scores too, and we’ll keep putting the work in to ensure we’re addressing your key pain points.[/p][p]Just on this: it would be remiss of us not to address the sentiment that some of these updates have skewed towards a certain player type, rather than all players. However, we want to assure players that there are ton of discussions ongoing where we’re looking at what would be impactful quality-of-life changes for everyone. We hope to have more to share here in the coming months, so please stay tuned for fresh information (and register as an Insider to test these upcoming changes, if you’re not already one of the crew)![/p][p]Also on the topic of communication, we asked if you thought our communication was regular and transparent enough, and you scored us 3.5/5 on this – with almost 60% of all active users rating us at a 4 or 5. We’ve been working on this lately, and we’re pleased to see it reflected in the scores. Again, we could still be better here and intend to drag that average up. However, it’s another solid foundation to build upon, so thank you for recognising our efforts with the return of the Dev Updates, the Community Direct commitments and everything else we’re doing – like the survey itself – to ensure a better dialogue with you all.[/p][p]

The Future[/p][p]While we’re still working out what this really means for our development roadmap, as these results are still contextually very fresh, we have some clear signals about what players want to see the most. We can’t yet comment with any specificity on what we’re doing in these particular areas, but we wanted to be honest about what our players have asked from us – so, the top five most popular areas for future content updates amongst our active users include:[/p][p](1) New world regions and locations
(2) More narrative content
(3) New ship types
(4) New World Events
(5) New sandbox tools and mechanics[/p][p]The Community Direct in early 2026 will be the next opportunity for us to unveil some of our content plans for the year ahead, so look forward to that![/p][p]And the Survey Said…[/p][p]This was an incredibly useful first set of results for us. We’ve surveyed our players before, but not on this scale – so the sheer volume and breadth of the feedback has been invaluable. We’ll continue with our Seasonal surveys and track some of those key health metrics from Season to Season, with the hope of seeing the needles move in the right ways. And we’ll continue to share those results too, as part of our ongoing commitment to sharing in what we’re up to and why we’re making some of the decisions we do.[/p][p]The survey for Season 17 will be arriving soon, so if you’d like to participate and have your say, sign up to the Insider Programme and ensure your email preferences are on to receive the invite – you can do this by logging in to the Sea of Thieves website and checking your Account page. Thanks to all of you for taking part![/p]

[h3]Smugglers’ Tide: Act 3[/h3][p]New blood brings new opportunities as The Smugglers’ League settle into the shadows of the Sea of Thieves! To learn more about this Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated Season 17 page.[/p][p][/p][p]Reaper Fortresses[/p]

• [p]Skeleton Forts across the seas have been upgraded to Reaper Fortresses with devilish traps and reinforced defences. These new encounters will be signalled by a menacing new Skull Cloud visible across the waves.[/p]
• [p]With these Fortresses now an active battleground between The Reaper’s Bones and the Dark Brethren, players looking for loot must battle through the surrounding Ghost Ships before making landfall and taking on both Phantoms and Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons.[/p]
• [p]During the siege, defeating the Master of Arms will award players with the Skull of Arms. This serves as the key to a nearby Weapons Cache, providing useful munitions and supplies to help turn the tide.[/p]
• [p]Crews will encounter these new Reaper Fortresses emergently in the form of regular World Events. Pirate Legends can also begin a Legendary Raid for Athena’s Fortune from the Quest Table.[/p]
• [p]For the duration of Act 3, Reaper Fortresses have a chance for their Vaults to be boosted by a Mega Stash, replacing the contents with an immense treasure pile of significantly higher-value rewards.[/p]
• [p]Both emergent Reaper Fortresses and on-demand Athena’s Fortune Raid Voyages on High Seas can award a Mega Stash. However, the chance of this boost is much higher when encountering an emergent Reaper Fortress in the world.[/p]

[p]Smugglers’ Tide: Act 3 Commendations and Rewards[/p]

• [p]Act 3 introduces new Adventures At Sea Commendations, challenging crews to take on the deadly Reaper Fortresses. Completing these Commendations unlocks access to items in the Brethren’s Masquerade ship set, along with the ‘Brethren of Shadow’ and ‘Gaunt and Gnarled’ Trinkets.[/p]
• [p]Crews completing Act 3’s Deeds can also earn the ‘Banner of Bone and Blade’ Ornament to commemorate their feats.[/p]

[p]Chest of Fortune[/p]

• [p]During Act 3, the Chest of Fortune will reside in the Vaults of Reaper Fortresses and can only be obtained by overcoming these newly contested battlegrounds.
  [/p]

