While pirate investigators apply themselves to the latest maritime Mystery, May’s content update serves up a collection of gameplay, performance and audiovisual refinements to the overall Sea of Thieves experience. A new player reporting tool also makes its debut, and the Pirate Emporium has treats in store based on classic Tall Tales and previous Plunder Pass content alike...


If you’ve missed any of the Season Nine action so far, you can watch the trailer above and sift through the release notes from this Season’s launch along with last month’s additions. Then hop back here and commence scrolling to find out what the latest update has in store!

Relive the timeless tales of Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life with new costumes and pets to complement those that went before! The serene Spring Blossom set also returns from a previous Plunder Pass with matching extras, while the humble tankard gets some overdue emote attention...

Season Nine Plunder Pass

• Anyone wishing to take full advantage of Season Nine rewards can still buy the Plunder Pass. Any rewards unlocked will become available upon purchase, so players who have raised their Renown throughout Season Nine can instantly see their hard work rewarded before the Season ends.
  
• This Season’s Plunder Pass offers early access to the complete Sting Tide Ship Collection and evolving Sting Tide Costume, and can be purchased at any time through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium or Steam Item Store.

Tia Dalma Costume

• Dress as the enigmatic Tia Dalma and spread your otherworldly wisdom across the waves.
  
• Includes the Bon Voyage Emote. Summon an apparition of a Galleon, then send it on its way across the horizon.

Redd Costume

• Dress as the courageous Redd as you search for treasure in secret grottos, then carry it triumphantly to auction.
  
• Includes the Redd’s Heckle Emote. A pirate can always spot the true treasure at an auction – and it won’t be laying eggs.

Cutler Beckett Costume Set

• Dressing as Cutler Beckett is really just good business, with this costume set containing two variants – one with a matching hairstyle, one without.
  
• Includes the Civilised Drink Emote. Sometimes a little perturbation is needed to achieve the perfect tankard of grog for a refined palate.

Castaway Cat

• A mystical moggy that, thanks in part to being dressed as Tia Dalma, is as unpredictable as the sea.

Prominent Prisoner Monkey

• You may now, henceforth, commence with the acquisition and dispersal of bananas. Savvy?

Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life Trinkets

• Painting Bundle 1 contains painted portraits of Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones and Tia Dalma to decorate a Captained ship.
  
• Painting Bundle 2 contains the 'Eternal Freedom', 'The Cursed Ferryman' and 'What Lurks Below' paintings to decorate a Captained ship.
  
• Painting Bundle 3 contains the 'A Broken Blade', 'The Grotto's Hoard' and 'The Bayou Beckons' paintings to decorate a Captained ship.

Spring Blossom Weapon Bundle

• Spring is all about celebrating new life. You can use these weapons to make some space for it…

Spring Blossom Fishing Rod

• With its line spun from sacred twine, any angler would be blessed to use this gnarled fishing rod.

Spring Blossom Ship Collection

• Previously featured in the Season Six Plunder Pass, all parts of the Spring Blossom Ship Collection are now available to purchase from the Pirate Emporium.

Tankard Tricks Emote Bundle

• Grog’s your favourite tipple, and you know plenty of ways to fully appreciate its fabulous flavours. Show them off to your crew when performing these emotes.

Freebie Ranting Rogue Emote

• If the ship’s on fire, there’s a rat in the grog barrel or your favourite Trinket’s knocked out of place, be sure your crew know all about it.

Blooming Brigand Bundle (Store Only)

• No matter what the time of year may be, you’ll always have a spring in your step when your trusty vessel and even the contents of your armory are bursting with vitality. The Blooming Brigand Bundle contains the Spring Blossom Weapon Bundle and Fishing Rod, the Spring Blossom Figurehead and Sails, 550 Ancient Coins to spend in the Pirate Emporium and a free bonus of 25,000 gold. Head to the Steam Item Store to find out more.

Merchant Alliance Cosmetics

• Show off your allegiance to the Alliance with a new range of clothing items, weapons and equipment – all now available for gold from Outpost shops.

Supply Restocking After a Lost Battle

• Crews defeated during the Battle for the Sea of Thieves are now free to purchase Captain’s Supplies or Merchant Supplies upon arrival at the Outpost, even if one in-game day has not yet passed – allowing them to stock up and get back in the fight.

Battles Within a Storm

• Crews diving beneath the waves to battle rival ships will no longer find themselves battling in storm conditions.

Report a Player

• Within the Settings menu, players now have access to a ‘Report a Player’ option, allowing them to directly report another player to the Sea of Thieves Support team for possible moderation and action.
  
• This reporting tool allows players to be reported for inappropriate gamertags, ship names and pet names.
  
• Once the report has been completed, players will be shown a list of players who they have been in the vicinity of in the last few hours to enable the report to be targeted at a specific player.

Twitch Drops

• Continue to unlock cosmetics throughout Season Nine 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 a selection of items from the Eastern Winds Ruby set.
  
• Find out how to link your accounts and more on our dedicated Twitch Drops page.

Gameplay

• Pirates swimming to a ship in choppy waters are no longer able to use a ship's cannons, harpoon or Map Table to board directly from the water.
  
• Pirates striking an enemy threat with a harpoon will once again deal a small amount of damage.
  
• On discovering a Shipwreck Graveyard during a Legend of the Veil Voyage, players who previously opened the Captain's Quarters will still be able to access that area even after server migration.
  
• During a Ghost Fleet encounter, crews at a distance from the battle will no longer find that ships disappear while attempting to move to the crew’s position.
  
• Players are now able to complete the Ocean Epicurean Trial when fulfilling the required criteria.
  
• Players attempting to sell a Trident of Dark Tides while aiming it will no longer be prevented from aiming other weapons once sold.

Battle for the Sea of Thieves

• Voting on the Hourglass of Fate will now clear the Captain’s Table of any placed Tall Tale Checkpoints.
  
• Players will no longer see a ‘Quest Received’ notification when diving below the waves looking for an opponent.
  
• Solo players forcefully disconnecting from a session while travelling beneath the waves will now find their battle cancelled and arrive on a random island back at sea.
  
• The win streak UI now appears consistently even if the player force-closes the game and rejoins the session.
  
• When diving beneath the waves, players will no longer see strange light blue underwater visual effects in the distance prior to fading to black.

Captains of Adventure

• A Captain’s Logbook placed inside a Collector’s Chest no longer loses its cover customisation.
  
• The Taker of Stolen Stock Commendation now progresses when commodities are sold to Sovereigns.
  
• Improvements have been made to the Captain’s Logbook to avoid instances where the text and images inside the Logbook overlap or intersect with each other.

Pirate Emporium

• Players will now travel in the intended direction when fired from a Brigantine cannon with the Sawbones Cannons equipped.
  
• The Sawbones Jacket and Belt will now appear ghostly when equipping the Blessing of Athena’s Fortune.
  
• The iconography for the Sawbones Collector’s Sail now matches the equipped sail.
  
• The Sawbones Trinket is now centred correctly and lit from above when placed on a ship.
  
• The Sawbones Collector’s Figurehead when equipped on the Sloop will no longer display liquid through the vial corks, and will swing more noticeably.

Environment

• Players can no longer get stuck when traversing the dry dock area at Port Merrick.
  
• Players will no longer be able to see the waterline when jumping at either end of the dry dock at Port Merrick.
  
• The lanterns present at the back of the Order of Souls building at Port Merrick are now lit.
  
• Players can no longer intersect with the environment within the Sea Fort basements.
  
• Items can no longer become lost if placed on a table in the Merchant Alliance area at Port Merrick.
  
• Characters at Port Merrick will now be seen when approaching from a distance and will no longer pop into view.
  
• The cannon at the south-east of Port Merrick now launches pirates in the correct direction.

User Interface

• An icon will now appear next to a pirate’s name indicating they are carrying treasure after picking up a Stronghold Key.

Visual and Audio

• The beacon from the Reaper’s Chest or Reaper’s Bounty will now continue to be visible after harpooning the chest off a ship.
  
• The atmospheric effects that signify a Ghost Fleet encounter have been improved, ensuring the event is visible from across the waves.
  
• Pirates striking a Ghost Ship, Skeleton Ship or Megalodon with cannon fire will no longer hear other game music quieten for an extended period.
  
• Players will consistently see the visual effects for an active lantern during the Fort of the Damned, even when returning after death.
  
• During the Ghost of Graymarrow fight, the correct visual effects will now be shown at his feet when teleporting.
  
• Players with the Wandering Reaper Flag or Inevitable Reaper Flag equipped will now find that when representing as an Emissary, the Emissary Flag now attaches correctly.
  
• Pirates’ bodies will no longer become invisible when equipping the Order of Souls Shirt and an open jacket.
  
• When pirates are observed climbing ladders or sitting while holding the Skull of Destiny, the skull will retain its correct visual appearance.
  
• When holding a pet underwater (you monster), air bubbles now appear from the animal’s mouth.
  
• At Galleon’s Grave Outpost, the coastline audio is now heard at the correct volume.

Performance and Stability

• Improved server stability to reduce instances where players are disconnected from their session.
  
• ‘The Sunken Pearl’ – Improved server stability when migrating during this Tall Tale.

Reduced Server Performance

• Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters. While improvements were most recently released in update 2.7.3, the team continue to work on further improvements for future updates.

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: 7.54 GB

Greetings! It has, in fact, been an entire month since we last dropped by to fill you in on all the latest happenings on the Sea of Thieves, which means it’s once again time to dive into our recent history for the latest round-up. Even without a full-blown new Season update, the month just gone by still had plenty going on that you might have missed, so sit back and enjoy this jaunt through the excitements of April. See you on the other side!

If you were able to join us at various points throughout April, you’ll have noticed a couple of Season Nine Voyages usually reserved for Pirate Legends landing in your inventory. These free login bonuses treated all pirates to a Search for the Skull of Destiny Voyage and a Black Powder Stash Voyage to be enjoyed at leisure. Did you get the chance to dig up a disco skull of your own? Or, less profitably, maybe you ended up blowing your pirate sky high with a misplaced keg? It’s alright, we’ve all been there.

After Season Nine introduced substantial changes to the sandbox in March, April’s update gave us a chance to make some more focused tweaks and additions while improving a few systems to reduce friction for players. It was also a prime opportunity to release some dashing Order of Souls cosmetics for anyone seeking Madame Olivia’s approval. Sift through it all in the April release notes!

Alongside those new additions to the Outpost shops, the Pirate Emporium also restocked its shelves! With the Sawbones ship, weapon and clothing cosmetics, you’re now able to take up the mantle of these slightly sinister scientifically minded sailors and don your own distinctive beaked mask. Or, if you’re more of the ‘tackle your problems head-on with a weapon’ sort, the Quick Draw Weapon Pose Emote should suit your duelling needs. Whatever you’re setting out to do while Season Nine is live, remember to stick to the plan…


After we closed out March with our first ever 48-hour Community Weekend, it seemed only fitting to start April with a fond look back on everything achieved throughout the event. From a lucrative Ancient Skelly surge to selfies at the fifth anniversary Picture Wall, the weekend was a delight to reflect on and celebrate.

We also seized an opportunity to add another entry to our From Concept to Cosmetic series, this time diving into the surprisingly complex world of Ship’s Crests. Introduced with Season Seven, these nameplates enable Captains to personalise how they present their vessel to the wider Sea of Thieves, so we spoke to the devs to find out how they perfected, built and shipped these Crests in a multitude of designs.

Elsewhere, Sea of Thieves’ streamable soundtrack got another addition in the form of ‘Merrick’s Farewell’ and the upcoming Voyage of Legends board game went up for preorder, while the Community Hub got two more updates highlighting some of your fantastic creations. We also welcomed two big names to the Spotlight pantheon: a recent addition to the Partner Programme, LadyHaradaNiwa, and a serious #SoTShot aficionado, zNiinjaaa. Head on over and have a read!


April was a busy month for our Video team, bringing you not one but two new instalments of Sea of Thieves News, catching you up on all the latest gossip and sharing some of the phenomenal creations our community members have sent our way. We even played around with a football in the Tavern! It… didn’t go well.

And for even more sneak peeks behind the scenes – with substantially less physical injury – we decided to throw in a new episode of the Official Podcast. Check it out for some cheeky previews of upcoming content and to learn why we can’t stop talking about eras all of a sudden.

Coming to the end of April, we turned our attention to a worthy cause and fielded Sea of Thieves staff members alongside other bold souls from across the UK game development scene for One Big Game. Lasting a full 24 hours, this cross-studio football tournament helped to raise an outstanding £30,000 for gaming charity SpecialEffect. Thank you so much to everyone who took part, tuned in and donated!


The month started off strong on Twitter, with pirates sharing their favourite stories from the Season Nine update, but rapidly descended into disappointment when our followers let us down twice in a row. Even when we left clear instructions, we found ourselves beset with selfies. Outrageous.

Fortunately things picked up again as we revealed our latest #SoTShot champions for their Catch of the Day entries, not to mention their masterpieces on a Moonlight theme, and celebrated the completion of the mighty Port Merrick. After a bit of self-affirmation, we also shared some searching confessions about our time on the tides, told stories with emotes and reflected on the changing seas.

There were rewards to be had too: avid Twitch viewers were able to add four more items to their Eastern Winds Sapphire set by tuning into Sea of Thieves Partner streams, while those of you who joined us for One Big Game for 90 minutes or more were able to take home your very own Keepy-Uppy Emote. Just make sure you’re wearing boots when you use it – those coconuts are hard.


All of which brings us to the end of the month! And that sporting exertion has really worn us out. As always, there’ll be so much more to cover when we reconvene at the end of May, so we won’t outstay our welcome now no matter what our inner instinct says. Until then, keep up with all the latest Sea of Thieves updates as they happen via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Twitch, or join the official Forums or Discord. Otherwise, we’ll see you next month for our May round-up. So long!

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Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2023
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2023
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2023

Sea of Thieves Season Nine is already in full swing, and that can mean only one thing: another Style of Thieves contest is glinting on the horizon. So it’s time to turn our spyglasses towards the next wave of themes, and deliver a refresh of our top tips for capturing your pirate’s best side with this latest chance to snag a pair of Fashionista’s Finery Gloves.

There will be just 24 hours to enter each theme via social media channels, so be sure to raid your chests and prepare your screenshots in time! Once a theme opens for entry, get sharing your screenshots, and make sure you include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post. See the How to Enter section below for the full rundown of rules.

Once a theme has closed, our crew will whittle down the entries to select the sailors they felt found the perfect fit. We’re excited to invite back special guest judges from our Art team, who will have the final decision on the 12 winning marauders, with three pirates per category taking home their own pair of gloves.


