Sea of Thieves

Season 13 has sure been a hot one, and not just because it ran over actual real-world summer. In game, the Burning Blade and its huge fireballs burst onto the seas, offering a brand new type of World Event and spreading heat-tinged combat in its wake. Elsewhere, the heat continued with Production Director Drew delivering information often referred to as containing some level of spice, with a change to the blunderbuss being considered high on the Scoville charts.

It's time to bring the heat down a few notches, however, as we clear through the final notes of the Season’s to-do list. Nope, we’re not here to reveal the Season 14 date or accidentally post the next SoT News early, those are a few points below this. We’re in fact here to let you know that the next #StyleOfThieves contest will be taking place from September 30th–October 3rd, and we’ll even reveal the themes while we’re here. Surprise! For anyone reading this who somehow missed the headline…

Yes, #StyleOfThieves, working the same way it has for a fair few contests now; we’ll create a unique post on each of those days, Sept 30th–Oct 3rd, announcing that a theme is open to enter. You lovely lot then take to posting your screenshots of your pirates all dressed up to the thematically appropriate nines, including the name of the theme you’re entering and any other relevant information. Scroll down and read the How to Enter section for a rundown of the full rules, as well as some handy pointers.

As the final seconds of a theme’s 24-hour entry period tick into the history of humanity, our courageous crew will begin their crawl through the increasing suite of digital catwalks and pick out the pirates they feel donned the most appropriate attire. That list is then encrypted through at least three unique ciphers before being planted by dead drop inside the final clue of an undisclosed escape room somewhere in the Midlands.

A member of our Art team will then receive a surprise invitation to said location and, assuming they can effectively solve the room with zero assistance, they will get to have the final decision on the pirates who win this Season’s Style of Thieves prizes! Once they solve the ciphers, that is. If they don’t… well, we’ll cross that bridge should it present itself, but really you can’t be overly careful with these things.

There will be three winning entries per category, meaning 12 winners total, but as one category calls for two participants to be pictured, there are up to 15 pairs of Fashionista’s Finery Gloves up for grabs this time. Winning pirates will be announced via Sea of Thieves social channels on October 10th, a week after the final theme takes place. And as always, a necessary reminder that even if you don’t win Style of Thieves, as with all of our social media contests, it’s intended to be about the fun of taking part first and foremost. So go and explore your pirate’s customisation chests – you may find a new style you really like!

And now, without any more repeated preamble, here are Season 13’s #StyleOfThieves themes:

The Themes
Each theme will start at 10am UTC on the dates detailed below, with entries accepted via a variety of social media channels for a full 24 hours.

Gothic
Embrace darker tones and demonic dress as you style a scoundrel fit for performing rituals, reading morbid poetry and playing your favourite shanty in a minor key.
Entry date: September 30th

Couples Costumes
Combine forces with another pirate to concoct co-ordinated clothing replicating an iconic duo, pushing it all the way from superheroes and sidekicks to salt and pepper (the seasoning).
Entry date: October 1st

Academic
From teacher to student, find a fit for your marauder that suggests they’re in the mood to learn. Or at least to carry around a heavy stack of books, regardless of their ability to read.
Entry date: October 2nd

Cosy
With the weather in the real world getting colder, we want to see how your pirates would stay snug against the chill, in a world where they don’t just set their ship on fire.
Entry date: October 3rd

Image credit: CEOPESTAR0 on X/Twitter

How to Enter
Now into the part of the article that’s the same every time, including the sentence you just read. We’ve got eyes everywhere, in a nice ‘enter however you feel comfortable’ kind of way, so you’re free to submit on a variety of social channels. That said, each comes with its own quirks as follows:

• To enter on X/Twitter, make sure you include @SeaOfThieves and #StyleOfThieves in your post.
  
• For Instagram, you just need to post using #StyleOfThieves. Same goes for Bluesky and Threads (yup, we’re keeping an eye on those channels, too).
  
• Add your entry as a reply to that day’s theme post on Facebook.
  
• Post your entry with #StyleOfThieves in the #pirate-fashion channel of our official Discord server.

And regardless of where you’re sharing your entry, be sure to include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post, along with any extra info called for by the theme.

Rules of the Runway
We’ve put together some handy hints and rules to make sure you capture your pirate’s best side and don’t accidentally enter an ineligible picture:

• No Costumes on the catwalk – we want to see your creativity and individuality in how you mix and match items, so no all-in-one Costumes.
  
• Complete cosmetic sets are not permitted. Our artists designed those items to go together and, again, we want to see stylish creativity. Ideally, an outfit should contain no more than four items from the same named set, but as long as creativity from multiple styles is evident then your outfit will be accepted.
  
• Unless a theme calls for it, all shots should be solo pirates and not crews. Only the pirate(s) 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 considered when judging the outfit.
  
• Lighting helps, so find a well-lit spot to fully peacock your picks. Coloured or tactical lighting won’t be considered part of the outfit, and could hurt your chances of consideration.
  
• Toggle off your HUD for a clean snap and avoid a name getting in the way! If you haven’t set it, the Toggle HUD command can be assigned to a button from the HUD category of the Keyboard and Mouse or Controller area of your Settings menu.
  
• Screenshots should be a reflection of the game – no external editing or filters should be applied.
  
• Please try to keep your submissions to a 16:9 or 1:1 ratio, making sure your entire outfit is in shot, including your shoes/toes! This will help us when framing winners, and ensures a degree of parity when comparing submissions.
  
• While you may use any emotes for your shot, any features added to the outfit via the emote (e.g. oars, weapons, sparklers) won’t be taken into consideration as part of an outfit 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!
  
• The unique prize means you can’t win more than once in Style of Thieves, but you’re more than welcome to continue entering for the fun of it!

Image credit: W0ty__ on X/Twitter

Right, another #StyleOfThieves announce article done and dusted, and a big hello to anyone reading this far (you’re a real one). Good luck coming up with your costumes, we’re looking forward to observing your efforts as they fill our social media channels from September 30th–October 3rd!

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Fixed Issues

Throwing Knives

• Knives thrown at a crewmate will now pass through them rather than becoming stuck to the player.
  
• Knives will no longer become stuck in a capstan or other ship interaction point when thrown.

The Burning Blade

• For crews pledged to the Burning Blade, there is now a short grace period after the Captain leaves the game before the ship begins to sink, to protect from temporary disconnections.
  
• When a crew in control of the Burning Blade purposefully leaves the game, the ship will now sink naturally and will not appear to others to have been handed in at The Reaper’s Hideout.
  
• Crews pledged to the Burning Blade who use a Mermaid or Statue to return to their ship will no longer find their Obsidian Skeleton crew missing.

Player Communication

• Text chat now protects players from anyone attempting to send repeated messages in quick succession.
  
• Text chat now contains improved profanity filtering, covering a range of new words and phrases.

User Interface

• Browsing Guilds from the front-end menu now shows the correct Guild level.
  
• The Tourist Emote Bundle now shows the correct name when browsing the Pirate Emporium.

Fishing Rod

• Players can no longer use the fishing rod lure to interact with others in the world. (Released previously as part of an interim hotfix.)
  
• Players will no longer find themselves moved around when casting a fishing rod into the surrounding environment. (Released previously as part of an interim hotfix.)

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.

Known Issues
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.

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

Download and Installation
Download Size:

• Steam: 1.29 GB

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Gameplay Improvements
Sprinting with One-Handed Items

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

Blunderbuss Balancing

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

Throwing Knife Balancing

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

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

New Items – Now in Stock!

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

Outpost Cosmetics
New Outpost Stock!

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

Updates
Player Reporting Improvements

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

Fixed Issues
Gameplay

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

Visual and Audio

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

Environment

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

User Interface

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

Text and Localisation

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

Performance and Stability

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

Known Issues
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.

Download and Installation
Download Size:

• Steam: 5.21 GB

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Previously in 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

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The Flame Rises
Returning the Burning Blade in Battle

• Crews in command of the Burning Blade are now prevented from returning the ship to The Reaper’s Hideout while still in combat. Rival ships in close proximity to the Burning Blade will prevent it from being returned.
  
• A majority vote from the crew will now be required when pledging to become the crew of the Burning Blade, or when returning the ship to The Reaper’s Hideout.
  
• Any crew votes to return the Burning Blade to The Reaper’s Hideout will now be cleared if the ship is sailed away from the island, and the vote will need to be retaken upon returning to the vicinity.

Gameplay Improvements
Blunderbuss Rework

• The blunderbuss knockback effects have now been strengthened, with close-range shots now consistently propelling players forcefully backwards and applying more vertical height to repel boarders over ledges and obstacles.
  
• The spread pattern of the blunderbuss has been widened, both when firing from the hip and aiming down sights, maximising the knockback potential at close range.
  
• Players propelled backwards by a blunderbuss shot no longer have movement control while in the air, ensuring they are forced in the direction determined by the blast.
  
• New visual effects have been added to the blunderbuss, with white-hot debris, smoke and distortion effects identifying the effective range of its new knockback strength.
  
• The damage dealt by each pellet fired from the blunderbuss has been slightly reduced, reducing the total output of the weapon to 90 damage. As a result, the blunderbuss will no longer be able to perform a one-hit kill on a player with full health.
  
