Well, it’s been a while since we last sat down to put together a Spotlight Showcase! Worry not though, we haven’t forgotten anyone during the intervening months, and now we’re here to bring you a bumper crop of all the Spotlights you might have missed since we last checked in. Let’s go!


First on our list from back in the mists of July is a Community Spotlight with renowned sail scrapbooker Captain Butterfinger! Alongside his efforts to catalogue the wonderful and varied sails of the Sea of Thieves, he took the opportunity to tell us about his favourite moments from playing the game and his excursions into a certain series of simian-themed ’90s point-and-click adventures.


For our first Creator Spotlight of this batch, we decided it was our turn to dig into the details with notorious nitpicker and quirky content creator, TheGeeNee. He ran us through some of his crazier stories in trademark chaotic style, from pig heists to hidden images, interspersed with some genuine advice and notes on the importance of criticism. Also doonaggles, whatever they are.


In August we followed up with another Creator Spotlight, this time with lore aficionado AShinyRay! Known in the community for his story musings and unwavering love of Captain Flameheart, he guided us through his journey from playing Spyro the Dragon on the PlayStation to producing Gears 5 content, all the way to becoming a quality-focused player in the Sea of Thieves community.


For our next Community Spotlight, we chatted with renowned pirate Sally the Swishing Slasher – or, more accurately, the shoutcaster behind Sally, Woodrow Jenkins! It was great to hear more about his history of Rare gaming, his Hide and Seek adventures and his tremendous passion for music. We didn’t even have to bribe him with extra shark content to talk to us. How lucky we are!


Next on the list was a coveted Legend Spotlight as we checked back in with the subject of our first ever Community Spotlight: IOnEI_Falcon! As one of the first people to play Sea of Thieves, he had lots of stories to share about his time on the waves and how he grew into the role of a trusted Deckhand for players worldwide. Not to mention those apparently stellar Guitar Hero skills…


Our next participant as we continued through September also landed a Legend Spotlight, as we caught up with crafty connoisseur Lizalaroo. One of the driving forces behind the ever-popular SoTFest convention, Liz recounted tales of her journey to Pirate Legend, her joyful discovery that the Legendary set matched her colour scheme and, of course, some of her phenomenal creations!


October beckoned and by this point it had been a little while since we hosted a Creator Spotlight, so we raced to catch up with famed speedster YooKay to fill the gap. A record holder for the fastest race to Pirate Legend – under five hours! – and creator of an array of video guides, he was kind enough to take a break from dispensing helpful hints and tackle some of our questions instead.


For our final Community Spotlight on this list, we wanted to go out in style, so who better to talk to than competitive legend PeiRei? Surprisingly for a winner in both the Notorious Arena League and Sea of Champions, he maintained that his fondest Sea of Thieves memory was buying the deeds to Mermaid’s Hideaway and Imperial Crown Fortress. Our estate agent isn’t quite so sure.


Our penultimate entry of this catch-up batch is the Creator Spotlight for real-life fisherman and PvP veteran, CJShiz! From starting out in the Closed Beta by sinking everyone else he came across, to catching some real-life Treacherous Plunder, his Spotlight walked us through his journey to becoming a Sea of Thieves Partner and offered tips for anyone thinking of following in his footsteps.


Taking us into December and the final Spotlight of 2023 was a Creator Spotlight on one of our newer Partners: Toxie Sinclaire. A meme queen and menace on the seas, she explained her approach to the ‘wild ride’ of content creation and the importance of being inventive, but our biggest question remained unanswered: what on earth is going on in that picture with Pendragon?

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And we’ll leave it there for now! We hadn’t meant to leave you hanging for quite so long, and the eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that there are a few more recent Spotlights not on this list. Never fear, we haven’t forgotten anyone: the next Showcase will include all the remaining interviews as well as a few yet to come. No one will be left behind!

In the meantime, why not pick some of the interviews above and click through for a complete read? Or, if you’ve already made it through the whole lot, you can check out all our historic Community, Creator and Legend Spotlights via the News page, or of course the previous Showcase round-up. There are always more sides to see of the incredible Sea of Thieves community – delve in and find out!

As spring progresses ever onward outside the windows, things haven’t slowed down for a moment inside Rare HQ! April was absolutely jam-packed with news and updates, including a PlayStation®5 launch for the very first time in our studio history, so let’s not waste time with any more preamble. From the top, here’s everything you might have missed last month!

Our main update wasn’t due until the very end of April, so we aimed to tide everyone over in the meantime with a Gold & Glory Weekend. What better way to make sure you all had a chance to get your hands on those last Season 11 rewards?

After that, it was just a hop, skip and jump into the launch of PlayStation 5 Early Access! We’d welcomed in a few players on this new platform towards the beginning of April with our Closed Beta, with a whole host of questions answered in an accompanying PS5® FAQ, but Early Access marked the first time that these players could take to the seas alongside everyone else. It was a fine sight to see so many crews rolling out a suitable welcome by flying the New Dawn Sails.

With the floodgates open, it was finally time for everyone to take the plunge into Season 12. Bringing new weapons, mechanics and the all-important owls to the seas for the first time, this update marked a major refresh for Sea of Thieves’ sandbox. Have you had a chance to dive in yet? How many times have you been sent to the brig for using the Horn of Fair Winds on your crewmates? Don’t worry, they’ll probably forgive you soon.


There was another milestone awaiting Sea of Thieves in April: the announcement that the game has now welcomed 40 million players since launch! In the six years since our shared pirate haven opened its doors, the team has delivered over 100 free updates to bring you the best experience possible – and it’s been a delight to watch so many pirates find their sea legs, make connections and chase that horizon. Thank you all so much for joining us, whether you’ve been here from the beginning or you’re just setting out on your Maiden Voyage.

Back in the here and now, as the team cooked up a storm of new features for Season 12, it seemed like a good time to share something else that was in the works: the Sea of Thieves cookbook! After giving everyone a little while to properly salivate over all the delightful dishes they’d be able to make, we came back with our latest From Concept to Cosmetic investigative article – this time dedicated to the mighty Frorb – offering everyone a little extra encouragement to complete Season 11 while they still could.

Around then, we realised it was about time for another Community Spotlight. This month, that meant catching up with lauded loot artist Cap’n Axe and finding out how he grew from streaming his pirate-themed Animal Crossing island into a renowned digital artist within the Sea of Thieves community. Give it a read!


