As we approach the end of a strange year, we as a team are proud of the amount of free content rolled out to all Sea of Thieves players in 2020 despite all the changes and challenges of remote working. To continue to deliver on this throughout the year has been testament to the team spirit and culture we have here, and the way everyone on the team has supported each other throughout it all has made me even more proud to be a part of Team Rare.
We’ve been busy with more than the regular updates you’ve already experienced: we’re hard at work behind the scenes on some significant changes that will lead us into 2021, with plans in motion for how we continue supporting the game and some major news still to come. Sea of Thieves isn’t slowing down any time soon.
However, it does mean that we’ve had to slightly rethink our end-of-year updates to lay some groundwork and allow us to focus on things beyond the immediate future. So November’s update is more of a quality of life update, largely focused on bug fixes and improving the core Sea of Thieves experience for all players. However, we’ve made sure there’s still plenty to do in terms of events and in-game activities, extending some events and building on the success of others, while the Pirate Emporium team have also restocked the shelves with more of the endlessly creative things they’ve been working on.
The progression of weekly Challenges and Voyages throughout the Fate of the Damned update led to a point where all Challenges and Voyages were unlocked and available, so those will stay in the game until December 9th for players to embark upon and earn rewards including Soulflame weapons and gear. Talk to Larinna at the tavern or visit the Fate of the Damned Event page for details on what you can get and how to get it!
If you enjoyed September’s Vault of the Ancients update, you’ll be pleased to know we’ve continued to add to that, and The Devil’s Roar region has now joined the list of possible Treasure Vault locations. So one of those Voyages picked up from the Gold Hoarders could now be made even more epic by superheated seas and fire from the sky! And if you tackle a Treasure Vault Voyage over Thanksgiving, you could get rich quick as that’s when we’ll be running the next Gold & Glory Weekend, with double gold and reputation on offer for all treasure handed in.
November’s Emporium update puts the Fightin’ Frogs Ship Set up for anyone to buy, if they haven’t already earned it by playing through Act I of the new Battletoads. Joining it are our latest unique pets, The Hunter’s Call Forager Parrot and Monkey – but we couldn’t overlook the other pets, so there are also Bone Crusher Outfits available for all species including cats and dogs. The popular Festival of Plenty pet outfits and musical instruments make a return to mark this time of year. Meanwhile, players always looking for new ways to express themselves should enjoy the all-in-one Varied Weapon Pose Emote, along with new Barrel Emotes and the Fightin’ Frogs Flex Emote that we’re making available as a freebie for everyone.
So even with a lighter update than usual, there’s still plenty to get your teeth into! Full release notes will accompany the update as usual on Wednesday November 18th, so you can see everything that’s new and all the latest performance and quality of life fixes, while the Pirate Emporium and Events Hub pages will be brought right up to date.
We hope you enjoy it, and also hope you’re looking forward to the end-of-year celebrations and Sea of Thieves’ next stage of adventure that lies beyond. We’ve got a special edition of SoT News coming in the next few weeks that will talk about the December update, and we’ll also be talking about our plans heading into the new year. We have some significant and exciting changes coming as we move into what’s likely to be Sea of Thieves’ biggest year yet, and we’re excited to share our thoughts with you all soon!