Sea of Thieves News

Roll up, roll up! As part of our week of Legendary fun, we’re pulling back the curtain and giving you all a tantalising look at Legend of the Veil, a brand new Voyage exclusive to Pirate Legends that’s coming to Sea of Thieves very soon. But don’t worry, while today’s video follows the same format as our other Seasonal Deep Dives, it doesn’t reveal everything – we don’t want to spoil all the surprises before it launches later this Season.

As the video features a multi-disciplinary group of Rare staff members discussing their work on Legend of the Veil, for the purposes of this article we tracked a couple of them down afterwards to get some more thoughts and feelings on what promises to be an epic three-stage Voyage. But first, let’s watch!

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As this Voyage sees players finally interacting with the Ancients – the enigmatic civilisation who left a lasting mark on the Sea of Thieves – their theme had to be suitably grand, but still with an air of mystery. As we heard from in-house Musician Chloe Kwok, it took some revisions to get the theme of the Ancients just right:

“Making the new music for this Voyage was super fun, as we were able to conjure up a new theme for the Ancients which appears in all the new banners, cutscenes and approach music. It was a challenge to try and get the theme to sound ‘Ancient-y’. But also good. But also ambiguous. Yet it had to have its own unique sound – so that was also a challenge. However, we got there in the end, using pipes and some choral underlay to bring the Ancients’ theme to life!

“We’ve also added another music layer onto the Soulflame Captain battle music, so it now contains the Sea of Thieves theme as you reach the climax of the battle, which hopefully gets your heart pumping.”

One key feature of this Voyage is its dramatic finale where you have to destroy ghostly emplacements during a supernatural storm, in the final fight against an imposing Ghost Garrison. As you fire at these structures with your ship’s cannons, masonry will crumble and fall. This environmental destruction required multiple teams working in tandem, says Lead Environment Artist Andrew Finch, with the final result being a thrilling new gameplay experience:

“I’m really proud of how satisfying the destruction of the environment is. As Environment Artists, we always want to create exciting, dynamic spaces. We developed this tech with one of the Tall Tales from Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life, so we were able to build on that and push it even further.

“Having the world react to what the player does adds so much life to the scene. It was a huge cross-disciplinary effort to get that ‘wow’ factor of the Ghost Garrison exploding and crumbling away, mixed in with the atmosphere, lighting and weather effects. It makes for a visual treat for everyone.”



With new Pirate Legend content being something that’s often requested by the community, Chloe hopes that the Legend of the Veil Voyage delivers what players want:

“I hope the players do enjoy the Voyage, as it’s been widely asked for a very long time and this update shows that we are listening! Also, watch out for the final sea battle because the environment looks absolutely epic!”

For Andrew, it’s the variety of new environments that he hopes players enjoy. From haunted islands to sunken shipwrecks, Legend of the Veil aims to provide players with some fresh surroundings to explore on their nautical adventures:

“The shipwrecks provide a very dramatic backdrop – huge Galleons connected with intertwining debris; they look so impressive. Navigating these spaces, solving clues while dodging sharks and finding air vents to breathe will lead to fast-paced exciting gameplay that I’m sure players are going to love.”

The Legend of the Veil Voyage forms one prong of this year’s three-pronged plan to expand Sea of Thieves’ evolving world with engaging narrative content. For those intrigued to find out more about Adventures and Mysteries, the other two prongs in our trident of excitement, you can find out more in the most recent episode of the official SoT Podcast! If that doesn’t entice you enough, there’s an electrifying discussion about wooden bin stores that simply can’t be missed.

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Our Legends Week frolics continue apace, culminating with in-game celebrations this weekend such as Gold & Glory multipliers, a login gift for Legends and free Athena’s Fortune Fireworks for all players! You can also take a look at this week’s Legendary stats article for a shiny infographic and in-depth statistical breakdown of what makes a Pirate Legend, and check in on the Sea of Thieves Community Hub and News pages this weekend for even more content showcasing some of the bold followers of Athena’s Fortune. Enjoy!

April is set to be an eventful month on the seas, and it begins with this update that closes the book on ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ while stocking the Pirate Emporium with some volatile new finery – not forgetting the latest list of fixes, improvements and balances. First, freshen your memory of Season Six’s introductory features back in March with the official trailer!

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Release notes from the Season’s launch are still available for browsing, but what have we crowbarred into this initial April update? Find out below...

[h2]Pirate Emporium
[/h2]
April’s Emporium restock explores the pirate idea of recycling, with Gunpowder Barrels recklessly repurposed into Barrel Bombardier cosmetics. The latest emote offerings include another monthly freebie, and Season Six’s Plunder Pass is still in stock too!

Season Six Plunder Pass

• Anyone wishing to take full advantage of Season Six rewards can still buy the Plunder Pass. Any rewards unlocked will become available upon purchase, so players who have raised their Renown throughout Season Six can instantly see their hard work rewarded before the Season ends.
  
• This Season’s Plunder Pass offers early access to the complete Spring Blossom ship set, the evolving Forest's Blessing Costume and other items of upcoming Emporium stock, and can be purchased at any time through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium or Steam Item Store.

Barrel Bombardier Ship Collection

• Blaze a trail across the seas with the volatile Barrel Bombardier ship cosmetics! In addition to the main Barrel Bombardier Ship Bundle, an explosive Collector’s Figurehead and Collector’s Sails can be purchased separately.
  
• A Barrel Bombardier Essential Ship Bundle is also on offer, including just the core ship cosmetics at a discount.

Barrel Bombardier Costume

• Don't stand near an open flame in this soot-stained outfit festooned with wicks, fuses and all manner of flammable material! The costume contains three variants: base, with goggles and with a new hairstyle.
  
• While wearing this hazardous outfit, players can perform the Flaming Fuse Emote – look out!

Barrel Bombardier Weapons

• Handle these four weapons, crafted from Gunpowder Barrels, with extreme care.

Barrel Bombardier Tankard

• Celebrate a demolition job well done with a sooty swig from this tankard.

Wave After Wave Emotes

• With this pack of four distinctly different waves, your arms are sure to get a workout.

Blighted Cannon Flare

• A Cannon Flare is now available for another fan-favourite Pirate Emporium ship set – check out the ominous orange illumination of the new Blighted Cannon Flare!
  
• Players who already own all items in the Blighted Ship Bundle will soon find the Cannon Flare added to their inventory as a gift from the Emporium owners.

Freebie Fire in the Hole! Emote

• After laying a clever trap, retreat to a safe distance and get ready for the boom!

[h2]Events
[/h2]

Legends Week

• The week-long celebration of the one million Pirate Legends milestone in Sea of Thieves ends with a special Gold & Glory Weekend: from April 8th-11th (10am BST), Legends earn double gold and rep on treasure handed in to the Mysterious Stranger, while April 10th offers a day of more traditional Gold & Glory boosts to gold, rep and Renown for all players.
  
• Pirate Legends can also earn a free Silvered Legendary Eyepatch by playing this weekend, while all players can temporarily claim free Athena’s Fortune Fireworks from the Merchant Alliance.
  
• Make savings in the Pirate Emporium’s celebratory weekend sale too!

Twitch Drops

• Continue to unlock even more cosmetics throughout Season Six 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 more items from the Twilight Hunter set. Find out how to link your accounts and more on our dedicated Twitch Drops page.

[h2]Gameplay Improvements
[/h2]

Improved Harpoon Aim Assist

• Harpoons now have an improved aim assist when launched at loot, making players more likely to snag the targeted treasure instead of just striking the nearby sand.

[h2]Outpost Cosmetics
[/h2]

Emerald Imperial Sovereign Clothing Set

• The Outpost clothing shops now stock the Emerald Imperial Sovereign clothing set, available to purchase for gold.

Nightfall Hunter Clothing Set

• The Outpost clothing shops now stock the Nightfall Hunter clothing set, available to purchase for gold when moving up through the Grades of the Hunter of Cursed Captains Commendation. Players tuning in to Twitch Drops during Season Five may have already earned items from this clothing set under their previous Twilight Hunter name, and will retain access to those items under their revised Nightfall Hunter name.

[h2]Accessibility[/h2]

Fish Name Narration

• Players using ‘Let Games Read to Me’ while fishing will now find the name of a fish is narrated as it surfaces. While this is enabled by default, this specific narration can be disabled using ‘Narrate Fish Nameplates’ in the in-game language settings.

Emote Narration Control

• Players using ‘Let Games Read to Me’ now have the ability to disable emote narration specifically from the game settings to reduce audio overload.

[h2]Updates
[/h2]

Thai Language Support

• Sea of Thieves now supports Thai localisation across the entire game. Players can now select Thai from the in-game language settings.