• Pellets fired from the blunderbuss now fizzle out at long range, reducing the overall range of the blunderbuss and cementing its role as a close-range tactical choice.

Horn of Fair Winds Availability

• The Horn of Fair Winds is now more easily discovered within the world. These items are guaranteed to be found within Siren Treasury Vaults, and now have an increased chance of being salvaged from shipwrecks. In addition to these specific locations, there is a small chance of finding a Horn of Fair Winds washed up on islands across the Sea of Thieves.
  
• To balance out this increased availability, the gold awarded when cashing in a Horn of Fair Winds has now been reduced. As a reminder, the gold amount earned is not linked to the power remaining within the Horn, so blast away!

Pirate Emporium
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 page to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Motley Mariner Ship Collection
  
• Motley Mariner Weapon Bundle
  
• Motley Mariner Costume Set
  
• Motley Mariner Ship’s Crest
  
• Motley Mariner Trinket
  
• Motley Mariner Drum
  
• Ashen Curse Owl
  
• King’s Ransom Weapon Bundle
  
• King’s Ransom Ship’s Crest
  
• Idle Conversationalist Emote Bundle
  
• Omen Ship Bundle
  
• Red Card Emote (free!)

Pirate Emporium Browsing Improvements

• The Pirate Emporium store experience has been improved with an expanded ‘Browse All’ section added to the top bar, allowing players to more easily scour the wealth of items available to purchase.
  
• Within this new menu, players can filter items by category such as weapons, ships and equipment, then dive deeper to find specific types such as cannons, pistols and banjos.
  
• Players can also sort these filtered items by name or by price to help them find exactly what they are looking for.

Outpost Cosmetics
New Outpost Stock!

• The Outpost clothing shops have received a fresh shipment of items and now offer the Simian Courtly Jacket and several colourful new halter tops, all available for gold.
  
• The Outpost weaponsmiths now stock a selection of weapons from the new Stonebark Carpenter’s weapon set.

Fixed Issues
Gameplay

• When attacking players with throwing knives, a missed throw will no longer incorrectly cause them to take damage.
  
• Attacking Gunpowder Skeletons with throwing knives and directly hitting the keg should now consistently detonate it.
  
• Crews diving to the submerged wreck as part of a Lost Shipment Voyage should no longer find an empty Captain’s cabin on arrival.
  
• Players are now targeted correctly by enemy Bone Caller Skeletons after migrating across servers.
  
• Crews can once again discover Chests of Ancient Tributes in the following Sunken Kingdom locations: Shrine of Ocean’s Fortune, Shrine of Ancient Tears and Shrine of Tribute.
  
• Ship Milestones for Voyage Quests Completed now increment properly depending on the crew’s size.
  
• Attempting to deliver Athena’s Fortune treasure to an Outpost will now guide players to the correct location.
  
• The Logbook of a Captained ship will no longer continue to gain progress while the crew is pledged to the Burning Blade.

Blade of Souls

• Players can no longer bypass the stun when missing a heavy strike with the Blade of Souls by dropping the sword.
  
• The Blade of Souls is now correctly positioned in a player’s hands view while running or swimming.
  
• The Blade of Souls is now correctly stashed on a player’s back while climbing ladders.
  
• The correct icon will now show on the Map Table when a player is holding the Blade of Souls.

The Burning Blade

• Crews pledged to the Burning Blade should no longer be open to invasion by rival crews as part of an Hourglass battle.
  
• The Burning Blade will no longer be able to enter the Tunnels of the Damned as part of a Tall Tale.
  
• Crews burying items while pledged to the Burning Blade will now find that Map Bundles appear in the Captain’s cabin.
  
• Players will now see the Burning Blade announcement banners only once upon approaching and not repeatedly when engaging or returning from the Ferry of the Damned.
  
• The banner for pledging to take control of the Burning Blade now correctly displays the name of the crew that accomplished it.
  
• If a Burning Blade crew leaves the game, nearby crews will no longer see the ‘Defeated’ notification.
  
• The crew of the Burning Blade can no longer access the Ship Customisation Chest at Outposts.
  
• The Ashen Roar will no longer get stuck and become unusable if the Burning Blade moves servers while it is heating up.
  
• Storage merfolk will now recognise the Burning Blade when the pledged crew has stored treasure in the depths of the Sunken Kingdom.
  
• Treasure from the Burning Blade’s hold will now be released and rise to the surface consistently when the ship is sunk.
  
• The allied skeleton crew on the Burning Blade will no longer react when hit by the pledged crew.
  
• The Burning Blade’s middle mast repair location has been moved to avoid the location of the bell.
  
• Losing the Burning Blade within the Devil’s Shroud no longer repeats defeat notifications for the crew and rival players nearby.
  
• Joining a session in progress on the Burning Blade no longer starts battle music if the ship is not in combat.
  
• Battle music for the Burning Blade crew now consistently starts when a ship comes into battle range and ceases when the last ship leaves.
  
• The Burning Blade will no longer fire the Ashen Roar when it is considered downed or flipped.
  
• Players can no longer become stuck in the ship’s barrels and be ejected from the ship.
  
• A notification has been added to indicate that The Reaper’s Bones Emissary Flag can’t be lowered when in control of the Burning Blade.
  
• The Burning Blade is no longer able to migrate to a location where another Burning Blade is already present.
  
• Completing Rituals at a Skeleton Camp now requires the Burning Blade to be closer to the island.
  
• Captains defeating the Burning Blade should now consistently be rewarded with the Blade of Souls.
  
• Bone Caller Skeletons will now appear on the Burning Blade when summoned.
  
• Players using Controller Aim Assist will no longer find that allied skeletons on the Burning Blade trigger the assist effects.
  
• The Blade of Souls will only be shown next to Captain Flameheart while the Burning Blade is not roaming the seas.
  
• Improvements have been made to the visual quality of the carpet in the Captain’s cabin on the Burning Blade.
  
• While sailing the Burning Blade, the border of the Devil’s Shroud now appears in the correct locations around the world map.

Skeleton Camps

• Improvements have been made to the Skeleton Camp and Ancient Temple environments to enhance navigation and visual quality.
  
• Constellations will now be correctly highlighted on the pillars after a failed attempt.

Environment

• The feet of Barbary and Capuchin pets will now align properly when perched on the bar at taverns.
  
• Barrels at Blind Man’s Lagoon will now be solid and will not allow players to walk through them.
  
• Pet perch spots in the Pirate Legend Hideout have been updated, allowing players to place dogs in various locations.
  
• Pets in the Pirate Legend Hideout no longer partially float in the air when placed on a certain stool.
  
• The floating Wild Rose journal at the Lagoon of Whispers has been placed correctly so that it appears to sit on the surface below.
  
• Gold in the coffers at Picaroon Palms can now be collected by players.
  
• Players should no longer experience stuttering when going down the stairs at Sea Forts.
  
• ‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players can now sit on benches at Isla Tesoro without sitting on other players.

Visual and Audio

• Players of all body types using the Mayhem Capstan will now see their hands holding on to it correctly.
  
• Fireworks can now be heard while inside caves.
  
• The buttons on the Eclipse Jacket now display correctly if a player views it from further away.
  
• The Pirate Lord’s speech will no longer be cut off when players sail away at the end of the Captaincy tutorial.
  
• The audio effect for collecting a chicken in the Merchant Alliance Tutorial Voyage now matches other animal capture Voyages.
  
• Enemy skeleton music will no longer be heard when allied skeletons are nearby.
  
• Rolling Dice Emotes now also display a notification showing the dice roll result.
  
• Pocket Watches now consistently have visible glass faces after being equipped.
  
• Flameheart’s animations have been improved to be smoother when the Burning Blade is returned to The Reaper’s Hideout.
  
• The underside of a player’s foot is now visible when performing emotes or sitting on ledges.

Text and Localisation

• Approved Xbox terminology is now used across a range of menu items in non-English languages.
  
• ‘Revenge of the Morningstar’ – Incorrect translation in Tyler’s dialogue has been addressed, which previously blocked players using non-English languages.

Performance and Stability

• Improvements have been made to server stability to avoid instances where players are disconnected from their session.

Known Issues
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.

Download and Installation
Download Size:

• Steam: 1.76 GB

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In all the excitement of Flameheart’s explosive resurrection and a whole new Season to keep us occupied, we scarcely noticed that the end of July was upon us and it was time to get another monthly round-up off to the printers. Never fear, though, we weren’t going to leave you hanging for long. We’re pirate writers of our word, after all.

Content Update
While the main content update of the month was still sneaking over the horizon – as much as an enormous, flaming warship can sneak, anyway – we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the camaraderie that makes this community what it is. To that end, the Flags of Friendship Event set out to reward players forming Alliances with an exclusive tattoo and tankard, as well as increased profits from any loot your allies sold.

Captain Flameheart’s grand return couldn’t be put off for long, however. With all the subtlety you’d expect from an infamous pirate skeleton, the legend himself made his reappearance with the launch of Season 13, bringing with him a newly rebuilt warship to outmatch anything else sailing on the Sea of Thieves.

