Sea of Thieves - Release Notes

The latest Season is upon us, with brand new content set to drop throughout! Season Six solidifies six new Sea Forts for on-demand combat encounters, offers another time-limited Adventure to embark upon and sets expectations for an upcoming Voyage exclusive to Pirate Legends. Get a first look at it all in action in the official Season Six trailer!

Sea of Thieves Season Six: Official Content Update Video

Duration 4:15

Ready for more detail on Season Six’s launch features, along with the closure of The Arena and the latest quality of life tweaks, accessibility additions and fixed issues? Good. Because here we go...

Sea Forts

The ghostly memories of Spanish naval Sea Forts sighted in the wake of ‘Shrouded Islands’ have now fully manifested within the Sea of Thieves. Pirates and their crews are welcome to approach, enter and – if they can – clear a path to the loot inside!

SEA FORTS - RELEASE NOTES

Sea Fort Gameplay

Six explorable Sea Forts can now be found across the seas, with those of each region having a unique visual style. These Sea Forts provide a short on-demand encounter for players, with difficulty scaling dynamically based on the crew size approaching.
When a Sea Fort is located, the raised flag and ghostly lights signify that it is active and defended. On approach, players will hear a warning bell toll as Phantoms take aim with the Fort’s cannons.
Players will face off against waves of Phantoms as they enter and explore. Before a Sea Fort is cleared, a Captain will appear reinforced by Phantoms in one last attempt to force intruders back to the sea. Players who defeat this Captain and his army will be awarded the Treasury Key to access the Fort Treasury and retrieve the spoils.
Players who take the time to search through crates, cupboards and drawers may discover secret stashes of treasure left behind by the Phantoms, and may even find a hidden key to the locked storage room.

Claiming a Sea Fort

When a Sea Fort is cleared, you can treat it as your own for as long as the successful crew resides at the Fort. Crews can use these new structures as a homestead, complete with beds and cooking amenities and even an interactive map of the Sea of Thieves for planning their next adventure!
Crews looking to protect their newly claimed domain can opt to hold the Fort and defend it from incoming threats using the mounted cannons and a healthy stash of resources within the Sea Fort’s barrels.

Sea Fort Commendations and Achievements

Within the Bilge Rats Reputation tab, new Commendations have been added for players seeking to explore these new Sea Fort structures pulled through from the Sea of the Damned.
New Xbox and Steam achievements can be unlocked by progressing through the new in-game Commendations. A total of 65 gamerscore is available to earn from this update, and these achievements will remain in the game indefinitely.

What’s Yours Is Mine [15G]

Master Burglar [20G]

From Whence They Came [30G]

Season Six

In addition to the emergence of Sea Forts, Season Six launches with another 100 levels of Renown-based progression and stacks of rewards to earn as you go. Emissary Ledger rewards aren’t forgotten either, and the new Plunder Pass is not just packed but neatly themed!

SEASON SIX - RELEASE NOTES

Season Six Progression and Rewards

Season Six offers a refreshed progression path with Trials and Deeds for new and experienced pirates alike. Weekly, monthly and Seasonal goals all reward players for exploring the Sea of Thieves.
Players can capitalise on the introduction of Sea Forts this Season to earn Renown. Visiting Sea Forts, defeating Phantom threats and opening Sea Fort Treasuries all award Renown!
Making progress through the 100 levels of this Season will reward pirates with the Naval Commander clothing set, new to Season Six along with time-limited Dark Relics cosmetics.
Legendary pirates or those who become a Pirate Legend during Season Six can also earn Belle’s Hat and the Stranger’s Cutlass.
Completing tiers of Seasonal progression will also award unique Dark Relics Titles, allowing players to display their success for all to see.

Season Six Plunder Pass

Purchase Season Six’s Plunder Pass to gain access to a plethora of unlockable, never-before-seen rewards, all available to earn by climbing the levels of Seasonal progression.
Plunder Pass purchasers this season can earn the full Spring Blossom Ship Collection, including Collector’s variants.
For those looking to truly transform themselves, the Forest’s Blessing Costume can also be earned, evolving as players progress through the Season. Those looking for a more subtle customisation can unlock the Forest’s Blessing Tattoo.
Unable to fully upgrade the costume before the Season ends? Upgrades will still be available through in-game activities in a later Season.
The Season Six Plunder Pass is available to purchase in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, from the Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store.