[h2]Fixed Issues
[/h2]

Gameplay

• The Sea Dogs Reputation tab will now be visible for players who have at least one fully completed Commendation at any Grade.
  
• Players can no longer bypass the limping restriction of a broken leg by using auto-move.
  
• Snakes and pigs have been demoted from Sea Fort Captain status and now award the correct Seasonal Renown.
  
• Ammo Pouches dropped by skeletons will now disappear from islands after a crew leaves.
  
• Players will no longer find Pondies at Black Water Enclave.

Sea Forts

• The map in the Sea Forts’ living quarters now displays ships flying the Reaper’s Mark flag in addition to Reaper Emissaries.
  
• Players are no longer able to cause Sea Fort treasure to respawn in the Treasury by getting themselves under the environment.
  
• Inactive Sea Forts no longer show a raised flag.
  
• Players are no longer able to sell the Sea Fort Keys to Trading Companies in exchange for gold and reputation.
  
• Players using the Sea Fort barrel winches should no longer experience camera stutter when rotating mechanisms.
  
• Traitor’s Fate Fortress no longer has a bobbing barrel in the bunk room.
  
• The Treasury door now sits correctly on its hinges.
  
• The Storeroom Door Key no longer shines through doors when viewed from a distance.
  
• Within Old Brinestone Fortress, the lower-level grates should now prevent players swimming through when closed.
  
• Players can no longer walk up the Sea Fort walls in some locations.
  
• Detaching from Sea Fort cannons should no longer cause players to safe teleport.
  
• Players should no longer be able to find a way into the dock pillars inside the Fort and move inside the geometry.

Sunken Kingdom

• Sunken Kingdom Commendations requiring players to complete Siren Treasuries now correctly unlock when completing the required criteria.

Environment

• ‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players should no longer fall through the floor when moving through the corridor from the armoury to the well.
  
• Players can no longer access the Treasury vault within the Treasury of the Secret Wilds prior to it becoming unlocked.
  
• Players should no longer become stuck in trees on Ashen Reaches.
  
• Within the Pirate Legend Hideout, players should no longer be able to push through the environment and appear in the sea.
  
• Players should no longer be launched up into the air when pushing in between rocks on Plunder Outpost.
  
• Players should continue to be able to move freely after jumping onto trees at Morrow’s Peak Outpost.
  
• While exploring Plunder Outpost, players should no longer discover a floating patch of grass out in the bay.
  
• While exploring the Pirate Legend Hideout, pets should no longer become blocked by invisible barriers when leaving the waterfall cave entrance.
  
• Treasure can no longer be placed in locations within The Reaper’s Hideout that prevent any player from accessing it.

Visual and Audio

• Swimming onto a beach and sprinting out of the water should no longer cause player animations to show their arms stuck to their sides.
  
• Within the Reputation tab, Commendations with Doubloon rewards now display their currency counts correctly.
  
• The Athena’s Fortune symbol on the Legendary Wheel is finally symmetrical.
  
• The Sea of Sands, Cronch, Dark Warsmith and Lodestar Cutlasses now display a trail when used.
  
• Killing small animals while they are running will no longer cause them to slide across the ground.
  
• Repairing a damaged Spring Blossom Wheel will now visibly show the attached wooden poles.
  
• The ‘Disable Centered Text’ setting now correctly affects all locations where text can be centered throughout the UI.
  
• When the Lunar Festival Costume is equipped, the glowing eye effects are now consistently seen when emoting or when viewed by other players.
  
• Players equipping a Bilge Rat or Admiral Dress now have the correct shoulder pieces displayed.
  
• Players using the Japanese language setting will now find Order of Souls Bounty Maps no longer have overlapping text.
  
• When multiple ships are nearby, players should now see all figureheads on ships within range.
  
• With a HDR-supported setup, the HDR Calibration Settings page no longer causes UI elements to overlap when returning settings to default.
  
• Sea of Thieves error messages are now displayed in the language chosen within the game settings.

Performance and Stability

• Server stability has been improved, reducing scenarios where crews are removed from a game session.

[h2]Known Issues
[/h2]

Letters of Recommendation

• Players will find themselves unable to purchase new Letters of Recommendation in this 2.5.1 April update. Fear not – Letters of Recommendation will become available for purchase later this month.
  Reduced Server Performance
  
• Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters.