[h3][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]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][/p][p]New Items – Now in Stock![/p]

• [p]Alter Ego Ship Collection and Ship’s Crest[/p]
• [p]Alter Ego Weapon Bundle[/p]
• [p]Alter Ego Costume Set[/p]
• [p]Alter Ego Concertina[/p]
• [p]Skeleton Toucan[/p]
• [p]Crimson Crypt Cabin Bundle[/p]
• [p]Expanded Jack O’ Looter Collection: Collector’s Figurehead, Collector’s Sails, Ship’s Crest, Trinket and Lantern[/p]
• [p]Expanded Silver Sepulchre Collection: Double Barrel Pistol and Throwing Knives[/p]
• [p]Pocket Bat Emote[/p]
• [p]See No Evil Emote (free!)[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Outpost Cosmetics[/h3][p]New Outpost Stock![/p]

• [p]The shipwrights have restocked with the new Orange Resolute Hull, Sails and Flag.[/p]
• [p]The Outpost weaponsmiths now offer the Lucky Rover Pistol, Cutlass, Blunderbuss, Eye of Reach, Heavy Sword and Rapier.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3][p]Retrieving Items from Skeletons[/p]

• [p]Players can now retrieve items being held by allied skeletons more easily. Hitting the skeleton anywhere with a Grapple Gun or harpoon will retrieve the item, even if the skeleton is facing away from the player.[/p]

[p]Performance Improvements[/p]

• [p]This update includes a system-level optimisation to CPU performance across the whole experience, to reduce the frequency of framerate drops and provide a smoother framerate during gameplay.[/p]
• [p]Further optimisations have been made to the way treasure items floating in water are managed, to improve performance on the server.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Updates[/h3][p]Second Chance Policy[/p]

• [p]Following the recent enforcement policy update, Sea of Thieves will now offer some players who were banned for lesser infringements under our old enforcement policy a second chance to sail the seas.[/p]
• [p]This new policy is designed as a balance between giving some players another chance and ensuring we continue to protect all players from malicious acts and the bad actors who conduct them. For more details on why we’ve introduced this new policy and how the behaviour of returning players will be managed, see this new article on our Second Chance Policy.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Fixed Issues[/h3][p]Gameplay[/p]

• [p]Further improvements have been made to the display of a Captained ship’s name on the Ship’s Crest, Captain’s Logbook and Banners after a crew migrates across servers.[/p]
• [p]Players should no longer be able to throw a blunderbomb or other throwable item instantly after firing a ranged weapon.[/p]
• [p]Throwables such as blunderbombs targeting the rear hull of a Galleon will now consistently impact the hull’s surface and not pass through certain areas to land inside the ship.[/p]
• [p]The Legendary Guild Emissary Ledger reward for Season 17 has been updated to ‘The Unseen Deal’, and players who have unlocked this reward already will find that the correct item has been provided to them.[/p]
• [p]Ships diving beneath the waves with skeletons on board will now cause them to gracefully be destroyed.[/p]
• [p]Skeleton Lords no longer take knockback or become stunned when hit with Ashen Winds Skulls, Obsidian Ashen Winds Skulls or the Horn of Fair Winds.[/p]
• [p]The Cannon of Rage now always sets Sloops on fire when it explodes.[/p]
• [p]Deploying a Cannon of Rage on a burning deck will now cause it to begin overheating.[/p]
• [p]Jumping while retracting a Cannon of Rage now interrupts the action.[/p]
• [p]Moving too far away when reviving an allied Order of Bone and Blade Skeleton now interrupts the action.[/p]
• [p]Treasure on board the Burning Blade will now be released after returning the ship to Captain Flameheart.[/p]

[p]Smugglers’ Tide[/p]

• [p]Players can now consistently unlock the Captain of Smugglers’ Tides Commendation when meeting the required criteria across both Safer Seas and High Seas.[/p]
• [p]Black Powder Barrels from Voyages now consistently progress the ‘Treasures Sold’ Pirate Milestone.[/p]
• [p]Rum Crates found within Smugglers’ Caches can now be damaged by player-instigated explosives. However, they will remain undamaged by volcanic activity until collected by players.[/p]
• [p]Traps within the Smugglers’ Hideouts will now consistently trigger when players trip the pressure plates.[/p]
• [p]‘The Smugglers’ Run’ painting can now be found in the shipwright’s shop for players eligible to purchase it.[/p]

[p]Environment[/p]

