Sea of Thieves News

Season Seven saw the latest creative contest swing onto the seas, and our crew and community alike delighted in a stream of stylish screenshots and clever clothing combos, with the prestigious Fashionista’s Finery Gloves being awarded to all the top scoundrel stylists who impressed us.

Of course, as Season Seven was the first iteration of the contest, we were eager to see how things went – and while some elements worked well and resulted in a colourful catwalk of costume creations, it was clear that we needed to take other parts back to the workshop for alterations. After some internal conversation, we're now pleased to present the latest rendition of rules for the next Style of Thieves contest.

Some things will stay the same while others will be changing, so make sure you read the rundown carefully if you’re planning on strutting your stuff for Season Eight!

Image credit: @Taaaaamas on Twitter

Just like last time, there will be three stages:

Theme Announcement

Four new themes will be revealed, ready for you to begin raiding your stash and planning your pose. We recommend starting to secure those shots once the categories are announced; you’ll only be given 24 hours to submit your screens for each theme!

Post Your Pics!

Along with the theme announcement, you’ll be given a date for each category’s submissions to be entered, each staying open for just 24 hours. Make sure you share your screenshot by tagging @SeaOfThieves and #StyleOfThieves on Twitter, @SeaOfThievesGame on Instagram, posting your submission as a reply to the theme post on Facebook, or through the #pirate-fashion channel in the official Sea of Thieves Discord. Be sure to include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post.

Winner Selection

The biggest change compared to our first season is that the shortlisting and winner selection will all happen internally. Our crew, including special guest judges from our Art team, will whittle down the entries to their most fashionable favourites. With three top model marauders per category, a total of 12 pairs of the glorious Fashionista’s Finery Gloves will be awarded at the end of the season’s contest.


Image credit: @SirSwizy on Twitter

How to Wow

We’ve put together some handy hints and rules for composing the perfect shot:

• No Costumes on the catwalk - we want to see your creativity and individuality, so no all-in-one Costumes, and avoid complete cosmetic sets.
  
• Unless a theme calls for it, all shots should be solo snaps, no crews. Only the pirate in the picture will be eligible for the prize.
  
• Find a simple or plain background to pose against to let your outfit pop. Backgrounds and locations will not be counted as adding to the theme.
  
• Lighting is key, so find a well-lit spot to fully show off your picks – any coloured or tactical lighting won’t be considered as part of the outfit.
  
• Toggle off your HUD for that clean finish!
  
• Screenshots should be true to the game – no editing or filters.
  
• Keep your submissions to a 16:9 ratio to help us when framing the winners.
  
• While emotes are allowed, any features added to the costume via the emote won’t be taken into consideration during judging.
  
• One shortlist will be compiled per theme, using entries across all platforms, meaning it’s not necessary to post your submission to all channels. If you make sure you use the correct tags, we will see it!

Image credit: @Sailors_Bounty on Twitter

That’s everything you need to know ahead of Season Eight’s Style of Thieves contest. Keep your spyglass trained on our social channels and this very website for the upcoming theme reveals and submission dates!

While it might be a little too late to wish you all a Happy New Year, we can definitely wish you a Happy February – and with it, the arrival of another Sea of Thieves Community Day. This Valentine’s Day-tinted community celebration is one to slink straight into your sailing schedules, with the proceedings kicking off at 10am UTC on Saturday, February 11th and lasting a full 24 hours.

While Season Eight’s brilliant new Battle for the Sea of Thieves feature might be a little bit fighty, we’ve carved out this day as a special 24 hours of showing you, our amazing community, some love. And how are we going to do that, you may ask? Well, we’re about to tell you. Let’s get into it…

[h3]Treats for Tweets[/h3]
Hopefully you all know the drill by now, but if you don’t, allow us to recap. The beauty of Community Day is that we put in-game rewards in your hands and give you the opportunity to collectively boost the Community Emissary Grade via Twitter. Simply by tweeting #SeaOfThievesCommunityDay after the 10am UTC kickoff, you’ll play your part in raising the in-game boosts being awarded.