Steam Achievement Unlocking Issues

• Some Steam players may find that after an achievement is unlocked in the game, it is not unlocked within Steam.

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.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Download and Installation
[/h2]
Download size:
Steam: 6.49 GB

Welcome to Legends Week, everyone! As we’ve now passed the milestone of one million players who have reached Pirate Legend status, we thought it was a good a time as any to hold a big, week-long bash to celebrate our most dedicated sailors.

A quick reminder if you’re unsure of what a Pirate Legend is: it’s a player who has managed to hit rank 50 with at least three of Sea of Thieves’ Trading Companies. You’ll usually spot them by the purple and green outfits and their propensity to sail circles around you when you engage them in a sea battle.

With the Pirate Legend population now mirroring that of a small city, we thought we’d pull out our comically large magnifying glass to examine the stats behind our cohort of legendary corsairs, and see what really makes a Pirate Legend. All these facts and figures are accurate up to March 31st, 2022 – so apologies if you screamed in with some amazing Pirate Legend stat on April 1st.

Although more than 25 million sailors had set sail on the Sea of Thieves by October 2021, under 4% of them have so far been inducted into the hallowed ranks of Athena’s Fortune. So it’s quite the rare achievement, reserved for truly top-shelf buccaneers. Now, calculators and jotters at the ready – we’ve got figures to pore over!



Let’s first consider the time it takes to reach Pirate Legend. On average, most players hit this Legendary milestone after around 192 hours of hard graft. Obviously, there are many pirates who pride themselves on how quickly they can hit Pirate Legend, while others like to take the approach that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So far, the longest recorded journey to Pirate Legend took one chilled corsair 2,664 hours – around 111 days! We salute your devotion to taking it easy.

Should you want to see someone try to hit Pirate Legend as fast as they can, be sure to tune in to our new Path to Legend series on Sea of Thieves TV, where the intrepid HitboTC attempts to get to this glorious position as fast as possible. Will he manage it over the course of the series?

In terms of how players spend those (roughly) 192 hours on the way to Pirate Legend, most take the conventional route of raising their reputation with the Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls and Merchant Alliance. A single pirate managed to do it by levelling up their reputation with the Sea Dogs, The Hunter’s Call and The Reaper’s Bones. We wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of their broadside…

Some players also manage to level their Trading Company rep without completing a single Voyage, with 1,518 players favouring this more chaotic route to Pirate Legend. But if you plan to follow a more well-worn path to Legend status, it tends to take our pirates an average of 90 Voyages alongside all their other day-to-day buccaneering activity, so plan accordingly!



How about those lonely Sloop captains who shun the comradery of their fellow sailors? Well, it turns out they’re as elusive as they are antisocial, as only 50 Pirate Legends have made the climb entirely solo. On the flip side, 2,001 of our Pirate Legends have never sailed without a companion, social butterflies that they are. In terms of how many unique companions our Pirate Legends have had on their journeys, seven is the lucky average. How magnificent these seven are may, of course, vary.

You’re naturally going to cross blades and blunderbusses with enemy pirates during your long and winding road to Pirate Legend, and players vanquish an average of 76 other pirates in doing so. Their own kill/death ratio is ever so slightly in their favour, with players making around 74 trips to the Ferry of the Damned on their journey. Spare a thought for one very persistent Pirate Legend who died a grand total of 6,239 times before achieving those purple and green stripes.

There’s also one Pirate Legend who seems to be moonlighting as a butcher, racking up 10,751 kills (!) on their climb to the heights of pirate fame. We’re equal parts impressed and terrified. To balance out the bloodshed, there is a contingent of pacifist pirates who choose peace over violence, with 78,411 sailors not slaying a single one of their fellow freebooters before becoming Legends. Also, congratulations to all the pirates who remained alive and kicking while striving to become Legend – 53,955 of them dodged a visit to the Ferry of the Damned, and long may they stay hale and hearty.

Finally, how about the truly devoted corsairs – those who have reached the pinnacle of Pirate Legend, the apex of Athena’s Fortune, the tippest of tops in the nautical world? Only 30,908 people have reached that shining peak of rank 20 with Athena’s Fortune, making it an exclusive club within an exclusive club. We hope those 30,908 are ready to go again when the Athena’s Fortune level cap is raised to 30 later this Season!

