Out on the lawless Sea of Thieves, Outposts are the closest thing to civilisation, with any number of traders and tavern-keepers eager to help pirates empty their holds of treasure and kick back with a well-deserved grog.

Small wonder, then, that the unexpected shrouding of Golden Sands Outpost – previously one of the more charming and cheerful ports of call – was a loss felt by many, and proof that The Reaper’s Bones are determined to oust the Trading Companies once and for all.

Now, however, the residents of this Outpost are being rallied by none other than Merrick, last seen menacing Megalodons in previous Adventure ‘The Shrouded Deep’. But he is not unopposed…


Recalling past events may help shed light on Merrick’s motivations. Pirates who answered Larinna’s call in ‘The Shrouded Deep’ would encounter the Killer Whale, a (mostly) faithful recreation of Merrick’s original Galleon. Both he and Belle were aboard, having tried and failed to battle the legendary Shrouded Ghost. Not just for the Commendation, we hasten to add; Belle was racing against Captain Flameheart to recover a long-lost relic from the beast’s belly.

Thanks to Larinna sending reinforcements their way, Merrick and Belle were able to gather four fresh Megalodon souls and arrange them on a ritual table, urging multiple crews to band together as… well, a band. When five pirates joined forces to play ‘Summon the Megalodon’, the resultant racket was enough to call forth the irate Shrouded Ghost, ready for a rematch.

As if the arrival of an ill-tempered behemoth wasn’t enough, Captain Flameheart’s Ghost Ships soon made an appearance, eager to prevent players from laying claim to the Veil of the Ancients – the treasure that’s made the Shrouded Ghost so elusive for all these years.

Just when things seemed about to spiral out of control, the odds were evened by the arrival of the good ship Blackwyche. Helmed as ever by Sir Arthur Pendragon, it was drawn to the fray in the wake of a ritual that, its captain declared, had caused “quite the stir” in the Sea of the Damned.

With the help of this aristocratic ally, Belle, Merrick and embattled pirates alike were able to triumph over the Shrouded Ghost and force Flameheart to retreat. Pendragon retrieved the Veil of the Ancients on Belle’s behalf, though it was soon discovered to be missing the Veil Stones that imbue it with power.

With the Veil delivered to the Pirate Lord for safekeeping (after it’s been thoroughly disinfected, or so we’d hope) it looked as though Merrick’s lifelong ambition had finally been realised. He was free to return to his spot at Stephen’s Spoils and bask in the satisfaction of a job well done – not to mention the world’s largest fish supper.



Time spent in Belle’s company, however, has given the wily Hunter plenty of valuable insights into recent difficulties, including a way to finally dispel the fog surrounding Golden Sands. Armed with this information and with his adventurous spirit rekindled, Merrick has a new mission: he’s determined to rally the Outpost’s residents and restore Golden Sands to its former glory.

This lofty goal puts Merrick in direct conflict with the Servant of the Flame and, by extension, the rest of The Reaper’s Bones. The Trading Companies once again prospering at Golden Sands would mean that the Reapers had failed to follow Flameheart’s express orders, and the Servant will stop at nothing to ensure that his father’s wishes are obeyed.

As for the Shrouded Ghost, who knows what strange abilities the creature might still possess after spending so long with the Veil in its belly? Whatever distant shores the Ghost now haunts, pirates should expect its fleeting visits to the Sea of Thieves to be as infrequent as ever, preserving its legendary reputation among crews in the future.



When Lost Sands arrives on May 26th, pirates will be able to help or hinder Merrick’s plans as they see fit, both by actively taking part in the Adventure and seizing other opportunities to tip the scales. Speaking to Larinna to begin the Adventure and then choosing to follow either the Hunter’s Path or Servant’s Path will ensure that your actions contribute to Golden Sands’ resurrection or its ruin.

Even outside the Adventure, Merrick will accept donations of fruit and wood crates to help Golden Sands’ cause, along with cloth, rum bottles and the Reapers’ Relic Caches for safe disposal. Alternatively, players loyal to the Reapers should look for distinctive Soulflame Rowboats. Destroying these near Golden Sands will unleash supernatural energies and fortify the fog, hampering the rebuilding efforts. Sticky-fingered Reapers can also swipe special supplies before they reach Merrick and deliver them to the Servant of the Flame to cause further chaos.

Whichever path you choose, expect Golden Sands to be a lively destination for the duration of ‘Lost Sands’ as both sides seek to exert their will upon the waves. The Adventure will be live until June 9th, and what happens to the Outpost in its wake is entirely up to you...

Adventures Ahead: ‘The Shrouded Deep’
Adventures Ahead: ‘Forts of the Forgotten’Adventures Ahead: ‘Shrouded Islands’

The promise of Sea of Thieves is that it’s a fantastical pirate world, rich with high adventure, derring-do, hidden mysteries and ancient secrets to uncover. This is truer today than ever. When we were looking towards 2022 and how we wished to continue evolving the experience, we were excited to embrace ongoing Adventures and Mysteries alongside our commitment to new content added through Seasons, to make the Sea of Thieves world feel richer and more alive than ever before.

Players have already seen the start of our unfolding narrative in Adventures, and they’ll continue to see this episodic story play out throughout the rest of the year, progressing and adding new layers to the gripping Flameheart saga. However, the Sea of Thieves is bigger and stranger than anyone knows, and there are so many opportunities to create parallel stories and experiences to explore and establish broader themes.

This week marks the start of the first Sea of Thieves Mystery, which is something we’re especially proud of as an example of live storytelling that players have never really seen before, in this game or elsewhere.



When it comes to secrets and mysteries, we’ve previously used our world to keep players guessing, whether that’s foreshadowing upcoming content with mysterious structures building up over time or using the smallest changes in island dressing to inspire the imaginations of our players and encourage speculation. The biggest difference with Mysteries contrasted with what we’ve done previously is that they can progress dynamically, rather than being triggered by game updates. Players can expect numerous unfolding stages within a Mystery, with progression resulting from what players have discovered and the stage that the community has collectively reached.

