Sea of Thieves - Release Notes

Sea of Thieves Season 11: Official Content Update Video

Duration 7:17

Sea of Thieves On Demand

Access all the adventure you crave more quickly than ever before with Season 11’s overhaul of Voyages and encounters! Explore a redesigned Quest system, major expansions to most Trading Companies and new rewards and Distinctions to earn as you progress.

On Demand

With a Quest Table on board each ship now providing the ability to choose from all available outings and dive directly to the scene of a Voyage, Tall Tale or new Raid Voyage, players have unprecedented freedom to explore everything the seas can offer. The refreshed Discover Tab is also on hand with tailored suggestions!
Raid Voyages are new Trading Company-themed versions of World Events with unique treasure types on offer, unlocked from the Quest Table as players climb the Company ranks.
For the first time, some reputation is now earned at the point of Voyage completion, but treasure must still be handed in for maximum profit as anything on board is lost if a player chooses to dive again.
The majority of Trading Companies have raised their level cap to 100. Reaching Company reputation level 100 now unlocks a Distinction, providing a reward and resetting a player’s level with that Company to allow progress towards the next Distinction.
To improve the onboarding experience, new Tutorial Voyages led by the Pirate Lord are in place for new players, covering the Gold Hoarders, Merchant Alliance and Order of Souls. These can be revisited from the Quest Table.
To learn more about this new Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated Season 11 page.

Season 11

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! Read on for more on all this plus details of the quality of life improvements landing with this Season’s launch...

Season 11 Rewards and Plunder Pass

Progressing through Season 11 will reward players with the Cunning Serpent clothing set and unique Season 11 specials alongside time-limited Swift-Winged Wayfarer collectibles. Head to the Seasons profile page to browse the new rewards and check your pirate’s progress!
Purchase the Plunder Pass to gain access to a plethora of unlockable, never-before-seen rewards from the Well-Travelled Trader set, all available to earn by climbing the levels of Seasonal progression. Purchase in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, or via the Pirate Emporium webpage, Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store.

Season 11 Emissary Ledger Rewards

This Season, the Trading Companies each offer a themed Speaking Trumpet and Lantern to Emissaries who represent them well and perform proudly in the Ledgers. Log in and track your performance on the Emissary Ledgers page!

Chest of Fortune

For the duration of Season 11, the Chest of Fortune will surface following the defeat of an emergent Fleet of Fortune. These special Skeleton Fleet encounters are signified by a glowing red cloud in the sky when active.
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 Cannon, Flag, Capstan and Wheel.

Reaper’s Chests

In Season 11, crews coveting the precious 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 Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach.

Gameplay Improvements

Improved Hit Markers

Players now have further control over the hit markers shown when striking targets with a projectile weapon. The game settings now enable switching from the existing client-predicted markers to server-confirmed markers, which only display hits confirmed directly by the server for improved accuracy.

Bounty Voyage Improvements

A new Order of Souls Bounty Voyage has been added which tasks crews with hunting a Skeleton Lord that drops Dark Relics.
A new Ghost Ship Voyage within The Devil’s Roar is now available from the Order of Souls.
Bounty contracts now provide the landmark location of the target along with the island to help guide players to the correct location.
The difficulty of all Bounty Voyages has been rebalanced to make them more satisfying to play.

Emissary Voyage Improvements

Emissary Voyages have been improved for each Trading Company with a focus on reduced sailing times and smaller quantities of higher-value treasure to transport, refreshing the gameplay and delivering improved rewards for participation.
Upon reaching Emissary Grade V for a Trading Company, crews can now head to Morrow’s Peak Outpost and speak to their Company representative for an Emissary Voyage in The Devil’s Roar that will yield Ashen-themed rewards.
Emissary Voyages are now lost if the ship sinks or the Emissary Flag is lowered at the Outpost.

