Sea of Thieves News

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[h3]Pirates of Mischief[/h3]
Our November game update sees Season 14’s stealthy feature set finally unleashed in force, providing players with plentiful tools to wreak mischief upon one another. For an overview of this Season’s furtive features, head to our dedicated Season 14 page.

Disguises

• While crouched, players can access the stealth menu to put on a disguise and blend into the environment as a barrel or treasure chest. Unlike hide emotes, disguises allow players to sneak around the world, albeit at a much slower pace.
  
• New disguises can be unlocked through a range of new Commendations added in Season 14. After unlocking one, head to the Vanity Chest and the new Disguises category to equip it.

Hanging from Ledges

• While crouched, players will find various locations around the ship where they can vault over the edge and hang from the outside in order to hide from those on board. They can vault back onto the deck or let go at any time, but if discovered and attacked they’ll be knocked into the sea below!
  
• Pirate explorers may also find a few locations out in the world where they can hang from certain ledges away from their ship. We’ll leave players to discover these locations for themselves...

Traps

• Players can now find deployable traps in various storage containers throughout the world which can be used to damage unsuspecting enemies. These are considered a throwable item, and while players can hold up to five in their inventory, only two can be deployed at any time, destroying those previously placed.
  
• A deployed trap will become armed, and then can be triggered by any careless foot, dealing damage and briefly inflicting a limp. Sneaky players can disarm a trap by crouching, and recover the trap for later use.
  
• A deployed trap can be enhanced with additional items by crouching close to it and using the menu to select an object. The item’s effect is triggered when the trap snaps shut.
  
• Traps can be partially buried beneath softer surfaces for a more effectively concealed surprise, and even placed together to trigger a sequence of catastrophic events!

Blowpipe Balancing

• The blowpipe’s quickfire has been tuned to ensure that it still provides a quick but accurate shot at close range, without overshadowing the benefits of a more considered charged shot.
  
• Even a brief charge will now deliver a strong mid-range shot, while a fully charged shot travels the maximum shot range.

Commendations and Rewards

• With a suite of mischief-making tools now re-enabled, the previously blocked Commendations, rewards, achievements and Trophies are available for players to make progress towards unlocking.

[h3]Expanded Monthly Updates[/h3]
First Week Bonus

• Eager players who jump in during the first week following a Sea of Thieves game update will now receive an early login bonus of gold and Doubloons.

Voyage of Luck

• Players can now embark on a Voyage of Luck each month, offering a quest for a range of high-value treasure. When starting the Voyage, some players will be blessed with a rare Golden Map leading to a jackpot of one of the highest-value treasures out there!
  
• Pirate Legends will get their very own Legendary Voyage of Luck – a Voyage for Athena’s Fortune with treasure befitting a Legend and the same chance of a rare Golden Map!

[h3]Pirate Emporium[/h3]
Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Ancestral Ship Set (returning from time-limited promotion)
  
• Ancestral Collector’s Figurehead and Sails
  
• Motley Mariner Blowpipe
  
• Gorgon Weapon Bundle
  
• Gorgon Ship Collection (returning from Season 12 Plunder Pass)
  
• Gorgon Mixed Bundle – Gorgon Headband, Creeping Stone Curse and Solid Stone Curse (returning from Season 12 Plunder Pass)
  
• Iron Turtle Cannon Flare (players who previously purchased the Iron Turtle Ship Bundle will now find the Cannon Flare in their Ship Customisation Chest)
  
• Festival of Plenty Instruments (time-limited, will return next year)
  
• Festival of Plenty Pet Outfits (time-limited, will return next year)
  
• Banana Banter Emote Bundle
  
• No Thoughts Emote (free!)

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

• The Outpost weaponsmiths now stock Ironwood Carpenter’s weaponry, with the cutlass, pistol, blunderbuss and Eye of Reach all available to buy.
  
• The Outpost clothing shops now offer Cinched Shirts in four colours for all pirates to purchase.
  
• The Pirate Legend Hideout has been stocked with the Ghost Heavy Sword and Rapier, locked behind progression with the Athena’s Fortune Trading Company.

[h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3]
Quick Switching Using Crouch

• Players attempting to crouch while switching weapons will now consistently have to wield the second weapon before being able to fire the follow-up shot, preventing weapons from being fired faster than intended.

[h3]Updates[/h3]
DualSense® Wireless Controller Support

• Players are now able to play Sea of Thieves on PC with a connected PlayStation®5 DualSense® wireless controller. The DualSense® wireless controller is supported on both Windows Store and Steam platforms.
  
• Players using a DualSense® wireless controller on PC or PS5® can now further customise the level of haptic feedback within the game settings.

