Sea of Thieves Dives into Season 11

A new Season has begun! Introducing a complete overhaul of the Voyage system, this latest Sea of Thieves update enables you to dive to your destination of choice directly from your Quest Table, while vastly expanding the rewards and progression pathways on offer.

Arriving on January 23rd, Season 11 brings with it a fresh 100 levels of Renown and rewards to be earned alongside all the other improvements bundled in. Like previous Seasons, the update is free for all players across all the usual platforms – just install the most recent version of the game and you’re ready to go. While it’s downloading, check out our Season 11 Launch Trailer for a quick overview of everything you’ll be able to explore!

At its heart, Season 11 is focused on getting you to the content you want to play faster than ever before. To do that, this update introduces a Quest Table to your ship to help revamp your Voyage experience. Now, rather than having to stop at an Outpost to buy new Voyages, you’ll be able to access them directly from your ship wherever you happen to be.

Once you and your crew have decided on what type of outing you’d like to go on – whether that’s undertaking a traditional Voyage for a Trading Company, digging into the lore of a Tall Tale or battling your way through a themed World Event like a Skeleton Fort or Ashen Lord – you’ll have two transportation options: sail to your destination in the traditional way, or, if you want to jump right into the fray, dive beneath the waves to head straight there.

The option of diving not only makes Voyages more viable for shorter game sessions, it opens up access to World Events not currently active on your server. Even better, these on-demand Events, known as Raid Voyages, are undertaken on behalf of a specific Trading Company and offer the corresponding loot, so you’ll always know what kind of reward you’re working towards. If you’re striving to progress with a specific Company, taking on a Raid Voyage and emerging victorious will net you a nice reputation boost.

Be warned, however! You won’t be able to take any loot with you if you decide to dive right to your next destination. To get the full payout from your hard work, you’ll need to stop by an Outpost (or The Reaper’s Hideout) and cash in first. But all is not lost if you can’t make it all the way there – rather than all rewards being tied to loot delivery, you’ll now receive some Company reputation immediately on completion of a Voyage, so you’ll never walk away with nothing to show for your efforts.

To keep up with all these new ways of earning reputation, the Trading Companies are expanding. With the exception of The Hunter’s Call, all Companies will now enable pirates to raise their reputation all the way up to level 100. Once players hit that momentous mark, they’ll be able to unlock their first Distinction and earn some sparkling hand jewellery to show off their accomplishment. With five levels of Distinction waiting to be earned and new rewards and Quest Table options to unlock along the way, this gives even long-time players plenty of new ground to cover!

With so many changes coming to fundamental systems across Sea of Thieves, there are bound to be a lot of questions floating around about Season 11. To answer some of the most pressing ones, and to ensure that players have all the information they need to get right to the good stuff, members of the development team took the time to sit down in front of the camera and share their secrets in our most recent Deep Dive!

In addition to the On Demand overhaul arriving with this Season, a lot of work has gone into fine-tuning and rebalancing existing Voyages and events to give you a smoother experience and ensure the rewards (including some new rewards!) feel satisfying. Find a shipwreck or a Message in a Bottle while out exploring and you can be sure the effort you invest in it will be worthwhile. With Chests of Fortune also out there among the Fleets of Fortune marked by a distinctive red ship cloud, the emergent world is very much alive…

And as always, a new Season includes a range of new rewards to enjoy. 100 new levels of Renown come with unique cosmetics and currency to claim, while the optional Plunder Pass purchase offers players the chance to unlock a whole host of Well-Travelled Trader ship and clothing items. Meanwhile, the intimidating Boarhunter ship, clothing and weapon bundles make their debut in the Pirate Emporium for anyone with Ancient Coins to spend!

Everything on offer in Sea of Thieves Season 11 is out now, ready for you to explore at your leisure. If you’re not sure how the new Voyage system works, or if you’re new to the game and just finding your feet, take a moment to check out the brand new Trading Company tutorials via your Quest Table. The Pirate Lord will walk you through everything you need to know! Or if you’re an old hand looking for a bullet-pointed breakdown, make the latest release notes your next destination.

After that, it’s time to weigh anchor and get sailing! All the excitement of the seas is closer at hand than ever before…