Merchant Cargo Run Improvements

Delivery notes on cargo now provide care instructions which help players to protect their valuable goods.
Cargo Run Quests now remind players how many items need to be collected and where to collect them, ensuring they pack all necessary items before setting sail. Supporting information is also now shown on the delivery note.
Cloth Crates being held while swimming on the surface will no longer become drenched.

Merchant Contract Improvements

Contracts to recover specific animals now show players which island they need to head to in order to fulfil the contract.
Crews now recover the required Animal Crates from the beaches on the contracted island.
All requested animals are now guaranteed to be found on the contracted island, including the various rarities.
Crews will no longer trigger emergent skeleton encounters on their contracted island, to reduce scenarios where animals are caught in the crossfire.
Contracts now complete when the crew returns them to the Outpost, rather than upon catching the animals on the island.

Treasure Vault Improvements

Treasure Vaults now scale the available raiding time to the size of the crew – the smaller the crew, the more time to collect the treasure.
Treasure Vault Quests now send crews to the nearest possible Vault once the Totem is recovered.
The braziers surrounding the Vault’s altar are now extinguished over time as an indicator of how long the crew has left before the door slams shut.

Skeleton Encounter Balancing

Skeleton encounters across the emergent world and on Voyages have been rebalanced, providing a more fun encounter with these bony fiends.
Ambush skeleton groups now dynamically scale based on the size of the crew – the bigger the crew, the more ambush skeletons to fight!

Emergent Phantom Encounters

Players leaving the ship to explore islands will now only encounter Phantoms at night.

Message in a Bottle Rewards

Quests from a Message in a Bottle are now significantly more rewarding and likely more valuable than the Voyage already underway – so be sure to go exploring, you’ll be handsomely rewarded for your time!
These Quests also have been refreshed with a focus on reduced sailing times and smaller quantities of higher-value treasure to transport, improving the overall experience.

Skeleton Captain Rewards

Defeating a Skeleton Captain now yields increased rewards and ammunition, with the potential to recover Reaper’s Chests and Reaper’s Bounty, Gunpowder Barrels and ammunition-stocked Resource Crates. These new rewards are also recoverable from the same island as the encounter!

Shipwreck Rewards

The rewards found within a sunken shipwreck have now been improved.

Ashen Guardian Rewards

Crews defeating an Ashen Guardian will now be rewarded with a map to an Ashen Chest on the same island along with a Key to unlock it, no longer requiring them to seek out a Key Master.

Captain’s Bookshelf

Captains can now adorn the Bookshelf where their Voyages were once stored with Trinkets instead!

Tutorial Notifications

Tutorial notifications have been added to a range of experiences to assist new players’ onboarding. Quest archetypes, Tall Tales, Cargo Crates and even encounters with different skeleton forms now provide contextual tutorials.

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!

Boarhunter Ship Collection
Boarhunter Weapon Bundle
Boarhunter Clothing Bundle
Boarhunter Trinket
Collector’s Lunar Festival Dragon Sails and Figurehead
Exercise Emote Bundle
Paradise Garden Eye of Reach (free!)
Boars and Bounty Bundle (Microsoft, Xbox and Steam Stores only)

Outpost Cosmetics

New Outpost Stock!

The Outpost clothing shops have received a new shipment of items from the Maestro set. Players are now able to purchase the Maestro clothing after unlocking The Artistic Souls Commendation.

Season Four Legacy Cosmetics

Cosmetics previously available during Season Four have arrived in Outpost shops and can now be yours in exchange for Doubloons!
Players can purchase the Wicked Web clothing set, along with a range of unique one-off items that were available during this Season. Pirate Legends can also purchase the Cursed Adventurer Cutlass and Wanda’s Spyglass.
The time-limited Siren’s Wrath items, however, remain exclusive to players who participated in Season Four.

Updates

Skull of Siren Song Rewards

Cosmetic rewards earned by completing the various Commendations associated with the Skull of Siren Song Voyage can now be found in the respective Outpost shops along with their unlock criteria.
With this change, upon unlocking the relevant Commendation, players will now be required to purchase the reward from the Outpost shop rather than having it automatically awarded.

Maiden Voyage Visual Improvements

The parting sequence and passage through the Devil’s Shroud during the Maiden Voyage have received a suite of improvements to visual fidelity, enhancing the visuals of the Shroud itself and clarity of direction for players.

Sea Rock Visuals

Sea rocks have received a polish pass, with weathering and water marks now added to the bases of larger rocks to improve their blending into the sea.

Emergent Voyage Changes

Crews will no longer find emergent Voyage parchments in barrels across the Sea of Thieves and will now find that barrels only contain resources.
Crews will now lose emergent Voyages such as a Message in a Bottle if they dive to a new experience. Emissary Voyages will continue to be retained through diving.

Retired Commendations and Adjusted Rewards

With the introduction of On Demand Voyages in Season 11, several legacy Commendations have been retired, and their associated rewards are now unlocked via different means.

The Seeker of Lost Maps Title will now unlock via the Seeker of Pirate Plunder Commendation for the Bilge Rats.
The Seeker of Lost Souls Title and ability to purchase the Order of Souls Cutlass, Pistol, Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach from a Company representative will now unlock via the Worthy Emissary of Souls Commendation for the Order of Souls.
The Merchant Adventurer Title will now unlock via the Taker of Stolen Stock Commendation for the Merchant Alliance.
The Seeker of Athena’s Fortune Title will now unlock via the Worthy Emissary of Athena Commendation for Athena’s Fortune.
The Legend of Thieves’ Haven Title will now unlock via the Retreat to the Thrones’ Haven Commendation for the Bilge Rats.
The ability to purchase the Legendary Treasure Seeker costume from the Pirate Legend Hideout will now unlock via the Legendary Treasure Hunter Commendation for Athena’s Fortune.

Additionally, several related achievements have had their completion criteria updated. Players who were working towards completing these achievements will start afresh on a new task, while those who have already unlocked the achievement will retain it.

Seeker of Lost Maps: Dig up 250 chests whilst on Gold Hoarders X Marks the Spot Voyages.
Merchant Adventurer: Fill 250 Animal Crates while on Merchant Alliance Cargo Run Voyages.
Seeker of Lost Souls: Defeat 500 skeletons while on Order of Souls Bounty Voyages.
A Veteran Voyager: Complete 30 Voyages while sailing aboard a Captained ship.

Fixed Issues

Gameplay

Players who attempt to rapidly switch weapons after migrating across servers should no longer find themselves unable to wield the weapon and hear a repeated audio effect when attempting it.
Players should no longer experience scenarios where their equipped items are reset after returning from the Ferry of the Damned or recovering from being stuck.
The Fortress Storage Key and expected quantity of gold pouches should now consistently appear at Sea Forts.
After migrating across servers, players are now able to access the shops at Seaposts.
Samuel will no longer purchase Ashen Keys within the Pirate Legend Hideout.
‘The Legendary Storyteller’ – All journals for this Tall Tale can now be read as intended.
Unlocked Ship Milestone rewards such as Banners are now once again available for players to equip.

Skull of Siren Song Voyage

Players placing the Skull of Siren Song in a Harpoon Rowboat dragged behind their ship will continue to be affected by its curse.
Crews who harpoon the open chest with the Skull of Siren Song still inside will now bring the curse’s effects onto their ship along with the Chest and Skull.
Players are no longer able to opt in to the Skull of Siren Song Voyage after the Skull has been revealed.

Guilds

Crews in a Guild session without the Captain present will now see Ship Milestone progress within the Guild Chronicles.
Earned Guild clothing can now be equipped in any session and is no longer locked to sailing for the Guild that unlocked access to it.
Using a spyglass to observe a Guild ship at range should now consistently display the appropriate Guild name on the Banner.
The correct Guild name should now show consistently on the Guild Emissary Table, Logbook, Guild Plaque and Guild Invite Emote.

‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’

Players can now head up to the Mansion as soon as the guard leaves his post, and are no longer blocked by parts of the environment.
When players have constructed a body for Murray, any players joining the session after the initial sequence will now be able to see Murray’s body.
Players will no longer see a silhouette of Walt the violin-playing skeleton through the church window.
Fog seen in the Mansion now behaves correctly throughout the location.

‘The Quest for Guybrush’

Players should no longer see a patch of mist on the stairs near the Lookout Point after the fog has cleared from the mountaintop.

‘The Lair of LeChuck’

A Quest Book is now present during the ship chase sequence, giving players the option of leaving the Tall Tale during this section.
Herman’s Supply Crate will no longer appear to move around while the player is viewing it.
The front-facing cannons on the Headless Monkey now have more restricted movement to prevent issues with aiming.
The Head of the Navigator can now be taken from another player when offered.
Liquids in the cooking pot now appear to drain correctly when collecting Banana Grease.
The Banana Grease Jar will now appear correctly after it has been used.
The notification shown to players when the Chilled Banana Soup has been discovered or lost now references the correct item.
Players can no longer become stuck on the palm tree within Herman's camp.

Environment

Players should now find a new sea rock near K11, a common location for mysteriously wrecked ships.
The Rowboat dock underneath the tavern on Port Merrick is now fully functional.
Players can no longer become stuck on the palm tree near the Order of Souls tent at Morrow’s Peak Outpost.
Players can no longer fall through certain areas of the environment around the Treasury of Sunken Shores.
Chests placed near the doorway of the Vault at Kraken Watchtower will no longer disappear through the floor.
Players’ legs will no longer appear to merge into the tower structure when using the sitting spots at Skeleton Forts.
If a player safe teleports while inside the Treasury of Sunken Shores, they will now be placed in a suitable location.
Placing treasure in various Sea Fort windows will no longer cause the item to fall into the environment.
Rain no longer passes through tunnels located at Shark Bait Cove.
Dagger Tooth Outpost’s pier no longer contains invisible obstacles.
The barrel at the shipwright’s shop in Port Merrick no longer appears to merge into the hanging platform.
‘Shores of Gold’ – Players will no longer be able to walk through parts of the environment inside the various caves.

Visual and Audio

The visual effects on the Down the Hatch Emote now play as intended.
Players wearing the Soaring Oracle Costume should no longer see equipped jackets showing through the costume.
Visual improvements have been made to the constellations on the Lodestar weapons.
Visual improvements have been made to the Layered Shirt of the Ashen Dragon.
Players with the Order of Souls Hook equipped will now find that they grip the ship’s wheel correctly.
The Snapping Shark Emote and Shark Dance Emote now appear with different icons to avoid confusion.
The Ashen Key now sits in the lock of the Ashen Chest correctly when used.
The Sovereign Ship’s Crest will now attach correctly when equipped on a Brigantine.
The light given off by the Magpie’s Glory Lantern now shines in the correct location.
The Eastern Winds Ruby Bucket will no longer show water inside when empty.
Fog will now appear as intended when entering the Vault at Molten Sands Fortress.
The Sweet Treat Capstan will now display correctly in fog.
‘Captains of the Damned’ – Pirates in the bayou now hold the candles correctly.

Text and Localisation

The Stand to Attention Emote no longer has a placeholder title and description in the Vanity Chest.
When speaking to Zharick at Brian’s Bazaar, the dialogue will no longer refer to Golden Sands.
‘The Legendary Storyteller’ – The 'Fish Friends' puzzle in the Quest Book no longer refers to Golden Sands.
‘A Pirate’s Life’ – Captain Jack Sparrow’s name is now present within his subtitles when escaping from the Ferry of the Damned.
‘Fate of the Morningstar’ – The Ferryman's intended subtitles now appear while he is speaking.

Performance and Stability

Ongoing improvements made to server stability to reduce instances where players are disconnected from their session.
Improved game stability to reduce scenarios where players experience an unexpected exit from the game.