Season Six Emissary Ledger Rewards

Representing the Gold Hoarders in their Emissary Ledger can now earn players the Tribute Peak Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach.
Players seeking out the secrets of the Order of Souls can earn the Relic of Darkness Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach through their Ledger performance.
The Merchant Alliance honour their high-performing Ledger representatives with the Merchant Ambassador Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach.
Flying the flag of The Reaper’s Bones and earning a high rank in their Ledger can earn players the Masked Renegade Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach.
Legendary pirates representing Athena’s Fortune in their Ledger can earn the Magpie’s Glory Cannons, Sails and Flag to show their allegiance to the Pirate Lord.

Closing The Arena

Also taking place at the start of Season Six is the closure of The Arena. From March 10th 2022, this mode will no longer be available in Sea of Thieves. Find out more below, and get the full story behind this decision in our Saying Goodbye to The Arena news post.

CLOSING THE ARENA - RELEASE NOTES

Sea Dogs Reputation

The Sea Dogs Reputation pane in the Pirate’s Log will now only be visible for players who have earned a Sea Dogs Commendation, celebrating players’ accomplishments while hiding Commendations that can no longer be obtained.
For players who can access this Reputation pane, the previous Company progress summary has now been repurposed into a Battle Record, representing accomplishments within The Arena. Within the Battle Record, players will now only see Commendations that have been completed. Any Commendations not yet started or completed will no longer be visible.
Within the Athena’s Fortune Reputation pane, the Legendary Sea Dog Commendation will be visible for players who have earned it while remaining hidden for players who have not met those criteria.

Sea Dogs Rewards

Although The Arena has been closed, players will retain all unlocked Titles tied to level progress within the Sea Dogs Trading Company, along with any unlocked cosmetics.
Players who reached Sea Dogs rank 5 prior to the announcement of the closure will find themselves gifted the Azure Scout, Flaming Jackal, Golden Chaser, Lucky Rover and Regal Hound ship cosmetics for general use. Sea Dog veterans who reached rank 50 will also be able to equip the Good Boy ship cosmetics from the Shipwright’s Chest.
Players who achieved the necessary criteria to purchase Sea Dogs Titles and cosmetics have not yet missed their chance to collect them. The Outpost stores now hold all the Sea Dogs Company rewards, and players will find them collectable if they met the necessary unlock requirements before the announcement of The Arena’s closure.
Players with multiple promotions and rewards to purchase may need to exit and re-enter the shop after purchasing a promotion before the next rank’s items become visible.

Sea Dogs Achievements

Xbox and Steam achievements for the Sea Dogs Trading Company are no longer earnable. Players on Xbox will see these achievements now marked as Legacy, while players on Steam will no longer find these achievements visible.
The Master of the Arena and Glorious Sea Dog achievements are still unlockable by players who obtained the necessary ranks prior to The Arena’s closure. After logging in, eligible players can collect the required promotions and items and unlock these two achievements.

Pirate Emporium

In contrast to the peaceful Plunder Pass it’s rowdy in the Emporium this month, with the Islehopper Outlaw theme encompassing a ship set, costume, weapons and even a banjo. New emotes arrive to suit your posturing needs too, and there’s one for free as always!

PIRATE EMPORIUM - RELEASE NOTES

Islehopper Outlaw Ship Collection

Watch other ships turn tail and flee when you rock the new Islehopper Outlaw ship cosmetics! In addition to the main Islehopper Outlaw Ship Bundle, a flaming spectral Collector’s Figurehead and Collector’s Sails can be purchased separately.
An Islehopper Outlaw Essential Ship Bundle is also on offer, including just the core ship cosmetics at a discount.

Islehopper Outlaw Costume

Nothing says “Hello, we’re here to rob you!” quite like glow-in-the-dark goggles, bandana and fishbone mohawk.

Islehopper Outlaw Weapons

Add some rockstar chic to your next fracas with these four new glow-in-the-dark weapons!

Islehopper Outlaw Banjo

Unleash musical mayhem with this brutal banjo.

Bunch of Posers Emotes

Strike a selection of supremely confident poses with these four extra-cool emotes.