As always, we couldn’t let the month go by without a fresh instalment of Sea of Thieves News, this time unveiling what players could expect from Season 12, the reintroduction of six-ship servers and, perhaps most notably of all, Daryl’s new haircut. Production Director Drew also stopped by for another quick chat about game health, which he followed up on later with an expanded State of Play Forum post to answer any lingering questions.

After that, it was full speed ahead into the release of Season 12 and, of course, the accompanying trailers. First, we had the Content Update trailer to lay out all the core features coming with the update, before the more condensed launch trailer landed to make sure even players who didn’t have a full minute to spare could get the highlights. And, for the fashionistas with an eye on the Emporium, we couldn’t forget our usual catwalk of new cosmetics to peruse.

And, in case that wasn’t quite enough trailer content to be getting on with, our PlayStation 5 launch felt like the perfect opportunity for a new overall trailer to show a new generation of players what they were about to get themselves into. Delightful sea-based chaos, mainly.


We really did try to start the month off calmly, but a rare fish sighting and the reveal of the latest Style of Thieves winners put a rapid end to that. We tried to claw it back with some lovely Fairy Tale vibes in the first monthly round of #SoTShot, and even the calm Fancy Fishing screenshots we explored with the next, but the chaos simply could not be stopped. Even the swabbies were getting in on it.

Some questionable parking aside, we did manage to get things back on track eventually with two Community Hub updates to celebrate some fabulous community creations. We even threw in two rounds of Twitch Drops help you earn a few extra goodies through the month, before said questionable parking forced us to make a quick PSA lest we completely drain the Outpost budget.

As you might have expected, we also spent a lot of April getting excited for the imminent arrival of owl sidekicks and how eager we were to pet them, but that wasn’t all we got up to. Our neverending hunt for loot started poorly and didn’t improve much from there, so we resorted to elaborate thievery instead. You’d think we’d have learned in six years. Maybe it’s all the lionfish’s fault…


And that was April! It’s been a really momentous time for Sea of Thieves lately and we’re endlessly thankful to have you experiencing it with us. Here’s to many more years together. For now, though, remember that you can always find us on the usual channels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, and the official Forums and Discord. For now, it’s about time we returned to the seas…

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Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2024
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2024
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2024

Sea of Thieves’ Seasons keep on turning, and the arrival of Season 12 on April 30th is a real milestone, coinciding with a huge wave of players sailing in on PlayStation®5 for the first time. This alone would mix up the everyday interactions that take place out there on the waves, but we haven’t even begun to describe the game-changing features delivered by Season 12 itself!


Every pirate’s choice of arms to carry into battle is about to be expanded, as the Double Barrel Pistol and throwing knives become available to drop into weapon slots. The Double Barrel Pistol requires a closer range and deals less damage per shot than the standard pistol, but makes up for it with rate of fire and the ability to charge and unleash both shots at once.

Throwing knives, meanwhile, offer even more options: quick, light attacks in a brawl, a heavy stabbing sneak attack or, of course, a gratifying throw at a target of your choosing. If you miss, you can retrieve your knife and return it to your stash – and if someone else misses, you can grab theirs and throw it right back!

Even ship-to-ship battles now offer more choice with the introduction of scattershot. This new cannonball type breaks into smaller projectiles when fired, inflicting multiple hull breaches if you’ve manoeuvred close enough to the enemy ship to make full use of its effects.


Two new tools with multiple uses also make their debut in Season 12. The first of these is the Bone Caller, a throwable item that has the effect of summoning skeletons who’ll rally to your defence. Like many other throwables, the Bone Caller can also be fired from a cannon to cause chaos on enemy decks! Just save it until you need it, as these friendly skellies are only active for a limited time before reverting to inanimate bones.

The Horn of Fair Winds, meanwhile, proves handy in a wide variety of situations. A sailor’s first instinct would be to use it to fill their ship’s sails, and it can certainly do that – but it can also put out fires, push back attacking enemies, boost your swimming speed and even break your fall. Its charge is limited, but even drained of power it’s still worth a decent pile of gold!


All these things will help a crew greatly in their pursuit of gold and glory, and a further two additions will contribute to the dual aim of seizing treasure and getting it safely back to the ship.

Harpoons have been helping treasure hunters fill their decks for some time now, but only with the arrival of Season 12 can pirates flex their agility and walk the lines like tightrope gymnasts. Whether you’re boarding enemy ships or just seeking an easier route to an awkward spot, a whole new world of traversal awaits!

And these aren’t the only lines that will help you get around, as Season 12 sees ziplines installed at key points on a number of islands, spreading outwards from their first appearance in The Legend of Monkey Island Tall Tales. Hop on for a thrilling ride and handy transport of loot from the scene of a heist…


A new Season brings 100 more levels of Seasonal Renown to be climbed. Unique cosmetic rewards along with caches of gold, Doubloons and Ancient Coins are all up for grabs as you progress, and an optional Plunder Pass adds extra prizes to the pool: for Season 12 this allows you to earn the complete Gorgon ship set including Collector’s items, a two-stage Stone Curse, the Gorgon Headband and 750 additional Ancient Coins to help recoup the price of the Pass.

It's a bumper month of new stock in the Pirate Emporium too! Owl pets have finally landed, in five different varieties, for all your non-parrot flying sidekick needs. The Checkmate ship set, costume, weapons and Ship’s Crest will help fashionable pirates raise their game, while the new throwing knives get their first makeover to match some popular existing sets. And coming to the shelves after their exclusivity to a previous Plunder Pass, the Sting Tide ship set and costume are joined by a freshly fashioned lantern.

If you’re seeking an outlet for your gold and Doubloons rather than Ancient Coins, you’ll find the Outpost shops restocked with treasures such as new Seared Forsaken Ashes ship parts and clothing, and the Refined Gold rewards from a previous globetrotting Event!


For more information on the Sea of Thieves Season 12 update, including full release notes, visit the Sea of Thieves website. The update is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players 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, get familiar with Who’s Who or pick up some gameplay tips from our Pirate Academy, which provides invaluable information on topics ranging from sailing to swordplay as you prepare for your maiden voyage. Join the ongoing adventure at https://www.seaofthieves.com/ where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!

New weapons waiting to be mastered and tools to take your tactics to the next level! Try your luck with fresh loadouts and feel the rush while riding the ziplines. To learn more about this new Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated Season 12 page.

Throwing Knives

• These new weapons in the pirate armoury come as a set of five, which are wielded one at a time when equipped and can be restocked from any Ammo Chest.
  
• Wielding a throwing knife allows players to stab enemies with a quick melee attack or charge for a devastating downward strike.
  
• Throwing a knife allows for a high-damage ranged attack. If a thrown knife misses its target, it becomes lodged in the environment and can be recovered to replenish stock. But be aware that another player can also retrieve your knife and use it against you!

Double Barrel Pistol

• This new fast-firing weapon holds six bullets and can be fired twice before needing to be reloaded, or both barrels can be fired together by charging the shot.
  
• Shots fired from the Double Barrel Pistol have reduced range and damage compared to the standard pistol, but compensate with a faster firing speed.

Scattershot

• This new type of cannonball can be found in storage barrels across the seas, providing players with an effective short-range option for devastating enemy ships in combat.
  
• Scattershot breaks apart when fired, sending four smaller projectiles in an outward spread. These have a lower trajectory than standard cannonballs, making scattershot a shorter-range option.
  
• Each projectile deals light damage to the impact area, increasing if existing damage areas are hit repeatedly. Ship interaction points such as the wheel, mast and capstan can also be damaged by the blast, and players caught in the spread will receive light damage without knockback.

Bone Caller

• This mystical throwable item possesses the power to summon a loyal skeleton crew who will attack nearby enemies. After a time, these skeletons will expire in a cloud of bones.
  
• Bone Callers can also be fired from a cannon, giving players the ability to send a targeted package of disruption to rival ships at sea.
  
• Bone Callers can be recovered from crates left behind by defeated Skeleton Fleets, or found in barrels at Skeleton Forts.

Horn of Fair Winds

• This Siren shell is a treasure artefact that harnesses the power of the wind, and is discoverable in shipwrecks and other locations throughout the Sunken Kingdom.
  
• Crews can use it to get ahead by filling their sails to full billow, giving a boost to a Rowboat or propelling themselves through the water.
  
• Players can also harness the Horn’s powerful effects to knock back enemies, cushion a potentially fatal fall or even extinguish a blazing ship.

Harpoon Tightropes

• Players firing a harpoon line into a rock, beach, tree or even another ship can now climb onto the line and perform a tightrope walk, maintaining their balance as they go.
  
• Stepping onto a steeply descending harpoon line will allow players to slide effortlessly, even with treasure on their back!

Island Ziplines

• Navigation has been further improved with the addition of ziplines to a range of islands across the Sea of Thieves. Seek out these permanent new structures to experiment with speedier traversal!

Updated Weapon Pose Emotes

• With the introduction of the Double Barrel Pistol and throwing knives, previously released Weapon Pose Emotes have been updated to support the new weapon types.

Another Season means 100 new Renown levels to climb and rewards to snag – and an optional Plunder Pass adding even more! Read on for more on this plus details of other improvements landing with this Season’s launch, on top of those already applied in last week’s update...

Season 12 Rewards and Plunder Pass

• Progressing through the 100 levels of Renown in Season 12 will reward players with Famous Pirate and Famed Buccaneer cosmetics alongside other time-limited Seasonal specials. Head to the Seasons profile page to browse the new rewards and check your pirate’s progress!
  
• Pick up the latest Plunder Pass to gain access to a plethora of additional unlockable cosmetics from the Gorgon set, including a full ship set and two-stage Stone Curse, all available to earn by raising Renown. Purchase a Pass in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, or via the Pirate Emporium webpage or Steam Item Store.

Season 12 Emissary Ledger Rewards

• This Season, the Guild Emissary Ledgers offer the Ocean of Siren Song Painting, Mysterious Siren Carving Ornament and Guild of Fearsome Depths Title to Guilds who represent them well and perform proudly in the Ledgers.
  
• While Emissary Ledgers will continue to refresh each month and celebrate our most prolific pirates, the delivery of fresh cosmetics into the Ledgers’ topmost tiers is paused from this Season onwards. For the vast majority of players though, the Ledgers still hold a treasure trove of locked rewards ready to earn by competing against other Emissaries. Log in and track your performance on the Emissary Ledgers page!

Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium page to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Checkmate Ship Collection
  
• Checkmate Weapon Bundle
  
• Checkmate Clothing Bundle
  
• Checkmate Ship’s Crest
  
• Crimson Crypt, Lodestar and Dark Warsmith Throwing Knives
  
• Great Grey, Tawny, Snowy, Barn and Black Banded Owl pets
  
• Scrappy Weapon Pose Emote
  
• Sting Tide Ship Collection (returning from Season Nine Plunder Pass)
  
• Sting Tide Costume Set (returning from Season Nine Plunder Pass)
  
• Sting Tide Lantern
  
• Paradise Garden Pistol (free!)

Additions to the Classics Range

• The Classics range has been expanded to include a range of costumes, weapons and equipment from older sets, now permanently reduced in price.
  
• Cosmetic sets such as Shining Pegasus, Ruby Splashtail and Sea of Sands are among those that now have more than just ship liveries represented in the Classics range.

PlayStation®5 Launch Celebration

• To celebrate the official launch of Sea of Thieves on PlayStation®5, all pirates who log in during Season 12 on any platform will receive a commemorative gift in the form of the New Dawn Sails.

Gameplay

• Open Crew matchmaking has been re-enabled as an option when starting a Sea of Thieves session, allowing players to form a crew with other random players from all platforms.
  
• Players are no longer able to use a Quest Map while travelling through the air to modify their trajectory.

User Interface

• After a lobby is filled with players from different platforms, the platform icons shown next to players upon setting sail should no longer display a default image.

Full Guild Access Temporarily Disabled

• Due to a recently discovered issue, Guild Members are not currently presented with the full suite of ships pledged to their active Guilds. Guild Members will be shown any ships they have pledged, but no other ships or active sessions from others within the Guild.

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: 1.09 GB

This 2.10.3 update lays the groundwork for the full Season 12 launch coming up on April 30th, while also introducing the first pirates on PlayStation®5 to the world of Sea of Thieves during an Early Access period. Be sure to extend a warm welcome if you meet them on the seas!

Chest of Fortune

• The Chest of Fortune has been returned to the locked Vault of the formidable Fort of Fortune. Keep a keen eye on the horizon for the ominous red skull cloud in the sky when it becomes active.
  
• Crews who retrieve Chests of Fortune can now earn the next Grade of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation, unlocking access to the Fates of Fortune Lantern, Spyglass, Compass and Bucket.

Reaper’s Chests

• Crews chasing down the tell-tale beacon of the Reaper’s Chest or Reaper’s Bounty can earn the next Grade of the Reaper’s Riches Commendation, and start unlocking access to the Fates of Fortune Banjo and Drum.

Hit Registration Improvements

• Further improvements have been made to calculate the location of player shots more accurately across the client and server, providing a sizeable improvement to hit registration for ranged weapons across a range of combat scenarios.

Skeleton Ship and Megalodon Encounters

• The frequency of emergent Skeleton Ship and Megalodon encounters has been reduced to match the frequency of encounters prior to Season 11.

Animation Quality Settings

• Players now have improved control over the character animation quality within the Graphics Settings. This will provide a smoother experience; however, higher settings may impact CPU performance.

New Outpost Stock!

• The Outpost shops have received a new shipment of items from the Seared Forsaken Ashes set, with the ship set and clothing now available to purchase with gold after unlocking the Warsmith of the Flame Commendation.
  
• The Outpost weapon shops now have the Forsaken Ashes Heavy Sword and Rapier available for Doubloons after unlocking the Devil’s Cartographer Commendation.

Legacy Event Cosmetics

• Previous rewards from the Wish You Were Here Event have now been added to the Outpost shops. The Cartographer Tattoo and the Refined Gold Cutlass, Spyglass and Speaking Trumpet are now available for Doubloons.

Season Five Legacy Cosmetics

• Cosmetics previously available during Season Five have arrived in Outpost shops and can now be yours in exchange for Doubloons!
  
• Players can purchase the Bell Brigade clothing set, along with a range of unique one-off items that were available during this Season. Pirate Legends can also pick up Merrick’s Tankard and Grimm’s Jacket.
  
• The time-limited Ancient Gold items, however, remain exclusive to players who participated in Season Five.

Report a Player

• The in-game Report a Player tool has now been extended, providing the ability to report players for Movement Exploits, Aiming Exploits and Toxic Behaviour.
  
• As with all player reports, these will be referred to the Sea of Thieves Support team for investigation and follow-up action.

Pirate Emporium Quick Menu

• The Pirate Emporium can now be accessed via the Quick Menu, allowing players to browse the Emporium at any time!

Pirate Emporium Local Currency Purchasing

• With shopping improvements in the works for the Pirate Emporium, this update removes a lesser-used feature that provided players with the ability to make purchases within the Pirate Emporium directly using their local currency.

Port Merrick Front End Menu

• The tavern location for the front end is now using the recently constructed Port Merrick tavern.

Gameplay

• Crews diving to an experience or Faction battle and surfacing alongside another ship should no longer encounter issues where items on board their ship become non-interactable.
  
• The frequency of sharks appearing when players set foot in the water has returned to normal levels.
  
• Resolved an issue experienced during high network traffic where players bailing from a ship would find that water would only be visually thrown from a bucket, and could then be thrown a second time.
  
• Console players can once again use a mouse and keyboard with full compatibility.
  
• Skeletons have been reminded that they need to repair damage to their ships during battle.
  
• Shipwrights should now consistently deliver purchased supplies to Captains.
  
• Players losing treasure during the Merchant Alliance or Order of Souls Tutorial Voyages will now find the Voyage cancelled.
  
• Players can no longer use a cannon to generate additional throwables.
  
• All Gold Hoarders Vault Voyages have been updated to prevent crews from predicting the location of the treasure.
  
• Players will no longer find treasure from a Siren Shrine reappears after leaving and returning to a cleared area.
  
• Selling Gold Hoarders artefacts at The Reaper's Hideout should no longer progress Gold Hoarders Commendations.
  
• Captains leaving a ship damaged at the end of a session should now consistently find the ship seaworthy in their next session, but will still need to restore it to fully repair it.
  
• The following Commendations will now progress when completing the required criteria: Righteous Victory, Athena’s Shield, Order of Ghouls, Hunt Them Down, Is That All You’ve Got?, Bones, Not Bonds.
  
• Crews failing to find an Hourglass battle after diving will no longer be unable to catch fire when returning to their original server.
  
• Resource Crates placed on a docked Rowboat should now still be visible and accessible after leaving the Tunnels of the Damned.

Performance and Stability

• Players should now find in-game voice chat works consistently when playing across platforms and regions.
  
• Improvements made to shop purchasing when under heavy load, reducing scenarios where players may become stuck ‘Counting Coins’.
  
• Players should no longer become stuck waiting while attempting to purchase a Trading Company promotion.
  
• Players returning through the Tunnels of the Damned following a Tall Tale should no longer experience a Hazelnutbeard error.
  
• Further improvements made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players experience an unexpected exit from the game or become disconnected from their session.

Anti-Cheat

• Players on Steam should no longer encounter the error that Easy Anti-Cheat is not installed when installing from the Steam Store.
  
• Improvements made to Anti-Cheat detection, reducing the frequency of players encountering a Hazelnutbeard error.
  
• Improvements made to Anti-Cheat detection to further protect from external access.

User Interface

• Players can now successfully send Guild Invites to players not on their Xbox friends list.
  
• Players on PC will now find their graphics settings are consistently saved across sessions.
  
• Crewmates attacked by an enemy will now show the appropriate Crew Status Tag on their nameplate.
  
• The Ruby Stinger Cutlass shown in the Armoury preview now more closely matches the wielded weapon.
  
• The Flourishing Wild Rose items now display the correct iconography in the cosmetic chests.
  
• Viewing the Lantern Dance Emote within the Vanity Chest now displays the correct flame colour.
  
• The Noble Spartan Sails now display the correct iconography in the Ship Customisation Chest.
  
• Players attempting to close the virtual keyboard while typing in text chat will now find the menu is closed.

Visual and Audio

• Players should now consistently see their ship name adorning the Ship’s Crest when joining a session.
  
• While navigating around islands, players should no longer see leaves sometimes pop in and out.
  
• While observing shadows cast on board the ship, players should no longer see the shadows of ropes sometimes pop in and out while moving.
  
• Picking up a Captain's Key while on a Lost Shipment Voyage should now show it sitting correctly in the player’s hand.
  
• While on the Legend of the Sunken Kingdom Voyage, picking up the Gold Hoarders Medallion should no longer cause it to visually shrink in the player’s hand.
  
• Players traversing the world should no longer see large shadows pop in and out across islands or while out at sea.
  
• Players picking up the Vestige of Power or Ashes of Ruin will now find they use the correct animation when held.
  
• Players dodging repeatedly with a sword should continue to see their sword sway when returning to blocking.
  
• During cutlass battles with Skeletons and Phantoms, striking and blocking animations are now more accurately synchronised for both players and enemies.
  
• Players swimming quickly underwater will now see the correct bubble effects from both hands.
  
• ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ – The Clock Tower Key should now sit correctly in the player’s hand.
  
• ‘The Shroudbreaker’ – The Mysterious Stranger now animates smoothly during the initial cutscene.

Environment

• Crews exploring a sunken shipwreck should once again be able to easily retrieve Bounty Skulls from within the Captain’s quarters.
  
• Crews unlocking the Vault beneath the Fort of the Damned will now find the treasure placed neatly on the surfaces.

Text and Localisation

• Improvements made to Quest Books across The Legend of Monkey Island Tall Tales to reduce overlapping text in a range of languages.
  
• The Unbroken Bonds Sails now have an appropriate name when viewed in the Ship Customisation Chest.
  
• Tasha at Ancient Spire Outpost no longer has duplicated words in her dialogue.
  
• Ship names using the maximum character length will no longer overflow within the Captain’s Logbook.
  
• Text shown on the loading screen will now be displayed correctly when using an Ultrawide monitor.
  
• ‘A Pirate's Life’ – The Cursed Captain’s name should always be shown alongside the relevant subtitles in all languages.

Open Crew Matchmaking Temporarily Disabled

• Due to an issue discovered in this update, players will not currently have the option to select and join an Open Crew session from the front end menu. The team are working to resolve this issue and restore Open Crew matchmaking as part of our full Season 12 update on April 30th.

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: 8.3GB

As I’m sure you can imagine, when it comes to Sea of Thieves my days are full of numbers. Development costs, active servers, days until the next update… Sometimes, though, a truly extraordinary number stands out – a number like 40 million, which I’m incredibly pleased to say is the number of pirates who’ve now set sail in Sea of Thieves!

40 million players across Xbox, Windows 10 and Steam is an amazing milestone to be able to talk about, and of course it wouldn’t have happened without you – our brilliant, positive and welcoming community, who continue to surprise and impress us with your creativity and antics out on the waves.

That said, I also want to take this opportunity to offer heartfelt thanks to the team, who’ve worked so hard to deliver over a hundred free updates since launch and have plenty more excitement and innovation on the horizon. Season 12 is almost here, and the new additions like throwing knives and the Bone Caller are going to transform our sandbox yet again.

I’m also excited about getting to expand our community even further, as we’re just days away from launching on PlayStation®5 and introducing a whole new plethora of pirates to our shared world. The positivity and excitement coming out of our Closed Beta was infectious, and I can’t wait for even more fresh faces to arrive starting next week.

Before then, though, there’s time to celebrate this 40 million milestone during our imminent Gold & Glory Weekend. If you’re still working through Season 11’s 100 levels, this will be the perfect time to rake in that boosted Renown – along with gold, reputation and everything else. So take part, join us in both celebration of all our players and anticipation of those who are about to undertake their Maiden Voyage on PS5®, and we’ll see you on the seas!

– Joe “Three Sheets” Neate

Our From Concept to Cosmetic series has a somewhat storied history when it comes to talking about lanterns that capture the imagination of players. Indeed, the very first instalment covered the creation of the original lantern MVP: the mighty Orb. Since that first step into the world of cosmetic design, we’ve branched out into all kinds of wonders, from punk fashion and Plunder Pass picks to ship signage and pirates’ most loyal companions.

We had a fine old time hearing about how these other cosmetics came together, but in Season 11, the time has come once again to admit that we’ll never fully escape the simple joy of a funny lantern. So this time it’s the round, ribbiting Fog-Piercing Frog Lantern that has stolen our hearts and, presumably, hidden them in a swamp somewhere. It really is lanterns all the way down. Who’d have thought?

Looking at this round boy, we just had to find out where he came from, so we called upon some the folks involved and recorded their responses in this neat little article. Enjoy!

Unlike many of the other items on offer to players who earn enough Renown throughout Season 11, the Fog-Piercing Frog Lantern isn’t part of a wider cosmetic set. Without the need to conform to an overarching theme, standalone items often enable the design team to spread the wings of their imagination, as Senior Concept Artist Tom Mahon explains:

“In general, I think it’s much easier to come up with a single one-off item, as the theme or unique element of the design only has to fit that item. It can be tricky when we have cool ideas for a collection that then have to be applied to every item type we have, getting those to sit well together and feel cohesive.

“Over time, of course, we’ve gotten better at it, so now when we’re pitching new themes, we have a good sense of which elements should be shared and which can be unique. With a music-inspired set, for example, we would try to incorporate different instruments into the designs rather than saying ‘let’s put drums on everything!’ – that would change the tone, and probably read a lot more like a war set (not a bad idea actually!)

“We try to carry materials and colours across a set as much as possible, but with motifs and symbols I think it’s good to have some restraint. We don’t want to be overly reliant on slapping a logo on everything to make it look cohesive. A set should feel tonally consistent, like the items were made by the same crew or craftsmen or coming from the same place. They need to be visually appealing and interesting by themselves, but still make sense in a larger context.”


Season 11 sees three standalone items included in the Renown rewards: the Musketeer Eye of Reach at level 51, everyone’s favourite frog at level 70, and the Banded Chaperon Hat at a lofty level 96. While we’d never pick favourites, and all three are rewarding in and of themselves, it’s safe to say that the Frog Lantern has captured players’ interest in a way almost unheard of for standalone cosmetics.

How, then, did this surprisingly simple yet endlessly entertaining little guy come to be? What is it about the lantern’s design that has made it so captivating? As Tom tells us:

“It was designed by an artist who no longer works with us (shout out to Artur Zima!), but as pirates in general have a connection with exploration and nature, drawing inspiration from animals is something we do often.

“This one was actually designed a few years ago during a cosmetic concept jam. That’s when our artists all get together and come up with fresh ideas for cosmetics with no set brief, we just brainstorm and throw ideas around. After we’re done, the work gets reviewed by our directors and producers and certain concepts are selected. Sometimes an item just works better as a single one-off cosmetic, while in other instances it can turn into a brief for an entire set.

“As for the Frog Lantern, every now and then we're asked to check out our previous jam work to see if anything pops out, and that one stood out as a fun one-off item. I don’t think any of us knew just how popular it would be!”


The lantern’s intense popularity also raises the question of how it should be obtained in-game. More popular or more elaborate cosmetics are typically tied to harder Commendations or are more expensive to buy, providing a suitably enticing reward for players who put in the work. Does this mean, then, that the Art team try to keep the end use in mind during the creation process, or does that decision come later? Tom tells us that reward allocation is often a different process entirely:

“Sometimes we know where something will be used. Work can come from concept jams with no set brief, so at that initial stage we just try to make something unique and appealing. Later on it’s decided where those concepts fit best, and sometimes we’ll go back to a concept and adapt it. However, we have a pretty regular cadence when it comes to releasing items, so the Concept team will receive briefs to design those. The brief for a Seasonal Renown cosmetic set would be tied to what’s going on during that Season, or as a reward for beating a specific Event.

“In the beginning of Sea of Thieves we had a fairly flat hierarchy in terms of designs, so usually the more shiny and golden something was, the ‘better’. But because the game is all about self-expression, we didn't want anyone to think less of themselves for rocking that Bilge Rat Shirt. We do give a sense of progression with some of our cosmetics though, so players feel like they have something to strive for, particularly when it comes to advancing with Trading Companies and becoming a Pirate Legend.

“As for our Emporium cosmetics, we like to think of them as belonging to pirates who have travelled far to the Sea of Thieves, so it’s okay if they’re a little out there, and most of our Emporium sets aren’t tied to in-game lore.”


In comparison to the intricate animations of Collector’s Pets or the many and varied models required to build a complete ship set, modelling and programming a lantern seems like it should be a relatively simple process. As Senior Level Artist Joachim Coppens tells us:

“A lantern is actually one of the more straightforward props to bring into the game. From a modelling point of view, we have our template models so we know exactly where the player’s hand will be and how large the lantern should be. We just have to make sure to stick to those guidelines and do a visual check that there’s no clipping of the player’s hand with the lantern, and that it works properly with our swinging animation shader.

“Once we bring it into the game, we manually set a specific point from which it will be casting its light (marked SPOTLIGHT__Socket in the image below).”


That’s not to say bringing a lantern to life is an easy task – by their nature as sources of light and vessels for the Flames of Fate, they can present a complex challenge when it comes to effects. Fortunately, with many years of lantern wrangling behind them, even a design as powerful as this frog wasn’t enough to throw the team off their game. Joachim explains:

“There have definitely been discussions about the Flames of Fate for various lanterns. Some designs that our Concept team come up with would be nice to do but wouldn’t play well with the way our lanterns work, because you need to be able to read their colour clearly.

“We always look at all our props on a case-by-case basis and try to find the coolest-looking, best-feeling compromise for gameplay and visuals. We do try to push it sometimes, by developing a new bit of technology for a specific lantern and carrying that forward to future designs. If I’m not misremembering, our very first lanterns didn’t tend to have open flames, that came later – and once we’d done one, it became easier to do more.”


And push the limits the team did with this lantern, designing a unique addition in the form of a little swarm of glowing insects that buzz around its face. A cute touch they might be, but as Technical Artist Emmett Green explains, it took a lot of careful work to get just right:

“The Frog Lantern definitely posed a fun challenge for the Tech Art team in terms of adding firefly effects! We aren’t able to add particles to sets or uniques due to performance constraints, so it’s been a personal challenge of mine recently to make them with billboard shaders instead.

“Luckily, I’d already created a similar effect for the Labyrinth Looter ship’s fake embers rising from flames, so I reused and improved the material to support our firefly flipbook animations. This included tilting them in the direction they’re moving, figuring out how bright they should be when the lantern is turned on or off, and adding the Flames of Fate colour shift. As for the internal effect, we reused a material previously made in Season Four for the Firefly Lantern.

“Of course, this came with a new issue where the external fireflies were moving upwards with the lantern when raised, so I tried to carefully balance whether they were following the lantern or the player’s height to hide it as much as possible. I even made custom LOD stages to hold off deleting the poor fireflies when the player walks away, isolating them to prevent a jarring transition in the level of detail and stop them vanishing too soon.”

Fortunately, Emmett didn’t mind the challenge one bit: “All in all, it was a fantastic lantern to work on, and I’m glad it’s become as popular as its predecessor!”


Prior to the Fog-Piercing Frog Lantern’s reveal, its concept art had made the rounds within the studio, so the community-facing teams already had some idea of how popular it was likely to be. And upon its release with Season 11, players across the globe became instantly enamoured as they raised their Renown to claim a vibrant amphibian of their very own.

Twitter began to fill up with exclamations like “FRORB OBTAINED!” from spikee_j and PostOfSouls realising their dreams with the statement “I finally got the FRORB”. Underlining this community-wide desire to share the moment they joined the ranks of frog-flaunting freebooters, HeSlashThem simply proclaimed “Obligatory I have the FRORB lantern now post”. Nice.

This lantern’s instant appeal could also be measured beyond mere in-game excitement. Pieces of art from regular names like Hull Lariash and Zookie, real-world props from ChloeSauras, ColourMeFun and SwordLordStu, memes like this one from CheeckiBreecki and even proclamations of forming a cult dedicated to this adorable lighting device (starting with Nomezilla) meant that it was easy to see its impact at a glance.


So powerful was the Frorb that it ensnared our own Community team too. As anyone who follows official Sea of Thieves social media accounts will know, the release of Season 11 was accompanied by a slew of frog-based festivities. We even hosted a themed Community Hub update celebrating a multitude of amphibian artworks in all their froggy glory. There was also… this, but perhaps the less said about that, the better. Even if he did inspire some even wilder fan art.

And that, dear readers, is how the phenomenal Fog-Piercing Frog Lantern came to be: a little guy that captured imaginations in a way you probably wouldn’t expect from a roughly carved block of wood. Remember, if you want to get your hands on this fine froggy friend, all you have to do is reach Renown level 70 before Season 11 comes to an end. After that, who knows when we might see it again?

Well, fortunately, Producer Louise Roberts does know, and she was kind enough to tell us:

“The lantern will be returning after Season 11! We are cycling Seasonal progression track cosmetic items back in, currently with a gap of around seven Seasons. When it does come back, it will likely be priced in Doubloons.”


Which brings us to the end of another From Concept to Cosmetic article. Season 11 is packed with exciting rewards to get your hands on before it ends, including a whole host of Trading Company costumes for players dedicated enough to raise their reputation to new, loftier heights. If you want more of an idea of what’s up for grabs, check out the Season 11 Content Update video for all the highlights!

In the meantime, let us know what you think of our beloved Frorb (and perhaps the rest of Season 11 while you’re at it). Find us in all the usual places on social media – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch and Tiktok, as well as on our official Forums and Discord server. If you’re hankering for more behind-the-scenes glimpses at how Sea of Thieves cosmetics come together, you can read some of the previous entries in this series in our News archive.

Now we really need to stop thinking about frogs for a while to preserve our sanity, so get sailing! Season 11’s rewards are only available for a couple more weeks, and that lantern’s not going to unlock itself…

As April showers clamour to make themselves known, we’ve realised it’s probably time to tick the Round-Up off our monthly to-do list and catch you up on all the major happenings of the last month. And thus, here we are! Settle in, obtain a beverage of your choosing and let’s get to it.

As always, a new month meant a new content update, complete with handy release notes containing all the details. This one was headlined by the arrival of the much-anticipated anti-cheat system, the ability for players with no live service subscription to still play solo on Safer Seas, and a waterfall of wondrous cosmetics – both in the Pirate Emporium (where they were joined by a cut-price Classics range) and at the Outpost shops. There was also a fresh makeover for an old friend, with a bit of help from one of Madame Olivia’s Pirate Appearance Potions!

March marked Sea of Thieves’ sixth anniversary too, and it wasn’t like we were about to let that pass without a celebratory Event. Enter the Legendary Message in a Bottle Voyages, offering tantalisingly valuable Athena’s Fortune treasure for any pirates willing to track them down. Completing one of these also granted players the glittering Seaglass Rapier to help them commemorate the momentous milestone. Really makes you wonder who keeps making all this glass, doesn’t it?


The standout news of March was the arrival of Sea of Thieves pre-orders on PlayStation®5! Not only did this mean that players on the new platform could stake their claim well before launch, it revealed the three new editions of the game coming to all platforms for 2024, and the host of goodies accompanying each one.

New players weren’t the only thing to get excited about in the month of our sixth anniversary, and we dropped a recap article on the day itself to walk you through all this year’s tie-in activities. Handily, March also hosted Season 11’s round of Style of Thieves and ensured everyone was dressed to the nines for the occasion!

In community news, we had another Creator Spotlight to bring you as we introduced Pufferson, a seasoned Slooper and proud winner of Last Ship Standing. She was happy to share her journey from World of Warcraft to Sea of Thieves, and how studying UX design ultimately led her into content creation.

Outside the game, March also welcomed a new Sea of Thieves addition to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks programme in the form of the Kraken Classic Bundle! Lore fans were treated to the third instalment of the Sea Dog’s Search comic series where Lesedi continued the desperate hunt for her brother’s soul, while music fans were able to savour the stirring ‘Treasury Ambush’, our latest streaming soundtrack addition.


With both anniversary and PS5® announcements in March, it only made sense to kick off the month with a new episode of Sea of Thieves News. As well as lining up bottles for the forthcoming Event, this instalment gave our Production Director and resident technical news-deliverer Drew a chance to reveal more details on the Easy Anti-Cheat system. And to plead for a little mercy on behalf of all the new players, but we’re not sure anyone listened to that bit.

Speaking of new players, the reveal of PS5 pre-orders marked a new chapter for our little pirate paradise and we wanted our branding to reflect that. To that end, we didn’t just release a new trailer for said pre-orders but also a freshly updated #BeMorePirate trailer for the game itself, reflecting on a full six years of updates, expansions and refinements. Here’s to many more to come!

And, as we look to the future of Sea of Thieves, it made sense to complete our anniversary celebrations with an inside look at what’s going to be arriving in the upcoming year. That meant rounding up Sea of Thieves team members to spill the beans on Seasons 12, 13 and 14, then compressing all their answers into a 20-minute Preview Event! What future update are you most excited about? It’s owls, isn’t it? It’s always owls.


After all the excitements of February, we wanted to at least try to start March in a calmer mood. That meant digging into Sea of Thieves’ sound effects and coming up with the most soothing ASMR we could find amidst all the burning ships and flag revelations. Of course, the peace and quiet could never last for long, especially when a certain member of the team decided to go undercover and staunchly refused to come back.

Fortunately, the lure of a new #SoTShot round was enough to bring the whole team back together, and we collectively delighted in everyone’s take on Radical Rowboats. Not to be left out, the Community Hub was also due for an update as we celebrated more amazing art, crafts and creations produced by players.

From there, the anniversary celebrations had us reminiscing on some of our earliest days at sea, and admiring how much we’ve all changed since then – as well as looking forward to where we’re going next. After that, all that was left was to keep an eye out for suspicious boarders, imagine a strange new world for Megalodons, and uncover the greatest treasure of all. Who could resist that face?


And so we came to the end of March! It’s a very exciting time for Sea of Thieves right now, hopping from an anniversary to the imminent prospect of a new platform launch and a new Season, so thank you for being here with us for all of it. As always, if you’ve got any feedback or burning questions you want to hurl our way, find us on the usual channels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, and the official Forums and Discord. Otherwise, there’s much more to come throughout April, so stick with us! We’ll see you again soon…

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Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2024
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2024

Six years! Who’d have thought it? It was on this day in 2018 that Sea of Thieves came crashing into the world and we’re still here cooking up new features, you’re still here playing them and we love you for that, and the seas are about to get busier than ever when PlayStation®5 players join in with our ungovernable shenanigans next month.

So how are we marking the anniversary this year? Mainly by letting you in on a whole treasure trove of secrets. We’ve got plenty planned for the next few Seasons and thought you might enjoy a taster of what’s on the horizon, which you can get simply by tuning in to the special 2024 Preview Event video on our YouTube or Twitch channels as of today.

Press play now to learn about new features on the way to spice up the Sea of Thieves sandbox in 2024! Exciting new weapons? Check. Inventive new tools? Yep. The return of Flameheart and the Burning Blade? Oh, don’t let us spoil it, just watch it:


Of course, there has to be an in-game sixth anniversary celebration too. This year it comes in the form of the Sixth Anniversary Celebration, an Event name that took weeks to pull together. Running from March 20th-25th, this sees Legendary Messages in a Bottle washing up on shorelines and settling into shipwrecks all across the Sea of Thieves, rich with promise and ready for the taking. In each one is a Voyage leading to Athena’s Fortune treasure, and you won’t even need to be a Pirate Legend to go get it.

Cosmetic rewards? Naturally: just setting sail while this Event is active will award you the anniversary gift of a Golden Sailor Capstan, while pirates who complete enough Voyages sourced from these Legendary bottles can tool up with the thematically appropriate Seaglass Rapier.

Did we mention Gold & Glory? That’s right, you can also earn double gold, reputation, Seasonal Renown, Allegiance and Guild Reputation via Gold & Glory boosts while this Event is live from March 20th-25th. Get involved!


Can we interest you in Pirate Emporium bargains to accompany your other earnings? We can? Nice, as there’s an Anniversary Sale kicking off today. This one runs from March 20th-28th, with discounts on fabulous cosmetics from Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island and the ever-popular Dark Warsmith collection. The elusive Reaper’s Mark Sails are briefly back in stock too, while the Conductor Emote can be freely claimed by all visitors to the Pirate Emporium for the duration of the sale.

We always say there’s no slowing down for Sea of Thieves, but we really have sailed into 2024 ready to battle hard on behalf of players, set on sustaining this world as a place for you to seek adventure and make memories with your crew. Putting in the work at the end of last year to secure Season 11’s January launch was a statement of intent; the 2024 Preview Event, along with our ongoing focus to keep improving in areas such as hit registration and anti-cheat, show that we’re still in this for the long haul. We’d love it if you were there too, to find out exactly what else is coming over the horizon.

Sea of Thieves Season 12 and all its knife-throwing, ziplining, double-barrelling action will launch on April 30th. Until then, we hope you enjoy the Preview Event, the Sixth Anniversary Celebration and the time remaining to ramp up your Renown and unlock all Season 11’s rewards! Frorb forever.

As Season 11 bobs along, occasionally dipping below the waves so it can crash back above them in dramatic fashion, we’re slowly ticking off the usual Seasonal activities. But if there’s one thing that players keep asking about in our social replies that’s yet to make its debut, it’s Anti-Cheat. Good news you lot, that’s just arrived in the March update!

If there’s another thing we see the odd mention of (not so many it’s annoying, but just enough that it causes a little irritation right on the small of the back where you just can’t scratch no matter how well you contort, or how fancy your hook) it’s people wondering when the next Style of Thieves contest will be. Well get ready, because we’re about to write it… any second now…

Sea of Thieves Season 11’s Style of Thieves contest will take place from March 25th-28th!

Phew, there we go. Definitely the biggest secret we’ve had to hold on to for quite some time. Usual advice applies – while you’re more than welcome to try on some threads and take your pictures in advance, those four days, March 25th-28th, will open the 24-hour windows in which to enter this Season’s four themes via social media channels.

Once a theme opens for entry (you’ll know because we’ll make a post announcing it), it’s up to you to share your stylish screenshots, including the name of the theme you’re entering and any other relevant information. Scroll down and read the How to Enter section for a rundown of the full rules and advice.

Once a theme has closed, our crew will pore over every entry to select the sailors they feel found the most fascinating fits (by their questionable taste, at least). That list is then chiselled into stone and dropped onto the desk of the nearest member of our Art team, with potentially destructive results. Regardless of whether their desk survives, they’ll have the final decision on up to 21 winning pirates.

Three winners per category, meaning 12 entries total, will take home a pair of the Fashionista’s Finery Gloves – and for the first time in a main Style of Thieves contest, one of our categories is open to groups of three and four pirates! The plan is then to announce the winning pirates via social channels on April 4th. And remember – even if you don’t win, it’s all a bit of fun, and we hope you enjoy exploring some fresh looks for your pirate.

Right, let’s talk about what we want you to dress up like this time…


Each theme will start at 10am UTC on the dates detailed below with entries accepted via a variety of social media channels for a full 24 hours.

Red Carpet
Embrace the glamorous side of the whole pirating business and dress to impress with an outfit designed for striking a pose every five seconds.
Entry date: March 25th

Castaway
from torn sleeves to scraggly beards, reject hygiene and tell us a tale of survival through slovenly style.
Entry date: March 26th

Pop Band
Gather a group of three or four pirates and select complementary clothing that would pop on a poster and have your fans fawning. The outfits simply need to give the impression of a musical group, and don’t need to be based on a real act. Please remember to name the other pirates you’re posing with.
Entry date: March 27th

Artist
From passionate painters to tortured souls, don some duds that express your pirates’ capacity for expression to the world.
Entry date: March 28th

Image credit: @destmorr on Twitter/X

Now into the part of the article that’s the same every time. We’ve got eyes everywhere, in a nice ‘enter however you feel comfortable’ kind of way, so you’re free to submit on a variety of social channels. That said, each comes with its own quirks as follows:

• To enter on Twitter/X, make sure you include @SeaOfThieves and #StyleOfThieves in your post.
  
• 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.

And regardless of where you’re sharing your entry, 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 make sure you capture your pirate’s best side and don’t accidentally enter an ineligible picture:

• 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.
  
• Complete cosmetic sets are not permitted. Our artists designed those items to go together and, again, we want to see stylish creativity. Ideally, an outfit should contain no more than four items from the same named set, but as long as creativity from multiple styles is evident then your outfit will be accepted.
  
• Unless a theme calls for it, like the Pop Band theme in this Season, all shots should be solo pirates and not crews. Only the pirate(s) 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 helps, so find a well-lit spot to fully peacock your picks. Coloured or tactical lighting won’t be considered part of the outfit.
  
• Toggle off your HUD for a clean snap and avoid a name getting in the way! If you haven’t set it, the Toggle HUD command can be assigned to a button from the HUD category of the Keyboard and Mouse or Controller area of your Settings menu.
  
• Screenshots should be a reflection of the game – no external editing or filters should be applied.
  
• Keep your submissions to a 16:9 or 1:1 ratio, making sure your entire outfit is in shot. This will help us when framing winners, and ensures a degree of parity when comparing submissions.
  
• While you may use any emotes for your shot, any features added to the outfit via the emote (e.g. oars, weapons, sparklers) won’t be taken into consideration as part of an outfit 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!
  
• The unique prize means you can’t win more than once in Style of Thieves, but you’re more than welcome to continue entering for the fun of it!

Image credit: @Ankerwisp on Twitter/X

Right, done. That should be everything you need to know to enter the next round of Style of Thieves between March 25th and 28th, 2024. Time once more to find your frocks and ponder your pants, and we wish you good luck. Have fun!