• [p]Further improvements have been made to the environment in ‘A Pirate’s Life’, ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ and ‘The Quest for Guybrush’ Tall Tales and within Skeleton Camps to prevent players from using a Grapple Gun to leave the designated areas.[/p]
• [p]Players can no longer cause themselves to instantly return to their ship at some locations on Shark Bait Cove.[/p]
• [p]Allied skeletons carrying a Reaper’s Chest should no longer become stuck when navigating a Galleon staircase.[/p]
• [p]Players firing themselves from cannons at Hidden Spring Keep will no longer collide with the tower’s pillar.[/p]

[p]Visual and Audio[/p]

• [p]Players wearing the Master of the High Seas Shirt alongside a jacket should now find their pirate appears as intended.[/p]
• [p]Players interacting with a Captain’s Logbook should now find they consistently hold the book at their intended field of view.[/p]
• [p]During the Captaincy onboarding, the Pirate Lord now looks at the player.[/p]
• [p]The pillar in the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage now rises smoothly from the ground.[/p]
• [p]Players performing emotes while wielding the Stalwart Sea Dog Cutlass should no longer find their camera stutters.[/p]
• [p]A thrown Throwing Knife of Faraway Shores now retains the correct model after being picked up.[/p]
• [p]Standing behind Aifrick no longer causes her head to turn at an unnatural angle.[/p]
• [p]‘Heart of Fire’ – Flameheart’s voiceover can now be heard consistently during the Tall Tale.[/p]

[p]User Interface[/p]

• [p]Guild Members will no longer appear as ‘Anonymous’ on the list.[/p]
• [p]Players using Swap Back and Select actions should now be able to accept crew invite and controller disconnected notifications.[/p]

[p]Text and Localisation[/p]

• [p]Skeletons summoned by a Reaper’s Chest will no longer display duplicate names.[/p]

[p]Performance and Stability[/p]

• [p]Game stability has been improved while navigating the front-end menu on Steam Deck.[/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.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Known Issues[/h3][p]Smugglers’ Tide: Act 3 Commendations and Rewards  [/p]

• [p]Players may have found their Reaper Fortress Commendation completion inaccurately reflected with today's update, making rewards such as the Brethren's Masquerade ship items available to purchase ahead of time. The ability to purchase or equip these items has been temporarily removed while the team work to reinstate the correct criteria. [/p]

[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]You’ve been smuggling contraband, you’ve taken part in a daring Heist, but it’s almost time for the biggest challenge you’ll face in Season 17: co-ordinating clothes! Don’t worry, spontaneous sweating is a natural reaction to such a high stress demand. Just breathe, take five minutes if needed and carry on reading when you’re ready.[/p][p]That’s right, a fresh opportunity to get your hands on the Fashionista’s Finery Gloves is almost upon us. Whether you desire the gloves to pair them with light-coloured gear, to help you sleep easier at night knowing you’ve secured another rare item for your equipment chest or just because they look like they’d be great to wear while scrubbing your crew’s dirty dishes, you’ll be able to enter the Season 17 #StyleOfThieves contest for a chance to win them from October 20th–23rd 2025.


The format of the contest will continue unchanged: posts relating to this Season’s themes will appear on Sea of Thieves social media channels around 10am UTC on the dates specified below, signalling that the entry period for that day’s contest is open. You then share your screenshots on your social media channel of choice, including the relevant information and showing your pirate from head to toe, for our team to find and consider. This contest aims to stretch your styling skills, so standing out is a key goal to keep in mind. Which hat would other entrants not be picking for a theme? Can the prompt be interpreted in a unique way? How many themes can you wear the Wreath of Wisdom Crown in?[/p][p]Each theme will be open to entries for 24 hours, after which time our Community team will create a shortlist of their top entries, concealing the links as morse code disguised as background elements in a portrait of Flameheart. Should the Art team work out this hidden message rather than simply sending copious notes on how to actually make art, alongside a cease and desist to ensure that the Community team never draws again, they’ll be able to choose their 16 overall winners for us to reveal on October 30th. [/p][p]Before we reveal the themes, we’d just like to reiterate that this contest remains very popular, so please see it as an excuse to enjoy a spot of pirate dress-up before anything else. Use it as a reason to flex your rarest cosmetics and see your scoundrel in a new, potentially even snazzier light than usual. Even if you don’t win in this Style of Thieves contest, we hope everyone who takes part simply has a good time exploring the fun of fashion within Sea of Thieves.

Image credit: MrMestriner on X/Twitter
[/p][p]And now, without any more re-re-re-re-tweaked preamble, here are Season 17’s #StyleOfThieves themes: [/p][p][/p][h3]The Themes [/h3][p]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.[/p][p]Detective 
From long jackets to tailored hats, find a fit authoritative enough to make a guilty pirate confess before you’ve even fired your first question (or third cannonball, we don’t know your style).
Entry date: October 20th [/p][p]Ridiculous 
Embrace your silly side and throw on an assortment that passes for an outfit on the one simple truth that you are, in fact, wearing it, even if doing so could mean you’ll never be taken seriously again.
Entry date: October 21st [/p][p]Cosplay 
Do your best to pay homage to your favourite characters from beyond the Sea of Thieves with only your closet of ramshackle rags and pirate apparel. Good luck!
Entry date: October 22nd [/p][p]Ghoulish 
Cast about for a style that would have even the Order of Souls clutching their skulls. They do contain precious secrets after all, it’s just sensible to keep them safe from potentially scorned wraiths.
Entry date: October 23rd

Image credit: ZenekSoT on X/Twitter
[/p][h3]How to Enter [/h3][p]There are of course rules to follow if you want to create a valid contest entry. For a refresher on these, and how to enter via any of the applicable channels, please refer to this previous Style of Thieves article – remembering of course that Season 17’s themes are the ones here in this article, the link’s just for the extra details! Regardless of where you’re sharing your entry, be sure to include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post, along with any extra info called for by the theme. [/p][p]As an additional stipulation to ensure a level playing field, entries may only use the retail version of Sea of Thieves and not the Insider build, following the lifting of the Insider Programme NDA. [/p][p]And done. You’re still here? Well, we appreciate that. And for sticking around, we’ll tell you the secret to winning, aren’t you lucky! The secret is to wear the Wreath of Wisdom Crown. The other secret is to not do what we expect. Would wearing that wreath be what we expect? It would, so it wouldn’t work. The moral of this story is there is no secret, do what you want. See you October 20th–23rd thanks bye! [/p]

[p]The nights have started growing longer – which means it’s the perfect time to undertake some sneaky smuggling! In September, pirates were unleashed upon a new Heist for The Smugglers’ League, while charity fundraisers and Community Spotlights capably filled the gaps. Let’s take a look at some things you may have missed…[/p][p][/p][h3]Content Update[/h3][p]September’s update brought in Act 2 of Season 17, and the introduction of the Smugglers’ Heist! Once some tweaks to the Heist’s frequency were made with a quick hotfix, this new time-limited Event had covert crews competing against each other to claim an extremely valuable painted prize. We even provided the perfect backing music for your planning montage in the form of latest Sea of Thieves soundtrack addition ‘The Fine Art of Theft’.[/p][p]With all this Heisting pulling in the gold, September felt like a perfect time to give back too. To that end, our trusty Community Stream Team pulled together to host a month-long fundraiser for Everyone Can! Together, their efforts completely smashed the set target, and they managed to raise more than £12,000 for the charity – legendary work by all involved.
[/p][h3][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]
News and Features[/h3][p]For once, the first news article of September wasn’t This Month in Sea of Thieves – although that came very shortly after – but was instead the first of two Spotlights squeezed into September. Culinary connoisseur Shredz (author of Sea of Thieves: The Cookbook) was the first to stop by, then the second Spotlight of the month focused on pirate artist Soycha and the creative chaos he gets up to on the seas.[/p][p]Keeping our eye on community affairs, we saw plenty of competitive spirit going around in September. First, two new Community Hub updates saw eight deserving pirates receiving a glorious hat for their creative efforts, before a new #SoTShot contest theme had sailors showing us their best Smuggling Scenes. Most Smugglers prefer to conduct their business away from prying eyes, but we salute these brave souls for sharing their daring escapades far and wide.
[/p][h3]
Videos and Streams[/h3][p]No month is ever complete without at least one new instalment of Sea of Thieves News, and September was to be no different. Between Daryl outlining forthcoming game updates and, later, Drew pulling back the curtain in the latest Developer Update, it was a good month for any pirate interested in knowing what’s on the horizon.[/p][p]As with every monthly update, there was also a vibrant run of video promotion providing all the details. Our latest Content Update video gave us a chance to walk you through the story behind the Heist and how this time-limited competitive Voyage actually works, before the Launch Trailer provided a whistle-stop tour of all the major highlights. After that it was just a case of revealing the latest Twitch Drops running alongside the update, and then letting players get down to the business of Heisting.
[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]
And that was the gist of it for September! If all the pumpkins around the Outposts didn’t give it away, we’re officially into That Time of Year now, so there are sure to be many more terrifying treats to recap for you in a month’s time. Until then, don’t forget you can always join in the conversation on any of our usual channels, including Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Twitch, and via our Forums or Discord server. See you there![/p][p] [/p][h3]Previously in 2025:[/h3][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]Gourd grief, how is it October already? This month features a veritable feast of goodies for folks wanting to set sail – so grab your pumpkin-spiced beverages, get out your diaries and plan your next sessions with this handy guide comprised of what to expect over the coming weeks. Let’s go![/p][p][/p][p]Smugglers’ Heist Continues – until Thursday, October 16th[/p][p]For those of you yet to dip your toes into the waters of Season 17: Act 2, the Smugglers’ Heist Event is still active until the middle of the month. The Smugglers’ League have asked pirates to procure one of Flameheart’s prized paintings, worth a cool 175,000 gold to any crew making it to the hand-in point. However, it’s hardly a piece of cake to secure the target painting – and that’s not even accounting for other pirate players turning up to meddle…[/p][p][/p][p]Festival of the Damned Decorations Return – from Wednesday, October 1st[/p][p]Fans of pumpkins, gourds and squashes of the orange variety, unite! The shores of the Sea of Thieves will be appropriately decorated from October 1st, in honour of our very own spooky season.

[/p][p]‘Forts of the Flame’ Release – Wednesday, October 8th[/p][p]This month’s audio track release is ‘Forts of the Flame’, which gives players a sneaky aural peek at the music that will soundtrack the Reaper Fortresses experience coming as part of Act 3’s update. Stream this stunning song via Spotify or other streaming service of your choice from October 8th.[/p][p][/p][p]Sea of Thieves Season 17: Act 3 – Thursday, October 16th[/p][p]Captain Flameheart’s forces are once again under attack, and fortifying the Skeleton Forts to withstand renewed assaults on their Vaults. With the arrival of October’s game update, players can take the fight to these reinforced Reaper Fortresses, facing Ghost Ship battles, traps and a host of formidable fighting foes.[/p][p]These Fortresses and their advanced defences will be available throughout Act 3, and will enter the usual World Event rotation from Season 18. Their Vaults hold a whole treasure trove of goodies, including Reaper’s Bones loot – so set sail when Act 3 launches to sample this fresh new flavour of Fort goodness.[/p][p]October’s update will also refresh Outpost stock with the Orange Resolute Hull, Flag and Sails – or if green’s your autumnal colour of choice, you’ll be able to spend your gold on Lucky Rover weapons instead.[/p][p]Meanwhile, spooky season arrives in the Emporium with aplomb, with an expanded Jack O’ Looter collection that now includes a Collector’s Figurehead and Sails, Ship’s Crest, Trinket and long-awaited lantern! The Crimson Crypt items are also set for expansion by way of a new Cabin Bundle for Captained ships, while the brand new Alter Ego collection brings a conflicted costume, ship set, concertina and weapons to the Emporium aisles. True to October’s theme, a new Pocket Bat Emote will also make its debut – and a ton of the Emporium’s most terrifying cosmetics will be on offer in a Festival of the Damned Mega Bundle!

[/p][p]Twitch Drops – Friday, October 17th – Friday, October 24th[/p][p]With the launch of Act 3 also comes another windfall of wonderful Twitch Drops, available to earn just by watching any participating Sea of Thieves streamer on Twitch.[/p][p]Alongside our usual rewards of 75,000 gold, a Renown boost and a Voyage of Luck, this batch of Drops also allows viewers to score the Mystical Divination Emote, Eastern Winds Ruby Eye of Reach, Amethyst Mercenary Pegleg, Mandrake Pistol and an Order of Souls-themed Skeleton Fort Raid Voyage. What glorious gains![/p][p][/p][p]Pirate Emporium Halloween Sale – Tuesday, October 28th – Tuesday, November 4th[/p][p]Kicking off close to the end of the month is another opportunity to save Ancient Coins, this time on some of the eeriest sets the Emporium has to offer! Crimson Crypt, Graveyard Gladiator, Soulflame and Blighted sets are all being slashed in price, along with a whole heap of eldritch emotes.[/p][p][/p][p]Ghoul & Glory Weekend – Friday, October 31st – Monday, November 3rd [/p][p]This Festival of the Damned-flavoured twist on the trusty Gold & Glory Event makes a return for 2025! Boosted rewards await all who play during this period, with extra gold, reputation, Renown and Allegiance all up for grabs.[/p][p]And that takes us to the closing days of October. While November promises the launch of a whole new Season, there are still all the tantalising titbits above waiting for players to tackle this month – so make sure you plot a course for everything that appeals to you in this lovely list of stuff, and we’ll see you on the seas![/p]