Ruby Splashtail Cannon Flare

A Cannon Flare is now available for a fan-favourite Pirate Emporium ship set – check out the cloud of bubbles and fishy confetti fired with the new Ruby Splashtail Cannon Flare!
Players who already own all items in the Ruby Splashtail Ship Bundle will soon find the Cannon Flare added to their inventory as a little gift from the Emporium owners.

Freebie Jolly Jiggle Emote

Perform this spirited dance to seek entrance to your crew’s alleged clubhouse.

Boisterous Brigands Bundle (Store Only)

Available only from the Xbox, Microsoft and Steam Stores, this bundle contains the Islehopper Outlaw Costume, Weapon Bundle and Banjo, 550 Ancient Coins and a free 25,000 gold bonus for use in the Outpost shops! Head to the Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store to find out more.

Events

Twitch Drops

Continue to unlock even more cosmetics throughout Season Six with Twitch Drops! Stay tuned to Sea of Thieves social channels to find out when Twitch Drops will be active for Partnered streamers, allowing players to earn more items from the Twilight Hunter set. Find out how to link your accounts and more on our dedicated Twitch Drops page.

Gameplay Improvements

Quick Cycle Map

Players can now quickly cycle through maps or Mysterious Notes within the Quest Radial. When holding a map or note in hand, use the ‘A’ or ‘D’ keys or Left/Right on the controller D-pad to cycle through all those available.
These keybinds share the same controls as turning Tall Tale Quest Book pages, and can be re-bound within the game settings.

Scuttle Ship Reminder

Players who are defeated by another crew three times in quick succession will now be shown a reminder of the option to scuttle the ship and move to a safer location. Pressing the Menu button then leads directly to the Crew Management menu to begin the vote to scuttle.

Emergent Threat Balancing

Throwing water at Gold Skeletons to rust them now makes them vulnerable for longer. While rusted, these skeletons will also take additional damage from all ranged weapons and explosives!
Shadow Skeletons exposed to light are now made vulnerable for longer, allowing crews to capitalise on their weakness.
Siren Leaders and Siren grunts below the waves should now use ranged attacks more frequently than their melee scratch attack.

Skeleton Ship Battle Locations

With the arrival of new Sea Forts in each region, Skeleton Ship World Events have now been consolidated and these World Event battles will now only appear in a single location near the centre of the world.

Outpost Cosmetics

Sandy Corsair Sea Dog Set

The Outpost clothing shops now stock the Sandy Corsair Sea Dog clothing set, available to purchase for gold.

Past Season Gameplay Emotes

Larinna now offers two previously Season-locked emotes for purchase with Doubloons. Players willing to part with a large number of Doubloons can purchase the Barrel Disguise and Rolling Dice emotes!

Accessibility

Visible Fish Names

When players are fishing, the names of any fish rising to the surface to take a nibble of bait are now displayed for easy identification. While this feature is enabled by default to improve accessibility for all players, it can be disabled by adjusting ‘Show Nameplates Above Fish’ in the Settings menu.

Shop Narration

When ‘Let Games Read to Me’ is enabled, navigating through shops will now also narrate the player’s wallet balance to improve ease of purchasing.

Updates

Dynamic Resolution on Xbox One X

On Xbox One X consoles, Sea of Thieves will now dynamically scale resolution in order to maintain a smooth 30 frames per second experience during periods of high activity.

Changing Game Language

Xbox players can now choose a preferred game language from within the game settings to override the language set on the console itself.

Fixed Issues

Gameplay

When progressing through Tall Tales or Siren Shrines, players approaching mechanisms previously used by other players will now see them in the correct location and position.
When players sit in a Rowboat, interaction prompts for nearby seats and objects are no longer shown as they cannot be interacted with until the player stands.
When players holding a Cargo Crate attempt to hand it in to the incorrect character, the tooltip now emphasises the correct hand-in location.
Players who have been vomited on twice are no longer immune to fire damage.
The achievements entitled A Rare Delicacy and Night Bite should now unlock when completing the required criteria.
New pirates equipping a shovel for the first time will now be shown the Burying Items tutorial.
Players can now redeem purchased commodities with the Merchant Alliance representative at Morrow’s Peak Outpost.
Within the Settings menu, the ‘Swim Up’ controller binding should no longer display within the keyboard binding area.