[h3]Fixed Issues[/h3]
Gameplay

• The Guild Reputation multiplier and gold bonuses now consistently apply correctly when selling treasure to the Sovereigns.
  
• Players are now prompted to drop the chicken during the Merchant Alliance Tutorial Voyage, aligning it with the Gold Hoarders and Order of Souls Tutorials.

Pirates of Mischief

• The Commendations entitled Dance Off Danger, Pied Pirate Piper and Trap Ease Artist now progress for the whole crew when meeting the criteria.
  
• The Commendation entitled A Venomous Attack is now able to be completed while standing nearby.

Grapple Gun

• Players finding themselves underneath the Fort of the Damned are now prevented from retrieving treasure from the Fort’s Vault.
  
• Players shooting the Grapple Gun into a solid surface while aiming and walking will no longer have their view pulled to the side.
  
• Attempting to fire a grapple line into a placed dart will no longer cause the Grapple Gun to become stuck reeling in from a distant location.
  
• Players can no longer gain access to the Burning Blade interior by grappling into the front of the ship.

Blowpipe

• Allied Obsidian Skeletons will no longer attack players or each other when hit with a Lure Dart.
  
• Blowpipe darts can no longer be stacked on each other when fired at the same spot.
  
• Lure Darts stuck on a player will now be fully removed if the player leaves the game. Players migrating across servers will also now find their darts left behind are quickly removed.
  
• Players are now always restricted to four Lure Darts in their ammo supply.
  
• Players firing a dart at friendly Merfolk will find they now disappear and do not remain attached.
  
• Players hit with a Black Powder Dart who then dive underwater will now see the fuse doused instantly.
  
• Switching between darts when not charging a shot should no longer cause a brief controller rumble.

Crouching

• Players using ‘Reduce Hold to Interact’ accessibility settings should no longer be able to continue interacting with a barrel’s inventory after moving out of range.
  
• Players can no longer cancel out of a heavy strike with a cutlass by crouching.
  
• Attempting to aim down sights immediately after exiting crouching no longer causes a player’s movement to briefly stutter.
  
• Holding aim down sights while entering crouch will no longer cause the player to exit crouch upon releasing their aim.
  
• Crouching can no longer be used to reel in the Grapple Gun early.
  
• Players attempting to crouch after falling from a great height will now be able to crouch much more quickly, but will continue to suffer from the hindrances of fall damage while crouched.
  
• Rapid crouching while jumping no longer results in players losing the ability to crouch.
  
• Players are now shown the prompt to sit at a location while crouching.

Disguises

• A suite of fixes to disguises have been made to address visual issues with the experience. Players should no longer find themselves appearing incorrectly when using a disguise and should also appear correctly when observed by others.
  
• Turning left or right while disguised will now look and feel smoother.
  
• Players are now prevented from using disguises while flying through the air.
  
• Players wearing the Burning Eyepatch of the Ashen Dragon will now find the visual effects are correctly hidden when using a disguise.
  
• Darts attached to a player will now be hidden when they put on a disguise.
  
• Getting into disguise while on a floating Rowboat now has smoother camera movement.
  
• Players walking through disguised players will not feel any resistance.
  
• Players can now use auto-move from the game settings while in disguise.

Environment

• ‘Shores of Gold’ – The exit staircase from the Gold Hoarder’s lair no longer has a blocking wall preventing players from leaving.
  
• Pulleys on Sea Fort resource barrels containing food now respond correctly to player input.
  
• Improvements have been made to a number of island locations to prevent players from using the Grapple Gun to get outside the world.
  
• At Imperial Crown Fortress and Old Brinestone Fortress, players are no longer able to push themselves through the roof and reach higher areas.
  
• Windows within the Sunken Kingdom can now still be opened when shot with a dart.
  
• Various objects found decorating the Sea Forts are now solid and players are unable to walk through them.
  
• Objects at the end of the bridge at The Reaper’s Hideout now cast shadows correctly.

User Interface

• The Captain’s Logbook now includes new sketches when crews progress through the newly introduced Season 14 Milestones.
  
• The banner shown during the Gold Hoarders Tutorial Voyage now correctly displays the player's name.

Visual and Audio

• Characters’ faces no longer appear to be missing parts when wearing a mask combined with a range of costumes. This addresses issues reported with the Shadow Tide Fox Mask, Thieving Mask of Mischief and Monstrous Mask of Mayhem.
  
• The Pirate Lord no longer becomes transparent when players walk away and return during his speech.
  
• The Rusted Skulls Braced Jacket no longer drifts or distorts when viewed from the third-person perspective.
  