Frankly, this is a game-changer in terms of the types of storytelling we can achieve with Mysteries, with genuine player surprises, twists and turns potentially happening at any time. Collectively, we consider Seasons, Adventures and now Mysteries as the cornerstones of the evolving Sea of Thieves world, with a connected sense of lore unfolding across all three elements. While Seasons and Adventures are designed to provide new experiences for as many players as possible, Mysteries will be a little different.

Through a combination of in-game puzzle-solving and elements discovered on other Sea of Thieves channels beyond the core game, Mysteries are designed to engage the efforts of the whole community to unravel. We’re excited to see how players engage with our first Mystery and we’re eager to learn how to improve what we do with this exciting new element of Sea of Thieves…

Now, this may all sound rather mysterious, and you’d expect me to discuss what this first Mystery is all about. However, that would take away the magic of uncovering it yourself. All I shall mention is that like many secrets on the seas, nothing is ever quite as it seems, and the truth is often stranger than you expect. Be alert for unusual sights on your Voyages and watch Sea of Thieves’ social channels as our first Mystery begins to unfold later this week. Glory awaits!

As our third time-limited Adventure ‘The Shrouded Deep’ reaches its conclusion, Season Six Community Day springs up to keep pirates busy in the interim while the Pirate Emporium is treated to a colourfully regal restock. And if you still haven’t fully explored those Sea Forts, whet your appetite with the original Season Six trailer...


Our time with Season Six is growing short, so as we head into its final month, keep reading for all the info on what’s new and incoming between now and the next Adventure!

Another Community Day arrives this month, with freebies, sales, multipliers and more for players setting sail and sharing their stories, ideas and endeavours! Meanwhile, Season Six isn’t quite done with Twitch Drops yet...

Season Six Community Day (May 14th)

• All players setting sail during Season Six Community Day will be gifted the exclusive Season Six Community Day Flag and bonus Wing Flap Emote. Be sure to fly that flag when you set sail!
  
• This time, the Renown multiplier will be in players’ hands! Tweet using the hashtag #SeaOfThievesCommunityDay to help boost the Community Emissary Grade and multiply the Renown earned by all players across the seas, speeding up that climb through the 100 levels of Season Six.
  
• All players will also be able to earn double gold and reputation throughout the day.
  
• Head to the Pirate Emporium to find a variety of items on sale at hefty discounts!
  
• Tune in to participating streamers on Community Day and earn the Gilded Phoenix Banjo. Head to our Twitch Drops page now to link your accounts.
  
• Finally, visit the Sea of Thieves merchandise store for a celebratory sale with SoT products discounted by 30% using the code COMMUNITYDAY at checkout. There’ll also be a unique Season Six Community Day T-shirt, only available to buy on the day!
  
• Find out more about Season Six Community Day here.

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.

May brings opportunities to mimic the most majestic of fish via the extensive Lionfish collection. Meanwhile, the Pocket Crab and Pocket Rat emotes broaden your animal friendship options, and it’s your last chance to pick up this Season’s Plunder Pass!

Season Six Plunder Pass

• Anyone wishing to take full advantage of Season Six rewards can still buy the Plunder Pass. Any rewards unlocked will become available upon purchase, so players who have raised their Renown throughout Season Six can instantly see their hard work rewarded before the Season ends.
  
• This Season’s Plunder Pass offers early access to the complete Spring Blossom ship set, the evolving Forest’s Blessing Costume and other items of upcoming Emporium stock, and can be purchased at any time through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium or Steam Item Store.

Lionfish Ship Collection

• Revel in piscine prestige with the ostentatious Lionfish Ship Collection! In addition to the main bundle, a majestic Collector’s Figurehead and Collector’s Sails can be purchased separately.
  
• A Lionfish Essential Ship Bundle is also on offer, including just the core ship cosmetics at a discount.

Lionfish Costume

• Send ripples throughout the tavern with this regal costume set, containing masked and unmasked variants of the Lionfish Costume.
  
• While wearing this graceful outfit, players can perform the Courtly Dance Emote.

Lionfish Weapons

• Get to grips with four dazzling new weapons inspired by the striking yet toxic lionfish.

Lionfish Hurdy-Gurdy

• Expect some psychedelic jams when you’re rocking out with this harlequin hurdy-gurdy. Groovy.

Pocket Pet Emotes

• Players looking for a less needy companion while out at sea can now purchase a pocket pet, brought out when using the emote. One of a range of adorable interactions will be performed each time.
  
• Players can choose between a whiskered Pocket Rat or a pinchy Pocket Crab!

Freebie Chest Hide Emote

• After a sneak peek in a previous update, players can finally get their hands on the Chest Hide Emote as a freebie while visiting the Pirate Emporium!

Aquatic Elegance Bundle (Store Only)

• Available only from the Steam Store, this bundle contains the Lionfish Costume, Hurdy-Gurdy and Weapon Bundle, 550 Ancient Coins and a free 25,000 gold bonus for use in the Outpost shops! Head to the Steam Item Store to find out more.

Eastern Winds Jade Set

• The Outpost shops now offer the remaining items from the Eastern Winds Jade set. Players can use their gold to acquire these newly introduced weapons, clothing items and ship components.

Dark Adventurers Tattoo

• Pirate Legends can now purchase the Dark Adventurers Tattoo from the Pirate Legend Hideout.

World Encounters

• As the summoning ritual of ‘The Shrouded Deep’ has drawn to a close, the Megalodons have returned to their usual behaviour patterns. Crews can once again encounter Megalodons emergently while out at sea.
  
• With the wreck of the Killer Whale now cleared, the area has been reclaimed by the skeletal hordes. Crews may once again spy the ominous ship cloud in the sky, signifying an encounter with a Skeleton Fleet.

Morrow’s Peak Activity

• Morrow's Peak Outpost seems to now be lying dormant due to decreased volcanic activity, meaning crews will no longer encounter island volcanic threats on this island.

Deep Sea Enemy Encounters

• Sirens encountered below the waves will now leave longer pauses between uses of their abilities to give players more breathing room between attacks.