Sunken Kingdom

Players disconnecting and rejoining the game with treasure stored in a Sunken Merfolk Statue will now once again be able to retrieve it from the surface.
Players searching for the Breath of the Sea will no longer find that it disappears if they take an extended amount of time to complete the Voyage.
Retrieving treasure from a Sunken Merfolk Statue within the Treasury of Sunken Shores should no longer place items where players cannot retrieve them.
Players should no longer find areas within the Treasury of the Lost Ancients where they can clip into the geometry and fall under the world.
Players can no longer step through a small gap in the environment within the Treasury of the Lost Ancients to access the Vault early.

Environment

The lantern hanging above the Sloop’s map table should no longer be accidentally used when players are attempting to interact with the map table.
Players can now freely explore the ruined tavern at Golden Sands Outpost without becoming stuck on debris.
Pirate Emporium audio effects can no longer be heard at Golden Sands Outpost.
Graymarrow should no longer become stuck in a tree while navigating the Fort of the Damned.
Skeletons should no longer become stuck in the geometry on Shark Fin Camp.
Ashen Lords using lunge attacks should no longer be prone to getting stuck inside rocks.
Players moving around the Sea Dog Tavern should no longer find themselves jittering on certain areas of flooring and stairs.
Pets should now be able to move freely around the Pirate Legend Hideout without becoming blocked.
Players should no longer be safe-teleported on Mermaid’s Hideaway when jumping into the environment.
Improvements have been made to skeleton navigation on Keel Haul Fort to prevent skeletons becoming stuck within the environment.
Grass should no longer be seen mysteriously poking through the floor and walls of various Outpost taverns.
Players should no longer become stuck inside ruined trees on Morrow's Peak Outpost or Ashen Reaches.
Players opening Glitterbeard’s Hideout should no longer be snagged by the environment when moving inside.
Swimming at various locations around Golden Sands Outpost should no longer cause players to intersect with geometry and be flung into the air.
‘A Pirate’s Life’ – Players should no longer be able to bypass the sidequest to reach the locked ship and rewards inside.
‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players following Captain Jack Sparrow through the village should no longer find themselves jittering when standing near him during his speech.
‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players should no longer find locations around the Spanish Fort in Chapter Two where they can become stuck.
‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players can no longer become trapped between the roots of a tree in the Bayou.
‘Dark Brethren’ – Players can no longer avoid the battle with the Ocean Crawlers by navigating over the coral structures in Chapter 4.

Visual and Audio

Players equipping the Ashen Curse should now find that their eyes correctly display the effects of this fiery curse.
When players perform actions that can earn Seasonal Renown repeatedly, the UI notifications should no longer become stuck within the notification window.
Pets no longer stop dancing if one musician in a band stops playing.
Players will no longer experience rubberbanding when attempting to move diagonally with a keyboard while afflicted by a limp.
When the Skeleton Fort at Shark Fin Camp is active, crews descending to the Shrine of Hungering should no longer hear overlapping music within the Shrine.
The shop and vanity chest icons for the Eyepatch of the Silent Barnacle now better match the item’s colour scheme.
Players of all body sizes holding a reversed speaking trumpet should now appear visually correct when observed by other players.
After climbing inside the Notorious Reaper Cannons, other players should now see the player nestled snugly in the cannon.
Siren Leaders in Siren Treasuries now play their death animation effects when defeated.
‘The Sunken Pearl’ – The stone face waterfalls no longer have water visual effects pouring out of the side of the statues.

Accessibility

When using ‘Let Games Read to Me’, the start screen should now be fully narrated.

Performance and Stability

Server stability has been improved, reducing scenarios where crews are removed from a game session.

Known Issues

Ranged and Melee Weapon Hit Detection

In areas of intense action, players may find themselves firing shots or landing strikes that do not cause damage to their targets. While small improvements continue to be delivered during our regular updates, we are continuing to investigate and identify further improvements to the player combat experience.

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 Series X: 9.5 GB
Xbox Series S: 9.3 GB
Xbox One X: 9.5 GB
Xbox One: 9.3 GB
Microsoft Store: 9.64 GB
Steam: 9.2 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: