Sea of Thieves - Release Notes

Sea of Thieves’ colossal April content update has docked at port, ushering in an age of Emissaries, The Reaper’s Bones and… cats? Check out the official trailer to find out what this month’s significantly stacked stash of new content has in store!

Ships of Fortune: Official Sea of Thieves Content Update

Duration 2:11

Decisions, decisions. Whether you choose to set sail as an Emissary for your favourite Outpost Trading Company, strike fear into the hearts of seafarers as a Reaper or make your mark in the overhauled Arena, this update is making waves that will be felt across the Sea of Thieves forever!

The Reaper's Bones

Construction at The Reaper’s Hideout is now complete and serves as home to a new Trading Company: The Reaper’s Bones. Standing for ‘true piracy’, the Reapers are willing to promote any pirate who fearlessly battles their way to The Reaper’s Hideout to cash in loot and prove themselves worthy.

The Reaper's Bones - Release Notes

Trading Company Treasure – Reapers accept any form of loot, including chests, skulls and cargo, and will only accept treasure handed in at The Reaper’s Hideout.

Company Progression – Reaper’s Bones progress will be shown in the Reputation menu, alongside new Commendations related to this Trading Company.

Reaper’s Bones Rewards – Players can earn new Titles through progressing in The Reaper’s Bones Trading Company, as well as new ship cosmetics that can be equipped at The Reaper’s Hideout docks.

Reaper’s Hideout Resources – Boxes of cannonballs and ammo can now be found dotted around The Reaper’s Hideout.

Trading Company Emissaries

Trade routes are quiet as fear rules the waves, and the Outpost Trading Companies are starting to feel the pinch. Their solution? Establish an Emissary service, encouraging bold pirates to represent them in the face of danger, and reward them handsomely for their duty! Find out more in our Emissaries video guide.

Emissaries - Release Notes

Becoming an Emissary (Outpost Trading Companies) – Players can become an Emissary for the Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls and Merchant Alliance after hitting rank 15 and purchasing that Company’s Emissary Flag.

Becoming an Emissary (Athena’s Fortune) – Athena’s Fortune offers an Emissary Flag to any player who holds the title of Pirate Legend, regardless of Athena’s Fortune rank.

Becoming an Emissary (The Reaper’s Bones) – The Reaper’s Bones do not require players to hit a certain rank before being able to purchase an Emissary Flag and represent them on the seas.

Emissary Voting Table – Each Trading Company representative stands by a new voting table where crews can vote on their Emissary adventures. These also display how many other Emissary ships are currently out on the seas.

Reaper’s Shrines – Reaper’s Shrines can be found hidden on Outposts and act as an additional voting table for The Reaper’s Bones Emissaries.

Emissary Grade – Emissaries will start at Grade 1 in each Trading Company and can boost this to a maximum of Grade 5 through various actions that support that Company – such as discovering treasure, stealing from others or even defeating emergent threats such as Skeleton Ships or Forts.

Grade Multipliers – Emissaries will receive reward multipliers of increasing size as they hand treasure back to their Trading Company of choice and increase their Emissary Grade.

Bonus Rewards – Emissaries can vote at their Company representative’s voting table to have their Emissary Flag taken down and cashed in for a final bonus reward. The amount is dependent on Emissary Grade at the time of lowering the Flag.

Emissary Quests – Emissaries who reach Grade 5 with the Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls, Merchant Alliance or Athena’s Fortune will receive an exclusive high-reward Emissary Quest from Trading Company representatives or the Mysterious Stranger at Outposts.

The Reaper’s Bones Emissary Progression – Reaper’s Bones Emissaries can earn Grade progression by defeating other players and crews, although repeat kills on the same players and crews have diminishing returns. Emissaries for the other Trading Companies can also earn Grade progression by defeating The Reaper’s Bones Emissaries.

The Reaper’s Bones Grade 5 – Emissaries who reach Grade 5 in The Reaper’s Bones will unlock the ability to locate Emissary crews of all Grades on their own ship’s map.

Cashing In Emissary Flags – Emissary Flags from sunken rival Emissary ships can be cashed in with Trading Company representatives. The Reaper’s Bones Emissaries can return these to The Reaper’s Hideout for especially high rewards.