Legend of the Veil Haunted Islands Balancing

• Brigantine and Galleon crews will now encounter additional Phantoms during the Haunted Islands part of this Voyage when compared to solo and duo crews.

Gameplay

• When caught in the explosion radius of a firebomb while aboard a Sloop, players should no longer be knocked back.
  
• Larinna once again offers the Barrel Disguise and Rolling Dice Emotes.
  
• When players attempt to deliver treasure to an incorrect location, the supporting tooltips now clearly display the correct location.
  
• Players will no longer find Pondies near Sea Forts.
  
• Players who have rebound the ‘More’ key for radial menus will now find their shanty shortcut key is unbound if the same key is selected.
  
• Players who have enabled Virtual Keyboard while playing on console will now find that text chat continues to function as expected when switching to Steam.
  
• When using the ‘Disable Controller Input on PC’ option, controller input will now be disabled entirely and no longer remain available in menus.
  
• ‘The Art of the Trickster’ – Dying in combat during the Captain of the Lair encounter no longer makes the Captain disappear and result in blocked progress.

Legend of the Veil Voyage

• Larger crews will no longer unlock additional progress towards the True Legend Commendation and achievement within the Legend of the Veil.
  
• Treasure items collected following the Ghost Garrison encounter should no longer disappear if the Voyage is completed before they’re handed in.
  
• When a Veil Stone is added to the Veil of the Ancients, the visual effects can still be seen even when looking away from the Veil itself.
  
• The chance of heavy fog during a Ghost Garrison encounter has been reduced.
  
• An appropriate impact audio effect is now heard when Ancient Phantoms are hit with swords.
  
• The lit torch of an Ancient Priest should no longer be visible after they have disappeared.
  
• The Veil of the Ancients arriving or being removed from a player’s ship is now accompanied by visual effects.
  
• Targeting the front entrance of a Ghost Garrison no longer prevents damage to the nearby area.
  
• Belle should no longer disappear before her lantern during cutscenes.

Environment

• Players should no longer become stuck under tree branches on Old Faithful Isle.
  
• Players should no longer become stuck within palm trees at Ancient Spire Outpost.
  
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – When approaching the encounter with the Gold Hoarder, players should no longer be able to get stuck behind the Siren statue located before his lair.
  
• ‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players should no longer fall through the geometry while moving through Isla Tesoro.

Visual and Audio

• Ship sails viewed from a distance while in a storm no longer flicker.
  
• The Naval Commander Short Hair no longer intersects with the player on a range of larger body types.
  
• When the Ghost Hull is equipped, all beams on the Sloop now have the darker-coloured wood.
  
• Title iconography for Athena’s Fortune rank 30 has been revised.
  
• Food being cooked should no longer visually flicker when changing between cooking states.
  
• The glowing lantern lights of the Killer Whale wreck are no longer present when the Adventure is inactive.
  
• The glowing light effect from a mermaid is no longer extinguished when looking away from the mermaid.
  
• When viewing the Barrel Bombardier Hull from a distance, players should no longer see glowing parts of the hull disappear as they move towards it.
  
• 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.
  
• Players equipping Forest’s Blessing Costume 3 should find that their equipped hair or beard no longer interferes with the costume’s mask.
  
• Large pirates performing the Cheer Emote should no longer see their pirate’s hands intersecting with their body.
  
• When Ritual Skulls are returned to Larinna, the correct Bilge Rats artwork is now used in notifications.
  
• Portuguese language is now spelt correctly in the language settings.
  
• Players can no longer see a gap in the Thriving Wild Rose Blunderbuss when held.
  
• With the Spring Blossom Figurehead or Capstan equipped, experiencing an earthquake in The Devil’s Roar should no longer cause the petals to shake erratically.
  
• Chests placed on top of the Legendary Capstan now sit correctly above the capstan.
  
• The line of the Scorched Forsaken Ashes Rod now has a glowing effect throughout.
  
• Inside a flooded Ancient Vault, the bubble effects on water pouring from the statues now appear from the correct source.

Performance and Stability

• Optimised the performance of floating items on the water surface, improving server performance.
  
• Network improvements made to improve server performance.
  
• Optimised retrieval of player inventories to improve server performance.
  
• Improved client stability for some users experiencing repeated crashes at launch.
  
• Improved client stability across general gameplay to reduce scenarios where players may exit the game unexpectedly.
  
• Improved server stability to reduce scenarios where crews are removed from a game session.

Reduced Server Performance

• Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters. While improvements have been released in update 2.5.2, the team continue to work on further improvements for future updates.

Steam Achievement Unlocking Issues

• Some Steam players may find that after an achievement is unlocked in the game, it is not unlocked within Steam.

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 size:

• Steam: 9.8 GB

Harpoons and whaling songs at the ready, hunters: we’re in the throes of a Megalodon hunt in Sea of Thieves! April was packed with excitement, with our week of Pirate Legend-themed celebrations ahead of a new and exclusive Voyage, Legend of the Veil, and the exciting conclusion to our current arc of Adventures – ‘The Shrouded Deep’. See, it’s real! Now lash yourselves to the deck and only fire when you see the whites of its eyes, as we keep everyone’s spirits high by recounting April’s events…

Following an early April update which restocked the Pirate Emporium with some bombastic cosmetics, the month’s main update was, of course, the double whammy of our third Adventure ‘The Shrouded Deep’ and a new Legend of the Veil Voyage type launching on the same day for maximum relic-hunting shenanigans. A set of release notes naturally came with this bumper update, then a supplementary hotfix squashed a few snags that slipped through from the Sea of the Damned. Travelling between the realms of the living and the dead is fraught with peril, as you’re no doubt aware.

‘The Shrouded Deep’ saw corsairs team up with Belle and Merrick to hunt that most elusive of Megalodons in the exciting conclusion to this arc of Adventures, and it seems you all enjoyed this one, as we’ve seen no shortage of epic screenshots and clips of your battles with the pale leviathan. As always, it came accompanied by an entry in our ongoing Adventures Ahead primer series, recapping all the latest happenings for those who may have missed the last chapter…


While lesser pirate rags were plastering front pages with salacious lies about Merrick and Serik’s rocky relationship, our fearless defenders of truth were braving Megalodon-infested waters to bring you the real headlines from the fringes of pirate society.