Not only that, his loyal followers had been hard at work unearthing Ancient Temples across the map to steal the secret knowledge trapped within, setting up Skeleton Camps to protect their efforts. If you want to read up on the decidedly less secret knowledge of everything that’s new, changed and improved in Season 13, be sure to stop by the release notes, as always.

News and Features
Over on the News page, the main event was of course the launch day rundown of everything you could expect from the minty-fresh new Season. Before that, we’d kicked off the month in style – Style of Thieves, that is! Season 12’s themes were revealed on the very first day of July, so that pirates had as much time as possible to get their fiercest fashions ready. You can’t rush perfection.

In Spotlight news, we stopped by another fresh Stream Team member after Div_And_Inc’s prior instalment, this time in the form of another familiar face to many: Gosfather! If you’re looking for tips on how to create content yourself or help to lift up other content creators if you’re already in the business, his interview is a great place to start.

Then, fast forwarding to the end of the month, we closed things out with a topic near and dear to our hearts here at Rare: Disability Pride Month. Accessibility is a major part of everything we do in Sea of Thieves, so spare a few minutes for a glimpse behind the curtain at some of the work that goes into making the seas a welcoming place for all!

Videos and Streams
With the inevitability of all regularly scheduled programming, the first video we released in July was a fresh instalment of Sea of Thieves News. As you might expect, most of the episode was dedicated to highlights of the imminent Season 13, but it also discussed the importance of the Pirate Emporium, changes to certain in-game sounds and how Bone Caller Skeletons react to tucked players. Drew even revealed that pirates would be able to sprint while holding the Blade of Souls, proving once and for all that pirates aren’t caught up on basic classroom safety.

Before we got to Season 13, however, we realised that some pirates may not be all that familiar with Captain Flameheart, especially if they hadn’t been sailing long enough to remember his angry floating head days. To ensure everyone was up to speed before pledging themselves to fight in his name, our Video team helpfully provided a whistle-stop tour of his dastardly deeds to date.

And then it was finally time for the man himself to make his return! As always, a new Season meant a new launch trailer and an expanded content update video to explain everything you can do with the fearsome Burning Blade. There was even a 40-second summary for anyone who really couldn’t wait to get sailing and an epic soundtrack addition to get everyone in the fighting spirit.

Social Channels
July was a big month for the community, with not one but two community-organised meetups taking place! Here in the UK, SoTFest had pirates descending on Walsall for a weekend, while across the pond we saw sailors gather in Ohio for Fest of Legends. Here at Rare, we were handing out glorious hats for a new round of Community Hub submissions, while the aforementioned Style of Thieves competition saw the best-dressed pirates walking away with snazzy new gloves. There was even a Movie Moments round of #SoTShot for all the budding photographers out there…

All that wonderful player creativity inspired us to undertake some creation of our own, but we quickly realised that we were better off delegating the important decisions. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for us to get distracted by the most important sporting event of the year and some fishy festivities to go along with it.

By the time the Burning Blade AKA Big Ship made its debut, we were more than ready to celebrate all the new game additions and changes, no matter how small. Even if the celebrations got a little… weird. Frankly, we’ve found it’s best not to ask. The last leg of the month was spent revelling in watching everyone experiencing Season 13 while throwing around free gold, identifying S-Tier unlocks and shrugging off the odd minor mishap.

And that, dear readers, was July. It was a hectic month with many moving parts, but well worth it to see everyone ultimately enjoying Season 13. And while you continue to do that, we’ll call time on another round-up! Until the next one, find us in all the usual places on Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, or via the official Forums and Discord. Let the Flame burn! Unless, you know, you’d rather it didn’t. That’s valid too.

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Previously in 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

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Something is afoot in The Devil's Roar! From August 8th to August 15th (10am UTC), you'll be able to discover mysterious new Ashen Message in a Bottle Voyages throughout this fiery region, leading the way to valuable Ashen treasures.

As an added bonus, all Ashen loot handed in during the Event will earn you increased rewards and help raise your Emissary Grade, to make finding those Bottles even more enticing...

Meanwhile, the forecast for volcanic activity in the Roar suggests things will be surprisingly quiet during these Ashen Expeditions, allowing you to hunt down Ashen Message in a Bottle Voyages and their spoils in relative peace - and pursue the rumours of a unique unlockable reward for doing so. Good luck!

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Fixed Issues
Gameplay

• Captain Briggsy’s note will once again appear on the ship’s mast when the Skull of Siren Song Voyage is ready to begin.
  
• Players speaking to Umbra while wearing specific cosmetics intended to unlock Commendations will find that they can once again do so with the desired outcome.

Skeleton Camps

• Multiple crew members entering a Skeleton Camp and attempting to complete a single Ritual at the same time will no longer be awarded additional Rituals. (Released previously as part of an interim hotfix.)
  
• Players interfering with their network connection while completing Rituals will no longer gain additional Rituals. (Released previously as part of an interim hotfix.)

The Burning Blade

• Crews pledging allegiance to Flameheart will no longer be able to form an Alliance with other crews while in control of the Burning Blade.
  
• The treasure held within the Burning Blade will no longer be multiplied when the ship migrates across servers.
  
• Players using Bone Callers on the deck of the Burning Blade will now find that skeleton allies are summoned to their aid as intended.

The Flame Rises

• Crews pledged to the Burning Blade who hand in a stolen Orb of Secrets at The Reaper’s Hideout will now progress the Ritual Recovery Commendation.

Known Issues
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.

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

Download and Installation
Download Size:

• Steam: 1.64 GB

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The next bumper crop of Spotlight shenanigans is here! After our last instalment packed in a recap of 10 whole Spotlight articles, bringing us closer to catching up with the current day, we’re now back with the all the more recent entries we couldn’t quite cram in there. It’s going to be a whirlwind to get through them, so everyone take a deep breath. Got it? Let’s go!

First up on our list, we’re jumping back to freezing memories of January and our Community Spotlight with roving writer Dead-Eye Dray. A keen contributor to Golden Sands Blogpost, Ancient Isles University and Merfolk’s Lullaby, it’s amazing that Dray found a spare second to chat with us at all, let alone walk us through their long and storied history in the Sea of Thieves community.

For our first Creator Spotlight of 2024 and this Showcase alike, we dropped by the deck of renowned banana cruncher Jon Bardcore! From his origins as an oldest child being distracted by a NES all the way through to slamming bananas while dropping knowledge and becoming a familiar face in the YouTube guide community, he was full of insights into the world of content creation.

For our next instalment we caught up with another name in the Ancient Isles University roster, Captain McGuffin. A researcher through and through, it’s perhaps little wonder they came to Sea of Thieves as an Alpha tester. Since then, serving as Head of Forensics at the University and a prominent member of Sea of Thieves Portugal has made them a testament to the community.

In March, not long after our Partner Programme welcomed in a host of new faces, we used our next Creator Spotlight to catch up with one of them: Pufferson! Best known for her endeavours as a solo Sloop skirmisher, she walked us through subjects as wide-ranging as how she fell into content creation, normalising discussions of mental health and her real-life sailing experiences.

Halfway through the list now, and we move on to Cap’n Axe! This artwork aficionado shared some details of a background in graphic design and production design, and how it’s helped to shape their experiences producing phenomenal pieces of loot art. They even revealed that they’d worked on an Oscar-nominated film! And that they hate mint. Equally character-defining fun facts.

The Community Spotlights continued with our next instalment and a deep dive into KeepinitTwisted’s whirlwind adventures. Between her own deep dives into Sea of Thieves lore, fierce victories in PvP battles and a coveted #SoTShot win, she’s made a name for herself in almost every corner of the community. We’d expect nothing else from someone who races up 53 floors every year.

Next in line, we turned to a pirate perhaps best known for his striking fashion sense: the Barnacled Buccaneer Fishhook Cook! The conversation, of course, delved into his well-documented love of crustacean-cover clothing, but also took in his favourite in-game moments, achievements and real-life Sea of Thieves events, before closing out on the details of an actual pirate connection.

For the penultimate Spotlight of this Showcase, we concluded our Pride Month celebrations by sitting down with Boatswain and Diversity & Inclusion advocate, Div_And_Inc! Despite admitting to the crime of maining Oddjob in GoldenEye 007, they quickly redeemed themselves with a discussion of all their work to make the Sea of Thieves community a more welcoming place for all.

And, finally, we catch up to our most recent Spotlight victim– uh, participant: Gosfather! As a founding member of our Community Stream Team alongside fellow creators like Div_And_Inc, this spirited streamer had plenty to say about Sea of Thieves, content creation, being a mentor and the correct technique for eating a scone. Answers to all the important questions, really.

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All of which, at long last, brings us up to date! We have plenty more Spotlights in the works to highlight many of the wonderful people who make up this brilliant pirate community, so watch this space to catch more interviews as they happen.

Until then, don’t forget you can always check out previous Community, Creator and Legend Spotlights from the Sea of Thieves News page. Or, if you’d rather take a whistle-stop tour through them in this format, be sure to stop by our previous Showcase and those that came before!

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Get additional gold and Renown by completing Daily Deeds from August 2nd-4th. Check the Events tab in the Pirate Log for more information!