• The Watermelon Wheel has been visually improved and now casts appropriate shadows, is correctly held by players when interacted with and has improved quality when viewed at close range.
  
• The Shadow Tide Capstan no longer has a noticeable change in graphical quality at short distances.
  
• Various Grapple Guns now display the rope tether correctly at the end of the gun.
  
• Music volume on the game’s front end has been adjusted to its intended level.
  
• ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ – Murray is now visible near the gate leading to the Governor's Mansion when starting from the third checkpoint.

Performance and Stability

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

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]
To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.

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

• Steam: 2.37 GB

It’s safe to say that players faced some unexpectedly rough waters this October. The Season 14 update didn’t land as smoothly as planned, and as a result there’s still work to be done before the Season’s over. Nevertheless, there was plenty of October activity to report on, so we’re here once again to deliver your usual round-up!

[h3]Content Update[/h3]
With the end of Season 13 rapidly approaching as we entered October, it seemed only fair to give everyone who hadn’t maxed out their Seasonal Renown a helping hand. That meant unleashing a weekend of boosted Renown (and gold) for all players, followed by a spree of single-use Gilded Voyages enabling determined pirates to haul in bounteous rewards.

With everyone as caught up as they could be, it was on to the October update proper and the arrival of Season 14. However, launch day hiccoughs led to some features being held back, so best to read the launch release notes to catch up on what made it and what’s still ahead. A hotfix helped iron out some of those issues a little later in the month, reintroducing crouching and tweaking a range of other features. But that’s not the end of our work to fully deliver Season 14, so keep an eye on our channels for up-to-date information!

There was also, of course, no ignoring the fact that spooky season was well and truly upon us last month. Pumpkin-based decorations popped up around the Outposts to herald the Festival of the Damned, and everyone was treated to a sinister Ghoul & Glory Event! All those who joined in got their hands on the Grinning Gourd Bucket, free Voyages and boosted rewards for a full four days.

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[h3]News and Features[/h3]
As we built up to the release of Season 14 and all its entailing mischief, it seemed like a good time to highlight some of the community’s best clips from their covert pirate operations. The ensuing Golden Scallywag Awards are still open to entries in eight categories, with opportunities to win an in-game Title and Trinket, Ancient Coins, Plunder Passes and even a physical trophy to brighten up your gaming room.

We couldn’t launch a new Season without a dedicated article covering all the details, of course – but this time it was followed by a State of Play Forum post to address the issues encountered and explain what was happening with the staggered release of features, and then a second post to tee up the hotfix at the end of the month. When you put all that together it’s more reading than most pirates usually get up to, but well worth a look for anyone seeking a status update on Season 14…


[h3]Videos and Streams[/h3]
The November instalment of Sea of Thieves News landed early in the month, previewing some of the content arriving with the new Season while offering a look at upcoming events and the restock of the coveted Sea of Thieves vinyl soundtrack. That wasn’t the only musical news this month either, with the official Season 14 ‘Making Mischief’ track making its way to all the usual streaming platforms.

As always, a Season launch meant a host of new videos showcasing the new features, unlockable cosmetics and Pirate Emporium additions, before we published the launch trailer on update day. We couldn’t leave it there, however; after the last-minute changes to the Season launch and shifting around of features, we wanted to make sure we were clearly communicating our progress on all channels. In practice, that meant Production Director Drew getting back in front of a camera to deliver an update on Season 14 and the plan moving forwards.

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[h3]Social Channels[/h3]
Even with everything else going on, the spookiest of seasons was not about to pass without some celebratory competitions. That meant two Community Hub updates, showcasing players’ creative talents and giving us an excuse to hand out some glorious Hats, before we challenged crews to split up for a Lone Sailors round of #SoTShot! After all, the best way of confronting spooks is to go it alone. Finally, there was one remaining piece of Season 13 business to get through before the monthly update: the Style of Thieves winners! Check out those stunning autumnal fashions.

Elsewhere this month, we shut down a sinister grub trader, put up with a visit from everyone’s favourite rogue and took a few minutes to appreciate the water of the Sea of Thieves, but were rapidly distracted by a very strange game of hide and seek. The local serpents were no help. The local felines… well, they didn’t help much either but they were otherwise occupied. We’ll forgive them.


And that was October! A rocky month on many fronts, but we’re all set to get back into gear in November and keep that content coming for the rest of the year. We’ll be back here next month to report on how it’s going, but until then, find us on all the usual social channels: Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, or via the official Forums and Discord. Happy post-spooky sailing!
[hr][/hr][h3]Previously in 2024: [/h3]
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: September 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: August 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: July 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: June 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: May 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2024 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2024

While October was certainly an eventful month on the Sea of Thieves, the waves are looking a little calmer as we head into November. That means we’re ready to look ahead and share a calendar of the events coming your way over the next month!

Golden Scallywag Awards – extended to Monday, November 25th

Following Season 14’s slightly shaky start, the entry period for the Golden Scallywag Awards has been extended. Mischievous pirates now have until November 25th to submit their sneaks, tucks, traps and more to be in with a chance of scooping a real-life statuette and in-game Trinket and Title. For more information, see the competition announcement article.


November Monthly Update – Thursday, November 14th

The next free content update drops on November 14th, and is slated to bring back disguises while enabling pirates to set traps and hang from ledges. Alongside these Season 14 features, there’ll be refreshed fashions in the Pirate Emporium (plus a free emote for collection) and a sweep of smaller fixes to the game experience.

For the first time, we’ll also be offering an extra boost to the monthly update: players who jump in during the first week after release will now earn a bonus stash of gold and Doubloons, and there’s a new free monthly Voyage for all players in the form of the Voyage of Luck. This offers a single map leading to a high-value loot item – and particularly fortunate pirates might find a Golden Map leading to a jackpot cache. These Voyages also have a Pirate Legend flavour for anyone who’s reached that rank.

Sea of Thieves Twitch Drops – Friday, November 15th – Monday, November 18th

If you’re tuning in to watch a streamer showcasing the newly added features, remember you can get rewarded for it too: this time around the Stalwart Sea Dog Spyglass and the Eastern Winds Ruby Belt, Boots and Dress are available by linking your accounts and watching any Sea of Thieves Partner on Twitch. If you’re not sure who to watch, check our Partner Directory to see who’s online and available to tune in to once those Drops go live.

Season 14 Community Weekend – Saturday, November 23rd – Monday, November 25th

The last full weekend of November brings Season 14 Community Weekend to sailors’ shores! Our usual Seasonal frenzy of login bonuses, Community Emissary Grade boosts, a new Obsidian stretch goal, Picture Walls at Outposts, time-limited Voyages, Twitch Drops and more will kick off on November 23rd and run for a full 48 hours.

More details on this Event will follow in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to the Sea of Thieves website and social channels.


This is the schedule of November happenings that we’re currently targeting – so while these dates may flex slightly, this is a relatively reliable representation of what you can expect to enjoy over the next few weeks.

We hope you’re excited as we are to dive into everything on offer, and we’ll see you back here at the start of December, when we tell you how we’re planning on seeing out the year. And yes, if you’re wondering, we’ll definitely be in a Giving mood…

[h3]Pirates of Mischief [/h3]
As shared in our recent Season 14 update, the team disabled a number of features in order to protect players from high-impact issues and for the team to work on improving the quality bar. With this hotfix, crouching is once again available. The Known Issues section identifies issues that will be addressed in future updates.

Crouching and Stealth

• Players will once again be able to switch their stance from standing to a low crouch, slowing their movement, hiding them from some nearby enemy threats, concealing their player name and generally making them stealthier for the purposes of sneaking around.
  
• Crouched players will be harder to hit as they can duck shots in combat and will be braced against knockback, reducing its effect.

[h3]Fixed Issues [/h3]
Gameplay

• Players will once again be prevented from walking directly through enemy threats.
  
• Players are now prevented from shooting others through solid surfaces on the ship such as the deck.
  
• Rowboats discovered washed up on islands or those which become beached are now much easier to push back into the sea, and should no longer become stuck and unusable.
  
• All players will now have access to the Burning Blade’s Armoury once the ship is controlled by a crew.

Pirates of Mischief

• Unlockable disguises will no longer be granted when completing part of the unlock criteria, and will now require the full set of conditions to be met.
  
• Players must now complete the Found You Commendation before being awarded the Shadow Tide Tattoo.
  
• The Enticing Explosion Commendation now progresses when attaching a Lure Dart to a barrel-wielding Skeleton or directly to the held barrel itself.

Grapple Gun

• Players attempting to grapple an item while climbing into a cannon will now find the item is placed back on the ground. Players fired out of a cannon, however, are not prevented from grappling a nearby item if they can do so quickly enough. The team will continue to monitor this technique from a game balance perspective and address it in the future if necessary.
  
• Players attempting to grapple each other at the same time should no longer find they are flung across the sea.

Crouching

• Players attempting to crouch after being fired from a cannon will no longer be able to modify their trajectory while in the air.
  
• Players attempting to crouch prior to climbing into a cannon will now continue to be damageable when leaving the cannon.
  
• Players attempting to crouch after falling from a great height will now be able to crouch much more quickly, but will continue to suffer the hindering effects of fall damage while crouched.

Pirate Emporium

• The Witch’s Stitches Bundle now grants players the Coral Coven Cat once purchased.

Blowpipe and Darts

• Firing Lure Darts into a ship prior to migrating across servers will now result in those darts being removed upon arrival at the new location.

Visual and Audio

• Players equipping the Lodestar Costume will now find it displays correctly on their pirate and will also appear in the Pirate Emporium and Clothing Chest when previewed.

Text and Localisation

• Improvements have been made to localisation across a range of languages for newly introduced items in Season 14.

Performance and Stability

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

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]
Stealth Features Temporarily Disabled

• Some of the new additions to the sandbox announced in the recent Season 14 Content Update Video have been temporarily disabled following the discovery of issues with potentially high player impact. These include disguises, traps and hanging from ledges.

Quick Switching

• Players can currently use crouching to switch between ranged weapons and fire two shots in quick succession faster than intended. Enforcement is not currently being taken on players using this technique, but it will be removed in a future update.

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]Full Release Notes [/h3]
These release notes cover a hotfix. For full details on recently added game features, see the release notes on our latest content update.

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

• Steam: 1.51 GB

Following the long-awaited arrival of Captain Flameheart and his Burning Blade flagship in Season 13, this subsequent Season sees the focus shift back to expanding the sandbox with more tools and features, delivering new ways to play and options for achieving your devious pirate goals. Read on to find out exactly what’s possible as Season 14 slips out of the shadows…

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[h3]The Armoury Expands[/h3]
For the second time this year, two new loadout options have arrived to complement the classic Sea of Thieves arsenal. In line with Season 14’s stealthy theme, these latest additions are the versatile Grapple Gun and the near-silent blowpipe, both offering alternatives to the traditionally quite direct pirate approach to looting and fighting.

Despite the name, the Grapple Gun functions more like a tool than a weapon. It can target a whole range of things: treasure items, other pirates and even enemies can be grappled and pulled towards you, or conversely you can use it to grapple yourself around high or difficult island terrain.

The blowpipe can be used with classic Poison Darts to inflict lingering damage on an enemy, but Lure Darts are also available for when you want to cause trouble by attracting foes to a specific spot (or another pirate), while Black Powder Darts take a normally noiseless weapon and endow it with a much more explosive effect!

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[h3]Duck and Cover[/h3]
That’s not all: for the first time, Season 14 allows pirates to crouch and move around more stealthily in pursuit of mischief or mayhem. Want to go further and get right in amidst another crew’s adventures undetected? Disguises allow you to conceal yourself (and move around) as a barrel or a chest, with different types of chest gradually being unlocked for use. How long can you lurk unnoticed, and what can you get your hands on without being spotted?

If you’d rather put a little more distance between yourself and your intended victim, Season 14 will soon allow you to lay traps – which can not only be partially buried to make them harder to spot, but loaded with other items such as fireworks, blunderbombs or Cursed Cannonballs to spice up the life of the pirate who strays into the danger zone!

Finally, raiders who want to get on board another crew’s ship without the usual tell-tale signs can make use of the new Merfruit, which when cooked to perfection has enchanted qualities, banishing the mermaid who traditionally appears to transport you back to your own ship. They’ll never see you coming…

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[h3]Collect Covert Cosmetics[/h3]
Experimenting with Season 14’s features can unlock Commendations and rewards, while just playing the game in any way you choose will let you climb the latest 100 levels of Seasonal Renown. These bring their own bounty of gold, Doubloons, Ancient Coins and stealth-themed cosmetics, and the optional Plunder Pass adds even more prizes to the pool: for Season 14 this includes the mysterious Inner Sanctum ship set complete with Collector’s items, plus the Inner Sanctum Jacket, Belt and Hat for your pirate and 750 unlockable Ancient Coins to help you recoup the price of the Pass itself.

Over in the Pirate Emporium, it’s all about witch vibes with the advent of the Coral Coven set – and if the ship, clothing and weapon bundles don’t catch your eye then surely the worldly-wise Coral Coven Cat will. If you prefer an animal sidekick on the streamlined side, the new time-limited Skeleton Fox and Owl might be more your style. Or if you’re too busy mastering the new toolkit to think about anything else, you’ll find an array of alternative designs for both the Grapple Gun and blowpipe here!

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[h3]Find Out More[/h3]
For more information on the Sea of Thieves Season 14 update, including full release notes, visit the Sea of Thieves website. The update is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players 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. Join the ongoing adventure at www.seaofthieves.com where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!