There are five Community Emissary Grades to work through on the day, with the top Grade giving everyone two-and-a-half-times the regular amount of gold, reputation and Seasonal Renown for handing in hard-earned treasure. Better still, if you're also sailing as an Emissary for one of the Trading Companies, this multiplier stacks with any boosts accrued there too!

As with our last Community Day, the usual Gold Rush periods will be switched off for the duration of the day – so once that fifth Community Emissary Grade is unlocked, you can hand in loot for maximum value whenever you want.

With Renown also subject to this scaling multiplier, keen corsairs who’ve yet to hit the heady heights of level 100 in Season Eight have it all to gain from this Community Day celebration. There’ll also be a generous fixed boost to Allegiance, giving players a great opportunity to accelerate their Faction progress towards either one (or both) of Sea of Thieves’ newest Curses.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Ain’t Nobody Gifts You Better[/h3]
As is traditional, Season Eight Community Day comes with a couple of in-game gifts. For the romantic and pastel-persuaded among you, this event’s flag bears beautiful pink and purple hues. Collect your flag simply by logging in during the 24-hour Community Day period – and don’t forget to flap it in your crewmates’ directions to make sure they know you love them (not a euphemism).

Logging in during Season Eight’s Community Day will also bless your inventories with a second bonus: the top-drawer Scorecard Emote, allowing you to playfully rate your crew or any other passer-by on their piratical performance. Except the number on the card is chosen at random, so it’s a little bit of a lottery as to whether you’ll declare love or war. Best have a blunderbomb at the ready just in case…

These aren’t the only items you can score for your inventories this Community Day: tune in to any participating Sea of Thieves streamer for a couple of hours to bag yourself the Celestial Steed Sails (coincidentally, a perfect sail to complement the Community Day Flag) and the Ebon Flintlock. These Twitch Drops will be active from 10am UTC on February 11th alongside all our other activity, and run for 24 hours – so don’t forget to nip over to Twitch and support your favourite creator for a while.



[h3]Steal Our Hearts (And Some Top Bargains)[/h3]
From Saturday, February 11th to Wednesday, February 15th (both 10am UTC), swing by the Pirate Emporium to peruse an assortment of lovey-dovey items all under the spell of our Delightful Discount Sale. Fan favourites such as the Reaper’s Heart Pets and matching weapons will have their price slashed for the duration of the sale, and a whole host of romantic emotes will also be up for grabs at a discounted cost of Ancient Coins.

It’s not just the vendors of the Sea of Thieves who are all in on making sure you bag a bargain, either – most Sea of Thieves-themed items on the Rare merchandise store will be eligible for a nifty 30% discount for the duration of Community Day, to any thrifty shopper using the COMMUNITYDAY discount code at the checkout. We’ve got everything a pirate might need to gift their loved one this Valentine’s Day, so if you’re ready to lay all your cards on the table to a secret love, we can help you with the cards (as well as the table).

Extra-special event swag will also be gracing the store’s aisles, as for one day only (Community Day, unsurprisingly) an actual Community Day T-shirt and Flag will be available to purchase. You’ll need to be the speediest of shoppers to ensure you secure these time-limited items.

[h3]Total Eclipse of the Hat[/h3]
Our #BeMorePirate rampage returns for the latest Community Day, so make sure you’re sharing the love with your favourite friends and crewmates! It’s a day to celebrate our amazing artists, players, creators and community MVPs – so we’ll be scouring our channels and the #BeMorePirate hashtag for amazing Sea of Thieves stories, from now until the end of the big day.

Worthy winners will be awarded the Hat of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame, so get your submissions in soon to see if your antics warrant your (or your nominee’s) pirate’s head being graced with one of the sea’s most coveted caps.



[h3]Glove Is All Around[/h3]
Fiery-hearted fashionistas will be thrilled to hear that this Season’s Style of Thieves competition will be coming soon to a screen near you. Season Eight Community Day will unveil the theme list and submission dates, so all debonair corsairs keen to play dress-up can expect the latest rules of engagement come February 11th.

Keep your eyes peeled on our Sea of Thieves News page for the latest on the competition – and in the meantime, make sure your pirate’s wardrobe is well stocked for the challenge. After all, there’s a set of super-special gloves on offer for those who make the cut.

[h3]Islands on the Stream[/h3]
Season Eight Community Day will also see the triumphant return of the Rare crew streaming from the Tavern! From 10am UTC, you’ll be able to watch as some familiar friendly faces tackle special Community Day challenges, and generally embrace the chaos involved when a bunch of folks sneak into Rare HQ on a Saturday for shenanigans. The aforementioned Twitch Drops will of course be active on this stream, and if you’re lucky, you might even see another surprise or two during the broadcast…

It's set to be a wildly entertaining session, so swing by and say hello to our pirate crew if you find the time – we promise to do some fun shout-outs on air too!



[h3]Loot’s Stay Together[/h3]
Whether this is your first or your fourth Community Day, these events are all about celebrating every pirate who chooses to spend time on our seas. While there is an outrageous amount of gold, glory and goodies on offer, the core aim of these pirate parties is to shine the spotlight on our amazing sailors and salute their spirit. So we hope you’ll join us this Community Day to share some screenshots, bag some swag and spread some love across the waves of the Sea of Thieves!

The festive season has come and gone, but while pirates across the waves were busy celebrating Grogmanay, the Order of Souls were hard at work. Hoping to cure Tasha the tavern keeper of a skeletal curse that’s consuming her, Madame Olivia has now recovered memories of Captain Briggsy – the notorious rogue who once searched far and wide for the rumoured restorative that would free her from her own fleshless fate.

[previewyoutube][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Memories of the Mask
[/h3]

Sea of Thieves’ previous Adventure, ‘The Rogue’s Legacy’, tasked pirates with recovering keepsakes hidden by Briggsy long ago, intended to train Tasha in pirate practices as she went about retrieving them (if you need to learn more about this quest, our latest Adventures Ahead article can fill in the blanks). Three of these gifts were successfully delivered to Madame Olivia at Plunder Outpost, but that was only the beginning of the story...

All too aware how dangerous it would be to place a Skeleton Lord’s spirit back into their waiting skull, Madame Olivia has accomplished an equally tricky task, imbuing Briggsy’s distinctive mask with the memories of its former owner. How close was Briggsy to locating the cure she so desperately sought? The only way to find out is for pirates to take up the mask, learn the truth from Briggsy herself and journey to The Wilds in her wake.



[h3]Star Power
[/h3]

Inquisitive crews will soon discover that Briggsy’s mask confers more than one advantage. Its jewelled eye is no mere gemstone; rather, it houses Ancient knowledge of secret starfields, each very different from the night sky to which pirates have become accustomed. When considered correctly, these constellations reveal a long-forgotten tale of duty and sacrifice that set Briggsy on her path to the cure, though all may not be quite as it seems...

Picking up the quest that Briggsy began so long ago is a considerable undertaking. Cunning and curiosity will be needed in equal measure if Tasha is to be saved, especially when The Wilds continue to bloom with strange, lush patches that suggest powerful forces are at work behind the scenes. To start your journey into ‘The Secret Wilds’, begin the Adventure by speaking with Larinna outside the tavern at any time between now and February 2.




[h3]Battle Boosts
[/h3]

Elsewhere on the waves, the Battle for the Sea of Thieves continues to rage between the Guardians of Fortune and the Servants of the Flame. The team at Rare have been hard at work improving the PvP matchmaking feature set based on player feedback, with the aim of allowing Faction crews to seek out combat much more swiftly.

As detailed in the latest release notes, today’s content update not only delivers a new Adventure but includes a number of enhancements to these on-demand ship encounters, including same-Faction battles designed to boost the pool of viable opponents and get battle-hungry crews into the fray with a minimum of waiting.

[h3]Find Out More
[/h3]

For more information on the latest Sea of Thieves update, including full release notes, visit the Sea of Thieves website. This update is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players who have bought the game on Steam. Simply download and install the latest Sea of Thieves update to get access.

New to Sea of Thieves? Find out about the latest free content updates on our What’s New page, get familiar with Who’s Who or pick up some gameplay tips from our Pirate Academy, which provides invaluable information on topics ranging from sailing to swordplay as you prepare for your maiden voyage. Learn more about Sea of Thieves here, or join the ongoing adventure at www.seaofthieves.com where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!

It’s a triple treat in this month’s content update as we point the way to a brand new time-limited Adventure, score a bullseye in the Pirate Emporium and deploy another set of improvements to the Battle for the Sea of Thieves! If you need a reminder of what everyone’s fighting about, rediscover the Season Eight trailer below...

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

You can also look back on the release notes from Season Eight’s launch for the complete picture, but if you know full well what the state of play is on the seas these days, don’t let us keep you any longer from sifting through the spoils of this latest update!

[h3]Adventures[/h3]
Time is running out for Tasha the tavern keeper as her skeletal curse continues to spread, and Madame Olivia relies on the aid of adventurous pirates as she strives to find a cure. Will you retrace Briggsy's steps through the secrets of the past in this eleventh time-limited Adventure?

‘The Secret Wilds’ (January 19th – February 2nd)

• To start the Adventure, talk to Larinna and be directed to Madame Olivia at Plunder Outpost. She will then explain the importance of retracing Briggsy’s steps to find a cure for Tasha.
  
• To aid pirates in their quest, Madame Olivia will hand over Briggsy’s Mask that will allow them to view hidden starfields. Tasha will also provide one of her childhood storybooks that she hopes will aid in the search for a cure and the missing amulet fragments.
  
• Pirates who fully complete the Adventure will earn an exclusive Title and a cosmetic reward to serve as a Memento of their quest.

[h3]The Battle for the Sea of Thieves[/h3]
From battles for honour within the same Faction to rebalanced rewards, another round of improvements have been made to on-demand ship combat in this update. Rejoin the Battle for the Sea of Thieves and rack up some Allegiance in the most balanced experience to date!

Same Faction Battles

• Improvements to matchmaking now allow players the opportunity to battle against other crews from the same Faction in a battle for honour. These improvements will reduce matchmaking times for all pirates seeking battle!
  
• Crews will vote on the War Map and begin searching for an opponent in a rival Faction as before. However, after a period of time when a rival has not been found, the search for crews will expand to include those from the same Faction.
  
• These battles for honour within a Faction will play out in exactly the same way as a traditional battle, with Allegiance, Hourglass Value and Streaks all continuing to be earned. Most Commendations and Captaincy Milestones will also continue to progress, omitting those that specifically involve the opposing Faction.

Additional Battle Locations

• Two crews travelling beneath the waves and resurfacing to fight will now find around 50 new battle locations have been added across the seas where an encounter can take place.
  
• Many of these new locations will be only a stone’s throw away from a nearby Outpost, allowing the victors an opportunity to leave their Faction and claim their Hourglass value or restock before diving back beneath the waves.

Allegiance Balancing

• Crews who are defeated in a Faction battle will now receive a slight increase to their Allegiance as compensation for their loss.
  
• Crews fighting for the Servants of the Flame and flying a Reaper’s Emissary Flag will now earn increased reputation for The Reaper’s Bones upon winning a battle.
  
• Crews who lose by being run out of the battle area will now receive a small amount of Allegiance as compensation for their loss.
  
• In rare circumstances, crews may find they are not moved away from a server after sinking while in a Faction. In this scenario, crews will no longer receive Allegiance for repeatedly sinking the same ship in a server, preventing opportunities for crews to progress faster than intended.

Deterring Teaming in Battles

• Improvements have been made to matchmaking rules to reduce the chance of crews encountering a battle with multiple opposing ships.
  
• Crews who discover two Faction ships in a battle will no longer be rewarded with Allegiance, Streak increases or Hourglass value for joining the fight and sinking the Faction ships, as they are not part of the battle.

Update on Cross-Stamp Matchmaking

• While we announced cross-stamp matchmaking in the January edition of SoT News, a critical issue was uncovered during final testing. To ensure the stability of our matchmaking as it stands, we've pulled this feature from today's release and will deliver it following further testing when we can implement it with greater confidence.

[h3]Pirate Emporium[/h3]
Get your head down for a new month of Emporium additions! The Labyrinth Looter collection leads the charge with a ship set, costume, weapons and drum. But there's an Oar-Inspiring new set of emotes too, and you'd need to have a heart of stone to ignore the Pocket Pebble Emote...

Season Eight Plunder Pass

• Anyone wishing to take full advantage of Season Eight rewards can still buy the Plunder Pass. Any rewards unlocked will become available upon purchase, so players who have raised their Renown throughout Season Eight can instantly see their hard work rewarded before the Season ends.
  
• This Season’s Plunder Pass offers early access to the complete Ravenwood Ship Collection and evolving Ravenwood Costume, and can be purchased at any time through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium, or Steam Item Store.

Labyrinth Looter Ship Collection

• Reminisce over your near-mythical misadventures with this ancient ship livery. Collector’s Sails and Figurehead are available to purchase separately.
  
• Players can also pick up just the core components of this set at a discount in the form of an Essential Ship Bundle.

Labyrinth Looter Costume

• Start a beef in this outfit inspired by a hulking beast of myth! The mask might smell awful, but it’s worth it for the intimidation.
  
• If an enemy gets too close, give them due warning with the built-in Charge Up Emote.

Labyrinth Looter Weapon Bundle

• Adorned with trophies from your amazing adventures, these weapons let everyone know you're not to be trifled with.

Labyrinth Looter Drum

• If a drum isn't enough for you, it doubles as a maze puzzle to keep you entertained on long nights at sea.

Oar-Inspiring Emote Bundle

• Oars can be good for more than just rowing, as these inventive emotes allow you to demonstrate.

Pocket Pebble Emote

• The seas can be lonely, but now there’s a handy pet rock to help keep you sane. It’s even got a little smiley face!

Freebie Come On Emote

• Beckon other pirates over to face what’s coming with this freebie emote.

Time-Limited Lunar Festival Pet Outfits

• Get your pet dancing like a dragon to celebrate the Lunar Festival in one of these striking pet outfits, back on sale for a limited time.

Amazing Adventurer Bundle (Store Only)

• Why risk venturing into perplexing passageways, especially ones where legendary beasts roam freely, when there's a safer way to acquire treasures? The Amazing Adventurer Bundle contains the bullish Labyrinth Looter Costume, Weapon Bundle and Drum, as well as 550 Ancient Coins to spend in the Pirate Emporium and a bonus haul of 25,000 gold. Head to the Steam Item Store to find out more.

[h3]Outpost Cosmetics [/h3]
Bristling Barnacle Cosmetics

• Show off your love of the sea with the new Bristling Barnacle clothing pieces, ship set, weapons and equipment. All can be purchased for gold from the appropriate shopkeepers.

Wailing Barnacle Hairstyles

• New hairstyles for this old favourite set are now available to purchase for gold from the Outpost clothing shops.

[h3]Updates[/h3]
Storage Crate Pricing

• Storage Crates have now been reduced in price, and can now be purchased from the Merchant Alliance for 5,000 gold instead of the original 17,500 gold.

[h3]Events[/h3]
Twitch Drops

• Continue to unlock even more cosmetics throughout Season Eight with Twitch Drops! Stay tuned to Sea of Thieves social channels to find out when Twitch Drops will be active for Partnered streamers, allowing players to earn Eastern Winds Sapphire items.
  
• Find out how to link your accounts and more on our dedicated Twitch Drops page.

[h3]Fixed Issues[/h3]
Gameplay

• Treasure can no longer be used around ships to reduce the damage taken from cannon fire.
  
• Treasure held by a player will no longer float in the air after being harpooned.
  
• Pirates will no longer be able to shoot through the wall underneath the stairs on the Sloop and damage players outside the ship.
  
• Treasure collected from wrecks within the Sunken Graveyard during the Legend of the Veil Voyage should no longer disappear from a crew’s ship after finishing the Voyage.
  
• Storage Crates acquired from Skeleton Ships can now be buried.
  
• Cannonball Crates of the Damned released when completing Order of Souls Ghost Ship Voyages will now only reward a single Wraith Cannonball.
  
• Athena’s Fortune artefacts found during the Legend of the Veil Voyage will now progress the Hider of Legendary Secrets Commendation when buried.
  
• Animals will now take damage when caught in the blast of cannon fire, explosions and blunderbombs.
  
• Ships can no longer be attacked by a Kraken while traversing the Tunnels of the Damned.
  
• Shadow Skeletons in the Fort of the Damned will now be instantly stunned if they emerge into an area with the correct type of lighting.
  
• If players shoot through a broken Rum Crate and hit a Gunpowder Barrel, the barrel will now explode as intended.
  
• The Old Brinestone Fortress storeroom key will no longer be present in the lock after the Fort has cleared, allowing crews to gain access again in the future.
  
• ‘Dark Brethren’ – Collecting the Siren Heart from Jack while holding an item will now drop the held item on the ground and collect the Siren Heart.

The Battle for the Sea of Thieves

• Ships that become beached and subsequently destroyed during a battle will now cause that crew to lose the encounter.
  
• Crews should no longer experience the rare scenario where they surface for battle only to find another battle already taking place.
  
• The Ghost Lord Commendation is now unlocked when meeting the requirements needed.
  
• The Commendations entitled Risk It All, His Favourite Crew, In His Name, Running the Risk, Exemplary Captain and Pretty Good At This will now progress for Captains and crewmates alike when sailing on a Captained ship.
  
• The Proven Your Worth Commendation has now been removed. The Guardian Ghost Spyglass and Guardian Ghost Speaking Trumpet can still be earned by earning the Quite the Collection Commendation.
  
• Players will now need to earn the His Favourite Crew Commendation in order to unlock the Twin Pegs lower body cosmetic instead of the previously listed Commendation.
  
• Players will now need to earn the Quite the Collection Commendation in order to unlock the Guardian Ghost Flag instead of the previously listed Commendation.
  
• Sitting down or sleeping while below the waves waiting for another opponent will no longer cause the player to become stuck or removed from the ship, or for the player’s camera to become stuck in the environment when a rival is found.
  
• If a crew’s ship is lost due to becoming beached on land, the ship will now retain its Faction status.
  
• Quickly rotating the Hourglass of Fate and joining a Faction should now consistently display the correct Faction alignment.
  
• When the Blessing of Athena’s Fortune or Ritual of the Flame cutscenes begin playing, only the players who are observing the cutscene will see the subtitles.
  
• Crew members leaving during the Blessing of Athena’s Fortune or Ritual of the Flame cutscenes should no longer cause the cutscene to end.

Captains of Adventure

• Captained ships with a large number of Captain’s Voyages in the Bookcase should no longer experience issues when purchasing ship supplies.
  
• Completing A Commission of the Ancient Veil now updates the Milestone for ‘A Veteran Voyager’.
  
• Players can now flip through the pages of a Ruined Logbook.
  
• As the ship is sinking, the Captain’s Logbook interaction prompt now disappears.
  
• When a crew member picks up their own Logbook from a wreck, their gamertag icon will now show that treasure is being carried.
  
• Captains changing a Ship’s Banner should now see the new banner after leaving the Ship Customisation Chest.

Pirate Emporium

• Players will now be able to repair the Soaring Oracle Wheel as normal.
  
• Players’ hands no longer intersect with the top of the barrel when reloading the Soaring Oracle Eye of Reach.
  
• Players can no longer equip belts over the top of the Soaring Oracle Costume.
  
• Players can no longer equip an eyepatch while wearing the Soaring Oracle Costume which includes the blindfold.
  
• The visual effects for the Soaring Oracle Costume emote have now been corrected for all body types.
  
• The aurora effect on the Boreal Aurora Cannons and Capstan is now consistent all the time.
  
• The Ravenwood Costume visual effects will now appear correctly when performing the emote while sailing on a ship.
  
• Players’ hands will now appear correctly while wearing the Mandrake Costume.

Environment

• The unfurled War Map no longer intersects with the Bone Crusher and Bilge Rat Captain’s Tables.
  
• Players will no longer be able to swim away from the Shrine of Ancient Tears and appear beneath the sea bed.
  
• It is no longer possible to swim onto the exit at the Shrine of the Coral Tomb.
  
• Players will no longer appear to start swimming on a wall at the Shrine of Ocean’s Fortune.
  
• There is no longer a hole deep underground at Wanderers Refuge.
  
• The player camera will no longer intersect with the ground while sitting south-west of the tavern on Sanctuary Outpost.
  
• Players will no longer intersect with Phantoms when sitting in the Tavern of the Damned.
  
• Players sailing on a Galleon will no longer be able to sit on a barrel where pets may also sit.

User Interface

• The fire and retract actions of the harpoon can once again be rebound within the Settings menu.

Visual and Audio

• Pirates will no longer appear tiny if they emerge from a Rowboat cannon when returning to the ship via a mermaid.
  
• The Ghostly Curse will now appear consistently when equipped by pirates of all body types.
  
• Scooping audio will no longer play when using a bucket on a dry deck or island.
  
• ‘The Sunken Pearl’ and ‘Dark Brethren’ – Areas of rising and lowering water during the Tall Tales no longer display an incorrect texture.
  
• ‘Lords of the Sea’ – Jack Sparrow’s voice now stays in sync with his location throughout the Tale.

Text and Localisation

• The Athena Shield, Is That All You’ve Got, Hunt Them Down and Righteous Victory Commendations all now have the correct requirements to unlock them listed within their descriptions.
  
• The descriptions for rank 70 and 75 promotions for Gold Hoarders, Merchant Alliance and Order of Souls have now been corrected.
  
• The text on Merchant Alliance quest parchments now appears correctly when the language is set to Russian.
  
• Samuel in the Pirate Legend Hideout no longer has an error in one of his dialogue options.
  
• The War Map tooltip for choosing to fight a larger foe is now a consistent size with other prompts.
  
• ‘The Legendary Storyteller’ – The Tall Tale book will no longer have overlapping or compressed sentences when the language is set to Thai.

Performance and Stability

• Improvements have been made to reduce scenarios where players can experience extended black screen loading times when using a mermaid or returning from the Ferry of the Damned.
  
• Reduced instances where players are being disconnected from their session when travelling through the underwater tunnels.
  
• Ubebeard error message should no longer appear after rapidly changing tabs from within the crew selection screen when setting up a session.
  
• Improved server stability to decrease the chances of players becoming disconnected from their session.
  
• Improved client stability when interacting with the Captain’s Logbook while playing on Xbox One.

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]
Reduced Server Performance

• Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters. While improvements were most recently released in update 2.5.3, the team continue to work on further improvements for future updates.

Ranged and Melee Weapon Hit Detection

• In areas of intense action, players may find themselves firing shots or landing strikes that do not cause damage to their targets. While small improvements continue to be delivered during our regular updates, we are continuing to investigate and identify further improvements to the player combat experience.

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: 8.1 GB

If there’s one thing that can travel across the waves faster than a Galleon at full billow, it’s gossip. Grog-houses across the Sea of Thieves continue to buzz with stories and speculation, discussing strange areas of lush growth and sapphire skies that have mysteriously appeared throughout the normally desolate region known as The Wilds.