And that’s our analysis of the myriad of stats making up a million-strong troop of Pirate Legends. If you have any impressive stats of your own to share, let us know on social media! And keep your eyes locked right here on the Sea of Thieves website and on our social channels for more Legends Week fun – including an in-depth look at the upcoming Pirate Legend-exclusive Voyage, coming later in Season Six!

Our Pirate Legends are the best of us: tough, tenacious players who’ve faced down everything the Sea of Thieves could throw at them to reach the upper echelons of the pirate world. We’re delighted to share today that we recently passed the figure of one million Pirate Legends across the Sea of Thieves! In recognition of this milestone moment, we’re throwing a week of celebratory shenanigans for both our current Pirate Legends and prospective ones.

But how do you become a Pirate Legend? The title is bestowed upon players who prove their skill and spirit by reaching rank 50 with at least three Sea of Thieves Trading Companies. So whether you dedicate your time to collecting treasure for the Gold Hoarders, mastering the art of fishing with The Hunter’s Call or sinking other player ships in service to The Reaper’s Bones, the world’s your oyster. It takes mastery in a breadth of nautical skills to gain this high honour, but the pace and pathway you take is uniquely your own.



Along with the Pirate Legend title comes a host of perks: the iconic ‘We Shall Sail Together’ shanty unlocks the secret entrance to the Pirate Legend Hideout, where elite Legendary wares are on offer alongside Voyages to build reputation with the Legends-only Trading Company, Athena’s Fortune. Brand new Pirate Legend-exclusive content is also coming up soon as part of Sea of Thieves’ current Season!

If you’re thinking Pirate Legend status sounds special, that’s because it is – and for us to hit seven figures of Legends is something that deserves fanfare, more than just a mere tip of the hat to those pirates who’ve persevered this far. So let’s get into what’s planned for the rest of Legends Week after today’s announcement of our million-strong milestone!

• April 5 – We’ll be serving up some piping hot stats on the Pirate Legend experience. Ever wondered how many Legends have maxed out Athena’s Fortune, or how many Voyages players might have to complete to hit Legendary status? Jump into these significant stats on seaofthieves.com and SoT social channels.
  
  
• April 6 – Join Sea of Thieves Partner HitboTC as he starts a journey from swabbie to Legend live on Sea of Thieves TV! Legends Week showcases the first episode of a seven-part weekly series, streamed live on twitch.tv/seaofthieves and twitch.tv/xbox, and later available on demand at youtube.com/HitboTC.
  
  
• April 7 – Enjoy an exclusive video insight into the upcoming Legend of the Veil Voyage, a brand new replayable experience for Pirate Legends. This Voyage is set to deliver new map types and some memorable setpieces, so check youtube.com/seaofthieves on this day to see what awaits our Legends a little later in Season Six.
  
  
• April 8 – In-game activities kick off for Pirate Legends, offering double gold and reputation for items handed in to the Mysterious Stranger over the weekend. As an extra incentive, some treasure items also provide Athena’s Fortune reputation when they usually wouldn’t!
  
  
• April 9 – We spotlight some Legendary activities on the Sea of Thieves website, with inspiring Pirate Legend feats in the Community Hub and our inaugural Legend Spotlight – a new type of player profile to sit alongside our regular Community and Creator Spotlights.
  
  
• April 10 – The festivities expand to all pirates, with a one-day Gold & Glory multiplier offering boosts to gold, reputation and Renown – plus free Athena’s Fortune Fireworks from the Merchant Alliance, and extra bonuses for all pirates generous enough to gift treasure to other players on this day!
  
  
• April 11 – The third and final day for Pirate Legends to log in and receive a Silvered Legendary Eyepatch, available from Friday April 8 to Monday April 11 (10am BST). This is also the final day of a special weekend sale in the Pirate Emporium – be sure to check that out for savings on ship sets, emotes and pet outfits, including some only available to Legends!

Whether you’re a veteran of the Pirate Legend Hideout, a freshly minted Legend or still on the road to sailor stardom, we hope you’ll join us in this week-long festival of fun. Keep tabs on the Sea of Thieves website and social channels to stay up to date on the Legendary festivities as they unfold.



To finish, we just want to say thank you. To the million (and counting) players who have hit Pirate Legend, we want to recognise that achievement – thank you for spending hundreds of hours exploring our world and mastering the waves. To those of you who are still on your journey to Pirate Legend, whether you’re at the beginning of that journey or nearing its end – the very best of luck, and we’ll see you on the seas!