Sea of Thieves News

Season 13 Community Weekend is now live until September 23rd (11am UTC)! Log in to get your free flag and Shimmy Dance Emote, enjoy some Sea of Thieves on Twitch to boost the Community Emissary Grade multiplier and more! Read on to learn about what else is happening...

During Season 13 Community Weekend, pirates can head to the Quest Table and claim time-limited Voyages to dispatch Obsidian and Shadow Skeleton Captains loitering at Skeleton Camps for lucrative loot! Maybe even nip underground and discover a creepy Ritual while you're there.

Pop-Up Plunder returns to ignite races for potentially profitable loot! Throughout the weekend, puzzles pointing towards shared dig spots will appear on social channels. Crews then have one hour to locate this random stash before the other crews around them. Best of luck!



Crews flying Deckhand and Quartermaster Sails will once again have a limited stash of Celestial Steed ship items, Obsidian Capstans and Six Item Packs to gift to pirates throughout the Event. Be funny, be silly or maybe just have a natter and they may choose you.

For a more guaranteed reward, Twitch Drops for all are also live! Grab these four outstanding items just for watching any participating Sea of Thieves streamer for one hour per item, from now until Sept 23rd (11am UTC).

The stretch goal for a fancy fifth Twitch Drops item also returns! This time it's up to players to collectively complete a total of 100,000 World Events over the course of Community Weekend. Doing this will see the Obsidian Captain’s Table added to the available Drops.

Right, that should cover most of it. So set sail, create some stories, strike a pose at a Picture Wall and make it another one to remember. Have a good Community Weekend, pirates!

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[h3]Gameplay Improvements [/h3]
Sprinting with One-Handed Items

• Players are now able to sprint while carrying one-handed treasure items and discovered weapons. During sprinting, the item will now be stowed on a player’s belt, fully visible to other players.
  
• The majority of held weapons discoverable around the world can now also be stowed while sprinting, such as the Trident of Dark Tides and Ashen Winds Skull. The Skull of Siren Song is the exception, and players will not be able to sprint while wielding it.

Blunderbuss Balancing

• With the new identity of the Blunderbuss now settling into live play, the team have been fine-tuning the weapon’s power. The focus here remains in defensive play styles, with these changes further swaying the knockback power in favour of the defending player.
  
• Blunderbuss knockback has now been tuned with a reduction to its overall knockback power. The knockback trigger range has been reduced, requiring the target to be much closer, and the horizontal distance players are blasted back has also been reduced.
  
• Alongside the closer trigger range, the knockback will now trigger when a player is hit with a single pellet, increasing the consistency of knocking back a player when caught in range.
  
• Players using a ship interaction point such as the ship’s wheel will now be braced from the knockback effects and will not be propelled the full knockback distance.

Throwing Knife Balancing

• The time taken to bring a knife into an aimed state has been reduced, and the thrown knife speed has been increased, allowing players to throw more quickly.
  
• The controller rumble when using throwing knives has been improved, giving it a softer feel.

[h3]Pirate Emporium [/h3]
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!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Iron Turtle Ship Collection – This collection will also include a Cannon Flare, delivered in a later update. Players purchasing the Iron Turtle Ship Bundle now will automatically be granted access to the Iron Turtle Cannon Flare once it releases in November.
  
• Iron Turtle Weapon Bundle
  
• Iron Turtle Clothing Bundle
  
• Sunken Sorrow Curse Mau and Whippet
  
• Tourist Emote Bundle
  
• Well-Travelled Trader Ship Collection (returning from Season 11 Plunder Pass)
  
• Well-Travelled Trader Clothing Bundle (returning from Season 11 Plunder Pass)
  
• Conductor Emote (free!)

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

• The Piscine Courtly Jacket and a range of new Corset Shirts are all available from the Outpost clothing shops for those with enough gold to spare.
  
• Outpost shops also now stock the Flaming Jackal Blunderbuss, Pistol and Fishing Rod.

[h3]Updates [/h3]
Player Reporting Improvements

• The in-game Report a Player tool now supports a range of additional reasons that can be used when reporting other players, including Hate Speech and Profanity. As with all reports, these are sent directly to the Sea of Thieves Support team for investigation and follow-up action.
  
• All reports sent through the in-game Report a Player tool will now show an acknowledgement of the report, clearly defining the players, the reported reason and a reference code.
  
• After an in-game report is filed and an action taken by the Sea of Thieves Support team, the player will now receive an update to their report when logging into the game. This update will confirm that an action has been taken or that further information is required.
  
• Supporting information can often aid with the player report, so if further information is requested, please gather evidence and raise a new support request, quoting the reference number of the in-game report (in the event of a missing reference number, don’t worry as our Support team can still locate your report). For further information on providing supporting evidence, please see this article on Required Supporting Evidence at the Sea of Thieves Support site.

[h3]Fixed Issues [/h3]
Gameplay

• Players attempting to use a fishing rod after being fired from a cannon will no longer be able to modify their trajectory while in the air.
  
• Players attempting to utilise external tools to teleport to other ships will now be detected and issued with enforcement.
  
• Crews are no longer able to cause emergent Skeleton Captains to reappear on islands once defeated.
  
• Crews purchasing Supply Crates from the Merchant Alliance should now consistently be able to retrieve a crate after purchase.
  
• All pistols within the Armoury have been reviewed and their aiming improved to ensure shots now align with the tip of the barrel, or the iron sights for those that have them.
  
• Crews taking on a Treasure Vault Voyage for the Gold Hoarders should no longer be led to the open sea at K-11 by the Wayfinder Compass.
  
• If a crew begins a vote without reaching a majority decision, when crew members leave and the result becomes a majority decision the vote will now automatically pass without requiring the crew to vote again.
  
• Scoping a crewed Burning Blade from a distance will no longer display the Captain’s Ship Banner if the crew were sailing a Captained ship prior to the Burning Blade.
  
• Pets being held while travelling through the Tunnels of the Damned will no longer appear to be drowning.
  
• Due to various issues involving Megalodon encounters with a crewed Burning Blade, Megalodons will not appear for a Burning Blade crew in this update, and any encountered in the world will ignore the crew.
  
• Enemies within Skeleton Camps now continue to appear even when a crew has an active Bounty or Merchant Contract quest at the same island.
  
• The Fates of Fortune Gloves are now locked behind the appropriate grade of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation.
  
• Players purchasing the Premium Edition of Sea of Thieves will now correctly receive both variants of the Dark Warsmith Costume. Players who were missing this item will now find it in their cosmetic chests.

Visual and Audio

• Throwing knives no longer pop into the ground when they are thrown into vertical surfaces.
  
• While wearing the Obsidian Bones, the player’s teeth are no longer stuck together.
  
• Pirates of all body types will now consistently hold a sword neatly when blocking.
  
• In the Captaincy tutorial, the Pirate Lord no longer reacts to fire.
  
• The Omen Wheel should no longer intersect with the player’s hands.
  
• Clearing all map markers while on the Burning Blade now uses the correct audio effect.
  
• Visual effects on the Graveyard Grim Whippet are now consistent with other pets.
  
• The Mad Monkey Cannons should no longer twitch when a player is inside them.
  
• ‘Captains of the Damned’ – The Lockpick now appears at the correct size when held in the player’s hand.
  
• ‘Lords of the Sea’ – The Dead Man’s Chest Key now remains the same size when dropped on the ground.
  
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – The Gold Hoarder’s Coin now remains the same size when dropped on the ground.
  
• ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ – A missing voice line in Guybrush's dialogue during the Mansion animated cutscene has been added.

Environment

• Treasure items deposited near the Armoury on the Burning Blade will now continue to be interactable.
  
• The Burning Blade should no longer pass through the top of the arch at Marauder’s Arch.
  
• Players can no longer walk through parts of the environment within the Skeleton Camp at the Lagoon of Whispers.
  
• The skeletons at Barnacle Cay’s Skeleton Camp will now be able to climb the staircases within the Temple.
  
• Improvements have been made to terrain at the Fort of the Damned, Lost Gold Fort and Crow’s Nest Fortress to reduce scenarios where items and enemies could become stuck.
  
• The Shrine of the Coral Tomb no longer has a missing wall texture in one of the chambers.
  
• Obsidian Skeletons should no longer appear on islands near Skeleton Camps.
  
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Players should no longer get stuck in trees on the Shores of Gold.

User Interface

• Opening bundles in the ‘Browse All’ tab no longer changes the starting page of other tabs when browsing.
  
• After purchasing an item from within the ‘Browse All’ tab, the Emporium refreshes and further items are shown with no delay.
  
• The Deadlock Jailer Figurehead preview icon now matches the in-game model.
  
• The Stormfish Chaser Collector’s Sails now have the correct preview image.
  
• The Soaring Oracle Flag preview icon no longer has a low-resolution texture.
  
• The Motley Mariner Figurehead preview icon no longer has a low-resolution texture.
  
• The Guardian Ghost Cannon and Flag icon and preview are now correct when viewed at the shipwright.

Text and Localisation

• Improved the accuracy of Polish translations for the Merchant Alliance delivery guidelines.
  
• Corrected inconsistencies in Motley Mariner items across a range of languages.
  
• Improved clarity between Bone Caller and Bone Caller Skeletons across a range of languages.
  
• Corrected inconsistencies in player Titles across a range of languages.

Performance and Stability

• Further improvements have been made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session.

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]
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.

[h3]Download and Installation [/h3]
Download Size:

• Steam: 5.21 GB

It had to be this particular weekend, of course, following on from Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th. So brace for impact because we’re about to come at you again with the latest celebratory get-together on the seas, running from 11am UTC on Saturday, September 21st to the same time on Monday, September 23rd!

As always, the Community Weekend vibe runs both ways and we encourage players to save something to share with us and their fellow pirates while it’s in progress, whether we’re talking adventures, creations, ideas or good old-fashioned sentiment – all while enjoying everything else that’s going on, from freebies and discounts to special Voyages and Plunder. But let’s kick off with that all-important Community Emissary Grade…

[h3]Practising Twitchcraft[/h3]
You know the drill: while Community Weekend is live, log in to Twitch and tune in to any streamer in the Sea of Thieves category, and your viewing hours will count towards a cumulative total. That total in turn drives up the Community Emissary Grade, increasing the multiplier on gold, reputation, Seasonal Renown, Allegiance and Guild Reputation for all players! Max it out at Grade Five and that’s two-and-a-half times the usual rewards for everyone until Community Weekend draws to a close.

Not sure who to watch? Don’t forget our Sea of Thieves Partner Directory will let you see who’s live, we have an archive of Creator Spotlights stretching back years and we’ll even be getting involved in our own trademark barely planned way with a Saturday stream on the Sea of Thieves channel. Keep tabs on our socials as we approach the weekend for more details of what time we’ll be live!


[h3]Stop, Drop and Roll Up[/h3]
As anyone who’s taken part in a previous Community Weekend will know, the fun starts as soon as you turn up to find free gifts falling into your lap. This time you can expect to be awarded the exclusive Season 13 Community Weekend Flag, along with the hypnotic Shimmy Dance Emote. And you can’t tell us you don’t want that.

Further freebies can be claimed through Twitch Drops: a spyglass and shovel from the Stormy Sea Dog set, a concertina and bucket from the Stalwart Sea Dog set, and of course our latest stygian stretch goal: the Obsidian Captain’s Table. Once again, the community must come together to unlock this beauty, this time by collectively completing a total of 100,000 World Events. That’ll cause the Obsidian Captain’s Table to become earnable through Twitch Drops and go on to brighten up the cabin of any Captained ship! Well, maybe brighten isn’t the right word, but you know what we mean.

Still unfulfilled by all the freebies? Then you may expand your options once again by browsing the Talk Like a Pirate Day Sale in the Pirate Emporium, which not only offers visitors its own freebie (the Rage Unleashed Emote) but defies its own name by actually running for eight days from September 19th–27th. Lodestar bargains! Mandrake markdowns! Stone Islehopper Outlaw steals! Pretty Polly Sails back in stock for a limited time (possibly eight days)!


[h3]Pop-Up Plunder Persists[/h3]
Cosmetics are all well and good, but we understand you also want treasure – ideally treasure worth an eye-twitching amount of gold if handed in when the Community Emissary Grade is riding high. To bring you more chances of finding such enviable items, Pop-Up Plunder is back in play for Season 13 Community Weekend!

You’ll get an in-game notification when a Pop-Up Plunder spot is activated, and clues on Sea of Thieves social channels such as Twitter/X, Instagram and Discord will steer you in the right direction. Each server only has one piece of plunder so it’s a race to unearth it before any other crew on the same server – and a race against the clock to do that within one hour, before the treasure evaporates in a puff of glitter and shattered dreams. But live up to the pressure and you’re sure to get something good out of it! Probably. It might even be one of the fancy loot-packed Community Crates introduced for the occasion…


[h3]Mountains of Bounty[/h3]
The time-limited treats don’t end with Pop-Up Plunder: you’ll also find also some lucrative new Voyages lined up on the Quest Table during the weekend. Keen to take advantage of increased traffic on the seas, those skeleton-hating scamps in the Order of Souls will be placing Bounties on unsavoury Obsidian and Shadow Skeleton Captains found loitering at the Skeleton Camps introduced in Season 13.

While you can’t repeat these new Bounty Voyages indefinitely – after all, there’s an in-game economy probably best left intact – you will get multiple cracks of the whip, so enjoy! While this skelly-targeting treat lasts, you’ll find it under Special Voyages on the Quest Table.

[h3]Sign Your Name Across My Hat[/h3]
As always, we encourage all pirates to join in the spirit of Community Weekend by sharing their own captivating clips, unhinged undertakings and consummate crafts inspired by Sea of Thieves. Tag whatever you’ve got on social media with the venerable #BeMorePirate hashtag, as we’ll be staying frosty for new favourites to reward with the Hat of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame! You’re also free to nominate other players who you think deserve this long-winded reward for their own accomplishments, or the simple good vibes they bring to the community – and you can do that starting right ruddy now.

There will of course be the traditional Picture Wall at the Outposts too, in sleek new Season 13 Community Weekend colours, so we hope you’ll share your finest and most raucous crew pics from any or all of those during your weekend adventures!


[h3]Sea What We Did There[/h3]
It’s got all the makings of another unforgettable weekend, so slip on your finest freebooting footwear and join us from September 21st–23rd, whether you have something you want to share or you’re simply there for the stonks. Both are valid.

One last thing we should mention to ensure you don’t miss out: in the unifying spirit of Community Weekend, you’ll need to be sailing in the open world of High Seas to take advantage of all the antics outlined above, from Community Emissary Grade gains to the perks of Pop-Up Plunder. So if you’re usually a Safer Seas sailor, now’s the time to brave those busier waters. We’ll see you there!

From now until September 15th (23:59 UTC), partake in a spot of hunter-gathering and enjoy a fine 1.5x boost on all gold and reputation for goods handed to The Hunter's Call this weekend!

The sunny delights of August are finally heading over the horizon, which means it’s once more time to have a quick sit down and reminisce over everything we managed to get done last month. Grog rations are always plentiful on the Sea of Thieves, so fill up your tankards, settle in and let’s get right to it…

[h3]Content Update[/h3]
Things were a bit warm at the beginning of the month, so naturally sailors might have been a bit hesitant to head into the middle of the arid, volcanic Devil’s Roar. Sail that way they did, though, when word got around that Ashen Message in a Bottle Voyages were washing up on shores throughout the region, promising high-value rewards. Fortuitously, volcanic activity was at a low ebb to help pirates get their hands on lucrative Ashen loot in peace – barring intervention from other crews, of course.

For the monthly content update in August, we kept things relatively low-key following the explosive Season 13 launch in July. Highlights included revisions to the workings of the Burning Blade and the Horn of Fair Winds, as well as a blunderbuss revamp and new cosmetic items in the Emporium and Outpost shops. There were also a slew of fixes, a handful more of which were added the subsequent week in a small hotfix.

August’s smaller update was a good thing too, as we scarcely had a quiet weekend all month. First up, a Daily Deeds reward boost granted players extra gold and Renown, then a Gold & Glory Weekend expanded the boosted rewards to pirates taking on tasks of all kinds. Captain Flameheart and his loyal Servant weren’t about to be outdone, and began offering increased gold and rep to anyone who delivered loot to the Reapers’ door. A decision that ended up cascading into an explosion of hostility when the Factions clashed with greater force than ever during the inaugural Fight Nights Event. Phew. Got all that?

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[h3]News and Features[/h3]
In a month with so many Events taking place, it was hard to find a spare moment to put pen to paper. Nevertheless, we made sure to power up the old Community Spotlight and shine it on one of the most devoted Reapers the seas have ever known: Mutinous Mel! No prizes for guessing which side she chose during Fight Nights. Meanwhile, the latest Spotlight Showcase article on Steam recapped our Community and Creator Spotlights stretching back to the start of 2024, making it a comprehensive and stress-free way to catch up if you’ve arrived on our shores since then.

Further afield, our partners at Youtooz unveiled their latest Sea of Thieves merchandise featuring an elegantly modelled Kraken Mug and adorable Megalodon Plush, both substantially friendlier than their in-game counterparts. Well worth a look if you don’t currently have enough Sea of Thieves vibes in your life!

We also took a moment to celebrate some game news beyond ourselves with the re-release of the Mayhem ship set. Bright, colourful and evocative of a franchise just as chaotic as Sea of Thieves, who wouldn’t want to be the minion of this delightful figurehead?


[h3]Videos and Streams[/h3]
A new month meant it was time for a new episode of Sea of Thieves News, and we even pulled in an old familiar face to do it! Jon took a seat in the Tavern to walk us through the cosmetics arriving with the August update, while Production Director Drew also jumped back in to explain some of the balancing changes coming to the game through the month and beyond.

The Sea of Thieves Explained series was also due a new instalment, but in fact two fresh episodes were dropped to help pad out the knowledge of any sailors new to the seas. First up we explored tools and World Events, before Episode 5 got everyone prepped for Fight Nights with a broad-ranging primer on everything combat.

Over in the music department, we set aside another moment to appreciate all the amazing work done by Sea of Thieves’ Audio team, this time by adding the contemplative ‘Align the Stars’ to all the usual music streaming platforms. Be sure to give it a listen – really, it’s a stellar track. Not sorry.

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[h3]Social Channels[/h3]
The key to having a good month on social is to start things off with some solid, inspirational advice and a period of reflection on all the victories that you’ve achieved so far. With that foundation in place, we were free to move onto more pressing concerns like naming Captained ships, identifying the impostor on a crew and finding out which pet makes the best cannonball. Scientific analysis complete, we broadened our gaze to examine approaches to piracy as a whole and concluded that the ram strat is still entirely valid, no matter what your figurehead might think.

August was also home to all our usual social competitions and, as always, the community creativity was wonderful to see. Eight lucky Community Hub winners had their pursuits rewarded with the always-popular fancy hat, while two rounds of #SoTShot tested pirates’ picture-capturing abilities. Initially we dived into a colourful – if exhausting – round of Summer Sports, before the ominous Burning Blade demanded our attention and we were swarmed with pictures reminding us why Flameheart’s flagship isn’t to be trifled with.

The prizes didn’t end there either, with a quick comic giveaway taking place at the end of the month. After that, there was only time for a fast fit check, one last jump scare and a wild skeleton rave. Very demure, we can all agree.


All of which brings us to the end of August and the end of another round-up. Even without a Season launch to contend with, we still managed to pack the month with new and exciting things to do, so thank you for coming along on the ride with us. We’ll be back next month with a summary of everything we’re currently getting up to in September, but until then, find us in all the expected social places: Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, or via the official Forums and Discord. Back in a bit!
[hr][/hr][h3]Previously in 2024: [/h3]
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: July 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: June 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: May 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2024