Over at The Unicorn tavern, however, Tasha is in no mood to join in with rumourmongering as she continues to face a private peril of her own. Her last few weeks have been spent waiting impatiently for answers to arrive, however indirectly, from an old friend…

[h3]Testing Times[/h3]
There are many different kinds of transformative curses that can plague pirates going about their business, but not all of them are entirely unwelcome. Some crews will even go so far as to accept an affliction willingly as a sign of dedication to the likes of Captain Flameheart, while the Gold Hoarders consider a glittering finger or two nothing more than proof of a hard day’s work.

Tasha, on the other hand, never asked to be cursed, and while she remained oblivious to the root cause of her cadaverous conversion (discovered shortly before the events of ‘The Rogue’s Legacy’), she was not about to sit back and let it consume her without a fight. Recalling tales of a cure told by her friend and mentor, the notorious Captain Briggsy, Tasha set out for Plunder Outpost to confide in the Order of Souls, hoping that they’d be able to provide her with more concrete information.

Unfortunately for Tasha, Briggsy’s skull had been drained of its memories years ago, after her own skeletal transformation led to a fatal confrontation with pirates who knew little of Briggsy’s tragic past. This complication forced Madame Olivia to gather the knowledge she needed in a much more unorthodox fashion...



[h3]The Eye of the Beholder[/h3]
Briggsy had buried many keepsakes throughout The Wilds, intending them to be discovered by Tasha once she was old enough. Madame Olivia wisely recruited pirates who were willing to retrieve several of these guarded gifts on Tasha’s behalf, uniting the mementos with a paranormal process intended to extract memories of days long past. Much to Tasha’s relief, that ritual has finally been completed, granting Olivia fresh insight into Briggsy’s time in The Wilds – and setting the stage for another expedition to uncover the truth.

Unwilling to risk bestowing any kind of power upon the skull of a Skeleton Lord, Madame Olivia has instead chosen to transfer these memories into Briggsy’s distinctive mask, ready to be wielded by pirates prepared to undertake this Adventure. Whoever dons the mask will hear the wisdom and insights of the Cursed Rogue herself as they follow in her footsteps, scouring The Wilds on the hunt for a cure to Tasha’s curse.

And yet, as is always the case with the legends of Captain Briggsy, all is not as it seems. The distinctive jewel in Briggsy’s mask, which Madame Olivia once assumed to be little more than an ostentatious decoration, has proven to contain knowledge of its own. In fact, the gem is a star map created by the Ancients, and has been used to chart constellations that appear strangely different to the night skies today’s pirates have come to know.



[h3]Starring Roles[/h3]
As Sudds would explain at length if given the opportunity, the Ancients sought to preserve their folklore and so enshrined many of their most important legends in the heavens. Wherever these strange constellations may have originated, Briggsy clearly believed that the mythology behind them was closely tied to the curse that affected her and now attacks Tasha – and, perhaps, the means to reverse it.

If Tasha is to be saved, it will be up to pirates to complete Briggsy’s odyssey and decipher the meaning behind these strange stars, not to mention any connection the constellations might have to the recent revitalisation of The Wilds itself. Crews will get their chance to see the world through the eyes of a Legendary Storyteller when ‘The Secret Wilds’ launches on January 19th. What happens next is written in the stars…

[hr][/hr]
[h3]Previously: [/h3]
Adventures Ahead: ‘The Rogue’s Legacy’ Adventures Ahead: ‘Return of the Damned’ Adventures Ahead: ‘The Herald of the Flame’ Adventures Ahead: ‘The Sirens’ Prize’ Adventures Ahead: ‘A Hunter’s Cry’ Adventures Ahead: ‘The Forsaken Hunter’ Adventures Ahead: ‘Lost Sands’ Adventures Ahead: ‘The Shrouded Deep’ Adventures Ahead: ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ Adventures Ahead: ‘Shrouded Islands’