Explore at Your Own Pace on Safer Seas

Even after two months of major updates, Season Ten isn’t done yet! Sneaking in under the wire just before we enter the holiday season, Safer Seas mode has made its long-awaited debut in December’s content update, allowing exploration of the Sea of Thieves without the threat of other battle-seeking player-controlled crews on the horizon for the first time.

As always, this update is available free for all Sea of Thieves players. Simply download the latest version of the game, and you’ll load in to find the option to sail on Safer Seas ready and waiting for you. You’ll also find a range of the usual smaller changes, improvements and fixes bundled into this update – for the full breakdown, hop on over to the latest release notes and have a read!

Safer Seas marks the first time that players are able to set off into a private game world, either solo or with only their own trusty hand-picked crewmates, so understandably there’ll be a few changes to adjust to. If you’re a new player whose attention is piqued by Safer Seas but who’s not sure where to begin, or if you know the ropes but have a few lingering questions about how this new mode will work, let John tell all in our Safer Seas Explained video…

Of course, without other player crews to interact with, there are some aspects of what’s now called High Seas mode that don’t carry over to Safer Seas. For instance, features focused on player-vs.-player clashes such as dealing with The Reaper’s Bones and diving into Hourglass of Fate Faction battles clearly don’t fit the intent behind Safer Seas. Also, as a means of balancing out the reduction in danger, the rate at which gold and reputation are earned drops to 30% on Safer Seas.

Some of the late-game content has also been gated to encourage players to hone their skills, deepen their experience and make their way across to High Seas over time, so Trading Company progression is capped at rank 40 and Pirate Legend content stays in the domain of High Seas players only.

For a full summary of what content (and related Commendations) won’t be accessible to those players enjoying a quieter life on Safer Seas, be sure to check out the Safer Seas FAQ Forum post from Associate Design Director Shelley Preston.

In terms of customising your pirate and ship, Outpost shops and the Pirate Emporium will function just the same as always on Safer Seas. Your gold and Ancient Coin purses will be shared across both game modes so you’ll always have access to your cash.

This is especially excellent news when you get a look at the Pirate Emporium’s December offerings: to celebrate the festive season, not only are there a range of cheery Festival of Giving items back in stock, the iconic Bonechiller Costume returns too – bringing a brand new ship set and collection of weapons with it! These are all time-limited and will return to the sealed archives once again in January, so make sure you stop by over the holidays.

That’s all you need to know to get started! Safer Seas are out there and waiting for you as of today, so whether you’re just beginning your pirate journey or you’re a grizzled veteran seeking a peaceful reprieve from the usual mayhem, this new mode offers an alternative way of exploring and enjoying Sea of Thieves’ world and what it has to offer.

We’d normally say we look forward to seeing you there, but since that’s not really in the spirit of Safer Seas, we’ll simply say: happy sailing!