Each theme will start at 9am UTC on the dates detailed below with entries accepted via social media for a full 24 hours.

RPG Classes
Draw inspiration from RPG archetypes and show us your pirate as a mage, paladin, druid, warrior or whichever class takes your fancy!
Entry date: May 15th

Romantic
Show off the clothes you’d choose to woo a select scoundrel, or maybe even what your pirate would wear down the aisle in this passionate topic.
Entry date: May 16th

Spring Style
Florals, sunny colours and dressing for the warmer weather – embrace the change of season with a wardrobe refresh.
Entry date: May 17th

The Elements
Water, earth, fire, air – put together an outfit that reflects one of the elements, making sure you tell us which one in your caption!
Entry date: May 18th


Image credit: @CapitanoTiger on Twitter

We’ve got eyes everywhere, so you’re free to submit on a variety of social channels, but each comes with its own quirks as follows:

• To enter on Twitter, make sure you include @SeaOfThieves and #StyleOfThieves.
  
• For Instagram, you just need to post using #StyleOfThieves.
  
• Add your entry as a reply to that day’s theme post on Facebook.
  
• Post your entry with #StyleOfThieves in the #pirate-fashion channel of our official Discord server.

Be sure to include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post, along with any extra info called for by the theme.

We’ve put together some handy hints and rules to help you capture your pirate’s best side:

• No Costumes on the catwalk – we want to see your creativity and individuality in how you mix and match items, so no all-in-one Costumes or complete cosmetic sets.
  
• Unless a theme calls for it, all shots should be solo snaps, not crews. Only the pirate in the picture will be eligible for the prize.
  
• Find a simple or plain background to pose against to let your outfit pop. Backgrounds and locations will not be considered when judging the outfit.
  
• Lighting is key, so find a well-lit spot to fully show off your picks – any coloured or tactical lighting won’t be considered part of the outfit.
  
• Toggle off your HUD for that clean finish!
  
• Screenshots should be true to the game – no editing or filters.
  
• Keep your submissions to a 16:9 or 1:1 ratio, making sure your entire outfit is in shot, to help us when framing the winners.
  
• While emotes are allowed, any features added to the outfit via the emote won’t be taken into consideration during judging.
  
• One shortlist will be compiled per theme, using entries across all platforms, meaning it’s not necessary to post your submission to all channels. If you make sure you use the correct tags, we will see it!

Image credit: @mystcasual on Twitter

And there you have it, everything you need to know to enter the next round of Style of Thieves. So get primped and prep your poses, and we’ll see you on stage from May 15th! Good luck.

Ahoy, Pirate Captains! In Season Seven, we introduced the ability to become a Captain in Sea of Thieves. Since then, we’ve really enjoyed seeing all those Captained ships out on the seas and spotting the banners through our spyglass when out adventuring.

We’ve also been listening to player feedback and internally assessing Captaincy and its rewards, and as a result there are some exciting permanent adjustments coming soon.

The changes below are all set to be released in June alongside a Captain’s Week Event. Read on for a summary of what’s coming to the world of Captaincy!

A large number of Pirate and Ship Milestones will be rebalanced to make gaining Classes easier. This means that reaching Legendary status in any Milestone Alignment will also be significantly easier, as it will be easier to earn a total of 50 Classes from any of the Milestones within the Alignment.

Any Milestone progress you have already earned will automatically be converted, so you can continue to earn progress and any relevant Milestone Classes will go up when these changes are applied.

The number of classes required to buy the four tiers of Trinkets will be significantly reduced. Previously the four tiers were unlocked at Class 10, 20, 50 and 100. These will now be unlocked at Class 5, 10, 20 and 30.

The cost for saving cosmetics to your ship will now be free!

The gold cost for ship decorations and Trinkets will be significantly reduced.


The gold cost for Captain’s ship cosmetics will be significantly reduced. This includes Captain’s Tables, Drapes, Beds, Rugs, Chairs, Chandeliers and Curtains.

Any Captain’s Beds that unlock through Milestones also now unlock at Class 2 instead of Class 5, so you can rest on plush bedding earlier in your journey!

All the above adjustments are permanent additions, and they will be introduced in June with a special Captain’s Week Event. During this event, you will be able to earn cosmetic rewards and enjoy a gold multiplier when playing on Captained ships.

To honour Captains of high standing, we are awarding an exclusive cosmetic, the Gilded Sovereign Captain’s Table, to any player who accomplishes certain Pirate Milestones before Captain’s Week begins in June.

You will automatically be awarded this exclusive reward if you have earned Class 50 in any individual Pirate Milestone from The Gold Seeker, The Voyager, The Emissary, The Hunter, The Feared, The Guardian or The Servant, with the exception of the following specific Milestones: Nautical Miles Sailed, Days at Sea, Provisions Cooked, Provisions Eaten and Cannons Fired.

We’re giving you advance notice of these changes so you can plan your adventures and spending at the Outposts accordingly!

See you on the seas, Captains!

Treasure seekers, now is your time to shine! Starting on Thursday, May 11th, Sea of Thieves’ second Mystery will set players the task of solving a mysterious set of clues from elusive puppet master known only as ‘H’. Mixing out-of-game puzzles and in-game Voyages, it offers the first player to finish this treasure hunt the one-of-a-kind prize of a replica Gold Hoarder skull – with additional physical prizes on offer for crew members and runners-up.

The Hoarder’s Hunt takes on a slightly different format and flavour to the first Sea of Thieves Mystery, Who Killed DeMarco? That Mystery also encouraged players to team up with other members of the community, setting out to solve the murder of a beloved Sea Dog. Using a variety of social media mechanisms, ARG elements and in-game clues, it unfolded over four months, with each step unlocking dynamically as players hit key milestones.

However, this new Mystery seeks to be a little snappier in delivering clues – with the key twist to the tale being that the fastest players to complete the final Stage will bag themselves seriously cool real-world rewards.


How It Works
Proceedings will kick off on Thursday, May 11th, when the first clue will drop at https://www.seaofthieves.com/sea-of-thieves-mystery. This will kick off Stage One of The Hoarder’s Hunt – entitled Skin of Gold – and send players out to obscure corners of the internet to find and solve the first set of clues. Keen-eyed, sharp-minded puzzlers will ultimately discover a keyword to submit back at the Sea of Thieves website. If correct, that will unlock access to an in-game Voyage, which the successful solver can collect from Larinna. Seeing the Voyage through to the end will complete that Stage of the Mystery.

There will be four Stages in total: Skin of Gold, A Feathered Fortune, Portrait of Plunder and The Crowning Glory. Each comprises an ARG clue hunt and in-game Voyage – and every time, the Voyage entitlement will need to be unlocked by a successful keyword.

The final Stage will see pirates who’ve solved every step thus far embark on a fraught and frantic race to obtain a special in-game golden key. This key is required to complete the Mystery – with the first eligible pirate to propose and successfully complete the last Voyage bagging the headline prize. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, wait until you’ve seen the clues…

A Tribute to Treasure Hunting
Inspired by real-world treasure hunts and pop culture classics such as Ready Player One, The Hoarder’s Hunt is an epic adventure which offers an unforgettable and unique treasure. This Mystery pulls together the best of what we learned from Who Killed DeMarco? while also paying homage to famous Easter eggs and treasure hunts that came before.