To celebrate our million Pirate Legends – and to get everyone excited for the release of Legend of the Veil – April saw us holding a week-long celebration of our cohort of Legendary players. From a dedicated Path to Pirate Legend infographic to a climactic Gold & Glory Weekend, it was a smorgasbord of stuff for those who already sport the colours of Athena’s Fortune – and those who aspire to get there!

Speaking of community celebrations, we capped off April with the announcement of our next Community Day. This time we’ll be putting you all in control of the day’s Renown multiplier, so get those tweets queued up! And before you ask, we’re doing all we can to ensure a certain fruit-bearded pirate does not make an appearance, allowing you all to revel in relative peace.

For those lore fiends chomping at the bit for the tiniest morsel about the upcoming Heart of Fire novel, we released a teaser trailer in April – with some snippets from the Pirate Lord himself. And if you want a suitably rousing tune to accompany your reading, the latest official music release ‘Strongholds of the Sea’ contains that gorgeous trumpet rendition of the Sea of Thieves theme from whenever you assail a Sea Fort.

Over on the Community and Creator stage, we raised the curtain on a new addition to our playbill: the Legend Spotlight, celebrating Pirate Legends with fascinating stories to tell! The first two guests to bathe in the purple and green limelight were Hull Lariash, known for his increasingly elaborate climbs to level 100 each Season, and the host of the Cutlass Crusades charity event, SourScar. Production of the Hats of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame also showed no signs of stopping, with another eight making their journey beyond the Devil’s Shroud. Let’s hope they don’t decay in the mist.

We can see that the giant wicker Flameheart head has just been ignited as part of our May festivities, meaning that we must make the time-honoured transition to discussing…



All things audiovisual! Someone keep an eye on that Flameheart head in case it starts shouting. With the combination of Legends Week, a new Adventure launch, Season Six’s Community Day announcement and more, our master trailer-makers were hard at work in the editing bay to show the upcoming content in all its glory.

As a special Legends Week bulletin, there was a new episode of SoT News detailing all the fun to come during that seven-day celebration – along with a peek at the Pirate Emporium’s April restock. Then to suitably prepare everyone for the mythical Megalodon battle that was about to unfold in ‘The Shrouded Deep’, we released our usual double feature of a cinematic trailer and gameplay quick look ahead of its launch. We’re still amazed by how that crab seems to be present at all major events on the Sea of Thieves – maybe they’re the one really pulling the strings…

Launched as part of Legends Week, SoT Partner HitboTC’s Path to Legend series chronicled one pirate’s attempt to climb from greenhorn swabbie all the way to Pirate Legend. The weekly series is still ongoing on the Sea of Thieves Twitch channel, and if you were lucky, you may have been able to snag one of April’s Twilight Hunter Twitch Drops while tuning in live. See – almost like we planned it!


With the Shrouded Ghost prowling about for all to see, you know we were on hand with our best posts to capitalise on sightings of this legendary beast. We not only tried to summon the Megalodon with a special summoning circle but jumped on the Megalodon mania with our #TriviaTuesday hashtag, providing need-to-know info on Merrick’s long-lost ship, The Hungering Deep and what Belle’s been up to. We also lamented the demotion of pigs, played Legends Week Bingo and showed our appreciation for the hunter of the hour, Merrick. And before anyone asks, yes – we know the capstan on the Killer Whale isn’t centered.

Following on from a heaping helping of Fort Frolics, April’s #SoTShot contest saw pirates flitting about and luxuriating in Spring Scenes. We’re happy to say there was liberal use of Season Six’s flower crown earnable by raising Renown and climbing the Season’s levels. Naturally, these peaceful pastoral vistas were shattered by the arrival of the Shrouded Ghost and its kin, with our next contest being all about capturing these sea beasts in their fearsome majesty.

Thankfully, #SundayVibes had already set the tone, showing off locations like the recently resurfaced Killer Whale alongside places like Sandy Shallows and Mercy’s End Fortress. And for the fashion-conscious freebooter, #SoTGear detailed flashy items like the new Legendary Fortune weapons and recently redubbed Nightfall Hunter set.



It’s merry in the month of May, and we hope you’re out enjoying the warmer weather as we start revving up for the next chapter in Sea of Thieves’ gripping nautical odyssey. If you want the most up-to-date pirate info fired directly into your Captain’s quarters, you’ll want to be following our myriad social media channels. For the uninitiated, that’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, as well as our official Forums and Discord server. Summer is fast approaching, so the next round-up will be drawn in the sand at a local beach. If you live near a pebble beach, we’ll just tie the round-up to a rock and throw it through your window.

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2022Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2022Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2022

Our Spotlight features on Sea of Thieves players with stories to share continued apace in March and April, with four more buccaneers joining us up on stage to tell us all about their escapades. And our Legend Week celebrations in April saw a new show added to the regular billing: the Legend Spotlight, which lets us invite some dedicated Sea of Thieves Pirate Legends to talk about how they reached that lofty target or achieved other inspiring goals outside the game

So take your seats, Steam readers, as we raise the curtain on our guests for March and April 2022!



With the wind at his back, our first guest for March was Kaitzu, Legendary First Mate in the Race of Legends. With this standing as a tentpole event in the Sea of Thieves community calendar, Kaitzu gave us some behind-the-scenes insights into how each race comes together – from streaming the event to actually setting up the sailing course in-game.



Next up on March’s setlist was the pyrotechnic protégée and queen of the kegs, Octagon Ron! A lover of all things explosive, Octagon Ron told us all about her recent charity stream which raised enough money to provide 20,000 meals to No Kid Hungry, her unique approach to making Sea of Thieves content and the origin of her geometric name.



April started off strong with the debut of our new Legend Spotlight, and the formidable Hull Lariash becoming the first Pirate Legend to bathe in its purple and green glow. Famous for his wild Renown climbs to level 100 during each Season, Hull gave us some top tips for becoming a Pirate Legend and mused over what sort of Legend content he’d like to see in future.



Concluding April’s Spotlight programme was our chat with the charitable corsair SourScar – organiser of the regular Cutlass Crusades event. From how he continued gaming after suffering severe injury to the motivation for starting Cutlass Crusades, SourScar’s Legend Spotlight is an inspiring one and will no doubt get you energised to follow his altruistic example!

There you have it, our Spotlight recap for March and April. Don’t forget to catch up on the four fine pirates in our previous Spotlight Showcase if you missed out, and if you want to get Spotlights and other community stories hot off the presses, check out the regularly updated Community Hub. While you’re there, don’t forget the sizeable archive of Community and Creator Spotlights in our News section. We’ll see you back here for the next Showcase!

Every month brings the proprietors of the Pirate Emporium fresh shipments of goodies from beyond the Devil’s Shroud, while every Season also brings pirates new rewards to aspire to by raising their Renown. But you may ask yourself, how do these shiny ship liveries, wicked weapons and the like actually get made? Not within the lore of Sea of Thieves, but outside it – how do these cosmetics go from an idea in someone’s head to something you can hold in your (digital) hands?

Well, knowing you love a peek behind the curtain, we talked to various teams at Rare to track the journey of a cosmetic item – from its initial concept to its eventual appearance in the game, whether that’s in the Pirate Emporium, Plunder Pass or the reams of free rewards available for climbing the progression levels of a Sea of Thieves Season.

Naturally, we had to pick a suitable candidate for this inaugural behind-the-scenes feature, and it only seemed right that the fan-favourite Snowbound Ship Lantern – ‘The Orb’ to its ardent admirers – should be our first subject. Not only did it capture the hearts and minds of players, it provided some unique challenges for our crack team of artists and animators to bring to life…

---

Let’s start at the very beginning with the concept phase. The Snowbound Ship Lantern was to be one of the rewards earnable within Season Five, which ran over the Christmas period, inspiring items that evoked a wintry feeling. So a lantern that doubled as a snowglobe was a compelling idea from the outset, but it was always going to be a challenge, as Principal Concept Artist Victoria Hall recalls:

“Having a snowglobe was a natural fit for a seasonal item, but when we pitched it to the other teams, we weren’t sure if it would be technically possible. After discussing it with the Tech Art team, they managed to produce a version that worked!”

The concept work was done by Senior Concept Artist (and snowglobe enthusiast) Ine T'Sjoen, who remembers its creation with great fondness:

“The Snowbound Ship Lantern has been one of my favourite items to work on. Who doesn't love snowglobes? When the idea first popped up, we knew it would be a bit outlandish, because we've never put images inside lanterns before. It was a bit of a gamble to pitch it, but we knew it had the potential to delight a lot of players. Which is what concept art is all about: putting some wild ideas out there. I was so happy when the Tech team was on board to try make it happen. But I never expected people to be so fully drawn to The Orb. Even I underestimated how much our players love snowglobes!”



So we had our concept, and we knew it would be one of the Seasonal rewards that players could earn for free by playing the game and raising their Renown – but what are some of the other deciding factors for progression rewards? We talked to Louise Roberts from Rare’s in-house Production team:

“As the Snowbound Ship Lantern was being delivered to players through Seasonal progression, we had a very wide target audience for this one, and wanted it to serve as something that would encourage players to work their way through Season Five to earn it. We tend to have a bit more fun and go a bit more ‘out there’ with these reward items, as they’re slightly different to items for which players have to make the decision to part with their hard-earned gold.”


With the concept and its place within Season Five progression’s track locked down, we moved on to the task of getting this frosted lantern in-game. Creating the 3D model came next, a task managed by Hannah Smith, Joachim Coppens and others on the Sea of Thieves Environment Art team. As we found out from chatting to Principal Environment Artist Andy Betts, the modelling stage was surprisingly free of hurdles:

“The Snowbound Ship Lantern looks awesome, but that’s mainly down to the VFX it uses. From a 3D creation perspective, there was no real difference between this and other lanterns that the 3D teams have made. They all use an effect of some sort to show off the glowing nature of a lantern, so we just ensure this area is a clean canvas, so to speak, to allow our Tech team to do their work. On this particular lantern we just needed to make sure the glass had some surface detail, and the rest was up to the VFX team.”



As mentioned by both Victoria and Andy, the next test would be turning a standard lantern into a snowglobe – complete with falling snow, bobbing ship and a unique frozen glow. Thankfully, our Tech Art team aren’t ones to back down from a challenge. As we heard from Lead Technical Artist Andy Catling, there were so many other features to consider when creating The Orb, turning it into a real challenge from a VFX standpoint:

“This was probably the most complex shader we’ve used on a lantern. Most of our lanterns use projection effects in the shader to give the illusion of something inside the lantern. For the standard lantern, that’s just an animated flame texture, but for this lantern we really went to town, using ray-traced intersections with multiple planes to build up the layers of the snowglobe scene.

“The layers were animated using sine waves to give the subtle rocking motion of the ship and waves, and we used refraction from the glass to bend the ray-trace. For the finishing touch, we added multiple projected layers of swirling snow. The lantern is also quite unique in that we added additional logic to reflect the motion of the player in the movement inside the lantern material. For this, we tracked velocity and increased the agitation of the snow and other elements accordingly.”

Andy’s collaborator on The Orb, Technical Art Intern Emmett Green, brings up another consideration:

“As with our other lanterns, we needed to change the colour based on Flames of Fate. We have pre-set colours to switch between, but the default needed to be blue without muddying any of the others. We used vector length to figure out when the Flames of Fate value colour was closer to black and switched to blue instead, all while constraining the Flame of Fate colours to a tighter value range, as some were much brighter than others.”