Emissary Costumes – Players will earn access to their respective Trading Company’s costume after purchasing an Emissary Flag.

Expanded Trading Company Ranks – Players are now able to continue progressing through the Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls and Merchant Alliance up to rank 75. Additionally, the Athena’s Fortune cap has been raised to rank 20. Note that rank 50 in any three of the Trading Companies is still the requirement for attaining Pirate Legend status.

Expanded Trading Company Commendations and Rewards – Players can now earn additional Commendations and Titles alongside the new rank caps. Additionally, further progression through Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls and Merchant Alliance ranks can reward players with Company ship cosmetics.

Expanded Athena’s Fortune Cosmetic Rewards – Pirate Legends can now earn Ghost equipment and weapons, as well as an Athena’s Fortune Company costume.

Emissary Ledgers – Players can now find a new Emissary Ledger tab in the Reputation menu which tracks the contributions and standing of each Trading Company’s Emissaries, based on their Emissary Value. Ledgers will reset monthly, and progressing through their Tiers can earn players exclusive Titles and cosmetics.

Trading Company Achievements – New Xbox achievements can be unlocked by progressing through the extended Trading Company promotions and representing them as an Emissary. A total of 200 new gamerscore is available to earn, and these achievements will remain in the game indefinitely.

Golden Ticket [10G]
Ship of Souls [10G]
Trade Ambassador [10G]
For Athena [10G]
The Reaping Begins [10G]
So… Many… Chests! [30G]
Talking Heads [30G]
Deliverance [30G]
Legen… Wait For It… Dary! [30G]
You Reap What You See [30G]

The Arena

With Captain Flameheart threatening revenge and The Reaper’s Bones rocking the boat, the Sea Dogs have reacted in the only way they know how – by making their own Arena contests even more fast and frantic!

The Arena - Release Notes

Glorious Sea Dog Chests – Treasure maps have been removed and crews will now be fighting over a single chest, visible for all to see via a beacon of light.

Contest Map Size – All contest locations have been updated, with reduced sailing distances and only a single cash-in location.

Contest Duration – Arena contests have now been reduced from 24 minutes to 15 minutes.

Increased Silver – Crews can earn increased silver by damaging an opponent’s ship.

Penalty for Quitting – Players who quit contests too often will now be temporarily suspended from playing in The Arena. While inside The Arena, receiving an invite to a different session will now warn players that this will also count as a quit contest.

Achievement and Commendation Rebalancing – The Fortune & Glory achievement and the Seeker of Silvered Loot, Keeper of Silvered Loot and Treacherous Sea Dog Commendations have all been rebalanced in line with the improved Arena experience.

Pirate Emporium

As Trading Company Emissaries sail out to defend against the menace of the Reapers, why not take a breather, drop by the Pirate Emporium and browse its new selection of fluffy feline friends?

Pirate Emporium - Release Notes

Cats! – Head to the Emporium to purchase a furry new friend of your own, with three breeds to choose from in a wide range of colours.

Cat Hangouts – Cats will strut around your ship and look for places to take a nap. You can even place your cat at a range of hangout spots set up around the ship!

Cat Outfits – The Sovereign Outfit is available for all cat breeds, and Pirate Legends can also purchase a Legendary Outfit for their new friend.

Cat’s Meow Bundle – Own one of each of the three cat breeds and all three Sovereign Outfits in one adorable bundle!
The Cat’s Meow Bundle is time-limited for the duration of the Ships of Fortune update.

Wildcat Sovereign Discount Bundle – For this month only, you can pick up a discounted bundle including a Wildcat and Sovereign Outfit!
The Wildcat Sovereign Bundle is time-limited for the duration of the Ships of Fortune update.

Night Wulf Ship Collection – A fearsome new Sabre Wulf-inspired ship collection slinks into the Emporium. A Night Wulf Ship Bundle is also on offer which includes all the regular Night Wulf ship cosmetics at a wild discount!

Free Giveaway Emote – The Palm Tree Wave Emote is now a free time-limited item!
The Palm Tree Wave Emote is time-limited for the duration of the Ships of Fortune update.

Crab Dance Emote Bundle – It began with a simple, innocent little dab... but now you can get crabby in four new ways!

Tools of the Trade Emotes – The Emporium now offers a range of emotes using your equipped item cosmetics. Looking to show off your Spyglass skills or Sing Like Nobody’s Listening?

Cats Out of the Bag Bundle (Store Only) – Available only from the Xbox and Microsoft Stores. This bundle includes the Cat’s Meow Bundle, which gives you one of each new cat type and Sovereign Outfits for each, 1000 Ancient Coins and a free 25,000 gold bonus for use in the Outpost shops! Head to the Store to find out more.

Black Market

While the Trading Companies ramp up their recruiting efforts and keep a wary eye on the Reapers, Duke is happy to take a load off share a grog or five in the tavern. Fear not, he continues to stock the Black Market with new items for your hard-earned coin!

Black Market - Release Notes

Fearless Bone Crusher Clothing – This month, dress yourself as a Fearless Bone Crusher before heading out onto the seas. Players can spend their Doubloons on the Fearless Bone Crusher Eyepatch, Hook, Pegleg, Trousers, Gloves, Belt and Boots!

Inky Kraken Clothing – Players with gold to spare can use it to purchase the Inky Kraken Hat, Jacket and Dress!

Inky Kraken Weapons – Players can also exchange their gold for the Inky Kraken Blunderbuss, Cutlass, Eye of Reach and Flintlock.

Gameplay Improvements

Player Reviving – Players will no longer die immediately from fatal damage, giving crewmates a chance to revive them. This wait can be bypassed by players in Adventure mode by electing to ‘Offer Your Soul’ to the Ferryman and head straight to the Ferry of the Damned.
Crew Status Tags – Players now have the option to see what their crewmates are doing even from a distance via icons next to their gamertag, whether it’s carrying treasure, bailing water or steering the ship. This can be accessed in Gameplay Settings by enabling ‘Crew Status Tags’.
Tall Tale Map Markers – Players can now opt to show Tall Tale locations on the ship’s map by selecting ‘Show Tall Tales on Map’ in the Gameplay Settings menu. This setting is currently on by default.

Updates

Cutlass Damage Balancing – When attacking with a cutlass, players will now deal more damage per strike. Regular strikes now deal 25 damage, increased from 20. Heavy strikes now deal 60 damage, increased from 50.
Pets Reacting to Other Players – Pets will now react to the actions performed by other players you encounter in the world.
Harpoon Detach – Launching a Blunderbomb at a harpoon will now cause it to detach from its target.
Improved Ladder Boarding – After climbing a ladder, players are now able to initiate a new action much more quickly.
New Player Voyage Onboarding – When first purchasing a Voyage as a new player, you are provided with pop-ups teaching you how to vote and begin your first Voyage.
New Player Ship Damage Onboarding – New players will receive pop-ups explaining how to repair their ship if it takes damage.
Skeleton Fort Rewards – After completing a Skeleton Fort and unlocking the vault, crews will now find fewer Gifts and Mermaid Gems.
Rewards for Emergent Encounters – Defeating an emergent threat such as Megalodon or Skeleton Ship will now result in higher-value loot drops.
Athena’s Fortune Shop and Shipwright – The Athena’s Fortune shop and shipwright have been upgraded to a newer layout style which has reduced the number of tabs, making it easier to navigate.
Improved Controller UI Accessibility – To improve accessibility when using a controller, face buttons shown within the UI now have revised iconography with better colour contrast.
Colour Contrast Improvements – Info tips found at the bottom of Settings screens and some icons have had their colours revised to better support contrast ratio guidelines.
Cursed Cannonball Effects – Cursed Cannonballs loaded into cannons now have improved visual effects.

Fixed Issues

General

Players previously affected by cosmetics not persisting between sessions should now find that their loadout has been repaired, and cosmetics should now save correctly across sessions.
Placing a Fort of the Damned Key inside a Collector’s Chest will no longer hide the icon on the ship’s map.
Players should no longer become partially invisible when triggering a safe teleport while interacting with objects in the world.
Using a mouse scroll wheel when navigating the Settings menu now works as expected.
The Reaper’s Hideout is now located correctly on the ship’s map table.
Players can no longer attach a harpoon to a partially unearthed Chest of Rage.
Players no longer need to leave then board their ship again for button prompts to reappear after dying.
When selling Collector’s Chests to any Trading Company, players will now only receive gold.
The Particle Settings option, once set, now persists between sessions.
Players are now able to hand one another the Crate of Precious Gemstones.
When approaching Smuggler’s Bay, the island will now load in more smoothly and not cause a potential hitch on lower spec machines.
On Molten Sands Fortress it is no longer possible to clip through a rock and lose the Fort Key.
Using emotes during the Maiden Voyage no longer causes the camera to drop to ground level.
The Megalodon has once again found its voice and now growls when spawning.
Players should no longer be able to fall through a hole near the peak of Molten Sands Fortress volcano.
Improved visual effects for fire when seen in first-person view.
Revised visual effects added to candles to reduce popping.
The Flintlock of the Ashen Dragon is now correctly named in the Armoury.

Combat

While charging a heavy strike, damage received from any source will now correctly cancel the strike without resulting in animation and player movement issues.
When striking with a cutlass from block, repeated strikes will no longer fail to show the cutlass swing animation in first-person view.
Blunderbombs should no longer be automatically equipped after throwing a firebomb.
Firebombs will now inflict impact damage as well as the fire status effect on members of your crew.
Attacking a Gold Skeleton with a cutlass now causes a stun effect on the attacking player.

Tall Tales

‘Stars of a Thief’ – Picking up the Totem in this Tall Tale no longer causes the notes next to the statue to occasionally disappear.
‘Revenge of the Morningstar’ – The Morningstar uniform will now be properly aligned in the Collector’s Chest.
‘Shores of Gold’ – After voting on the Quest Book, Grace will no longer duplicate after speaking.
‘The Seabound Soul’ – The third skull retrieved is now correctly localised in non-English languages.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Skeletons in the combat room located in the right-hand trap run will now always be able to reach players in order to attack.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Players with curses equipped will now display a shadow in Flameheart’s Lair.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Players will no longer be stopped from progressing through the trap rooms due to barrels not respawning firebombs taken by a previous crew. Firebombs will now respawn inside barrels when a new crew approaches.
‘Heart of Fire’ – When a player is underwater looking at a Chest of Rage, they will now be able to see the visual effects from the chest’s explosion.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Players will no longer get stuck on a pile of skulls next to the middle door.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Collision has been added to the rock at the entrance to the fourth water section.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Players hit by geysers in the catacombs will no longer be thrown through solid surfaces.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Improved player collision with rocks in the three-door and stepping stones areas of the catacombs.
‘Heart of Fire’ – Players should no longer become stuck on a crystal in the first fight area of the left-hand trap run.

Pirate Emporium

Performing emotes after equipping items should no longer cause hands to be misaligned on medium/large male pirates.
The arms on large pirates have been moved apart slightly in some emotes so they no longer clip into their bodies or clothing while emoting.
The emote names shown in the radial menu now match those in the Pirate Emporium for the Lost Pirate and Crab Dance Bundles.

Ships of Fortune

Various Trading Company and Emissary balancing issues, improvements and fixes have already been applied: see separate release notes.

Known Issues

Joining a Session: Players Receiving Groomedbeard – Some players may find that upon attempting to join a session either via session rejoin, an invite or joining in progress, they receive a Groomedbeard error and are unable to join.
Ship Combat: Incorrect Cannonball Loading – When using the radial to switch between cannonball types during ship combat, selecting a new type too quickly may result in a regular cannonball being loaded instead.
Visual Issues: Nvidia RTX GPUs – An issue has been identified on a range of Nvidia RTX GPUs that causes gridlines to be visible in the sea when the game is set to Mythical graphics quality.
Reaper's Bones Rank 50 – Players are currently unable to reach Pirate Legend by hitting Rank 50 in The Reaper's Bones alongside two other Trading Companies.

The team is aware of all these issues and working on resolutions for a future update. To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.

Download and Installation

Download size:

Xbox One: 6.8 GB
Xbox One X: 11.42 GB
Windows 10: 11.42 GB

XBOX INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

PC INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

Forum Discussion

You can discuss these release notes in the Forums here.

You can leave your feedback on the game in general here.

Looking For Crew?

Looking for new crewmates? We've got a bunch of places you can visit to seek out like-minded pirates, so sail on over to these official Sea of Thieves hangouts: