Sea of Thieves News

[h3]Smugglers’ Tide: Act 2[/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]The Smugglers’ Heist[/p]

• [p]For the duration of Act 2, a daring Heist at Royal Crest Fortress will regularly be available via a note pinned to the ship’s mast, allowing all crews to join The Smugglers’ League in their task.[/p]
• [p]Once the Heist has begun, crews will need to follow directions to retrieve a key from a Smuggler contact and then set sail to Royal Crest Fortress in search of a precious painting.[/p]
• [p]Players must stick to instructions sent by The Smugglers’ League to ensure the correct painting is retrieved. There are many decoy paintings which can also be found and sold, but only the target painting will allow you to become the victor of the Heist![/p]
• [p]Crews that hold the target painting should be ready to fend off Ocean Crawler ambushes while aboard their ship. Other crews can also join in the Heist at any stage, so be prepared to use any means necessary to get the painting safely back to the designated Smugglers’ Hideout.[/p]
• [p]Successful crews will earn a hoard of 175,000 gold for returning the correct painting, while Guilds will receive a significant bonus to their Guild Reputation![/p]

[p]Smugglers’ Tide: Act 2 Rewards[/p]

• [p]Crews taking on the Heist at Royal Crest Fortress can unlock the Royal Crest Fortress Plans and Royal Crest Fortress Blueprints Trinkets to commemorate their daring accomplishments.[/p]

[p]Smugglers’ Route Run Balancing[/p]

• [p]The frequency of Phantom encounters while taking part in a Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage has now been reduced.[/p][p][/p]

[p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3][p]Improved Field of View[/p]

• [p]Players can now extend their field of view above the previous limit up to 110, providing a range of wider view options.[/p]
• [p]To give players more control over their field of view experience, the graphics settings now provide individual field of view override settings for areas where players dock to an object such as the ship’s wheel, Rowboat or ladders.[/p]

[p]Cinematic Banner Improvements[/p]

• [p]The cinematic banners shown on the HUD have been extended to provide support for a reduced banner option that retains visibility of the player’s health and ammunition during gameplay.[/p]
• [p]Players can navigate to the HUD Settings and switch between Full (default) or Reduced Lower Banner Style.[/p]

[p]Underwater Animation Improvements[/p]

• [p]Players swimming in water and making quick changes to their pitch and rotation will now find their pirate moves more smoothly when viewed by others.[/p]
• [p]These changes aim to reduce the impact of players making fast movements with their mouse or controller to avoid damage during gunplay while underwater.[/p]

[p]Ashen Skull of the Banished[/p]

• [p]The Ashen Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage in The Devil’s Roar now rewards players with the new Ashen Skull of the Banished, replacing the Skull of the Banished on this Voyage.[/p]

[p]Ashen Chest of Bones[/p]

• [p]The Ashen Followers of the Flame Voyage now rewards players with an Ashen Chest of Bones, offering higher value than the Chest of Bones.[/p]

• [p]The Ashen Chest of Bones retains the same number of charges as a Reaper’s Chest, but will not reinforce crews with Order of Bone and Blade Captains.[/p]

[p]Displaying Trophy Tiers[/p]

• [p]Captains who have earned multiple tiers of a Trophy are now able to decorate their ship with all previous tiers when interacting with a Trinket location.[/p]

[p]Skull of Siren Sorrow[/p]

• [p]Players are now able to sprint when holding the Skull of Siren Sorrow.[/p]

[p]Sunken Merfolk Statues[/p]

• [p]Merfolk Statues found within the Sunken Kingdom will now only store treasure that can be discovered while exploring the various Shrines and Treasuries, and Trading Company items recovered during Raid Voyages.[/p][p][/p]

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

• [p]Pirate Pugilist Ship Collection and Ship’s Crest[/p]
• [p]Pirate Pugilist Weapon Bundle[/p]
• [p]Pirate Pugilist Clothing Bundle[/p]
• [p]Pirate Pugilist Speaking Trumpet[/p]
• [p]One-Two Punch Emote (free!)[/p]
• [p]Inner Sanctum Weapon Bundle[/p]
• [p]Inner Sanctum Ship Collection (returning from Season 14 Plunder Pass)[/p]
• [p]Inner Sanctum Clothing Bundle (returning from Season 14 Plunder Pass)[/p]
• [p]Firestarter Variety Ship Bundle (mixed bundle of existing items)[/p]

[p]Pirate Emporium Special Items Tab[/p]

• [p]A Special Items tab has been added to the navigation menu within the Pirate Emporium, providing access to items such as the Pirate Deed, Renaming Deed and Pirate Appearance Potion.[/p][p][/p]

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

• [p]The shipwrights have restocked with the new Russet Resolute Hull, Sails and Flag.[/p]
• [p]The Outpost shops now offer Lucky Rover equipment and instruments.[/p]
• [p]The shipwrights have expanded to supply Ship’s Crests for purchase, and Pirate Legends can access the Sovereign Ship’s Crest previously available during Season Ten.[/p]
• [p]The weaponsmith in the Pirate Legend Hideout now stocks the Legendary Fortune Double Barrel Pistol, Grapple Gun, Blowpipe, Throwing Knives, Heavy Sword and Rapier. These weapons are all available for purchase upon reaching Pirate Legend status.[/p]
• [p]Players who previously purchased the Legendary Throwing Knives, Heavy Sword or Rapier from the Pirate Legend Hideout will find these items have been replaced in their Armoury with the corrected Legendary Fortune colour scheme.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Updates[/h3][p]Performance Improvements[/p]

• [p]Optimisations made to the loading of environment assets should now provide a more stable framerate for players residing on the Ferry of the Damned while their ship is still moving through the world.[/p]

[p]Performance Counters[/p]

• [p]Players on console now have the ability to display their ping in the top corner of the screen. This can be enabled from within the Video Settings.[/p]
• [p]Players on PC can now choose to display ping only, without displaying their FPS at the same time.[/p]

[p]Text Chat in Game Options[/p]

• [p]Players can now summon the text chat window from the Game Options menu, providing easy access to chat and freeing up a keybind. Players on console or handheld devices will find the Virtual Keyboard is shown when the chat window opens.[/p][p][/p]

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

• [p]After being revived, players should find their health bar is now consistently displayed when not at full health.[/p]
• [p]Players wearing the Skeleton Curse are now able to equip disguises from the Vanity Chest.[/p]
• [p]During an Hourglass streak, crews who become matched again with the same rival within a session will now consistently earn a win towards their streak.[/p]
• [p]Crews choosing to leave treasure behind at sea when diving to a Faction Battle will now find that if their dive fails or is cancelled, the treasure they left behind is now floating nearby and no longer becomes stuck within the ship.[/p]
• [p]Rum Crates of all varieties are now properly damaged by Gunpowder Barrels.[/p]
• [p]When rowing towards a location where a Rowboat can be docked, the interaction now consistently displays at a range where the Rowboat can be attached.[/p]
• [p]Tapping to aim down sights with the Eye of Reach no longer causes the screen to blur before the weapon is scoped.[/p]
• [p]Bounty Voyages from a Message in a Bottle will now more appropriately scale their difficulty level based on the size of the crew.[/p]
• [p]Crews digging up a stolen treasure buried by another crew should now consistently gain the Commendation progress when selling the item. This addresses the following Commendations: Taker of Stolen Stock, Bony Bandit, Bountiful Giving, Charitable Giving, Ritual Recovery and Legendary Thief.[/p]
• [p]Players interacting twice with a ship’s cannon while holding an item will no longer find the item is held floating nearby.[/p]
• [p]Crews pledging to the Guardians of Fortune or Servants of the Flame and remaining on the sea should no longer be able to increase their ship’s Treasure Grade when recovering the same item onto their ship repeatedly.[/p]
• [p]Ancient Skeletons defeated by skeletons allied to the crew now consistently award Ancient Coins to the members of the crew.[/p]
• [p]Crews are no longer able to gain additional Gunpowder Barrels from Skeleton Camps.[/p]
• [p]Crews are no longer able to encounter multiple Skeleton Captains or Ashen Guardians at the same Skeleton Camp.[/p]
• [p]Players moving across a tightrope should now consistently appear in the correct position to other players.[/p]

• [p]‘Shores of Gold’ – Players dying within the Devil’s Shroud during this Tall Tale should now return from the Ferry of the Damned with their equipment and resources intact.[/p]

[p]Smugglers’ Tide[/p]

• [p]The following Commendations can now be progressed consistently when performing the required criteria: Revered Rum Runner, Fine Art Felon and Super Smuggler. Players with prior progress may remain temporarily blocked as the team works behind the scenes to sync their progress.[/p]
• [p]The Skull of Siren Sorrow now sinks after the correct amount of time when left floating on the sea.[/p]
• [p]The Deed to Sink a Smuggling Skeleton Ship with a Black Powder Barrel now progresses consistently.[/p]
• [p]Smuggler characters can no longer be interacted with from behind or while airborne.[/p]
• [p]Players wearing the Black Powder Barrel Disguise now show a tooltip to others to inspect The Smugglers’ League mark, to ensure a more effective disguise.[/p]
• [p]Players will no longer progress the Chest Buster Commendation when being forced out of the Black Powder Barrel Disguise.[/p]
• [p]A range of island improvements have been made to Smugglers’ Hideout locations, addressing visual issues and ensuring traps trigger consistently.[/p]
• [p]Skeletons can no longer walk through items or walls in Smugglers’ Hideouts.[/p]
• [p]Enemy Phantoms will no longer appear inside Smugglers’ Hideouts.[/p]
• [p]Smugglers’ Treasure found washed up will now direct players to the correct location of The Smugglers’ League.[/p]
• [p]The ship’s map should now consistently show the Smugglers’ Route Run path when switching between Safer Seas and High Seas sessions.[/p]
• [p]Crews should now be awarded progress towards the Storm Sale Commendation when handing in a Horn of Fair Winds to The Smugglers’ League.[/p]
• [p]Players should now consistently earn progress towards the Seeker of Smugglers’ Caches Commendation when locating Smugglers’ Caches on islands.[/p]
• [p]Smugglers’ Caches now remain buried when leaving and returning to islands.[/p]
• [p]Speaking with Lottie no longer causes her body to change shape.[/p]

[p]Reapers Rising[/p]

• [p]Crews taking on a Voyage for The Reaper’s Bones will now find that joining and leaving an Alliance will retain their raised Reaper’s Bones Emissary Flag and Reaper’s Mark Flag.[/p]
• [p]Players should now find it easier to interact with a moving Skeleton Mercenary in order to give them an item to hold.[/p]
• [p]Items dropped onto the Ancient Pillars or Sarcophagus found during the Search for Ancient Secrets or Followers of the Flame Voyages are now placed safely away from the location instead of becoming stuck within them.[/p]
• [p]Skeletons can no longer walk through the Ancient Pillars or Sarcophagus found during the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage.[/p]
• [p]Notifications shown during the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage will now appear consistently.[/p]
• [p]Treasured Fish are now held correctly by Skeleton Mercenaries.[/p]
• [p]Showing a map to an allied skeleton now consistently results in the skeleton aiding the player to find the location.[/p]
• [p]Improvements have been made to readability for the Quest Maps during the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage.[/p]
• [p]Crews digging up multiple Pillars in quick succession should no longer prevent Ancients from appearing.[/p]
• [p]The Order of Bone and Blade should now have no trouble in digging up the Sarcophagus during the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage.[/p]

[p]Visual and Audio[/p]

• [p]The Alabaster Wildcat now appears in the correct colour when summoned or viewed in the Pet Chest.[/p]
• [p]Various throwing knives have had their visual effects restored when performing melee attacks.[/p]
• [p]Emerging Phantoms and Ocean Crawlers are now accompanied by the intended music.[/p]
• [p]Voting daggers now sit correctly on the Quest Table when cancelling a Voyage.[/p]
• [p]Animals and skeletons will now move more smoothly when idling around islands.[/p]
• [p]Players opening and exiting a shop will no longer see their character become temporarily invisible.[/p]
• [p]Players equipping the Rare Regalia Hull will now find all areas of the ship are coloured consistently.[/p]

[p]Environment[/p]

• [p]Players are no longer able to venture underneath Port Merrick by using the Cannon of Rage to fire themselves into the environment.[/p]
• [p]Improvements have been made to the environment in ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’, ‘The Quest for Guybrush’ and ‘A Pirate’s Life’ Tall Tales to prevent players from using a Grapple Gun to leave the designated areas.[/p]
• [p]Players can no longer fall out of the environment by using a Grapple Gun to navigate within Ancient Vaults.[/p]
• [p]Barrels in Sea Forts can no longer be accessed through the ceiling.[/p]
• [p]‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – The area behind the Headless Monkey no longer contains hidden water that allows players to swim in mid-air.[/p]

[p]User Interface[/p]

• [p]Emissary Ledgers should now consistently show the next unlockable reward when the Ledgers refresh each month.[/p]
• [p]Players are now prevented from purchasing Ship’s Crests and Banners within the Pirate Emporium if they do not yet own a Captained ship.[/p]
• [p]The Ghostly Curse Alsatian now requires Pirate Legend status to purchase within the Emporium.[/p]
• [p]The countdown shown in the Season overview now displays the time correctly.[/p]
• [p]The Last Played date now displays correctly for newly created pirates.[/p]
• [p]Pirate options can no longer be opened while a pirate is in the process of being deleted.[/p]
• [p]Pirate previews now display correctly after deleting a pirate.[/p]
• [p]Trading Company shops now require the correct promotion to be unlocked before a corresponding item can be purchased.[/p]
• [p]During the Tutorial Voyage for the Order of Souls, the destination island will no longer be obscured by notifications.[/p]

[p]Text and Localisation[/p]

• [p]Players starting the Tutorial Voyage for the Merchant Alliance at Ancient Spire Outpost will now find the notifications refer to the correct islands during the Voyage.[/p]
• [p]The Merchant Alliance Tutorial Voyage now consistently shows the intended text on the quest parchment during the Voyage.[/p]
• [p]Players unlocking the All-seeing Commendation will now see the appropriate description in the Pirate Log.[/p]
• [p]Terminology for the Chest of Fortune has been improved when playing in Japanese to better differentiate the item from a Treasure Chest.[/p]
• [p]Following player feedback, the terminology used for Fight Nights has been improved when playing in Polish.[/p]
• [p]Various terminology improvements have been made for The Smugglers’ League in Russian and Spanish (Mexico) languages.[/p]

[p]Performance and Stability[/p]

• [p]Crews on Safer Seas should no longer experience scenarios where their ship begins to lift into the air.[/p]
• [p]Wielding Treasure Maps no longer causes performance issues when the maps update.[/p]
• [p]Players on lower-spec hardware should no longer find the loading wheel stops animating for long periods of time.[/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]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]A hectic summer of Events, updates and general pirate chaos is finally coming to an end and that can mean only one thing: time to round up everything you might have missed in August. So settle in while we give you a whirlwind tour of the last month, ahead of everything still inbound this autumn…[/p][p][/p][h3]Content Update[/h3][p]As we set sail into August, we were rapidly coming up on the end of Season 16. In a distinctly un-piratelike show of generosity, the Trading Companies thought they’d offer a helping hand to any pirates scrambling to max out their Renown before the Season closed, leading to a full Gold & Glory Weekend for everyone to enjoy. Who doesn’t love doubled rewards?[/p][p]From there, Season 17 burst to life in an explosion of proportions never before seen on the seas – that’s right, the arrival of The Smugglers’ League brought with it fearsome Black Powder Barrels and a host of new loot, Commendations and Voyages for pirates to dive into. At the same time, Rare’s 40th Anniversary had us celebrating with anything and everything ruby, and August concluded with the latest Community Weekend to mark this special milestone in fine style.[/p][h3][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]
News and Features[/h3][p]As always, the first addition to the News pages in August was our This Month in Sea of Thieves article, swiftly followed by the latest Community Spotlight, focused on artist extraordinaire Middy! Alongside a Community Hub update and two full #SoTShot rounds – Pretentious Photography and Rare View – there were plenty of opportunities to find out what community folks had been up to.[/p][p]The introduction of a new Season always requires a little explanation to help players find their feet, so a Season launch article was delivered just in time for the update, followed by a Smugglers’ League guide introducing the new faces on the seas! After that, all that was left to do was tee up the delights of Season 17 Community Weekend with an in-depth article, and then wait for the screenshots to start rolling in.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Videos and Streams[/h3][p]We started our streaming news in August not with a stream of our own but with a Community Stream Team refresh! A whole new cast of streamers have signed on to represent Sea of Thieves, with some new goodies to give away to lucky viewers. They weren’t the only ones either – the Pirate Emporium team had new items with some real outlaw swagger ready to show off this month, and they weren’t about to miss that opportunity.[/p][p]Elsewhere in the world of video we rounded up the regular monthly Sea of Thieves News, a new Developer Update from Production Director Drew, and, of course, a Launch Trailer and Content Update video for the new Season! As if that wasn’t enough, a new Seasonal title screen meant that the Audio team were on call for their usual trick of producing an anthemic tune to add to Sea of Thieves’ streamable soundtrack.
[/p][p][/p][p]All of which brings us to the end of August and the first stirrings of a damp September wind across the waves! There’s sure to be more to report in on a month, but until then, please seek us out on your social media of choice: Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Twitch, or you can join in the conversations happening on our Forums or official Discord server. Hope to see you there![/p][p][/p][h3]Previously in 2025:[/h3][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’s that? Another month of shenanigans on the horizon, is it? Why yes, it is! As we step into the run of -ber months, kicking off with a pumpkin-spiced September, a feast of delights await you on our shores. Let’s get into what you can expect…[/p][p][/p][p]Rare’s 40th Anniversary – until Saturday, October 4th[/p][p]Although all the in-game fun has now finished for our big 40th milestone, some Rare Ruby remnants remain available until the first week of October. Players with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate can swipe the ravishing Rare Ruby Emote until this date via the Perks programme, while the roguish Rare Ruby Hat remains obtainable via Microsoft Rewards in participating territories, either by completing a punch card or as a bundled bonus when redeeming against Ancient Coin packs.
[/p][p] ‘The Fine Art of Theft’ Release – Friday, September 12th[/p][p]To whet your whistles for the Smugglers’ Heist Event (more on that later), we’re releasing the music that soundtracks the final part of the experience. Stream this rousing, epic track via Spotify or other streaming service of your choice from September 12th, to get yourself in the mood for pulling off a serious art heist.[/p][p][/p][p]Sea of Thieves Season 17: Act 2 – Thursday, September 18th[/p][p]The second update of Season 17 drops on September 18th, bringing with it a Voyage of Luck for players for logging in to enjoy the new experiences on offer, and a generous gold bonus for those who dive in during the first week. The update also features a hotly discussed update for Field of View: from September 18th, the FOV cap will increase from 90 to 110, providing players more choice in how they play Sea of Thieves.[/p][p]Russet Resolute ship items hit the Outpost shops this month, as do Lucky Rover instruments and equipment, while Pirate Legends can head to the Hideout to find new weapons in the Legendary Fortune set. Over in the Emporium, fans of fisticuffs will be able to exchange their Ancient Coins for the Pirate Pugilist set, with the complementary One-Two Punch Emote is available as this month’s freebie. Inner Sanctum items are also up for purchase, originally part of Season 14’s Plunder Pass!
[/p][p] Smugglers’ Heist Event – Thursday, September 18th – Thursday, October 16th[/p][p]The headline of Act 2 is, of course, the Smuggler’s Heist Event. The Smugglers’ League are asking pirates to procure one of Flameheart’s prized paintings, and brave buccaneers up to the challenge will need to sneak into Royal Crest Fortress and take it from under the bony noses of the Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons charged with its defence. The target painting is worth a stonking 175,000 gold – so it’s a high-stakes heist that promises a plentiful payout for crews participating.[/p][p][/p][p]Pirate Emporium Talk Like a Pirate Day Sale – Friday, September 19th – Wednesday, September 24th[/p][p]To celebrate this key moment on the pirate calendar, you can enjoy Pirate Emporium discounts on some premium piratey wares! The anarchic Stone Islehopper Outlaw set is on offer, as is the Labyrinth Looter set, along with bundles of parrots, weapons and perfectly piratical emotes. The Pretty Polly Sails will also make their traditional time-limited return, so swing by and see what takes your fancy.[/p][p][/p][p]Twitch Drops – Friday, September 19th – Friday, September 26th[/p][p]If you like your cosmetics free instead of deliciously discounted, make sure you tune in to any Sea of Thieves Partner during this week to grab a glorious hoard of items. Watch for six hours total to unlock 75,000 gold, a level of Seasonal Renown, a Voyage of Luck, the Eastern Winds Ruby Blunderbuss, a Gilded Voyage of the Ancient Isles, the Gilded Phoenix Shovel, Amethyst Mercenary Boots and the Mandrake Figurehead.


October is shaping up to be a similarly spicy experience to September, with Act 3’s Sea Fort refresh offering an overhauled take on a well-loved experience. There’ll also be a timely sprinkle of autumnal spookiness on the horizon – but more on that in the next edition of our This Month article. Farewell for now, and we’ll see you on the seas![/p]

[p]The ruby-hued Season 17 Community Weekend is now live until Sep 1st (11am UTC)! Set sail for a free flag and emote, unlock the Ruby Legend Figurehead as a community, boost the Community Emissary Grade multiplier by watching Sea of Thieves on Twitch, earning you boosted gold, reputation, Seasonal Renown, Allegiance and Guild Reputation, and more![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As always, please note that Gold Rush windows are not active during Community Weekends, so you don't need to hoard! As the Community Emissary Grade rises, you'll always be earning the maximum multiplier available whenever you decide to deliver.[/p][p][/p][p]Pop-Up Plunder returns, with a twist! Below are the times these loot roulettes will appear, alongside a starting island. These locations will be key to the puzzle, but won't necessarily be the island containing the spot, so we hope you're ready for a race! Good luck...[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Want to do something more co-operative? Well, if players complete at least 100,000 World Events over the Weekend, all participants will earn the extra-special Ruby Legend Figurehead! So spot that cloud on the horizon and set your course...[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And that's not all: beating those World Events will also unlock two bonus Twitch Drops, the Obsidian Captain’s Table and Obsidian Captain’s Logbook! If unlocked, they'll be available from participating streamers between Sep 5th and 12th (10am UTC), at 90 minutes' watch time each.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Need some Twitch Drops now? Eight rewards are available during this Event, including two suitably ruby cosmetics for Rare Ltd's 40th anniversary! Tune in to any participating Sea of Thieves stream from now until Sep 5th (10am UTC) and earn everything you see below over six hours.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Spot the Deckhand or Quartermaster Sails on the horizon and you could secure spoils! Crews flying these sheets will have Celestial Steed ship items, Obsidian Capstans, Gilded Phoenix Ship's Crests and Six Item Packs to gift to playful pirates throughout the Event.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And that's the line-up for this Event! Time to pose at a Picture Wall, set some goals, get your hands on a haul and make it another Community Weekend to remember. If you need a refresher on anything, it's all here: https://www.seaofthieves.com/community-weekend[/p]

[p]As August draws to a close, we’re delighted to share with you a more in-depth look at the shenanigans scheduled to land for Season 17 Community Weekend, taking place from Saturday, August 30th to Monday, September 1st (11am UTC). This Event comes delightfully themed to our studio’s 40th anniversary; the good ship Rare has been sailing for four whole decades, so this particular Community Weekend commemorates our history, as well as offering a couple of cute cosmetics that reflect the ruby-red shine to our celebrations.[/p][p]For those of you confused about where Season 16’s Community Weekend went, here’s your reminder that as we wrangled the transition to a more predictable Seasonal rhythm of content releases and Events, we had to sadly skip that one to get this Weekend into your hands so early in Season 17. The good news is, this one is here with some extra lovely stuff to make up for the missing Event![/p][p][/p][h3]Log In to Win[/h3][p]It wouldn’t be a Community Weekend without a suite of goodies shuffled into your inventory, all for the pleasure of popping in for a sail. Log in after 11am UTC on Saturday, August 30th and you’ll bag yourself a beautiful white, red and gold Community Weekend Flag, plus the glorious Rare-themed Paper Cutout Emote. That’s not all on offer, though: if players complete at least 100,000 World Events over the Weekend, all participants will earn the extra-special Ruby Legend Figurehead. Completion of that Community Spirit Goal will also unlock a couple of additional Twitch Drops – but more on that later!

[/p][h3]Streams Can Come True[/h3][p]Hopefully most of you know the drill by now, but just in case: to raise the Community Emissary Grade and influence the in-game generosity, pirates just need to watch Sea of Thieves streamers on Twitch, with the total watch time powering Grade progress. So all you need to do is watch any of your favourite content creators within the Sea of Thieves category during the Event period. You can tune into Sea of Thieves Partners, wave hello to our Stream Team, watch a friend or even find a random creator. It doesn’t matter where you watch, as long as you’re watching Sea of Thieves![/p][p]Every time the Community Emissary Grade increases, so does the boost to gold, reputation, Seasonal Renown, Allegiance and Guild Reputation for everyone – with the top Grade offering two-and-a-half times the rewards for your work. These multipliers affect High Seas sailors only, so make sure you plan accordingly and prepare to defend your loot from potential pirates looking to steal the fruits of your labour.[/p][p][/p][h3]Twitch Perfect[/h3][p]Although the real reward from watching our wonderful streamers is the fun you have along the way, you can also swipe a stunning set of Twitch Drops just for tuning in! On offer during the Event will be the Eastern Winds Ruby Pistol and Cutlass, Gilded Phoenix Pocket Watch, Mandrake Sails, a Voyage of Luck, A Legendary Search for Cursed Treasure Voyage, bonus Renown and 75,000 gold.[/p][p]And going back to that Community Spirit Goal: if a total of 100,000 World Events can be smashed during Community Weekend, then for the following week, the Obsidian Captain’s Table and Obsidian Captain’s Logbook will be made available as bonus Twitch Drops to be unlocked! That’s a serious hoard of lovely, shiny free stuff for players prepared to tune in and watch their fellow pirates sail the seas.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Pop-Up Plunder Evolves[/h3][p]We’ve been crunching some numbers here, and we’re thrilled to see that Pop-Up Plunder remains one of the most popular features introduced in recent times! However, we do like to keep you on your toes, so we’re ready to mix it up a bit and see how you all rise to the challenge. Enter this Community Weekend’s fresh take on Pop-Up Plunder, now featuring – drumroll please – starting islands.[/p][p]That’s right: for Season 17 Community Weekend, we’re taking the unprecedented step of publishing the Pop-Up Plunder times and accompanying starting locations ahead of the day to support your crews getting closer to the shenanigans once a new dig spot drops. Just scroll down right now to see for yourself![/p][p]We will of course still be dropping clues on social media channels at these scheduled times to ensure you've all got a way to work out the specific spot you need to stick your shovel in, although the actual dig may not be on the island mentioned below (it'll make sense on the day). Think of the islands more like the starting grid of a race. Our hope is that more fun will follow if we can push you all a little bit closer together.[/p][p]The loot’s absolutely worth fighting for too, with a pool of high-value goodies on offer to those who brave the challenge – so start your Pop-Up Plunder strategising now, because things are about to get a little more chaotic!

[/p][h3]Smells Like Community Spirit[/h3][p]Alongside Pop-Up Plunder, pirates who set sail over Community Weekend will find Picture Walls at every Outpost, with The Reaper’s Hideout Picture Wall returning too. We want to see all your lovely crew moments captured at these special posing points, so please share them on social and tag us in – not much makes us happier than seeing you and your crews in pride of place in front of our Picture Walls, so we’re counting on you to deliver the goods.[/p][p]Sailors can also expect to swipe a Community Spirit Firework Crate, free of charge, from their local Merchant Alliance representative over the Weekend. Nothing says “we’re friendly!!” quite like some of these beautiful community-themed fireworks, so make sure you have the box ready for when you bump into other crews. Or not, if you’re planning on sinking them.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Bonnet Blue[/h3][p]If you think you or one of your crewmates are deserving of fame and a particularly fetching blue hat, look no further as our usual #BeMorePirate giveaway gets amped up over Community Weekend! This is an occasion to celebrate amazing artists, players, creators and community MVPs – so as is customary, we’ll be scouring our channels and the #BeMorePirate hashtag for suitably special Sea of Thieves stories, from now until the end of the Event. Worthy winners will be awarded the Hat of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame, so get your submissions in ASAP to see if your antics warrant your pirate’s bonce being crowned with such a special bonnet.[/p][p][/p][h3]Beyond the Sail[/h3][p]While a lot of these celebratory activities centre around setting sail, at its heart this Event is designed to honour and excite you, our amazing players. So this Community Weekend, we would love for you to share your favourite clips, creators, screenshots and crewmates in celebration of the stories you’ve all experienced on our shores. Sea of Thieves has already accounted for a seven-year slice of Rare’s amazing 40-year history, and we’re proud to be here in 2025 feeling just as excited for its future as we were when it was just a glint in the studio’s eye.[/p][p]Whether you’re new to Sea of Thieves or thinking about diving in for the very first time, Community Weekend – with its gifts, goals and impeccable vibes – is the perfect opportunity not just to set sail, but to dip your toes in the lovely warm waters of our online community. So come on in! We’re a friendly bunch, promise. Alliance?
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