From the story of Olivier Levasseur, the pirate who, just before his untimely end, threw a cryptogram into a crowd that clued the recipient into the location of an outrageous hidden pirate fortune, to Atari’s famous Swordquest, which also rewarded its best players with real-world treasures, The Hoarder’s Hunt is a celebration of clues and puzzles – and those who can’t resist unravelling them.


Prizes and Rewards Galore
Of course, the coolest prize up for grabs is a recreation of the Gold Hoarder’s skull awarded to the first pirate to complete the Mystery. The skull’s accompanying gold keys are designed to be shared with crewmates who joined the winner for every step of the journey.

Those who solve The Hoarder’s Hunt hot on the heels of the first crew to complete the challenge will also receive real-world prizes, with 10 runners-up receiving exclusive silver keys and 100 third-place pirates getting their hands on Reaper’s Mark medallions. With such glittering prizes on offer, we’re hoping you’ll feel compelled to tackle the clues that ‘H’ will be leaving behind.

For players who don’t quite qualify for the physical prizes, there are still in-game Titles, Trinkets and gold rewards to collect – plus, for the duration of the Mystery, washed-up Bullion Crowns will appear across the world. Players stumbling across these can hand them in to the Gold Hoarders for a handsome payoff so even if you’re not directly tackling the treasure hunt, you can still benefit from it as you travel across the map!

Who Can Play?
With such a complex and global treasure hunt, those who want to tackle The Hoarder’s Hunt will need to opt in to be eligible for the final prizes and to move through each of the Stages. For the finer details on who can or can’t compete in The Hoarder’s Hunt, full terms and conditions will be available when our dedicated Mystery page goes live on May 11th.

The Race Is On!
So, now you know: Sea of Thieves' second Mystery kicks off next week! Stay tuned to our social channels for updates as it progresses – you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitch, and share suggestions and theories on the official Forums or Discord.

Grab your magnifying glass, practise your puzzle-solving and set a course for Sea of Thieves on May 11th, when The Hoarder’s Hunt will drop its first conundrum…

We’re once again rummaging behind the scenes, causing chaos and hunting for the best nuggets of content. After our recent deep dive into the sinister Ravenwood set, we thought this time we’d broaden our horizons by investigating the keystone of any Captained ship: the Ship’s Crest! These little bits of furniture have been adorning purchased ships since the release of Season Seven, allowing Captains to frame their vessel’s chosen name in pride of place.

More recently, Season Nine brought the first new Ship’s Crest design to the Sea of Thieves since their inception. So for this From Concept to Cosmetic article, we decided to commemorate the occasion by diving into the thought process behind Ship’s Crests and how that ultimately coalesced into the shiny new Lodestar variant. So, without any further ado, let’s ask some people in the know how Ship’s Crests came to Sea of Thieves…

From the Sailor Ship’s Crest freely available to all, right up to the recently released Lodestar Ship’s Crest, all Captained ships come with a Crest. A range of unique designs allows players to personalise theirs and ensure that the vessel’s name will be remembered.

The idea of using Ship’s Crests to display ship names had been in the works for a long time, but when it came to readying them for launch, one of the first questions that needed to be answered was where to have them displayed on each ship. As Principal Environment Artist Andy Betts explains, the decision required some thought:

“I did a bit of initial R&D to see where the Crests would sit best on the three ship types. The Galleon was fairly straightforward, but the Brigantine was less so, and eventually we settled on the front-facing Crest placed on the wheel balustrade area. This was after initially testing it on the masts, but it obstructed the player view somewhat.”



“Similarly with the Sloop and the rear-facing crest, there was a little bit of testing to find a good spot, what with the open canopy nature of the Sloop, and not wanting to place the Crest where the Rowboat would dock. We eventually settled on placing it just under the canopy, at the top so it could be easily seen, but there was still enough room for the player to exit the ship.”

With the location decided, attention turned to designing the very first Crest, available to all players who bought a Captained ship: the Sailor Ship’s Crest. As Senior Concept Artist Tom Mahon describes:

“It was important to keep the default Ship’s Crest quite neutral, and to feel cohesive with the default ship set, so there are few distinguishing features or motifs. The Crest was designed with enough width in mind for longer ship names, and we used this as a rough template for future designs.”

This Crest’s minimal design didn’t necessarily mean it was simple to implement, however. Senior Environment Artist Sophie Ingledew elaborates:

“Funnily enough, the original Sailor Ship’s Crest model was one of the trickiest to set up for Captaincy. Environment Artist Tim Burroughs had the delicate task of reworking the curved nameplate area to allow the text to run along the model smoothly, which is a particular challenge when the model has already been textured and has been on players’ Galleons since launch.

“This task involved tweaking the UVs, a process in which a 2D texture is mapped to the surface of a 3D model, somewhat similar to pattern-making in sewing. The name comes from the two axes in the 2D texture, U and V, used as coordinates to assign pixels to a position on the 3D model.”

Once the base Crest had been decided, the team had 33 more they wanted to bundle in with the launch of Season Seven: five in the Pirate Emporium, and 28 waiting to be unlocked by Captains progressing through the various Ship Alignment tracks. While the quantity meant that a lot of designs had to be put together, the Concept Art team weren’t fazed, as Tom explains:

“One of the most enjoyable assets to design are the Crests, because of the amount of flexibility we have. Capstans and wheels, for example, have a very specific purpose and mechanic, so we can't stray too far from their original form or else we break their function. Crests, on the other hand, are essentially just nameplates, so we can go a bit wilder with incorporating the different sets’ motifs and using interesting silhouettes. The space we're allowed to play with is a lot more generous than most assets.”



Even the more uniform Crests available through Ship Alignment progression offered their own unique challenges and twists:

“For the Captaincy Milestone Crests we used a similar base template for all of them, close to the original Crest. Introducing a placard attached to the top made sure we could incorporate different symbols for the different Milestones. We also added some model and design variation based on each Alignment you can pursue, as we wanted to give players a nice visual difference that reflects their style of play.

“My favourite out of the Milestone Crests is The Rogue and how the banjos are incorporated, a treat for the shanty lovers out there!”

With the release of Season Nine, the first new Crest design was added to the pool via the Pirate Emporium: the astral Lodestar Ship’s Crest. With a regal purple-and-gold design, it’s the latest addition to the fan-favourite Lodestar set. Tom explains the challenges involved in incorporating pre-existing design motifs:

“With Captaincy we wanted to return to some of the popular ship sets and give them their own Crests. Whenever we make a new asset for an existing set, we try to incorporate the colours and motifs of the original set as much as possible. In this case we felt the crescent moons and stars were important to include, as well as the beautiful starfield shader!

“We always want to explore a range of ideas, so we did include an option where the ship’s name was on wood like a more traditional Crest, but the starfield was just too cool to not use. This is one of the only ship sets that uses floating elements, so we had a lot of fun incorporating those floating moons into the design. Overall, I love how it came out and it’s very satisfying to see it on players’ ships.”



As the designs for Crests started to take shape, the modelling team turned its attention to the challenge of bringing them to life in the game…

With 34 Ship’s Crests to build ahead of the release of Season Seven, the team had a lot of designs to work through. While Crests in the same set share similar designs, the more unique ones required their own finishing touches and flourishes, as Sophie recalls:

“The Crests unlockable through Captaincy such as the Emissary Crests or Gold Seeker Crests were relatively straightforward to bring into 3D, as they are all based on the original Sailor Ship’s Crest with a bit of variation thrown in.

“The Big Game Hunter Crest was quite a tricky one due to the wooden board where the ship’s name is being a unique shape from the rest of our Crests. It took a bit of trial and error to fit the name onto the plank in the middle. The Kraken bones protrude a fair bit too, and went through some iteration to ensure they didn’t get in the way too much as you were walking around the ship.

“One of our biggest priorities outside of making the Crest look great is to ensure that its presence doesn’t interfere with gameplay. On all three ships we try to minimise how much of the Crest you can see from the helm of the ship. Another aspect we’ve had to be mindful of across the team are elements that go above or below the nameplate, to avoid clipping with the deck of the Brig and the canopy on the Sloop.”

On a technical level, a lot of work went into ensuring that the Crests were always able to blend into the ship as a whole, as Lead Technical Artist Andrew Catling discusses:

“For the Tech Art team, the main challenge was ensuring that Crests with painted areas are able to pick up changes to paint colours from the rest of the ship livery. That meant incorporating all the livery functionality from the ship hull shader into the material for the Crest.

“Here’s a little more technical info on how we handle the Crests: to allow the ship name to follow the curve of the Crest, we map the UVs so they are aligned in a straight line in texture space. We found the best way to do that was to transfer a clean set of UVs from a curved plane onto the UVs of the base mesh.”



“This results in UVs that allow us to render the ship name to an off-screen texture and have it display curved on the in-game model.

“Once we have a black-and-white render of the ship name, we run a few passes over that to produce additional textures for the subtle darkening around the text and the normal to make it look carved into the surface.

“The other contribution from Tech Art was to set up the magical reveal effect when the Pirate Lord first applies the name to your ship. This is using a wipe from left to right in texture space, with noise added to break up the gradient.”

After the sheer volume of Crests involved in Season Seven, putting the sparkling new Lodestar Ship’s Crest together gave the team a little more breathing room to perfect the model. Focusing on a single Crest in this instance, they were able to bring all their experience from Season Seven to bear in ensuring that the new design lived up to the rest of the Lodestar collection.

One of the core facets of this Crest’s design had to be perfecting the parallax effect. All items in the Lodestar set feature this effect, setting them apart from other cosmetics with similar colours and granting them an air of cosmic beauty as the stars within seem to move independently from the item itself. As Andrew Catling tells us, implementing the effect wasn’t simply a matter of copy and paste:

“From a Tech Art point of view, most of the Crests work the same way – so once we had one working how we wanted, it was straightforward to apply that to other Crests. The Lodestar Ship’s Crest has been the main exception to that because it has a different treatment, using floating text rather than carved. For that, we needed to make a new material and also apply the starfield effect to the background.”

Together with its floating gold frame, the effect works to create a unique, stunning addition to the range of Ship’s Crests available to players. Once finalised and built, the Lodestar Ship’s Crest was ready for release with the Season Nine update, hitting Pirate Emporium shelves in March 2023.


The release of Captaincy was a defining moment for Sea of Thieves, granting players the ability to really make a ship their own and take to the waves as a true Captain. Within that, Ship’s Crests were the framing for how players could immortalise their carefully chosen names and display them to all as they ventured out across the sea. Producer Louise Roberts tells us:

“Ship customisations are very popular in Sea of Thieves generally, and Crests have continued that trend. Ships tell other players a lot about who you are as a pirate: are you scary and tough, are you fun and colourful? Whatever you like! Crests add to that, both as another part of your ship you can customise and how you present the all-important name of your ship to the wider world.”

The Crests aren’t only shared in-game either, as our Social Media Lead James Bowden points out:

“Whenever we see pirates sharing their Captained ship names across social media (which we always love seeing, by the way, so please keep doing it), it seems quite clear to us that a Ship’s Crest can often be a strong source of inspiration for what gets etched onto the plaque.

“DraconLevia’s upstanding Royal Coronet Ship’s Crest used for their ship The Arrt Gallery. Drazx2’s use of the Lodestar Ship’s Crest for their referential moniker The Orville. The Crest we see more than any other, the skull-mounted boards earned by increasing a ship’s Milestones in The Feared (which doesn’t surprise us, given how many cannonballs you all tend to shoot off on any given day on the seas), used to hold intimidating titles such as Broodmother, Redcap’s Revenge and HMS Interceptor. It’s clear to us that an elaborate nameplate can often be the ornate cherry atop a whole ship’s designation.”



As the first new addition to the Crest selection since they were introduced, and a new element of a very popular set, all eyes have been on the Lodestar Ship’s Crest to see if it can live up to people’s expectations. Fortunately, initial reactions have been very positive, even amongst the Rare team, as Louise tells us:

“The Lodestar Crest is proving to be as popular as the rest of the set from our early sales information. It’s a mesmerising set, we spent quite a while in our playtests just going ‘oooooooh’ and panning around to see the stars move.”

So, with the first new Crest release since Season Seven a success, is the Lodestar Ship’s Crest indicative of more designs to come? We checked back in with Louise to find out:

“We do have plans for more Crests! The initial set of five in the Pirate Emporium were designed to cover a broad range of styles, while not committing us to adding a Crest to every set we do in the future. But we will be revisiting some of our most popular sets, including Dark Warsmith.”

And while you await future Crest developments, we’ll leave the last word for now with Lead Designer Shelley Preston…

“The empty Crest has sat awaiting a name since Sea of Thieves’ launch and has always felt like an invitation to players’ imaginations. That’s because we always knew that one day, players would be able to name their own ship and have it show on the Crest, and it’s been exciting to finally be able to fulfil this promise.”

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That wraps up our exploration of the world of Ship’s Crests! The next time you purchase a ship and set its name down, take a moment to appreciate the combined work that went into making sure your vessel looks its best. Thank you to all the team members who helped offer this enticing peek behind the game development curtain. Anyone who’s interested in snagging the new Lodestar Ship’s Crest for themselves can just pop over to the Pirate Emporium and take a look in the Captaincy tab.

If you’ve got more questions about how cosmetics come to life, make sure you check out previous entries in the From Concept to Cosmetic series on our News page. And, of course, if there are any cosmetic items you’re particularly interested in, let us know and they might end up in an article just like this one! In the meantime, catch all the latest news, updates and happenings within Sea of Thieves by following us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok or dropping into our official Forums or Discord server. See you there!

With Season Nine launch month and its cavalcade of bullet-pointed features behind us, April sees the delivery of some more focused fixes and adjustments alongside a wave of eerie new cosmetics. If you're still catching up on what was recently added, we'd advise a viewing of the Season Nine content update video before you go ahead and raise anchor!


Check out the launch release notes if you want the fully itemised Season Nine feature set, then read on to find out what else is addressed in this month's update. When you're ready to set sail, don't forget to pay a visit to the Outpost you once knew as Golden Sands...

Hygiene is important! That's why those seafaring plague doctors wear masks, although it doesn't explain the state of their dubious tools. If the Sawbones ship set, clothing, weapons and Trinket don't grab you, snap up a Plunder Pass, some quickfire emotes or the monthly freebie!

Season Nine Plunder Pass

• Anyone wishing to take full advantage of Season Nine rewards can still buy the Plunder Pass. Any rewards unlocked will become available upon purchase, so players who have raised their Renown throughout Season Nine can instantly see their hard work rewarded before the Season ends.
  
• This Season’s Plunder Pass offers early access to the complete Sting Tide Ship Collection and evolving Sting Tide Costume, and can be purchased at any time through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium or Steam Item Store.

Sawbones Ship Collection

• Spread your medical 'expertise' across the Sea of Thieves with the Sawbones Ship Collection. Collector's Sails and Figurehead are available to purchase separately.
  
• Pirates looking for the bare necessities can instead choose the Sawbones Essential Ship Bundle, containing the core components at a discount.

Sawbones Clothing Bundle

• Don the mask of those who do not falter in the face of pestilence with these well-worn items of medical gear. Pirates are free to purchase the hat, gloves, belt and jacket individually, or all four items bundled together at a discount.

Sawbones Weapon Bundle

• This bundle of weapons might have seen better days, but they'll never fail to get the job done.

Sawbones Trinket

• Captains in dire need of a flask of eyeballs to decorate their ship can now pick up this grim Trinket at the Emporium.

Quick Draw Weapon Pose Emote

• A pirate knows better than to enter any situation unarmed, so be ready to react with this weapon-specific emote.

Freebie Encouraging Clap Emote

• Collect this freebie from the Emporium and show enthusiasm for your crew’s most impressive feats. Or explosions.

Sawbones’ Surgery Bundle (Store Only)

• Medical science is a developing field, but still as rough and ready as anything else on the Sea of Thieves. For now, you can at least look the part and come equipped for spontaneous procedures! The Sawbones' Surgery Bundle contains the Sawbones Clothing Bundle and Weapon Bundle, the Quick Draw Weapon Pose Emote, 550 Ancient Coins to spend in the Pirate Emporium and a free bonus of 25,000 gold. Head to the Steam Item Store to find out more.

Order of Souls Cosmetics

• Gain Madame Olivia’s approval within the Order by saving up for a selection of clothing, weapons and equipment now in stock at the Outpost shops.

Ghost Fleet Encounter Balancing

• The damage required to defeat Captain’s Ships and the Burning Blade during a Ghost Fleet encounter has now been reduced.
  
• The number of Wraith Cannonballs rewarded for completing the encounter has now been increased.

Ashen Voyage Availability

• Ashen Voyages purchasable from the shipwright no longer have a Trading Company reputation requirement, allowing all Captains access to these new Voyages delivered in Season Nine.

Narration Playback Speed

• Players using ‘Let Games Read to Me’ now have additional control within the Settings Menu to adjust the speed of the narration. This will allow players to set a speed that is the most convenient and comfortable for them.

Twitch Drops

• Continue to unlock cosmetics throughout Season Nine 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 a selection of items from the Eastern Winds Sapphire set.
  
• Find out how to link your accounts and more on our dedicated Twitch Drops page.

Gameplay

• Seagulls now appear over treasure dropped when defeating a Megalodon.
  
• Supply barrels jettisoned from a ship will no longer sink while players are nearby.
  
• Supply barrels harpooned onto a ship will no longer disappear when sailing away from the area where they were collected.
  
• Players are no longer able to bypass the purchase limit at the shipwright and retrieve multiple supplies.
  
• Crews are now granted the correct Emissary Grade progression when bringing treasure onto their ship using a harpoon.
  
• Players below deck caught by the blast from a Trident of Dark Tides as it hits the outside of the ship’s hull will now take reduced damage as intended.
  
• Rowboats containing treasure will no longer leave items floating in the air when undocked from the Sovereigns’ dock.
  
• When taking part in a Skeleton Fleet battle, player ships in close proximity to each other will no longer prevent the fleet from appearing from the depths.
  
• Players discovering the Chest of Legends at the final dig site during a Search for Cursed Treasure will now find the Voyage completes as intended.
  
• Pirates are now prevented from retrieving multiple Voyages from a Mysterious Journal.
  
• ‘A Pirate’s Life’ – Crews are now prevented from using the cage key on a nearby door, which would block them from being able to complete the Tall Tale.
  
• ‘Revenge of the Morningstar’ – Crews are no longer rewarded when cashing in the Skull of Captain Douglas or Chalice of Resurrection.

Battle for the Sea of Thieves

• Crewmates who join during a battle and are held on the Ferry of the Damned are no longer awarded Allegiance when the battle ends.
  
• Players who lose a battle while on the Ferry of the Damned should no longer encounter the rare scenario where they appear beneath the waves after returning from the Ferry.

Captains of Adventure

• Further improvements made to saving ship customisations, reducing scenarios where Captains saving a livery, decoration or Trinket would result in their chosen customisations not persisting between sessions.
  
• A Captain's Logbook will now maintain a consistent record of events after migrating across servers.
  
• Players should no longer find that events recorded in a Logbook found floating at sea suddenly become blank after reading.
  
• A Captain's Logbook will now retain its customised appearance after being placed in a Collector’s Chest, or after being dropped and picked up.
  
• A Captain's Logbook will now show the correct events pages after being placed in a Collector’s Chest.
  
• Players holding a Captain's Logbook will no longer be offered the option to retrieve treasure from a Collector's Chest.

Pirate Emporium

• Players are now able to preview the King’s Ransom Crown on their pirate while browsing the Emporium.
  
• The glowing eyes on the Frostbite Figurehead are now much more visible at a distance.
  
• The Sea Serpent Collector’s Sails now use the correct tile art.
  
• The Labyrinth Looter Weapon Bundle now displays the correct iconography.

Environment

• Pirates can no longer intersect with the environment within the basements of Sea Forts.
  
• Within the Pirate Legend Hideout, pirates should no longer be able to push through the environment into the sea.
  
• Pets can now follow players around the new areas of the Pirate Legend Hideout.
  
• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Players are no longer able to bypass the traps and reach the Gold Hoarder’s vault by passing through the environment.
  
• ‘A Pirate’s Life’ – Rocks found within the tunnels that lead to Sailor's Grave now appear correctly.

User Interface

• Players on lower-spec hardware should no longer experience graphical issues or missing UI imagery after leaving a session and quickly joining a new session.
  
• After raising and lowering an Emissary Flag, bringing up a radial menu should no longer show an active Emissary.
  
• After switching categories within the shipwright’s Voyage shop, players making a purchase will no longer find the category is reset.
  
• Storage Crates for single resources such as Cannonball Crates no longer display additional UI elements within the storage limits space.
  
• Browsing the Trials section within the Pirate’s Log now correctly displays the selected page.
  
• The name of a player's pet is now displayed correctly in the chat notification pane.

Accessibility

• When enabling the extended audio range of sea rocks to improve sailing audio cues, players using headphones will no longer hear audio effects in both ears at the same time.
  
• Players using ‘Let Games Read to Me’ will no longer hear punctuation narrated within the Custom Server menus.
  
• Players using ‘Let Games Read to Me’ will no longer hear incorrect or repeated narration while navigating the ‘Info and Tips’ section.

Visual and Audio

• When boarding a ship from the sea, players are no longer able to muffle the boarding audio effects by grabbing the ladder while aiming down sights, ensuring nearby players will always hear someone boarding from the ocean.
  
• Pirates striking another ship with cannon fire will no longer hear other game music quieten for an extended period.
  
• Players shooting, sprinting and aiming in quick succession with an Eye of Reach should no longer encounter rare scenarios where the weapon animation becomes stuck and prevents aiming down sights.
  
• When a Skeleton Fleet battle is active, players moving around The Reaper's Hideout will no longer hear the audio effects cutting out.
  
• After speaking with various characters found across the world, players leaving the conversation will now hear the correct ending phrase.
  
• Equipping the Lucky Hand Dress no longer causes a pirate’s tattoos to appear cut off.
  
• The Sweet Treat Capstan now blends more seamlessly with the pool of chocolate when being raised and lowered.
  
• White corners are no longer visible on the Season Nine title screen.
  
• The Mysterious Stranger will now consistently appear at the intended level of detail when visited in the tavern.
  
• Players with a buried treasure map will now see the correct iconography on the map after migrating servers.

Text and Localisation

• All ‘Vote to Scuttle’ options within the Settings Menu no longer display debug text strings and are translated to all non-English languages.
  
• The description for the Fortune's Favour Commendation has now been corrected to reflect that handing in the Chest of Fortune at a variety of locations will still count towards progressing the Commendation.
  
• Players attempting to equip invalid decorations to a Sloop will now see a translated error message in the player’s preferred language.
  
• The Emissary tutorials now mention that Doubloons as well as gold and reputation are increased based on Emissary Grade when selling items as an Emissary.
  
• When players speak to Larinna, she will now mention the new features introduced as part of Season Nine.

Performance and Stability

• Improved server stability to reduce instances where players are disconnected from their session.

Sawbones Clothing Visual Issues

• Elements of the Sawbones Jacket and Sawbones Belt are not affected by the Blessing of Athena’s Fortune, and will currently remain solid in appearance.

Reduced Server Performance

• Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters. While improvements were most recently released in update 2.7.3, the team continue to work on further improvements for future updates.

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: 7.1 GB

So, not sure if you noticed, but March was something of a whirlwind, with so many things going on that it’s a wonder anyone managed to keep track of it all. If you’re in need of a refresher – or if you happened to step outside and walked back in on a scene of barely controlled chaos – here’s a brief history of everything that happened last month in 1200 words or less. Can we do it? Let’s find out.

As mentioned, March was home to many excitements: Season Nine arrived on stage and Sea of Thieves turned five! For the anniversary celebrations we started things off early with the Marauder’s Medley Event, running pirates through challenges based on content updates from Sea of Thieves history in pursuit of a suite of legacy cosmetics.

There was no slowing down from there as we all jumped straight into the release of Season Nine! This is a Season of subtle game-changers and bountiful quality-of-life updates, many of which – like the Chest of Fortune, Skull of Destiny, Bait Crates and a new face at Stephen’s Spoils – were cheekily teased well ahead of release. For the full dirt on everything Season-related, plant a shovel in the launch release notes.

When it comes to the Pirate Emporium, you know the drill by now – new month, new cosmetics, and Season Nine’s arrival was no exception. This latest update introduced not only a new Plunder Pass brimming with the ethereal Sting Tide collection, but also stocked Emporium shelves with the fierce Sea Serpent collection for any budding hunters taking to the waves, and the twinkling Lodestar Ship’s Crest for pirates with an affinity for the night sky.


As busy as March was with events and celebrations, you wouldn’t have thought we’d have time to cram anything else in – but at the beginning of the month we brought back our From Concept to Cosmetic series, delving into the development of Season Eight’s Ravenwood collection. If you’ve ever wondered what an animator looks like twirling dinner knives for reference footage, now’s the time to find out.

From there, it was time to get fully stuck in. With so much to cover, March delivered its share of handy explainer articles walking you through everything happening for our fifth anniversary, Season Nine and Community Weekend. And because all the best things come in fours, apparently, we added in an extra one to break down the newly released 2023 and Deluxe Editions of the game. There was news of time-limited Anniversary Celebration Bundles too, the reveal of an upcoming Sea of Thieves board game and the latest addition to our streamable soundtrack in ‘Fated Enemies’!

Even amid the chaos, our Creator Spotlight never faltered in its ceaseless hunt, landing first on costume aficionado TizzyTam before alighting on famed teller of tales, Cliff the Story Guy. If you’re in the market for some top tips on overcoming obstacles and building an audience for yourself, be sure to check them out.


With a new Season due, we started out in March dedicating our video channels to previews of what was to come. To kick off, we hosted a reveal livestream from the on-site Tavern, premiering our shiny new Season Nine update trailer. Just a few days later, we set out to answer your most burning questions with a Deep Dive into those incoming Season Nine features. And just in case that wasn’t enough hype for you all, we threw in a brand new Welcome to Our Playground trailer to fire up both new and returning players to the Sea of Thieves.

For such a momentous occasion as our fifth anniversary, we had to pull out all the stops – and that meant it was time for the big screen. On the day of our anniversary we hit publish on our snazzy feature-length documentary, Sea of Thieves: Voyage of a Lifetime. Crammed with developer interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and cameos from familiar community faces, it’s the perfect viewing experience for anyone interested in not just the Sea of Thieves story but the realities of game development.

A few days after that, we checked in with everything going on in Sea of Thieves News, before rounding off the month with a thrilling tournament in the form of our Fifth Anniversary Invitational. Pirates from around the world teamed up to tackle Bilge Rat Bingo, even going head to head with assorted members of the Rare team...


For us, an anniversary always feels like the perfect time to carve out a moment for recognition of the community that’s supported us every step of the way. So from March 25th-27th, we hosted an extended Community Weekend offering login bonuses, sales and exclusive merch, boosted rewards, a lucrative Ancient Skelly surge and much more for anyone who wanted to get involved. Plus of course the traditional bingo card!

Also on March’s social media calendar was the hottest competition of the Season: Style of Thieves. After the themes were revealed last month, the beginning of March saw the winners walking away with their very own Fashionista’s Finery Gloves. Not to be outdone, the next round of #SoTShot sent players hunting for the perfect picture to represent the Order of Souls, while creators from across social media battled it out for a coveted spot in the Community Hub.

It wasn’t all fierce competition: pirates ended up working together to decode some devilish pictograms and shared their mad hiding skills. With the new Season fresh in our minds, attention briefly shifted to the shiny new Chest of Fortune and the renewed allure of taking on a Fort of Fortune – or not, if you’re anything like us. Fortunately the celebratory anniversary vibes swept in before the fighting could get too vicious, and we turned our attention to reminiscing on how far we’ve come in the last five years.



All of which finally brings us to the end of March. What a month! We barely had a moment to catch our breath, let alone do much sailing of our own. So if you have a Chest of Fortune going spare – or if you just want to know what else we’ve got going on between these monthly updates – drop in on us over on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Twitch, or join the official Forums or Discord. In the meantime, we’ll get geared up and set sail in pursuit of those swanky new chests for ourselves. You might just need to remind us to look where we’re going.

(PS Just over 1100 words! Phew.)

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Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2023
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2023

Five years, eh? We’ve come a long way since launch, and while plenty has changed for those of you who sail our seas, one thing never falters for us: this amazing community makes Sea of Thieves what it is.

Following previous Seasons’ celebratory Community Days, the event for Season Nine took the form of a fifth anniversary special, running a full 24 hours longer than usual. Of course, we still started by asking you all to take part in the usual hashtag hijinks – but this time we tracked the new #SoTAnniversaryPromo tag on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram and YouTube, and it all helped to increase the in-game Community Emissary multiplier! Through a combination of that freedom and the lure of a boost to Ancient Skeletons appearing at Grade Five, you smashed our cumulative cacophony ceiling within five hours and 15 minutes. Outstanding!

Of course, even if you never heard the pulse-racing jingle of an Ancient Skelly, simply logging in during Community Weekend was enough to earn you the Gilded Flag of Fellowship, Baker’s Barrel Disguise Emote (used 186,611 times over the weekend!) and a Skull of Destiny Voyage, while a quick visit to the Pirate Emporium sale yielded a free Down the Hatch Emote too.



But as we announced would happen ahead of the day, reaching the maximum Community Emissary Grade enabled us to use magic (some nifty engineering) to encourage more frequent emergences of those Ancient blue-boned keepers of cash. As per the plan, a total of 50 million Ancient Coins were claimed by lucky pirates during the weekend surge, with Ancient Skeleton appearances returning to their normal rarity after a little over 17 hours of action. To those who were lucky enough to claim a slice of the prize pot, congratulations – we hope those Ancient Coins have gone towards something nice in the Emporium.

Pirates who got lucky and pirates who didn’t were seen coming together throughout the weekend at New Golden Sands Outpost, where the fifth anniversary picture wall built for the occasion was enjoying its final days on display following its appearance on March 20th. The perfectly posed pictures you shared from that special spot throughout the weekend truly warmed our hearts. Thank you.



We’re worryingly close to getting sentimental now, so before our tear ducts try anything wet, let’s talk numbers. Facts! Facts won’t make us weep. Starting with the most important insight, bananas are still a pirate’s top choice of nourishment with 9,177,967 cronched over the weekend, although coconuts were a close second as we saw pirates smash a total of 9,027,677 into their faces. Some of you have more curious dietary habits though, given that 1,788 burnt leeches were also consumed. Perhaps they taste like chicken?

Despite the friendly wrapping of a Community Weekend, however, combat is inevitable when you throw pirate crews into a treasure-filled sandbox, so colour us unsurprised that 50,741,900 cannonballs were launched during the window, likely contributing to the 46,147,284 skellies smashed, 67,431 Megs dispatched and 24,030 Krakens dismissed. Not sure the 3,850,326 player pirates fired from cannons were as effective, nor the 68,860 dogs for that matter.

All this carnage led to loot, with a grand total of 19,749,926 individual items handed in, so congratulations if some of that was yours and commiserations if it used to be. Clocking up a bar tab of 2,592,392 grogs and showing off your moves with the standard Dance Emote 629,307 times does show us that you all just enjoy a good time in the end.



We also love to see how you’re celebrating – so much so that we crowned yet more deserving ne’er-do-wells with their very own Hats of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame as part of our neverending celebration of the #BeMorePirate mantra. From the cosplay props of neonautic_art on Instagram to the cinematic flair of Twitter’s Capt_Angelica, variety was, as it often is, the watchword of the day. ArcalenithSoT’s logo-inspired Trinket, JRedler_Art’s Gold Hoarder and swdrawings_nl’s striking sketch all earned the honours of fancy headwear too.

Outstanding creativity isn’t the only thing we reward, however. Servant of the Flame stan MutinousMel finally saw her presence in the community acknowledged by way of the Hat, while other long-standing MVPs (most valuable pirates) were also suitably honoured, including Fleeni, KroTukk, BriittyBear and TheD’sBack. Oh, and The Longest Johns, who we probably meant to give Hats to a while back but kept getting distracted by their tunes. This isn’t a complete list, but congratulations to all who were lucky enough to receive one this time around.

We served up plenty of fun social content for you to join in with during the weekend too: showing us your pirate and ship customisation screenshots were a key part of it, and a quick glance at the #SoTAnniversaryPromo tag on any social media channel will show just that! Silliness naturally took hold as the weekend went on, however, with memes and quote misremembering taking over throughout day two. You even got us trending on Twitter, so cheers for that!



Phew, got a little breakneck at the end there so take a minute if you need to breathe. Right, with all of that out the way the only thing left is to say our thanks, and probably cause some of those emotions we were trying to avoid. We started this article saying that the community makes Sea of Thieves what it is, and every time we run an event like this it only proves it even more.

Thank you for bringing your creativity, fun and energy to the full Community Weekend and, above all else, thank you for continuing to enjoy our silly pirate game in a myriad different ways. These events will continue, so keep your spyglass trained on our social media channels to learn about the next Season’s celebration closer to the time.

Five years, eh? Here’s to five more!

As we sail full speed into April, the fifth instalment of the Spotlight Showcase is here! We last checked in with you all the way back in November, so there’s a whole new cast of Sea of Thieves Spotlight occupants to walk you through, with scientists, artists, streamers and even a carpenter here to share their thoughts. Without any further ado, let’s dive in…



Leafing all the way back through the 2022 holiday season, we find plant prospector Solarlunar34 in the Community Spotlight! Discussing his experiences with Ancient Isles University, the ‘Plant King’ explained how he got into pirate plant classification and what goes into naming the fantastical flora of the Sea of Thieves. Did you know the Latin word for banana? Now you do!



Taking us from botany to geography, our next Community Spotlight jumped to Jerem, the creative mind behind the daily puzzler SoT Guessr. Jerem discussed how he and his crew worked together to capture hundreds of screenshots from across the seas to challenge eagle-eyed fellow players, and explained how his ship is named after an ongoing hunt for the elusive Shrouded Ghost.



As we rolled into the cold month of December, our thoughts turned to warm summer memories of SoTFest as CalamityKez walked us through her history with Rare and how it all ultimately led her to becoming a pillar of the SoTUK community. Like Jerem, she also discussed the rarest of the Megalodons, though this time with a successful hunt to look back on and celebrate.



For our first Spotlight of 2023, we got creative with one of the most widely shared artists in the community, Shabby! He spoke about where he finds inspiration for the mystical monsters he creates and how a Twitter meme ended up leading to him obtaining the legendary Hat of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame. Clearly one shouldn’t underestimate the power of the phrase ‘It’s Reapin’ Time’.



The first Creator Spotlight on this list went to the streaming inspiration behind the Legacy Beard cosmetic, Beardageddon. He talked about his transition from YouTuber to Twitch streamer, and the journey that led to him becoming a major component of the Sea of Thieves streaming community (even if he did confess to thinking the game looked a bit silly in the beginning)...



February put us in a crafty mood, and who better to celebrate with than a woodworking wizard? In his Community Spotlight, MiniMeMarcLee spoke about nearly 40 years of history with games and how his training as a joiner enabled him to become a master at making Sea of Thieves props. He even teased a new project he’s working on, though the details were very hush-hush…



And for a February finisher we turned to some of the most recent content creator corsairs inducted into the Sea of Thieves Partner Programme, beginning with LazyBuzzard. While it’s no surprise that his interests include unhurried birds of prey, we also learned that this streamer keeps his sights set on fun times for his viewers with a harmonica in hand for extra entertainment options.

All of which brings us to March and a sensible cutoff point for this substantial Spotlight Showcase! As always, you can find many exciting insights into the lives of these creators and community stars through their interviews, so be sure to check out the full versions. You can also filter our News section to show all the previous Community, Creator and Legend Spotlights so that you can catch up on any you might have missed, and of course our previous Spotlight Showcase offers another set of handy recaps.

The Spotlights don’t end here, of course, so keep an eye out for the next one on the horizon! We’ll have more for you next month and beyond, so stick with us, keep calm and sail on…