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The time has come: the resurrected Captain Flameheart is making moves to seize control of the Sea of Thieves. He’s returned from his long banishment with a plan, and his sights are set on retrieving long-forgotten Ancient secrets. Two of the most powerful tools at his disposal as this mission begins are his monstrous flagship, the Burning Blade... and you!

Turn Towards the Dark
Yes, not only can the Burning Blade be found roaming the seas with fire in its belly and Obsidian Skeletons swarming its decks, Season 13 allows you to board it and declare yourself its new crew once you’ve dulled its fury with a suitable show of strength.

This means pledging yourself to Flameheart’s service, but the rewards are tempting. With ten cannons, a skeletal support crew, Obsidian Ashen Winds Skulls in the hold and the Ashen Roar fireball launcher at the bow, it’s a vessel capable of transforming a rough-and-ready pirate band into a marauding boss battle.

Serving Flameheart, for as long as you wish to do so, involves sailing the Burning Blade to Skeleton Camps found on islands across the map. These are built over Ancient Temples, sites of the lost knowledge that Flameheart craves. Solve the constellation puzzle in any of these Temples to enter the Crypt where an Ancient lies entombed, then complete the Ritual to transfer Ancient secrets to the Burning Blade. The more Rituals performed, the greater the ship’s value when you finally return it to Flameheart at The Reaper’s Hideout for your reward!

Stay Within the Light
But there is another option. Overcome the Burning Blade and you can choose not to take the wheel and sail in Flameheart’s name, but sink the ship and claim the spoils. The unique reward for doing so is the Blade of Souls, not just a coveted treasure item (with value measured by the Rituals performed before the Burning Blade was sunk), but a fully wieldable melee weapon with the power to set your enemies on fire!

There’s also a reason to visit the Ancient Temples beneath the Skeleton Camps even when you’re not pledged to Captain Flameheart. Battle your way through devout Obsidian Skeletons, solve the constellation puzzle and reach the Crypt – then instead of completing the Ritual within, sabotage it by escaping with the precious Orb of Secrets, ready to be sold to the nearest Trading Company representative who shows an interest...

Capture Those Cosmetics
In addition to a cache of Commendations and rewards earnable as you explore Season 13’s features in different ways, the new Season brings 100 fresh levels of Seasonal Renown to be climbed. Unique cosmetics along with gold, Doubloons and Ancient Coins are all up for grabs as you progress, and an optional Plunder Pass adds more prizes to the pool: for Season 13 this includes the eerie Eclipse ship set complete with Collector’s items, plus the Eclipse Hat, Jacket and Gloves for your pirate and 750 unlockable Ancient Coins to help you recoup the price of the Pass itself.

Over in the Pirate Emporium, the owl pets from Season 12 already have some competition in the form of five fabulous varieties of tropical toucan to share in your adventures. Also new in stock are the Radiant Comet cosmetic set with a stained glass motif, so far including a ship livery, a lantern and a clutch of well-crafted weapons, while the Runway Emote Bundle should satisfy pirates who adore both fashion and drama!

Find Out More
For more information on the Sea of Thieves Season 13 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 https://www.seaofthieves.com/ where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!

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The Flame Rises
Captain Flameheart has returned, but the real star of Season 13 is his fiery flagship, awaiting crews who have what it takes to claim it for themselves! For an overview of this new Season’s headline features, head to our dedicated Season 13 page.

The Burning Blade

• Ready your crew and take on the Burning Blade World Event! Easily spotted from afar with its telltale burning braziers and skyward beacon, this infernal ten-cannon warship will take a seasoned crew to take it on.
  
• Players who subdue the ship’s Obsidian Skeleton crew can choose to pledge service to the notorious Captain Flameheart and take control of the Burning Blade for themselves. Once in control, the crew will be assisted by Flameheart’s skeletal followers and have access to its weaponry, including Obsidian Ashen Winds Skulls to help repel boarders and the devastating Ashen Roar fired from the bow of the ship.
  
• Loyal Guardians can instead choose to completely sink the Burning Blade and claim its sizeable bounty from the wreckage. This includes the Blade of Souls, a fiery new melee weapon capable of setting foes ablaze!

Skeleton Camps

• Flameheart’s forces have constructed Skeleton Camps across the Sea of Thieves, built over the Ancient Temples hidden below the surface. Crews can discover these camps naturally on islands or dive straight to them from the Quest Table.
  
• Descending into an Ancient Temple, players must unravel the mysteries of the constellations by solving puzzles to unlock access to the Crypt Vault. There, those who oppose Flameheart can put a stop to the Ritual, snatch the Orb of Secrets and deliver it to the Trading Companies for a reward.
  
• Crews who have pledged service to Captain Flameheart and taken command of the Burning Blade, however, should complete the Rituals within the Ancient Temples to gather the lost knowledge that Flameheart seeks.
  
• As crews complete Rituals, Flameheart’s power grows, rewarding pledged pirates accordingly when they return the Burning Blade to him at The Reaper’s Hideout. Crews who instead destroy the Burning Blade and retrieve the Blade of Souls can sell it for a value depending on the Rituals performed before the ship was defeated!

Commendations and Rewards

• Crews choosing to side with the Pirate Lord and sink the Burning Blade will unlock access to items from the Obsidian Bone Crusher set, with ship parts, clothing items and weapons all available to earn.
  
• Those instead choosing to pledge to Flameheart and sail the devastating Burning Blade will unlock the Burning Blade Reborn ship set, and Servants of the Flame who have already drunk from Flameheart’s chalice can unlock new skeleton cosmetics and bone colours when crewing the Burning Blade as skeletons.
  
• Taking the Orbs from the Temples can unlock the Cracked Orb Lantern, and those seeking to steal the Orbs from unsuspecting crews can earn the Reaper’s Bones Shattered Mask.
  
• Descending deep into the Ancient Temples below the Skeleton Camps to unravel their mysteries will unlock access to new tattoos for your troubles.

Season 13
Another Season means 100 new levels to climb by raising your Renown, with racks full of rewards to snag along the way – and an optional Plunder Pass adding even more. Emissaries aren't forgotten either, with the latest Company-themed cosmetics for qualifying Ledger performances!

Season 13 Rewards and Plunder Pass

• Progressing through the 100 levels of Renown in Season 13 will reward players with Bloodstone Dragon cosmetics alongside other time-limited Seasonal specials. Head to the Seasons profile page to browse the new rewards and check your pirate’s progress!
  
• Pick up the latest Plunder Pass to gain access to a plethora of additional unlockable cosmetics from the Eclipse set, including a full ship set plus the Jacket, Hat and Gloves, all available to earn by raising your Renown. Purchase a Pass in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, via the Pirate Emporium webpage or the Steam Item Store.

Season 13 Emissary Ledger Rewards

• This Season, the Guild Emissary Ledgers offer the ‘Secrets of the Ancient Flame’ Painting, Dark Hand of Fate Ornament and Guild of Fiery Spirits Title to Guilds who represent them well and perform proudly in the Ledgers.
  
• The Trading Company Emissary Ledgers have been refreshed this month with the previously lost Pocket Watches. Players can therefore now earn the Tribute Peak, Relic of Darkness, Merchant Ambassador, Masked Renegade and Magpie’s Glory Pocket Watches when reaching the top tier of the Ledgers. Players who have previously unlocked all rewards within the Ledgers will find these new Pocket Watches already in their Equipment Chests!

Chest of Fortune

• The Chest of Fortune has now been locked away in the belly of the Burning Blade, challenging crews to sink this formidable ship to claim its prize.
  
• Crews who retrieve Chests of Fortune can now earn the next Grade of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation, unlocking access to the Fates of Fortune Fishing Rod, Shovel, Pocket Watch, Tankard and Speaking Trumpet.
  
• An additional reward has been retroactively added to Grade II of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation, which now contains the Fates of Fortune Gloves. Players who already earned Grade II prior to this update will be able to purchase the gloves from the Outpost clothing shops straight away.

Reaper’s Chests

• Crews chasing down the telltale beacon of the Reaper’s Chest or Reaper’s Bounty can earn the next Grade of the Reaper’s Riches Commendation, and start unlocking access to the Fates of Fortune Hurdy-Gurdy, Concertina and Scar.

Pirate Emporium
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!

• Radiant Comet Ship Collection
  
• Radiant Comet Weapon Bundle
  
• Radiant Comet Lantern
  
• Cloudburst, Treetop, Brightbill, Seaspray and Sugarspun Toucan pets
  
• Runway Emote Bundle
  
• Mayhem Ship Bundle
  
• Sting Tide Cutlass (free!)

Outpost Cosmetics
New Outpost Stock!

• Outpost clothing shops have received a shipment of brand new items and now offer the Proud Plume clothing set, available for gold.
  
• The Cephalopod Courtly Jacket, Whalebone Tattoo and Tentacled Terror Tattoo are all available from the Outpost clothing shops for those with enough gold to spare.
  
• Outpost weapon shops now carry a range of armaments from the hand-carved Carpenter’s weapon set.
  
• Outpost weapon shops also stock a selection of heavy swords and rapiers from the Kraken, Inky Kraken and Venomous Kraken sets, locked behind their associated Commendations.

New Throwing Knives

• The Outpost weaponsmiths now stock a choice of new throwing knives, all locked behind lofty accomplishments.
  
• The Cartographer Throwing Knives are unlocked upon completion of the Triple Threat Thrower Commendation, the Guardians of Fortune Throwing Knives unlock at Allegiance level 50 with the Guardians of Fortune, and the Servants of the Flame Throwing Knives unlock at Allegiance level 50 with the Servants of the Flame.

Season Six Legacy Cosmetics

• Cosmetics previously available during Season Six have arrived in Outpost shops and can now be yours in exchange for Doubloons!
  
• Players can now purchase the Naval Commander clothing set, along with a range of unique one-off items that were available during this Season. Pirate Legends can also pick up Belle’s Hat and Stranger’s Cutlass.
  
• The time-limited Dark Relics items, however, remain exclusive to players who participated in Season Six.

Gameplay Improvements
Post-Defeat Ship Sinking

• Once a ship is destroyed, the time taken for it to sink and release its cargo has been reduced, allowing the sunk crew to interact with the mermaid and head to their new location more quickly.
  
• While each ship previously had a unique sinking time, this update brings them to consistently shorter post-defeat sinking times.

Bone Caller Skeleton Improvements

• Summoned Bone Caller Skeletons will no longer uncover players using a hide emote to hide in plain sight.
  
• Players being chased by Bone Caller Skeletons will now be able to hide if they are able to lose line of sight and complete the hide emote before being found.
  
• Players can now lure Bone Caller Skeletons to a location by firing a weapon and hiding again, causing the skeletons to patrol the location of the sound.

Fixed Issues
Gameplay

• When boarding a ship from the sea, players can no longer silence the boarding audio effects by grabbing the ladder while repeatedly holding out items, ensuring nearby players will always hear the signs that someone is boarding from the water.
  
• Players can once again summon text chat after rebinding it to either the C key on the keyboard or R3 button on PlayStation®5.
  
• Crews diving for an Hourglass battle as a Grade 1 Emissary, and earning enough following a win to skip straight to Grade 3, will now correctly progress Commendations that required Grade 2 status to unlock.
  
• Crews are no longer able to vote down an Emissary Flag in the short window after the sinking death knell is heard and before the ship is destroyed.
  
• The Gold Hoarders Boots can now be found in the correct shop at Outposts.
  
• Players using a mermaid to leave a stormy area and return to their ship should no longer find themselves sometimes unfortunately struck by lightning when arriving back on their ship.
  
• Snakes caught inside crates will now attack players when held and stationary.

Performance and Stability

• Players should no longer experience scenarios where the sea becomes frozen or reduced to moving slowly, significantly affecting gameplay.
  
• Further improvements have been made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session.

The War Chest

• The Twin Shot Target Commendation is now visible in the War Chest when progress has not yet been made.
  
• Bone Caller Skeletons roaming a ship now offer a short grace period before attacking players returning from the Ferry of the Damned.
  
• Throwing a knife at a blocking player will now display the correct visual effects.
  
• Players can now retrieve Deadlock Jailer Throwing Knives embedded in the environment without having throwing knives in their loadout.
  
• When a charged shot is fired from a Double Barrel Pistol, the animation no longer shows the hammer being primed before reloading, allowing the weapon to now reload more quickly.

Visual and Audio

• When a player boards a ship, the audio cue is now only heard around the vicinity of the ladder and not from further away.
  
• Battle music during Faction Battles will now continue to be heard after a player has died and returned from the Ferry of the Damned.
  
• Several wheels have been improved to prevent players’ hands from intersecting with the handles when turning.
  
• Pigs caught in a Pig Crate will now appear at the correct size.
  
• Transitioning from a Sleep or Sit Emote to any other emote now updates the camera zoom point correctly.
  
• When wielding a pocket watch, players will now flick the watch open.
  
• Improvements have been made to the blade textures of the Gold Leaf Cutlass.
  
• Performing the Scrappy Weapon Pose Emote no longer causes players' hands to intersect with throwing knives.
  
• When a player is observed using a spyglass, the item should no longer intersect with their head when looking towards the ground.
  
• The grog inside the Evening Tide Tankard now appears correctly.
  
• The Legendary Spirit Pistol should now fire in line with the pistol’s centre point when aiming.
  
• Larger pirates wearing the Paradise Garden Costume should now fit snugly without visible seams.
  
• The colour of the Frozen Horizon Frigid Hair tips is now maintained when a headband is equipped.
  
• Placing the Scrivener’s Writing Set on a ship now results in it sitting neatly in place.
  
• ‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – The skull that Guybrush finds in the catacombs now sits in his hands while animating.
  
• ‘The Quest for Guybrush’ – When unlocking the Summon the Beast shanty, the notification now shows the correct iconography.

Environment

• A visible hole in the Vault wall at Fetcher’s Rest has been filled.
  
• Improvements have been made to the shorelines at Plunder Valley and Sailors’ Bounty to ensure the waves crash smoothly onto the beaches.
  
• Treasure dropped near the Vault doors on Sailor’s Knot Stronghold will no longer fall beneath ground level.
  
• Pets will no longer be automatically removed from hangout spots within the Pirate Legend Hideout.
  
• Floating items in the Shrine of Ocean’s Fortune have been removed.
  
• Players can now smoothly pass through a gap under one of the platforms on the eastern side of Skull Keep without getting stuck.
  
• ‘The Legend of Monkey Island’ – The following portrait Trinkets now only fit on certain hanging spots around the ships to prevent them from intersecting with other items: Governor Guybrush Portrait, Governor of Mêlée Portrait and Governor Marley Portrait.

User Interface

• When attempting to invite players to a Guild, the invite menu should now consistently show all available friends.
  
• After navigating from the Discover tab on the Quest Table, returning to the Discover tab will retain focus on the previously selected option.
  
• Players diving to an encounter and receiving an extended wait in the Tunnels of the Damned will once again be shown notifications that the search is still in progress.

Accessibility

• Players on PC using the ‘Toggle Radial Menus’ accessibility setting will no longer find that pressing the Q and E keys together causes the Game Options menu to become stuck on screen.

Text and Localisation

• Players using French localisation will now find that the Seaposts have reverted to their English names as used previously.
  
• ‘The Fate of the Morningstar’ – Improvements have been made to the Tall Tale Quest Books to resolve a range of text issues when playing in Japanese.

Known Issues
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.

Download and Installation
Download Size:

• Steam: 6.62 GB

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It feels like barely a moment since we were last here, summing up the events of May, and yet the calendar is dutifully telling us that it is, in fact, now July. Who’d have thought? Well, on the off-chance the calendar isn’t lying, we should get around to rounding up June, shouldn’t we?

Content Update
First up on the content front was a call from the Pirate Emporium shopkeepers to take advantage of the Emporium Extravaganza Event. In addition to an accompanying Hidden Gems Sale (swiftly followed by a second June sale to celebrate the three-year anniversary of Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life), all players claiming the free Self High Five Emote were automatically entered into the Extravaganza Raffle, with the entire available content of the Emporium up for grabs as top prize.

With that enticing setup on the line, it was time to dive straight into Season 12 Community Weekend! Filled with free items and Voyages, streaming spoils, picture-perfect poses and, of course, the all-important race to uncover Pop-Up Plunder, the weekend was a blast and a celebration of everything that makes this community what it is. Yes, even the criminals who buried treasure in the spike pits. Especially them.

After that, we were back to our regularly scheduled programming and a monthly content update fresh from the developers’ desks. In addition to a bracing bounty of Emporium stock, June’s update saw the team tweaking and reworking a number of areas to better balance the player experience, including ship speeds, Double Barrel Pistol stats and a clutch of recent Commendations. Be sure to give the full release notes a read if you haven’t already to get all the details.

News and Features
Even with a myriad of other celebrations taking place throughout the month, we weren’t about to forget that June heralded Pride Month. That meant it was time for an updated profile picture – or not, as the case may be – and a new stylish T-shirt to get your hands on! Our streaming soundtrack, meanwhile, was expanding with the inspirational ‘Blessing of Athena’s Fortune’.

As Season 12 Community Weekend rapidly approached, we spun up a dedicated article to lay out all the details of what players could expect. A while later, once the revelries had wrapped up, we returned to the scene for a detailed look back at what everyone had got up to during the Event and, as always, to question which chaos merchants among you are eating all these Burnt Grubs.

June’s community spirit also extended to another two Community Spotlights! First on the list was a buccaneer famed for his barnacle-based bearing, Fishhook Cook, who walked us through everything from his early start in gaming to a real-life pirate connection. Then, to close out Pride Month, we stopped by to chat with LGBTQIA+ advocate and brilliant Boatswain Div_And_Inc to learn about their work supporting diversity across the seas. And fire breathing. It was a far-reaching conversation.

Videos and Streams
There was a lot of gaming news going around in early June, as the Xbox Games Showcase revealed a range of upcoming titles and updates for the year ahead. With Flameheart’s long-awaited return just around the corner, our own Video team wasn’t about to let the opportunity go by without dropping in a little Season 13 trailer…

Closer to home, another instalment of Sea of Thieves News was due and that meant dragging Drew back in front of the camera to spill the beans about plans for ship speeds. Daryl wasn’t far away either, ready to fill everyone in on the promise of Season 12 Community Weekend plus the latest Emporium and Outpost additions.

Since Community Weekend relied on everyone getting those Sea of Thieves Twitch viewing hours in, the Community team hauled themselves into the Rare Tavern on a Saturday for a stream of their own. Dubbed The Trading Company Tour, it pitted four fabulously chaotic teams against each other in a timed race to earn Emissary value in whatever ways they saw fit. PvP battles? Sneaky trade deals? Desperate pleading for the Kraken to go away? Catch up on all of the above and more as the teams raked in millions for their chosen representatives.

Social Channels
Accompanying all the Event-based activity in June was a buzz of regular community content: the Community Hub saw two new refreshes, showcasing some incredible fan creations, while keen snappers delighted in two more themes for our trusty #SoTShot contest. For the first, promising pirates posed in tranquil scenes of Island Life, before we dispensed with the sense of serenity and got back to the usual pirate pastime of Grog Guzzling. Cheers!

Not everyone was to be lauded, of course, as we suffered a fishy betrayal, endured the continued trials of unhelpful crewmates and had our naming abilities questioned. Even the sweet comfort of someone else’s loot wasn’t enough to dull our sadness and we turned to collecting Gunpowder Barrels instead. Explosions heal all wounds, or something.

In better news, while we were busy digging through data to uncover everyone’s Community Weekend stats, we also happened to stumble across the pet name rosters. None of the top tens featured the word ‘Devil’, so clearly you’re all doing better than us. Once all the data crunching had worn us out, we had a quick hunt around for the best place to have a sit down, then ended the day with a jolly singalong. Worth it.

And so we reached the end of June! Big things are afoot across the waves and when we next stop by with a round-up, a new Season will have swept through the Sea of Thieves… Until then, however, we must bid you adieu! As always, you can find us in the usual places for regular updates: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, or via the official Forums and Discord. Now we really do have to leave you. We have rocks to sail into.

---

Previously in 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

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Whether it’s Season 12, launching on PlayStation®5, a recent Community Weekend, tweaks to ship speeds or the Emporium Extravaganza, it’s been an absolute onslaught of activities on the seas of late, but we still need to put a big tick in the Style of Thieves box before Season 13 rears its fiery beard on July 25th. So let’s get it in the diary now – how does July 8th-11th sound?

Well, it’s good for us, so we’re looking forward to the company of those who can join. While you’re more than welcome to select your clothes and snap your suits in advance, please note that only images submitted via social media within each theme’s 24-hour window will be accepted.

On each of the aforementioned days we will create a post across Sea of Thieves social channels declaring that a theme has begun. It’s then up to you to share your screenshots of surprising fashion, including the name of the theme you’re entering and any other relevant information (a couple of the themes this time need some additional details, so check before you share)! Scroll down and read the How to Enter section for a rundown of the full rules, as well as some helpful advice.

Once a theme’s 24-hour entry period has ended, our crew will scroll the digital catwalks and select the pirates they feel found the most fascinating fits. That list is then whispered into the ear of a passing parrot which is then trusted to deliver the information through squawked Morse code to the most approachable member of our Art team. As long as this bird-based message is communicated effectively, this far more artistically minded individual will have the final decision on the pirates who win this Season’s Style of Thieves prizes!

There will be three winners per category, meaning 12 entries total, and those lucky pirates will take home a pair of the elusive Fashionista’s Finery Gloves. The plan is to announce the winning pirates via social channels on July 18th, a week after the final theme takes place. And as always, a necessary reminder that even if you don’t win Style of Thieves, as with all of our social media contests, is intended to be about the fun first and foremost. More than anything, we hope you enjoy messing about with your pirate’s wardrobe.

And speaking of clothes containers, here are your points of inspiration we’re asking you to pick some fits for this time around:

The Themes
Each theme will start at 10am UTC on the dates detailed below, with entries accepted via a variety of social media channels for a full 24 hours.

Superhero
Pick a costume and a name to match your pirate’s new justice-seeking persona! Make sure you state what your hero name would be when you share your entry.
Entry date: July 8th

Seven Deadly Sins
Gluttony, Anger, Envy, Lust, Pride, Sloth and Greed offer a range of twisted angles for pirates happy to embrace their darker side. Remember to state your outfit’s inspiration when you share your entry.
Entry date: July 9th

Monochrome
Find a focused fit designed around a single shade for this minimalist-minded theme.
Entry date: July 10th

Gaudy
From flashy rings to oversized pantaloons, push the idea of restraint from your mind and embrace your pirate’s most lavish looks, coherence be damned.
Entry date: July 11th

Image credit: SenshaPO on X/Twitter

How to Enter
Now into the part of the article that’s the same every time, including the sentence you just read. We’ve got eyes everywhere, in a nice ‘enter however you feel comfortable’ kind of way, so you’re free to submit on a variety of social channels. That said, each comes with its own quirks as follows:

• To enter on X/Twitter, make sure you include @SeaOfThieves and #StyleOfThieves in your post.
  
• For Instagram, you just need to post using #StyleOfThieves.
  
• Add your entry as a reply to that day’s theme post on Facebook.
  
• Post your entry with #StyleOfThieves in the #pirate-fashion channel of our official Discord server.

And regardless of where you’re sharing your entry, be sure to include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post, along with any extra info called for by the theme.

Rules of the Runway
We’ve put together some handy hints and rules to make sure you capture your pirate’s best side and don’t accidentally enter an ineligible picture:

• No Costumes on the catwalk – we want to see your creativity and individuality in how you mix and match items, so no all-in-one Costumes.
  
• Complete cosmetic sets are not permitted. Our artists designed those items to go together and, again, we want to see stylish creativity. Ideally, an outfit should contain no more than four items from the same named set, but as long as creativity from multiple styles is evident then your outfit will be accepted.
  
• Unless a theme calls for it, all shots should be solo pirates and not 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 considered when judging the outfit.
  
• Lighting does help us appreciate your efforts, so find a well-lit spot to fully peacock your picks. Coloured or tactical lighting won’t be considered part of the outfit.
  
• Toggle off your HUD for a clean snap and avoid a name getting in the way! If you haven’t set it, the Toggle HUD command can be assigned to a button from the HUD category of the Keyboard and Mouse or Controller area of your Settings menu.
  
• Screenshots should be a reflection of the game – no external editing or filters should be applied.
  
• Keep your submissions to a 16:9 or 1:1 ratio, making sure your entire outfit is in shot, including your shoes! This will help us when framing winners, and ensures a degree of parity when comparing submissions.
  
• While you may use any emotes for your shot, any features added to the outfit via an emote (e.g. oars, weapons, sparklers) won’t be taken into consideration as part of an outfit 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!
  
• The unique prize means you can’t win more than once in Style of Thieves, but you’re more than welcome to continue entering for the fun of it!

Image credit: BaitCrate on X/Twitter

There we are, the details of the next Style of Thieves contest are now known in more places than one little spot in the Midlands, and we’ll see the fashion-minded freebooters among you between July 8th and 11th 2024. Find your frocks, ponder your pants, have fun and good luck!

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Hello! It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these lookbacks, so just give us a second to dust off the inkwell and make sure we didn’t leave any pineapple and Pondie sandwiches lurking under the pile of unsolved bottle maps.

All clear. There’s still a bit of a smell but we can’t spot anything… oh well!

Right, Season 12 Community Weekend. From 11am UTC on June 15th to the same time on June 17th, we hosted the second Sea of Thieves Community Weekend of 2024, but the first to welcome in our pirates on PlayStation®5! How did you all find it? It’s no good talking, these are words typed a few days ago at least, they don’t have ears. Judging from the responses and numbers we’ve seen, though, we’d say a lot of you had a right lovely time of it.

In case you’re not sure what people were having a lovely time with, here’s a quick refresher so you can understand not to miss the next Community Weekend: pirates who set sail during the Event window earned the Season 12 Community Weekend Flag and Performing Pup Emote, while over the course of the first 15 hours (after a short hiccup getting started – apologies for that) the viewing hours of Sea of Thieves on Twitch increased the Community Emissary Grade and pushed in-game rewards of all flavours to the highest possible multiplier of all the Events we run, this then being active until the end of the Community Weekend.

Plus, Raid Voyages on Skeleton Forts were open for all, regardless of your reputation levels – and all pirates, Legend or not, got access to a single-use Legend of the Veil Voyage to let newer pirates have a taste of the legendary Voyages that await!

Another spot of seasoning we sprinkle on Community Weekends is the draw of Pop-Up Plunder, with Season 12 Community Weekend offering up 12 new maps shared via social media that led crews to random loot, leading to them brawling with nearby crews to claim a single, shared dig spot. This Event’s maps took pirates around some iconic locales, from the traps of Thieves’ Haven to the shores of the Coral Fortress, but it was the joy of seeing crews try to pry chests from the very middle of a spike trap on Sailors’ Bounty that proved to be our crew’s highlight. We’ve been doing this for a while, it wasn’t going to stay easy forever…

A final bit of flavour comes to these Events via the Picture Walls present at every Outpost, and crucially, as detailed in our livestream on the day, not at The Reaper’s Hideout, because it is not an Outpost (they’d probably deface it anyway). Crews took a myriad of photos throughout the Event. From solo snaps to huge group shots, silly poses to highlights of rare spoils, these commemorative moments never fail to give us a grin.

We mentioned a livestream just then and we’d definitely be remiss not to elaborate as, again, this was a fine community endeavour hosted in honour of the Event. Titled The Trading Company Tour, it tasked four groups of top-tier pirates with the job of earning as much gold as they could for a pre-selected Trading Company, with the aim for these crews to showcase the variety of activities and play styles that comprise the Sea of Thieves experience, and they truly did not disappoint with a range of tactics on display from sinking to loot trading. You can catch up on the Tour and connected ‘banter’ from members of our Community team right here.

But that’s enough about what we organised for the day, we’re far more interested in what you all got up to. The easiest way to work that out? Numbers! The biggest of which was 290,191,761,714, being the total amount of gold earned, HUGE! That’s enough to buy 207,279,829,795.7 Greggs sausage rolls, if we assume one gold is worth one UK quid. Or some Dark Adventurers gear! Maybe, like, three boots or something (which would be an inconvenient number if this wasn’t a pirate game).

But what else occurred while you were all making such stacks of coin? Some quickfire numbers for you: 52,997,680 cannonballs were fired, while 3,557,318 pirates were also loaded as cannon ammo. 9,091,054 bananas were cronched. 3,513,974 tankards of grog were quaffed. Aside from all that fun, plenty of you visited the Ferry for a number of reasons: 3,472,599 took a trip from a gunpowder explosion, 434,650 succumbed to volcanoes and somehow 1191 pirates got on the wrong end of a firework.

The new features of Season 12 seem to be making an impression too. 700,404 Bone Caller Skeletons were summoned to help in combat, pirates were sent flying by a Horn of Fair Winds on 819,395 different occasions and you collectively ran 279,421,500 metres along tightropes, which works out to roughly 62 trips from one coast of America to the other. Pirates also fell off tightropes 905,948 times. We’re hoping that wasn’t all the same scoundrel.

Also, 3702 Burnt Grubs were eaten. A new record! For some reason…

Speaking of your antics, we also awarded a bunch of Hats of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame across the Event for a multitude of marvellous reasons. Long-overdue bonnets were bestowed upon consistently brilliant buccaneers like Pipsuwu, InkyGhosts and Didichat. Community MVPs were highlighted and honoured with people such as D4ndano and Carrillo, and creative efforts like DatLlama’s jacket and LzySoren’s actual coin also saw them receive surprise head-warmers.

You all joined in with our own fun on social media channels too. From asking if the colours of the flag were one shade or another to encouraging us to stack an unnecessary number of Gunpowder Barrels on a ship, with an unfortunate conclusion, it’s always a joy to see the amount of fun had over a Community Weekend across all of our spaces, and not merely in-game.

And that, in give or take 1000 words, was Sea of Thieves Season 12 Community Weekend, huzzah! As always, these Events are what they are due to the efforts of so many, so we’d like to extend our thanks to the hard-working Community Managers, Moderators and Deckhands who support our social spaces, the team behind the scenes who help fix the things our Community team panic about going wrong, our Video team for engineering a genuinely foolproof (and now fool-tested) stream setup and everyone else who remains on call to ensure these brilliant weekends can happen.

And, of course, a huge thanks to all of you, the pirates who turn up with your fun, your antics and your infectious spirit for the seas we share. Cheers to you all, and we hope to see you next Community Weekend so we can do it all again!

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Gameplay Improvements
Ship Speed Rebalancing

• The Sloop, Brigantine and Galleon have all received a set of speed changes, balancing each ship type and placing more emphasis on ship direction and sail management during naval encounters.
  
• In a straight tailwind scenario, the Galleon with its three sails angled to the wind will now gain the advantage, followed by the Brigantine, then Sloop.
  
• In a straight headwind, the Sloop will have less wind resistance from its single sail and will be at an advantage over the Brigantine, and then the slower Galleon.
  
• Sidewind and crosswind scenarios will also now favour the Galleon when all sails are catching the maximum amount of wind. However, Galleon crews who mismanage the wind will suffer the largest penalty.

Sailing into a Headwind

• Ships heading into a direct headwind will now be required to angle the sails to reduce the wind resistance and maintain their speed over longer distances. Sailing with sails flat into the wind will no longer be optimal.

Double Barrel Pistol Balancing

• The damage of standard and charged shots from the Double Barrel Pistol has been increased.
  
• A charged shot now takes less time to charge, allowing players to prepare this heavy-damage attack more quickly.
  
• Hip firing the Double Barrel Pistol is now slightly more accurate.
  
• Reload time has been reduced, allowing players to reload more quickly and get back into the action.

War Chest Commendation Balancing

• Following the launch of Season 12, the team has adjusted a number of Commendations from the War Chest, reducing the criteria needed to unlock the various Grades. Players with progress already above the newly rebalanced levels will be required to perform one more action to refresh the Commendation progress.
  
• When using the Double Barrel Pistol to defeat enemy threats, the Blown-Away Bones, Blam of the Damned and Double Deep Trouble Commendations will now progress more quickly.
  
• Utilising throwing knives to attack Gunpowder Skeletons will now progress the Keg Knife Kaboom Commendation more quickly.
  
• Players using scattershot against enemy threats will find the Holey Wood Holes, Scatter Bones, Spooky Spread and Peppered Meg Commendations have been made easier to obtain.
  
• Using the Bone Caller to attack Skeleton Ships will now progress the Skeleton Squared Commendation more quickly.
  
• Crews cashing in the Horn of Fair Winds will now find the amount needed for the Storm Sale Commendation has been reduced.
  
• Players using harpoon tightropes to transfer treasure to their ship will now progress the Carry On Lootin’ Commendation much more quickly.
  
• The Rib Roast and Title Fight Commendations requiring players to best Skeleton Lords in combat have now been switched to provide progress to the whole crew when defeated, rather than only rewarding a single player.

Hit Registration Improvements

• Recent improvements to hit registration for player encounters have now been brought to threats encountered within the world, providing an improved ranged combat experience against skeletons, Phantoms and Ocean Crawlers.

Pirate Emporium
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 page to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Pet Protector Ship Collection
  
• Dire Dark Warsmith Ship Collection
  
• Dire Dark Warsmith Ship’s Crest
  
• Dire Dark Warsmith Weapon Bundle
  
• Dire Dark Warsmith Costume Set
  
• Paradise Garden Costume Set
  
• Paradise Garden Weapon Bundle
  
• Painted Cat Collector’s Pet
  
• Storm Strike Curse
  
• Stormfish Chaser Clothing Bundle (returning from Season Ten Plunder Pass)
  
• Baleful Bloom Costume Set (returning from Season Seven Plunder Pass)
  
• Tiny Tree Emote (free!)

Outpost Cosmetics
New Outpost Stock!

• The Outpost weapon shops now stock a further range of Heavy Swords and Rapiers from the Ocean Crawler, Deep Ocean Crawler and Azure Ocean Crawler sets, locked behind their associated Commendations.
  
• The Crustacean Courtly Jacket is also available from the Outpost clothing shops for those with enough gold to spare.
  
• Players who have reached reputation level 65 with the Gold Hoarders will now unlock access to the Gold Hoarders Boots, currently found in the Outpost clothing shops but moving to the Gold Hoarders representatives in a future update.

Updates
Front End Pirate Log Access

• The Pirate Log is now conveniently accessible from the front end menu when launching Sea of Thieves! Players can now more easily check their Season and reputation progress before joining a session on the seas.

Player Reporting Improvements

• A QR code has been added to the Report a Player menu to provide easier access for console players wishing to submit a report via a mobile device.

Fixed Issues
Gameplay

• ‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – Players will no longer become stuck after the LeChuck fight or the wedding ceremony and can now once again consistently complete the Tall Tale.
  
• Crews purchasing Captain’s Supplies from the shipwright should now consistently find their supplies are delivered to their ship’s barrels.
  
• Players can no longer achieve full billow with the Horn of Fair Winds without it losing its charge when used.
  
• Players should no longer find themselves joining a session in an empty grey scene when attempting to rejoin a previous session.
  
• Attacking a Chest of Rage with a range of weapon types will now consistently enrage the chest.
  
• Players are no longer able to swap between platforms in rapid succession and gain access to exclusive cosmetics in their session.
  
• Selling Ashen Chests recovered from Ancient Vaults will now progress the correct Ship and Pirate Milestones.
  
• Players using inverted mouse controls will no longer find their input switched when diving or surfacing for a Faction battle.
  
• Food items will no longer appear in Cannonball Barrels at Skeleton Forts.
  
• When starting an Ashen Emissary Voyage as an Athena’s Fortune Emissary, the island chosen for the map will no longer be situated outside The Devil’s Roar.
  
• The Ashen Chest found inside the Vault at emergent Skeleton Fort encounters will now be unlocked by default.
  
• ‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – Players will no longer be able to defeat LeChuck while inside the church before he has a chance to retaliate.
  
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Diving to a Tall Tale checkpoint should no longer return the crew to a nearby Outpost.

Emporium Extravaganza Event

• The Ancient Coin Trinket erroneously granted to some players during this Event has now been removed from those inventories. Players who legitimately obtained the Trinket are unaffected and will retain their reward (please raise a ticket with our Support team if you encounter any issues with this).

Throwing Knives

• Players will now be able to jump freely if they stow their throwing knife while charging a heavy strike.
  
• Players will now be able to run if they stow their throwing knife while aiming.
  
• Throwing knives embedded in ships’ ladders will no longer prevent players from grabbing on to the ladders.
  
• Throwing knives at a Gunpowder Barrel held by a player will now consistently cause the keg to explode on impact.
  
• Players fighting the Ghost of Graymarrow with throwing knives will now deal the intended amount of damage.
  
• Players engaging in Raid Voyages with throwing knives will now deal the intended amount of damage to enemy threats.

Double Barrel Pistol

• Players holding aim and fire while reloading will now consistently see the weapon switch to an aimed state and begin to charge.
  
• Players holding aim and fire then releasing while reloading should no longer see the weapon briefly switch to an aimed state before returning to idle.
  
• Players are no longer able to skip the animation for pulling back the second hammer when firing.
  
• Players fighting the Ghost of Graymarrow with a Double Barrel Pistol will now deal the intended amount of damage.
  
• Players engaging in Raid Voyages with a Double Barrel Pistol will now deal the intended amount of damage to enemy threats.

Environment

• The cannons on the north side of Kraken Watchtower are now visible when they shoot at vessels.
  
• Crews diving to a Raid Voyage within the Treasury of the Secret Wilds will no longer discover gold piles which cannot be claimed.
  
• Players will now consistently be able to pick up and take items from Collector’s Chests inside the Shrine of Ocean’s Fortune.
  
• Removed a number of areas where players could fall out of the environment within the Pirate Legend Hideout.
  
• The Glorious Sea Dog Tavern no longer features invisible objects around the island.
  
• ‘The Legend of Monkey Island’ – A Vanity Chest has been added to the circus stage, enabling players to remove the Skeleton Curse if they have one equipped in order to put on the circus costume.

Visual and Audio

• Crews defeated in a Faction battle will now experience a smooth transition into and out of the Tunnels of the Damned.
  
• Players using the Skull of Siren Song will now animate smoothly between wielding and using the weapon.
  
• Sprinting onto a harpoon tightrope with a weapon equipped will no longer cause the weapon to be wielded, letting players move smoothly along the rope.
  
• Lesedi’s Spyglass will no longer change into another spyglass when the player dies or rejoins their session with the item equipped.
  
• The Barrel Bombardier and Checkmate Cannons now display correctly when viewed at all distances.
  
• The Deadlock Jailer Costume now better fits pirates of all body types.
  
• The Flaming Jackal Pocket Watch now displays the correct date.
  
• PC players using AMD GPUs and DirectX12 should now consistently see visual effects from fireworks when fired.
  
• ‘The Legend of Monkey Island’ – Items will now appear at the correct size when held by players during the Tall Tales.
  
• ‘Captains of the Damned’ – When voting on the Tall Tale, one dagger will now appear on the Tall Tale book to show the player selection.

User Interface

• Players should now be able to purchase the relevant promotions once they have reached the required Company reputation level.
  
• After purchasing a Ship Renaming Deed from the Emporium in the front end, players should be able to rename their ship without needing to restart the game.
  
• When purchasing a ship, having a ship name rejected will no longer temporarily cause the ship price to appear as free.
  
• All barrels around the Sea of Thieves will now have category item counters, as intended.
  
• Players will now see an infinity symbol on replayable Voyages in the Quest Table menu.
  
• Switching quickly through the What’s New articles should no longer display the incorrect imagery alongside a piece of news.
  
• The Guild Motto displayed in the Guild Branding screen now consistently matches the one that was selected during Guild creation.
  
• The pickup interaction for placed pets will now always be visible above the ground.
  
• Dismantling a ship no longer warns players of losing Captain’s Voyages.
  
• Playing in windowed mode on PC will now correctly display the front end session setup screen.

Text and Localisation

• The description of the Quite the Collection Commendation has been updated to include the requirement to be representing the Guardians of Fortune when handing in Reaper’s Bones Emissary Flags.
  
• Improvements made to Tall Tale Quest Books to resolve a range of text issues for those playing in Japanese.
  
• Improvements made to text sizes within Tall Tale Quest Books to resolve overlapping text across a range of non-English languages.
  
• ‘The Legend of Monkey Island’ – The localisation of the Sword Master has been updated to follow the correct terminology in the Korean language translation.

Performance and Stability

• Players leaving a crew during a session should no longer cause other crew members to be disconnected from the game and experience a Longbeard error.
  
• Further improvements made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session.
  
• Improvements made to memory management to reduce scenarios where players may experience a sudden disconnection on lower-performance PC and console hardware.
  
• Sea of Thieves on Steam will no longer unexpectedly close if the game is started on an HDR screen then dragged to an SDR screen during startup.
  
• Improvements made to texture streaming on the front end for lower-performance PC hardware, reducing scenarios where players may experience textures failing to load and leaving them shown at poor quality.

Known Issues
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.

Download and Installation
Download Size:

• Steam: 3.89 GB

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We can scarcely believe that we’re already into the warm tides of June, but even as we turn our attention to the upcoming delights of the month ahead, we still have one more task to complete before we fully say farewell to May: the regular round-up. So please take a moment to join us in celebrating everything that happened last month in the world of Sea of Thieves…

Content Update
After the major updates in April, it was a relatively quiet monthly update this time around. Following a small hotfix at the beginning of the month, May’s main update introduced numerous tweaks and improvements to recently implemented Season 12 features, as well as a range of new stock for Outpost and Emporium stores. As always, it’s all in the release notes for exploration!

Not that it stayed quiet for long, of course; halfway through May, Gilded Voyages made their triumphant return in a special week-long Event. Pirates flocked to The Ancient Isles in search of rich rewards, not least of which was the military-minded Seamark Tribute Tattoo awaiting anyone who got to the end of one of these glittering Voyages.

Pirates eager for even greater rewards didn’t have long to wait for another treat either, with a Gold & Glory Weekend right around the corner. Who knew that a sea full of thieves could be so generous?

News and Features
Outside of gameplay, May saw the much-anticipated arrival of Sea of Thieves: The Cookbook! Packed with culinary delights – even by our punishingly high standards – these recipes demand pride of place on any kitchen bookshelf. Not convinced? Maybe Daryl’s own cooking adventures will be enough to sway your opinion…

Elsewhere, it was time for another round of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks, this time offering subscribed players a chance to get their hands on the Ebon Flintlock Pistol, Obsidian Flag and an Onyx Tankard that’s perfect for the Golden Smoothie we’d just learned how to make.

And as always, we couldn’t let a full month go by without taking some time to celebrate the wonderful members of our community, and this time around that meant a Community Spotlight catching up with KeepinitTwisted! From a careful selection of panda-based ship names to the admirable and exhausting climbing of fifty-three floors to raise money for charity, the interview is a whirlwind adventure worth checking out.

Videos and Streams
Since we, for once, weren’t poised to deliver a series of content trailers, May seemed like the perfect opportunity for the Video team to try out something different. Enter our Sea of Thieves Explained video series, answering new players’ vital questions such as what is Sea of Thieves, how is Sea of Thieves and even why is Sea of Thieves? Even the most weathered of sea dogs might find a few new tips and tricks tucked away in these whistle-stop tours of the pirate life, so they’re definitely worth a look no matter your experience level.

One tradition we weren’t about to weasel out of though was Sea of Thieves News, which arrived mid-month to bring everyone up to speed on recent and upcoming changes to the game and various surrounding activities. Please be sure to enjoy the implementation of some top-of-the-range scarf animation while you watch.

Not to be outdone, the team over in Audio wanted to share some more of their own creations and released the ‘Warriors of the Waves’ track for all you music lovers. Buckle up, buccaneers, we’ve got battles to fight.

Social Channels
Back at the beginning of May, we were still delighting over the recent addition of owls and desperately wanted to hear what everyone had called their new feathered friends. Of course, owls weren’t the only thing added with Season 12 and we continued to explore the new features throughout May, such as experimenting with running speeds and finding out where all these windy horns keep coming from.

As always, there were several rounds of prizes to be dished out. Over in the world of screenshots, we took some time to reflect on the beauty of nature with a Stunning Sunsets round of #SoTShot. Fans of the colour orange were having a particularly excellent time. We were enjoying everyone’s pictures so much, in fact, that we threw a new round of Community Hub picks into the mix as well.

The community’s collective creativity was as inspiring as ever, and our social team decided to carry it on with a little creativity of their own – with… mixed results. Recognising that our artistic powers were simply too strong, we moved along to admiring the knife skills of dextrous pirates and musing on avian crimes. In between that and peering into the near future, we didn’t even have time for a quick nap. Maybe if our crew would give us a hand it wouldn’t be so bad…

And that was May! A mid-Season month so a little quieter than what went before, but still plenty to be getting on with, wouldn’t you agree? Let us know! You can, as ever, find us in all of the usual social places: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, or via the official Forums and Discord. Otherwise, it’s time we were getting back to work. After all, we’ve got places to be! No time to hang around…

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Previously in 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

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