Sea of Thieves News
A First Look at the Heart of Fire Novel
It’s hard to miss Larinna, especially now that she’s taken to beckoning you over whenever a new Adventure awaits. What some players might have missed, though, is that the Bilge Rat leader’s tumultuous arrival on the Sea of Thieves was first chronicled in the Athena’s Fortune novel, initially released in 2018 (and now available as a delightful audiobook).
That story charted the adventures of two crews separated by history, shining a light on the first days of the Sea of Thieves as seen through the eyes of Ramsey – or the Pirate Lord, as he’s more commonly known today – and providing context and lore for the plunder and places you experience yourself when exploring, like Cursed Chests and the fabled Shores of Gold.
Since then, the likes of Madame Olivia and Sir Arthur Pendragon have taken the spotlight in their own expanded universe stories (including comics and tabletop RPGs) but a second full novel has always been a popular request. Well, lore-hungry fans can now don their narrative napkins in anticipation of Heart of Fire, the new novel published by Titan Books that shares its name with a Tall Tale because we like to confuse wiki editors.
[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvcnhI0uXDc
[/previewyoutube]
When the chance came to take up my author’s pen once more and dream up the story for a second novel, it seemed sensible to once again focus on the mysteries of days gone by, exploring events that players couldn’t just sail out and experience for themselves. Having already elaborated on the origins of the Gold Hoarder, it was pretty obvious who needed to play the villain this time around…
Yes, as the name rather heftily implies, Heart of Fire details the rise and fall of Captain Flameheart, pulling back the curtain on the events that led to him being defeated and deprived of a physical form, almost 10 years before pirates (with a little help from Pendragon) unwittingly revived him. The story portrays Flameheart in all his skeletal glory, wreaking havoc on the waves aboard his flagship, the Burning Blade.
I was also very keen to retain the two-crew structure from Athena’s Fortune, since it allowed me to explore a range of perspectives and show how different pirates perceive the same thing in different ways. This time around, of course, I also had a living game world full of players and my own experiences to take inspiration from, so I decided to tackle the eternal question – what makes peaceful exploration and adventure fun for some pirates, while others are drawn towards the thrill of combat?
From there, the core story structure was born: two ships separated not by history, but by different views on what it means to be a pirate on the Sea of Thieves, finding themselves on opposing sides as a result. For the crew that would stand against Flameheart, I was drawn to Eli Slate and the crew of the Morningstar – firstly because we’d glimpsed them briefly during the Tall Tales, but secondly because Slate is a very different kind of captain to Ramsey, and I thought he’d make a good foil for Flameheart.
The second crew are new characters in the lore, drawn together by circumstance, but also by a shared belief that the arrival of trade and commerce is eroding the freedom of the pirate life, just as it did elsewhere in the wider world. This crew’s vocal opinions have left them pretty much outcasts, and they make the decision to join with Flameheart and restore what they see as true freedom to the Sea of Thieves. As someone who tends to avoid conflict in the game, this was a great opportunity to get into the head of a very different, but no less important, kind of player.
Finally, there’s the reason both these ships are setting sail: rumours of a weapon capable of defeating Flameheart once and for all. Their crews become embroiled in a race to find this mysterious power and claim it for themselves, which (because this is Sea of Thieves) naturally leads to the kind of epic, ocean-spanning voyages you’d expect as their two vessels hurtle towards an inevitable confrontation. And through it all, the Burning Blade is nearing…
I’ve done my best to pack Heart of Fire with the kind of revelations about the Sea of Thieves, and the people who dwell there, that fans have come to expect – while still making sure that readers who aren’t as familiar with the game aren’t left scratching their skulls. It’s given me the chance to answer some of our fans’ burning questions (while raising plenty of new ones) and cast Captain Flameheart in a whole new light, ready for future events.
I’m thrilled to be able to talk about this new novel at long last, and if you’re as excited about Heart of Fire’s upcoming release as I am, good news – it’s set to be released on August 16th, and the ability to pre-order a copy is just a click or two away. Happy reading!
[hr][/hr]
Preorder links:
That story charted the adventures of two crews separated by history, shining a light on the first days of the Sea of Thieves as seen through the eyes of Ramsey – or the Pirate Lord, as he’s more commonly known today – and providing context and lore for the plunder and places you experience yourself when exploring, like Cursed Chests and the fabled Shores of Gold.
Since then, the likes of Madame Olivia and Sir Arthur Pendragon have taken the spotlight in their own expanded universe stories (including comics and tabletop RPGs) but a second full novel has always been a popular request. Well, lore-hungry fans can now don their narrative napkins in anticipation of Heart of Fire, the new novel published by Titan Books that shares its name with a Tall Tale because we like to confuse wiki editors.
[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvcnhI0uXDc
[/previewyoutube]
When the chance came to take up my author’s pen once more and dream up the story for a second novel, it seemed sensible to once again focus on the mysteries of days gone by, exploring events that players couldn’t just sail out and experience for themselves. Having already elaborated on the origins of the Gold Hoarder, it was pretty obvious who needed to play the villain this time around…
Yes, as the name rather heftily implies, Heart of Fire details the rise and fall of Captain Flameheart, pulling back the curtain on the events that led to him being defeated and deprived of a physical form, almost 10 years before pirates (with a little help from Pendragon) unwittingly revived him. The story portrays Flameheart in all his skeletal glory, wreaking havoc on the waves aboard his flagship, the Burning Blade.
I was also very keen to retain the two-crew structure from Athena’s Fortune, since it allowed me to explore a range of perspectives and show how different pirates perceive the same thing in different ways. This time around, of course, I also had a living game world full of players and my own experiences to take inspiration from, so I decided to tackle the eternal question – what makes peaceful exploration and adventure fun for some pirates, while others are drawn towards the thrill of combat?
From there, the core story structure was born: two ships separated not by history, but by different views on what it means to be a pirate on the Sea of Thieves, finding themselves on opposing sides as a result. For the crew that would stand against Flameheart, I was drawn to Eli Slate and the crew of the Morningstar – firstly because we’d glimpsed them briefly during the Tall Tales, but secondly because Slate is a very different kind of captain to Ramsey, and I thought he’d make a good foil for Flameheart.
The second crew are new characters in the lore, drawn together by circumstance, but also by a shared belief that the arrival of trade and commerce is eroding the freedom of the pirate life, just as it did elsewhere in the wider world. This crew’s vocal opinions have left them pretty much outcasts, and they make the decision to join with Flameheart and restore what they see as true freedom to the Sea of Thieves. As someone who tends to avoid conflict in the game, this was a great opportunity to get into the head of a very different, but no less important, kind of player.
Finally, there’s the reason both these ships are setting sail: rumours of a weapon capable of defeating Flameheart once and for all. Their crews become embroiled in a race to find this mysterious power and claim it for themselves, which (because this is Sea of Thieves) naturally leads to the kind of epic, ocean-spanning voyages you’d expect as their two vessels hurtle towards an inevitable confrontation. And through it all, the Burning Blade is nearing…
I’ve done my best to pack Heart of Fire with the kind of revelations about the Sea of Thieves, and the people who dwell there, that fans have come to expect – while still making sure that readers who aren’t as familiar with the game aren’t left scratching their skulls. It’s given me the chance to answer some of our fans’ burning questions (while raising plenty of new ones) and cast Captain Flameheart in a whole new light, ready for future events.
I’m thrilled to be able to talk about this new novel at long last, and if you’re as excited about Heart of Fire’s upcoming release as I am, good news – it’s set to be released on August 16th, and the ability to pre-order a copy is just a click or two away. Happy reading!
[hr][/hr]
Preorder links:
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2022
Spring has sprung, the grass is riz in the fields around Rare HQ and we’re in full swing with a new Season in Sea of Thieves. March saw no end of excitement as we launched Season Six, kicked off our latest Adventure with ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ and celebrated the game’s fourth anniversary! Yes, we did get your card, it’s gone right on the mantelpiece. Now don your flower crown, join us in the meadow and let’s dance merrily as we regale everyone with March’s escapades.
[h3]Content Update
[/h3]
As you can imagine, Season Six and the sudden appearance of Flameheart’s Sea Forts provided the largest update this month, with the Season’s arrival bringing with it the usual accoutrements of a spring-scented Plunder Pass, new goodies in the Pirate Emporium and an in-depth set of release notes to dive into. We did notice that the hatches and cranes at the Sea Forts were in need of an oiling after their arrival from the Sea of the Damned, so we followed up with a quick hotfix at the launch of our second time-limited Adventure for good measure.
Speaking of which, we put out the call to Adventure once more this month, with ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ sending players to break the captured denizens of Golden Sands Outpost out of some dank jail cells. Finally, a way to put that mysterious Prison Cell Key to use! If you missed the boat on our previous Adventure ‘Shrouded Islands’, be sure to check out the latest Adventures Ahead primer, which will bring you up to speed on all the latest events in our unfolding seabound saga.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]News and Features
[/h3]
With muckrakers spinning sleaze and scandal about what goes on in Flameheart’s Sea Forts, you can count on the diligent reporters of our nautical news desk to jump on the News Sloop and find you the important stories from across the sea.
March saw us celebrating our fourth anniversary – they grow up so fast, don’t they? We marked the occasion with all sorts of fun, ranging from a Gold & Glory Weekend to a commemorative eyepatch and sales in both the Pirate Emporium and our official merch store. There was also a lovely banana cake – we definitely sent you all a slice, it must have gotten lost in the post…
For the bibliophile buccaneer, we officially revealed both the cover art and the title of the upcoming second Sea of Thieves novel, Heart of Fire. While Flameheart may not be floating ominously above the water at the moment, you’ll soon be able to have him lurking in your library and judging your taste in literature.
On International Women’s Day, we published a special article championing the fearless female freebooters that help make our community such a wonderful place – with a piece of commemorative #IWD2022 artwork starring just a few of the inspiring women you’ll meet during your adventures on the Sea of Thieves.
In our spring theatre season, the Community and Creator Stage saw two more guests join us as we chatted to Race of Legends First Mate Kaitzu and the keg queen herself, Octagon Ron. We’re glad to inform you that no pyrotechnics were employed in either performance. And with Easter bonnet time rapidly approaching, another batch of eight Hats of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame were shipped to some of the most creative of corsairs. We’ll be nearing a whole year of hat distribution soon, which means we may have to award ourselves a hat, causing some kind of infinite hat recursion loop.
Right at the end of the month, our new series of behind-the-scenes articles tracking in-game items From Concept to Cosmetic kicked off by digging into the creation of the Snowbound Ship Lantern – better known to many as The Orb. If you enjoyed that, we’re glad to hear it as we have more cosmetic-based explorations in the pipeline.
Okay, places everyone, we hope you’ve all been practising. Let’s take it from Bar 46, ‘Anthem for a Round-Up’. 5, 6, 7 and…
[h3]Videos and Streams
[/h3]
VII-DEEEE-OOOOOS. AND STREAMS! Back row, much better this month! The release of a new Season and a new Adventure meant that we were rushed off our feet in the pirate TV studio. Season Six came with its usual combo of announcement trailer and Deep Dive, full of juicy details on the creation of Sea Forts. Fun fact – it’s not a trumpet that you can hear in the Spanish-inspired music for Season Six, it’s a Flumpet! For more jaw-dropping facts, read our Deep Dive write-up on the Deep Dive video.
To tee up the next chapter in our unfolding Adventures narrative, ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ received its own cinematic trailer, alongside a quick gameplay run-through to prepare you for the trials ahead. We really hope we didn’t banish those two guards from the cinematic while completing the Adventure – they seem like alright blokes.
Ahead of our anniversary, a new episode of SoT News set up the celebratory fun while revealing ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ and recapping our 24-hour GameBlast ’22 stream. If you’re looking for the latest official SoT Podcast to listen to while folding laundry or cooking tea, that managed to make it into March too. Discussion topics included Adventures, Mysteries, bin covers, graffiti art – everything you’d want from a podcast and a packet of crisps.
For those who prefer their entertainment live, avid stream viewing would see you rewarded with some new arsenal additions in March, with this month’s Twitch Drops doling out Twilight Hunter weaponry. We also found a dented flagon, two butter knives and a dog-eared copy of Weaponsmith’s Weekly. Expect them in a giveaway sometime soon.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Social Channels
[/h3]
Despite the slight disruption caused by Forts being dragged from one realm to the next, our social channels remained a steadfast place for content for the corsair about town. As well as blowing out the candles on our fourth anniversary cake, we offered up a Pancake Day menu, celebrated 100k Instagram followers, asked aesthetically-minded pirates what painting they’d hang in their Sea Fort, bid a bittersweet farewell to The Arena and paid tribute to our favourite head in the sky. Gone, but not Fort-gotten. No? Please yourselves.
You can always rely on our stalwart hashtag triad for a constant flow of intriguing tidbits. #TriviaTuesday was there to provide kernels of knowledge on topics like the Flame of Souls, the Reaper’s Heart pets and captured weaponsmith Wonda. For the fashionistas among you, #SoTGear continued to serve the hottest looks, spotlighting bold items like the Sunshine Parrot set, Azure Ocean Crawler gear and Gilded Phoenix Sails.
For a bright spring month, March’s first #SoTShot contest was rather gloomy as we tasked pirates with sailing through the fog and capturing atmospheric Misty Moments. We cleared the air with the next one, looking for the jolliest Fort Frolics you could frame – a shark steak on every hob in the Homestead room as a minimum. Meanwhile March’s #SundayVibes posts offered good starting points, showing off locations like Royal Crest Fortress, Ancient Gold Fortress and even the spectral echo of a Fort, just before it was wrenched into the land of the living.
We hope you’re enjoying frolicking in a flowery field as April progresses – we’re hard at work here keeping everything ship-shape on our ongoing Adventure cruise. To keep abreast of every development as it happens, you’ll want to be following our social channels. If you need reminding, you can find Sea of Thieves on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch and TikTok, as well as on our official Forums and Discord server. We’ll all be capering around a maypole by the time the next round-up arrives, so join us for a Morris dance and to hear us recount April’s happenings as a folk song. Pay no attention to the giant wicker pirate we’ll also be constructing.
[h3]Previously in 2022:
[/h3]
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2022
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2022
[h3]Content Update
[/h3]
As you can imagine, Season Six and the sudden appearance of Flameheart’s Sea Forts provided the largest update this month, with the Season’s arrival bringing with it the usual accoutrements of a spring-scented Plunder Pass, new goodies in the Pirate Emporium and an in-depth set of release notes to dive into. We did notice that the hatches and cranes at the Sea Forts were in need of an oiling after their arrival from the Sea of the Damned, so we followed up with a quick hotfix at the launch of our second time-limited Adventure for good measure.
Speaking of which, we put out the call to Adventure once more this month, with ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ sending players to break the captured denizens of Golden Sands Outpost out of some dank jail cells. Finally, a way to put that mysterious Prison Cell Key to use! If you missed the boat on our previous Adventure ‘Shrouded Islands’, be sure to check out the latest Adventures Ahead primer, which will bring you up to speed on all the latest events in our unfolding seabound saga.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]News and Features
[/h3]
With muckrakers spinning sleaze and scandal about what goes on in Flameheart’s Sea Forts, you can count on the diligent reporters of our nautical news desk to jump on the News Sloop and find you the important stories from across the sea.
March saw us celebrating our fourth anniversary – they grow up so fast, don’t they? We marked the occasion with all sorts of fun, ranging from a Gold & Glory Weekend to a commemorative eyepatch and sales in both the Pirate Emporium and our official merch store. There was also a lovely banana cake – we definitely sent you all a slice, it must have gotten lost in the post…
For the bibliophile buccaneer, we officially revealed both the cover art and the title of the upcoming second Sea of Thieves novel, Heart of Fire. While Flameheart may not be floating ominously above the water at the moment, you’ll soon be able to have him lurking in your library and judging your taste in literature.
On International Women’s Day, we published a special article championing the fearless female freebooters that help make our community such a wonderful place – with a piece of commemorative #IWD2022 artwork starring just a few of the inspiring women you’ll meet during your adventures on the Sea of Thieves.
In our spring theatre season, the Community and Creator Stage saw two more guests join us as we chatted to Race of Legends First Mate Kaitzu and the keg queen herself, Octagon Ron. We’re glad to inform you that no pyrotechnics were employed in either performance. And with Easter bonnet time rapidly approaching, another batch of eight Hats of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame were shipped to some of the most creative of corsairs. We’ll be nearing a whole year of hat distribution soon, which means we may have to award ourselves a hat, causing some kind of infinite hat recursion loop.
Right at the end of the month, our new series of behind-the-scenes articles tracking in-game items From Concept to Cosmetic kicked off by digging into the creation of the Snowbound Ship Lantern – better known to many as The Orb. If you enjoyed that, we’re glad to hear it as we have more cosmetic-based explorations in the pipeline.
Okay, places everyone, we hope you’ve all been practising. Let’s take it from Bar 46, ‘Anthem for a Round-Up’. 5, 6, 7 and…
[h3]Videos and Streams
[/h3]
VII-DEEEE-OOOOOS. AND STREAMS! Back row, much better this month! The release of a new Season and a new Adventure meant that we were rushed off our feet in the pirate TV studio. Season Six came with its usual combo of announcement trailer and Deep Dive, full of juicy details on the creation of Sea Forts. Fun fact – it’s not a trumpet that you can hear in the Spanish-inspired music for Season Six, it’s a Flumpet! For more jaw-dropping facts, read our Deep Dive write-up on the Deep Dive video.
To tee up the next chapter in our unfolding Adventures narrative, ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ received its own cinematic trailer, alongside a quick gameplay run-through to prepare you for the trials ahead. We really hope we didn’t banish those two guards from the cinematic while completing the Adventure – they seem like alright blokes.
Ahead of our anniversary, a new episode of SoT News set up the celebratory fun while revealing ‘Forts of the Forgotten’ and recapping our 24-hour GameBlast ’22 stream. If you’re looking for the latest official SoT Podcast to listen to while folding laundry or cooking tea, that managed to make it into March too. Discussion topics included Adventures, Mysteries, bin covers, graffiti art – everything you’d want from a podcast and a packet of crisps.
For those who prefer their entertainment live, avid stream viewing would see you rewarded with some new arsenal additions in March, with this month’s Twitch Drops doling out Twilight Hunter weaponry. We also found a dented flagon, two butter knives and a dog-eared copy of Weaponsmith’s Weekly. Expect them in a giveaway sometime soon.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Social Channels
[/h3]
Despite the slight disruption caused by Forts being dragged from one realm to the next, our social channels remained a steadfast place for content for the corsair about town. As well as blowing out the candles on our fourth anniversary cake, we offered up a Pancake Day menu, celebrated 100k Instagram followers, asked aesthetically-minded pirates what painting they’d hang in their Sea Fort, bid a bittersweet farewell to The Arena and paid tribute to our favourite head in the sky. Gone, but not Fort-gotten. No? Please yourselves.
You can always rely on our stalwart hashtag triad for a constant flow of intriguing tidbits. #TriviaTuesday was there to provide kernels of knowledge on topics like the Flame of Souls, the Reaper’s Heart pets and captured weaponsmith Wonda. For the fashionistas among you, #SoTGear continued to serve the hottest looks, spotlighting bold items like the Sunshine Parrot set, Azure Ocean Crawler gear and Gilded Phoenix Sails.
For a bright spring month, March’s first #SoTShot contest was rather gloomy as we tasked pirates with sailing through the fog and capturing atmospheric Misty Moments. We cleared the air with the next one, looking for the jolliest Fort Frolics you could frame – a shark steak on every hob in the Homestead room as a minimum. Meanwhile March’s #SundayVibes posts offered good starting points, showing off locations like Royal Crest Fortress, Ancient Gold Fortress and even the spectral echo of a Fort, just before it was wrenched into the land of the living.
We hope you’re enjoying frolicking in a flowery field as April progresses – we’re hard at work here keeping everything ship-shape on our ongoing Adventure cruise. To keep abreast of every development as it happens, you’ll want to be following our social channels. If you need reminding, you can find Sea of Thieves on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch and TikTok, as well as on our official Forums and Discord server. We’ll all be capering around a maypole by the time the next round-up arrives, so join us for a Morris dance and to hear us recount April’s happenings as a folk song. Pay no attention to the giant wicker pirate we’ll also be constructing.
[h3]Previously in 2022:
[/h3]
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2022
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2022
Steam Global Top Sellers for the Week ending 10 April 2022
- LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga
- Steam Deck
- ELDEN RING
- LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Deluxe Edition Preorder
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Preorder
- Valve Index VR Kit
- Sea of Thieves
- Dread Hunger
- Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition
View more information and data on SteamDB
Lifting the Veil on a Legendary Voyage
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!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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!
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!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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!