Great – our lantern with all its bespoke effects was rigged up with the lighting working correctly in-game. Next thing to do was formally name it! The lantern had a placeholder name throughout this whole process, so as it went into the monthly text tracker alongside the other items, it was the turn of our Editorial department to weave their word magic and create something that fit within the Sea of Thieves world. For Season Five it frequently fell on loremaster Chris Allcock to conjure up names and descriptions, and as the Season had a snow and ice theme, there was already a rich pool of ideas to draw from:

“Most items come as part of a set, so how long their descriptions take to write depends on how quickly you can latch onto what makes the set unique and interesting and think of ways to play with that – for example, Season Five introduced the Bell Brigade set, which was themed around smartly dressed soldiers but also the holidays and keeping warm in winter, so there was a lot to pull from and the set was finished pretty quickly. Rewrites are relatively infrequent because we're all experienced professionals, and because I have no qualms about setting Smiley the Ravenous Crocodile on anyone who dares question my wordly wisdom.”


Once the Snowbound Ship Lantern was in-game, all we had to do was wait for you rapscallions to get your hands on it. Obviously, we had no idea that this festive lantern would transform into The Orb, leading to our surprise, delight and fear when the community started a mini-cult around it. For Andy C, seeing people take an item he helped make and run with it was a thrill:

“It’s really great when players appreciate something you’ve worked on, especially when there has been so much work put into making it. I would often spend quite a bit of time looking through Twitter for people posting about this lantern.”

And his Tech Art team colleague Emmett agrees:

“It was incredibly fun to see so many players form the ‘All hail The Orb’ chant, and I saw that someone even made a parody Twitter account for it – that kind of thing really makes me feel like we’re contributing to the player experience!”



As Producer Louise enthuses, seeing players respond positively to an item that the team themselves really enjoyed creating is what makes all the work worthwhile:

“The Orb was a favourite throughout its development in the art reviews, it’s a lovely thematic item and the team really brought it to life. I didn’t initially know about the plans to use it for the lore teasers and raid stream, which I think added massively to its significance to the community!”

Back at its birthplace on the Concept Art team, Victoria agrees:

“We had no idea the community would find such an affinity for it! We always thought it would be a cool idea though, so it was a pleasure to see it received so well.”

And thus ends the story of The Orb’s creation – from its initial concept as a normal Seasonal reward to becoming the figurehead for a cult of winter prognostication. However, a couple of questions remain. Yes, we know how The Orb physically came to be in the game, but what does it want? Who created it within the world of Sea of Thieves? Has The Orb used its mysterious powers to make us write this article about it? We tried to reach Chris for an answer, but all we received was this hastily scribbled note:

“I heard it has a mysterious connection to ghostly sunken ships…”



Want more? Rummage through our News section for announcements and insights, check out the What’s New section for release notes on every update and get some Sea of Thieves in your feed every day by sailing over to some of our many channels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikTokand the official Forums and Discord server. We’ll see you there!

With Season Six well underway, and the seas frothing with activity following the launch of ‘The Shrouded Deep’ Adventure and Legend of the Veil Voyage, the team have been working on additional fixes based on feedback from the community. We’re introducing more of these fixes in today’s release, update 2.5.1.2.

For more information on the currently active Adventure and the Legend of the Veil Voyage, see the previous release notes. For a refresher on all the new content that arrived at the start of Season Six, check out the launch release notes!


‘The Shrouded Deep’

• All crew members who aid in summoning the Shrouded Ghost will now unlock the Deed within the Adventures menu.

Legend of the Veil Voyage

• Larger crews will no longer gain Athena’s Fortune Emissary Grade progression at a faster rate when completing quests within the Legend of the Veil.
  
• Ancient iconography used across the Legend of the Veil Quest Book pages and cosmetic rewards has now been adjusted.

‘The Shrouded Deep’ Server Migration

• Crews who migrate across servers after placing an enchanted Megalodon effigy on the Ritual Table may find that the effigy is not present on the destination server.

‘The Shrouded Deep’ Defeated Megalodon Rewards

• Following the defeat of the Shrouded Ghost or another summoned Megalodon, rewards may remain beneath the surface, requiring players to swim down and retrieve them.

Reduced Server Performance

• Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters.

Steam Achievement Unlocking Issues

• Some Steam players may find that after an achievement is unlocked in the game, it is not unlocked within Steam.

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 size:
Steam: 4.21 GB

It’s official, we’ve set the date – Sea of Thieves’ next Community Day will happen on Saturday, May 14th, mere weeks from now! We’re extremely eager to share a spectacular smorgasbord of boosted rewards, in-game items and activities to excite even the coolest of pirates.

Hot on the heels of our first Community Day in January, Season Six’s celebration comes supercharged with even more ways to get involved. So if you want your whistle whetted, stick with us as we run through what’s in store.

As we did for the last Community Day, we’re putting in-game rewards in your hands – so get your tweeting thumbs at the ready and prepare to work together to raise the Community Emissary Grade once more! Hop onto Twitter from 10am UTC on Saturday, May 14th and use the hashtag #SeaofThievesCommunityDay to play your part in helping all players rank up their rewards. You’ll have 24 hours to get your tweets in, so make sure you get involved before 10am UTC on Sunday, May 15th to make a difference.

Of course, the hashtag isn’t just for boosting the Community Emissary Grade – it’s also the place we want to see your favourite stories, events, ideas, art, clips and screenshots shared. We were so into those sweet, wholesome hashtag vibes last time, so more of that please. We hope Season Six’s Community Day inspires you to go even bigger and bolder, and we’ll be eagerly following the hashtag to see what you all get up to! We’ve even got you covered if you don’t have any screenshots to hand – just head to our Community Hub on the day to score a shiny-looking share card for all your tweeting needs.



For Season Five Community Day there was a fixed boost on Renown, but for Season Six that’s what finds itself controlled by the Community Emissary Grade – with hashtag usage potentially boosting the multiplier to a massive 3.5x the usual Renown raised! That’ll help you scale those 100 levels of Season Six at lightning speed, unlocking rewards at each level from cosmetics to Ancient Coins. So if you or your crewmates are still working your way along that Seasonal progression path, this event is the perfect reason to round them all up and set sail. Log in and check your progress here!

And remember: hitting level 100 is nice, but the flower crown is at level 96 – and we all secretly know that’s the cosmetic that really matters here. If it’s gold and reputation you’re after, no need to worry on this front either as the event comes bearing double helpings of both from the get-go.

To toast the Sea of Thieves community on this special day, players logging in between 10am UTC on Saturday, May 14th and 10am UTC on Sunday, May 15th will find the stunning, spring-coloured Season Six Community Day Flag added to their Flag Box. That’s not all you’ll get for joining in during this 24-hour period, either – the Wing Flap Emote will also be winging its way to the Vanity Chests of participating pirates. Be sure to climb your mast and equip the flag for your Community Day sessions, we want to see them all flying high! But don’t jump off the mast thinking the Wing Flap Emote will save you – it looks fun, but it won’t make you fly.


We heard you liked sales, so we’ve locked in two for you for this Community Day. The Pirate Emporium will be running some tantalisingly tempting discounts on some of our most popular items, so for 24 hours only, all our (non-Collector) pets will be half-price, and all pet outfits will be a mere 99 Ancient Coins – perfect if you’re thinking of picking up a pooch, parrot or kitty companion. We’ve also got some stunning savings to be made on the Dark Warsmith Costume, ship set and weapons, plus a whole host of emotes will have their prices snipped for the day.

Not to be outdone by the Pirate Emporium, the Rare merchandise store sale will be returning too. Knock 30% off your Sea of Thieves shopping list by using discount code COMMUNITYDAY at the checkout to ensure your discount is applied! We’ll also be launching another one-day-only Community Day T-shirt to commemorate this Season’s event, so you’ll need to be quick if you want to bag this piece of special swag.

We’re bringing back the mega hat drive once more! Community Day gives us another opportunity to sing the praises of some presently unsung community heroes – so starting from right now, we’ll be taking nominations via the #BeMorePirate hashtag on social channels for those deserving of the Hat of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame.

Whether you’ve performed an astonishing feat on the seas and would like us to tip the hat in your direction, or you’d like to shout out a crewmate or friend who embodies the Be More Pirate mantra for less specific but no less worthy reasons, we’ll take nominations all the way up to the big day. So if there’s something or someone you’d like to draw our attention to, tell us about it on Sea of Thieves social channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (the more info the better) with the #BeMorePirate tag. We’ll be watching!



Yes, there’s more! We’ll once again be running Community Day Twitch Drops for all our sailors who like to stream. During the same 24-hour timeframe – May 14th to May 15th, 10am UTC – the Gilded Phoenix Banjo will be available to viewers who tune in and watch any participating streamer play Sea of Thieves for at least 20 minutes.

Prepare yourself by heading to our Twitch Drops page if you’ve yet to link your Twitch and Sea of Thieves accounts, and make sure you follow Sea of Thieves on Twitch before the big day. We’ll be hosting a special Community Day broadcast live from our on-site tavern too, so stay tuned to our social channels for more information on our streaming shenanigans!

We’re not ones to shy away from the Strawberrybearded elephant in the room, so we just want to say: this time, we’re going to be ready for you. We’ve battened down the hatches and will have our crew ready to patch any leaky holes. Rest assured we’re doing everything we can to ensure as many of you as possible can enjoy the day.

It's always been our intention for Sea of Thieves Community Days to be about much more than the gold and the glory – they’re about coming together and saluting each and every one of our brilliant and spirited sailors. We throw these events to celebrate all of you and to share the love in as many ways as possible. So spread the word and set your sights on Sea of Thieves on May 14th – it promises to be a heck of a party!

Two epic stories are waiting to unfold in Sea of Thieves as its third time-limited Adventure, ‘The Shrouded Deep’, and the long-awaited Pirate Legend Voyage, Legend of the Veil, are playable from today! These connected stories both involve the Veil of the Ancients, a magical artefact that can grant its user the ability to travel between the living world and the spectral Sea of the Damned.

In ‘The Shrouded Deep’, players join forces with Belle and famed Megalodon hunter Merrick, and attempt to summon that great pale leviathan – the Shrouded Ghost. Be prepared for a monster hunt that’ll live on in legend as you seek to liberate the Veil of the Ancients from the belly of the beast. Then in the Legend of the Veil Voyage, Pirate Legends are called upon to help the Pirate Lord awaken the mask’s latent power by finding Veil Stones hidden around the Sea of Thieves.

As with our previous Adventures, we gave players a glimpse of ‘The Shrouded Deep’ in a special cinematic trailer, setting up the high-stakes action that’ll unfold during this in-game event. As the third Adventure acts as a season finale for this story arc, it runs for three weeks instead of two, giving players more time to experience the dramatic conclusion.


Thanks to a key piece of information discovered during previous Adventure ‘Forts of the Forgotten’, Belle has deduced that Captain Flameheart’s plans hinge on a mystical treasure: the Veil of the Ancients. With this long-lost relic rumoured to now reside in the stomach of an elusive Megalodon, Belle has sought out Merrick to help hunt down the near-mythical monster. While certainly a capable duo, these two may have bitten off more than they can chew…

For those wanting to get right up to speed with the unfolding story, check out our latest Adventure Awaits story primer on the Sea of Thieves website. Every Adventure is preceded by one of these articles, so if ‘The Shrouded Deep’ is your first foray into our time-limited narrative events, you can easily catch up on the story so far through previous primers.


Following on from the events of ‘The Shrouded Deep’, the Legend of the Veil Voyage sees you working with the Pirate Lord on a three-part quest in search of the Veil Stones (and maybe some Athena’s Treasure along the way). This Voyage is designed for replayability with the first two stages chosen at random, while the finale is always the same – a climactic naval battle in the heart of a supernatural storm, as you attempt to take down an imposing Ghost Garrison!

While the Legend of the Veil is meant primarily for players who have reached the heady heights of Pirate Legend, crewmates who have yet to reach this milestone can still tag along with willing Pirate Legends and experience this multi-stage odyssey for themselves. Need a quick reminder of how to achieve Pirate Legend status? Just prove your mettle by reaching rank 50 with at least three of Sea of Thieves’ Trading Companies.



There’s a monster hunt afoot – blow that hunting horn and face whatever lies in ‘The Shrouded Deep’ today! This time-limited Adventure runs from April 21 to May 12, while the Legend of the Veil Voyage is a permanent addition to the game for Pirate Legends.

For more information on the latest Sea of Thieves update, including full release notes, visit the Sea of Thieves website. This update is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players who have bought the game on Steam. Simply download and install the latest Sea of Thieves update to get access.



New to Sea of Thieves? Find out about the latest free content updates on our What’s New page and pick up some tips from our Pirate Academy, which provides invaluable information on topics ranging from sailing to swordplay as you prepare for your maiden voyage. Learn more about Sea of Thieves here, or join the ongoing adventure at http://www.seaofthieves.com/ where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!

With Season Six underway, the team have been working on new Adventures, new Voyages and additional fixes based on feedback from the community. We’re introducing more of these features in today’s release, update 2.5.1.1.

For a refresher on all the new content that arrived at the start of Season Six, check out the launch release notes!

It’s time for Sea of Thieves’ third time-limited Adventure, driving the grand story of its people and pirates ever onward into a confrontation with a beast from the deepest legends! Play your part from April 21st...

‘The Shrouded Deep’ (April 21st – May 12th)

• Following the revelation that Flameheart is seeking the Veil of the Ancients – kept safe within the belly of the fabled Shrouded Ghost – Belle has joined forces with Merrick, the hunter whose shanty once woke Megalodons across the Sea of Thieves. Now they need the help of other pirates too...
  
• Larinna knows where Belle and Merrick were last seen. Speak to Larinna to begin ‘The Shrouded Deep’, then set sail to learn more about an Adventure involving Megalodon hunts, rituals, shanties and summons, where working alongside other crews will help you even the odds!
  
• Crews who defeat the most elusive of beasts during this time-limited Adventure can expect some high-value treasure, and even the chance of a Chest of Legends surfacing from the deep. Pirates who fully complete the Adventure will also earn an exclusive Title and a cosmetic reward to serve as a Memento of their quest!

Following the events of ‘The Shrouded Deep’, this new multi-stage Voyage summons the Sea of Thieves’ hard-bitten Pirate Legends to help Belle and the Pirate Lord restore the lost Veil Stones to the Veil of the Ancients!

Legend of the Veil Voyage

• Legend of the Veil is a new Voyage designed for Pirate Legends, combining the lore and cinematic flourishes of Tall Tales with the variety of other Voyages to create a highly replayable experience. Purchase this Voyage from the Pirate Lord in the Pirate Legend Hideout before voting on the Captain’s Table to begin.
  
• The Pirate Lord calls upon the support of Legends to retrieve the Veil Stones and keep them from nefarious hands. He will offer players guidance and make an appearance when each Veil Stone is retrieved, placing it into the Veil of the Ancients.
  
• Each Voyage will play out differently, providing crews with a mixture of experiences, orders and locations. Players will encounter clues penned by Sudds, Belle and even the Servant of the Flame, before the Voyage eventually culminates in the dramatic siege of a Ghost Garrison.
  
• Items of Athena’s Treasure can also be claimed as players progress through the Voyage and uncover the mysteries of the Veil.

Legend of the Veil Commendations and Rewards

• Within the Athena’s Fortune Reputation tab, new Commendations have been added for players who help the Pirate Lord safeguard the secrets of the Ancients.
  
• The vendors in the Pirate Legend Hideout now offer a range of new cosmetic rewards unlocked by the Legend of the Veil. Players can earn the Pirate Lord Pegleg, Servant of the Flame Hat and Cutlass, and the Veil of the Ancients Pistol, Blunderbuss, Eye of Reach and Cutlass.

Expanded Athena’s Fortune Ranks and Rewards

• Pirate Legends can now continue progressing through the Athena’s Fortune Trading Company up to rank 30. As players climb the ranks, they can unlock access to ancient rewards from the Legendary Shipwright: the Veil of the Ancients Flag, Hull, Sail, Cannons, Capstan, Wheel and Figurehead.
  
• Reaching the prestigious rank 30 with Athena’s Fortune will unlock access to the Veil of the Ancients Costume.
  
• With the original Legendary Weapons becoming exclusive following the closure of The Arena, a new set of weapons fit for Pirate Legends has now been made available. The new Legendary Fortune Pistol, Blunderbuss, Eye of Reach and Cutlass are now available from vendors in the Pirate Legend Hideout, unlocked by progressing through ranks 20-30 in Athena’s Fortune.

Shrouded Ghost Figurehead

• Pirates who have previously defeated the elusive Shrouded Ghost in the wild will soon be granted access to a special figurehead in the Shipwright’s Chest to celebrate this chance encounter.
  
• After ‘The Shrouded Deep’ Adventure ends on May 12th, any player who meets and defeats the Shrouded Ghost in the wild will also unlock access to this exclusive figurehead.

Gameplay

• Larinna now offers new Letters of Recommendation for purchase.
  
• Players who have enabled Virtual Keyboard while playing on console will now find that text chat continues to function as expected when switching to Steam.

Pirate Emporium

• Purchases of the Demolition Delights Bundle from the Microsoft Store will now provide access to the Misfire Makeup in addition to the previous content: Barrel Bombardier Costume, Weapon Bundle and Tankard, 550 Ancient Coins and a free 25,000 gold bonus for use in the Outpost shops.

Visual and Audio

• When attacking a Megalodon with a cannonball, the appropriate hit audio effect can now be heard.

Performance and Stability

• Improved server performance when groups of Phantoms arrive during an encounter.

‘The Shrouded Deep’ Defeated Megalodon Rewards

• Following the defeat of the Shrouded Ghost or another summoned Megalodon, rewards may remain beneath the surface, requiring players to swim down and retrieve them.

Reduced Server Performance

• Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters.

Steam Achievement Unlocking Issues

• Some Steam players may find that after an achievement is unlocked in the game, it is not unlocked within Steam.

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 size:
Steam: 4.77 GB