2.0.13

Release Notes from Rare Ltd.

Hot on the heels of February’s Crews of Rage update, our content drop for March is now ready to set sail! Heart of Fire introduces a new Tall Tale to continue the mysteries and intrigue that began with The Seabound Soul, and a call to arms from the Pirate Lord himself, rallying Pirate Legends across the Sea of Thieves...

There’s a good amount to dig into, so if the Content Update Trailer piqued your interest then we’ve got this shiny new set of release notes for you to check out!

Heart of Fire
Rumours abound that Flameheart is rebuilding his power and his allies. Stitcher Jim and Sir Arthur Pendragon both seek the Skeleton Lord’s lair – will brave pirates like yourself venture into a gauntlet of flames to find out more? The time has come to seek the truth and stop whatever’s already in motion!


 * Tall Tales: ‘Heart of Fire’ – Stories of a returning enemy and a dark ritual have begun to spread across the Sea of Thieves, and this ritual threatens to consume the souls of a once proud and noble crew. Journey to Morrow’s Peak Outpost and speak with Tallulah in The Charred Parrot – a journal in her possession may be the key to learning more…
 * ‘Heart of Fire’ Commendations – New Commendations have been added, charting players’ progress as they work to halt the ritual. By progressing through these Commendations, players can earn the Ashen Dragon Hull and the Ashen Dragon Curse.
 * ‘Heart of Fire’ Achievements – New Xbox achievements can be unlocked by progressing through the new in-game Commendations. A total of 40 gamerscore is available to earn from this Tall Tale, and these achievements will remain in the game indefinitely.
 * ''Heart of Fire [10G]
 * ''The Blackwyche Reborn [30G]

Athena’s Run
Unnerved by the recent rise in Flameheart’s influence and an increase in dangers on the seas, the Pirate Lord senses more trouble ahead. Seeking out the worthiest of Pirate Legends, he arranges for some precious new treasures to be buried around Thieves’ Haven and has Duke organise a gauntlet that pits Pirate Legends against each other for the spoils!


 * Athena’s Run Voyage – Only Pirate Legends can purchase this new Voyage from Duke, then take their crews to visit Thieves’ Haven and surrounding islands on the hunt for new Athena’s Treasures. Those yet to reach Legendary status can join a Legend’s crew, or patrol Thieves’ Haven and try to steal from one! Anyone can return these new treasures to the Mysterious Stranger at any Outpost tavern to cash them in for gold and Athena’s Fortune reputation. Due to the raised stakes and rewards of this Voyage, Duke has placed a 50 Doubloon cost on it.
 * The Athena’s Run Voyage will be permanently available from Duke after the Heart of Fire update.


 * Athena’s Run Commendations – The Mercenary Voyages Reputation pane contains new Commendations for tackling Duke’s latest Voyage, rewarding crews with Doubloons and a new Legend of Thieves’ Haven Title.
 * Athena’s Run Rewards – Completing the Athena’s Run Voyage five times unlocks a special all-inone costume: the Legendary Treasure Seeker. This marks the debut of a brand new cosmetic type to be expanded upon in future updates. The Athena’s Fortune reputation pane also contains new Commendations for cashing in the new Athena’s Treasures, unlocking new cosmetics from the Ghost Set: the Ghost Cannon, Capstan and Wheel.
 * Athena’s Run Achievements – An Xbox achievement for cashing in one of each Legendary Treasure has been added. Unlock the Collector of Legendary Treasures achievement to earn 15 gamerscore.
 * All Athena’s Run Commendations, Achievements and Rewards will become a permanent addition to the game after the Heart of Fire update. 


 * Ashen Cosmetics – Following a delay in the shipment, the remaining Ashen Cosmetic has now been delivered to Outpost stores. Players can use their gold to purchase the Ashen Lantern and complete the set.
 * Skeleton Fort Activity – After the events of Crews of Rage, Molten Sands Fortress activity has dwindled and skeletons have scattered to all regions of the sea. All Skeleton Forts now have a chance to become active!
 * Chest of Rage – After the events of Crews of Rage, the fiery Chest of Rage can now be found emergently washed up on islands in addition to the vault of Molten Sands Fortress.
 * Ashen Tomes – The creation of new Ashen Tomes has now drawn to a halt, but fear not: Ashen Chests can still be located in the vaults of Skeleton Forts and the holds of Ashen Ships. These offer a chance at retrieving Tomes of Curses, Tomes of Fire, Tomes of Power and Tomes of Resurrection.
 * Ashen Keys – These are still being hoarded by Ashen Key Masters, which can be found emergently patrolling islands out at sea. For those pirates looking for a quick turnaround, Duke continues to offer Black Market Stash Voyages for both Ashen Chests and Ashen Keys – but be prepared to part with your coins!

Pirate Emporium
While Legends head out to battle for glory and a lingering menace plans his revenge, the Pirate Emporium has decided to... celebrate! With ‘cronch’-themed items and anniversary celebrations inbound, head to the Emporium either from the Sea of Thieves main menu before jumping into the game, or at an Outpost via the store above the Order of Souls tent!
 * Reaper’s Mark Sails – Celebrate Sea of Thieves’ anniversary in style with a Reaper’s Mark that would make even the Pirate Lord proud!
 * The Reaper’s Mark Sails are time-limited for the duration of the Heart of Fire update.


 * Shamrock Tankard – Cheers to a particularly grog-tastic time of year. Raise a frothy tankard with your crew and rivals alike!
 * The Shamrock Tankard is time-limited for the duration of the Heart of Fire update.


 * Cronch Weapons and Pet Outfits – Honouring the legendary ‘cronch’, the Pirate Emporium now stocks a bundle of hand-carved weapons. Ready to take a bite out of your foes? Along with these fruity new weapons, you can also dress your loyal companion in a new outfit!
 * Banana Pet Discount Bundles – For this month only, you can pick up discounted bundles for the Capuchin and Macaw, each dressed in their banana-themed outfit!
 * Royal Sea Squirrel Ship Collection – If you’re looking to get over a bad day, look no further than the Conker-inspired Royal Sea Squirrel Ship Collection. A Royal Sea Squirrel Ship Bundle is also on offer which includes all the regular ship cosmetics at a rather regal discount!
 * Lost Pirates Emote Bundle – Cause a raucous bangarang with this new emote bundle that’ll be sure to hook people's attention!
 * Merchant Alliance Emote Bundle – Remember, pirates, time is money! Show your crew you mean business by grabbing four emotes that sum up the prim and proper mannerisms of the Merchant Alliance.
 * Anniversary Sale! – What better way to celebrate our Sea of Thieves anniversary than with a Pirate Emporium sale? Holding off on picking up that Cutthroat Ship Set or jealous of those coinflipping crew members? Head to the new Sale tab to see the range of discounts available!
 * This Anniversary Sale is time-limited for the duration of the Heart of Fire update, so snatch up these bargains before they’re gone!


 * Banana Traders Bundle (Store Only) – Available only from the Xbox and Microsoft Stores. Be the cronchiest pirate on the seas with the Banana Trader Bundle, which combines four Merchant Alliance-themed emotes, an Azure Macaw sporting a banana-themed outfit, the Cronch Weapon Bundle, 500 Ancient Coins and a free 25,000 gold bonus for use in the Outpost shops! Head to the Store to find out more.

Black Market
Duke never fails to deliver, and he’s stocked the Black Market with new instruments to help bring your band back together!


 * Aristocrat Instruments – This month, you can acquire the Aristocrat Banjo, Concertina, Drum and Hurdy-Gurdy instruments.
 * Deep Ocean Crawler Instruments – How about something for your gold? Continue building the Deep Ocean Crawler Set with the Banjo, Concertina, Drum and Hurdy-Gurdy.
 * Inky Kraken Instruments – Still feel your pockets overflowing with old? Pick up the Inky Kraken Banjo, Concertina, Drum and Hurdy-Gurdy.
 * Nightshine Parrot Instruments – Completing this tuneful set of Black Market additions, you can also acquire the Nightshine Parrot Banjo, Concertina, Drum and Hurdy-Gurdy with your gold.

Accessibility Improvements
As we continue to offer improvements to accessibility within Sea of Thieves, head to our support site to find our other accessibility guides!


 * Colour Saturation Slider – The Accessibility Settings now contain a ‘Saturation Scale’ slider, allowing players to reduce the colour saturation of their in-game experience. Please note that setting a low saturation may make it difficult to distinguish between colours.
 * Improved Controller UI Accessibility – To improve accessibility when using a controller, controller face buttons shown within the UI now have revised iconography for better colour contrast.

Updates

 * Chainshot – A new cannonball type is now available in both Adventure and Arena! Chainshot will be available in ship barrels when players spawn, and can also be found in barrels throughout the world. When chainshot strikes a mast, wheel or capstan it does maximum damage, instantly destroying that ship part. When hitting the hull, however, it does very limited damage, so make sure to aim high. Chainshot has a shorter range than standard cannonballs, so get in close before unleashing it!
 * Blunderbomb – A new type of throwable weapon like the firebomb, the Blunderbomb is a glass sphere that explodes on impact, sending pellets in all directions. These pellets deal damage based on the distance from the explosion and cause knockback to any player on the receiving end of the blast, with a direct hit causing the most knockback damage. When fired from a cannon, these provide a larger player knockback and explosion radius. Watch out though, Blunderbombs may knock ships back but don’t damage them.
 * Cannonball Stocking – Across both Arena and Adventure, all ships will now begin a game session with two firebombs, Blunderbombs and Chainshots in each cannonball barrel.
 * Merchant Alliance Now Accepts Ammo Crates! – Players can now cash in Portable Ammo Crates with Merchant Alliance representatives at all Outposts.
 * Tall Tales Gold Reward – Completing any Tall Tale will now reward players with increased gold amounts! Players will now earn 8000 gold instead of the previous reward of 3000 gold.
 * New Player Fishing Onboarding – When first bringing out your fishing rod as a new player, you are provided with pop-ups teaching you how to fish.
 * New Player Rowboat Onboarding – When first encountering a Rowboat out in the world as a new player, you are now provided with pop-ups teaching you how to use the Rowboat and return it to your ship.
 * Mermaid Statues in Trap Gauntlets – Mermaid Statues found inside trap gauntlets such as within the ‘Shores of Gold’ and ‘Heart of Fire’ Tall Tales now require longer interactions to avoid accidental use.
 * Returning to The Arena – When leaving the boundaries of an Arena map, you will now be returned to your ship after travelling a much shorter distance into the Shroud.

General

 * Players previously affected by cosmetics not persisting between sessions should now find with this build that their loadout has been repaired. After equipping cosmetics on this new build, these should now save correctly between sessions.
 * Ashen Chests are now blocked from being sold until all items inside are removed.
 * When sailing, the Chest of Rage will now enrage and eventually explode when struck by a player repeatedly.
 * The ‘Set Sail’ button on the main menu no longer flickers during selection.
 * Firing yourself out of the Ocean Crawler or Deep Ocean Crawler Cannons will no longer cause you to glitch and land back on your ship.
 * Shadow Skeletons now have an audio trigger to indicate vulnerability.
 * Mermaids can no longer be harpooned.
 * Particle effects such as candle and explosion effects should no longer appear static in the air.
 * The Duchess and Two-Faced Scoundrel Skeleton Lords now have the correct nameplates during the Raging Bounty Voyages.
 * Harpooning a Reaper's Chest will now correctly remove the pillar of light.
 * Explosions caused by Gunpowder Barrels and Chests of Rage will now display hit notifications in the same manner as explosions from cannonballs.
 * The Raging Firestarter Title now has an icon in the Vanity Chest.
 * The Fortress Inferno Commendations will now correctly progress should a member of the crew die and return from the Ferry of the Damned while close to an active Skeleton Fort.
 * ‘Shores of Gold’ Tall Tale – After the Quest Book is voted on, Grace will no longer appear to duplicate during the intro cutscene.

The Arena

 * Players should no longer gain silver during a contest when ‘accidentally’ killing a crewmate with an explosive.

New Player Onboarding

 * After triggering the Mermaid tutorial prompts in The Arena, ending the contest will no longer cause the prompts to persist when inside the Sea Dogs Tavern.

Pirate Emporium

 * After purchasing a Pirate Appearance Potion, signing out via the on-screen prompt will now dismiss the message.
 * The brush no longer clips through the paper when performing the Pirate Painting emote on a range of body types.

Environment

 * On Morrow's Peak Outpost, players should no longer be able to hear ‘We Shall Sail Together’ to the east of the tavern.
 * Players can no longer become stuck in geometry within the Pirate Legend Hideout.

Known Issues

 * Joining a Session – Players receiving Groomedbeard – Some players may find on attempting to join a session either via Session rejoin, an invite or joining in progress, they receive a Groomedbeard error and are unable to join the session.
 * Tall Tales – ‘Gold Hoarder’ Curse not showing as unlocked – Some players may find that after earning the Seeker of Grand Adventure Commendation, they are awarded the correct rewards however the item still shows as locked within the Reputation tab.

To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.

Download and Installation
Download size:


 * Xbox One: 5.34 GB
 * Xbox One X: 9.12 GB
 * Windows 10: 9.12 GB

Xbox Installation Instructions can be found here. PC Installation Instructions can be found here.

Forum Discussion
You can discuss these release notes in the Forums here.

You can leave your feedback on the game in general here.

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