Sea of Thieves’ January Update 2.0.21 goes live today, its patch notes announcing the start of Season One, which adds Lost Shipments, a new progression system, and more.
Update 2.0.21’s overhauled progression sees players climbing 100 Renown ranks as they complete a variety of different activities in Sea of Thieves. As you progress through the season, you gain different rewards, including titles and cosmetics. Additionally, purchasing the optional Plunder Pass grants access to Pirate Emporium goodies.
On PC, players can expect a 6.65 GB download if using the Steam version of Sea of Thieves or a larger 8.56 GB download on the Windows Store. Here are all the changes and additions introduced to Sea of Thieves with the start of Season One in the January Update 2.0.21, as detailed in the full patch notes:
Season One
We’re making it easier than ever to get rewarded for charting your own course and living the pirate life. Dig in below to find out how to earn Renown and make swift, clear progress over the three months that make up Season One – and what you can expect for your efforts!
Seasonal Progression
- At the heart of Seasons is a new progression system, awarding Renown for all kinds of activities and accomplishments. This provides more freedom for you to enjoy the game your way, and earn Renown every time you play.
- Go out and live the pirate life to earn Renown through activities such as sailing, exploring islands, fishing and cooking, discovering secrets and carrying treasure aboard your ship.
- The more noteworthy the action, the greater the Renown: try vanquishing threats on land and sea, taking on Voyages offered by the Trading Companies and embarking on Tall Tales.
- Seasonal progress is tracked in the new Pirate Log menu. This is the new home for Company reputation and Events tabs.
Season One Rewards
- 100 levels of progression bring 100 rewards! Navigate to the Pirate Log to see new cosmetics, unique Titles, gold, Doubloons and even Ancient Coins – all ready to be earned in Season One.
- Coin stashes aside, progressing through the Season will reward pirates with the cool Frostbite Clothing Set, unique Season specials along with time-limited Shroudbreaker Season One collectibles. Pirate Legends can earn new hair and beard styles along with the Mysterious Curse befitting a legendary pirate.
- Completing each tier awards a unique Title that shows your progress for all to see!
Season One Trials
- Players looking to accelerate their progress through a Season should seek out the Trials – themed sets of tasks known as Deeds that will test your adventuring, exploring and battling capabilities, hastening you towards those higher-level rewards.
- For crews sailing the Sea of Thieves for the first time, these Trials can provide some direction for your gaming sessions and present numerous opportunities to see what the world has to offer.
Plunder Pass
- For pirates ready to conquer the Season and claim every reward, Season One’s Plunder Pass will make success taste even sweeter! Purchasable through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium, Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store, it unlocks access to an extra range of premium rewards as you progress through the levels of Season One.
- Making their debut for Plunder Pass owners to unlock are the Dark Warsmith Blunderbuss, Eye of Reach, Pistol and Cutlass, along with the grand Silver Skull Sails. These items will be available at a later date through the Pirate Emporium.
- The Ruby Splashtail Monarch Costume and Fishing Rod, Crab Dab and Mysteriously Casual emotes, Bear & Bird Wheel and stunning Collector’s Night Wulf Figurehead are also obtainable through the Season One Plunder Pass – a much cheaper alternative to purchasing them separately!
Seasons Notifications
- Players are now informed of their noteworthy actions across the Sea of Thieves, with entries added to the Pirate Log. Should you find this affects your immersion, Seasons notifications can be disabled from the Gameplay Settings menu.
Lost Shipments
Another permanent Voyage type comes to Sea of Thieves in Season One, providing a new way to build your reputation with the Merchant Alliance. They need pirates to recover lost Cargo Manifests and shed light on the fate of the crews, and they’re ready to pay well…
Lost Shipments Voyages
- The Merchant Alliance have requested the help of seasoned sailors to locate missing shipments. Players at rank 25 or above with the Merchant Alliance can set out in search of these lost goods – or, for now, check in with Larinna at the tavern to receive a special Voyage regardless of Company rank.
- Starting this Voyage grants the original trade route for the delivery which you must follow, uncovering clues along the way. A keen eye may observe seagulls on the horizon, floating debris or loot washed up on a nearby island.
- As you narrow the search, you may encounter island residents with further clues to where the cargo vessel went down.
- Upon locating the wreck site, dive deep to explore and uncover treasure while searching for the Cargo Manifest required by the Merchant Alliance. Crews who located the lost Captain’s Key at a previous clue site can also unlock the Captain’s cabin for a trove of rewards.
Lost Shipments Commendations
- New Commendations have been added which will grant players new Titles in addition to unlocking the Merchant Pathfinder Sails and Golden Gatherer Sails offered by Larinna.
Lost Shipments Achievements
- New Xbox and Steam achievements can be unlocked by progressing through the new in-game Commendations. A total of 50 gamerscore is available to earn from this update, and these achievements will remain in the game indefinitely.
- Wreckless Pursuit (10G)
- Get Wrecked (25G)
- Many, Many Manifests (15G)
Game Events
For those seeking something a little more focused than the intentionally wide-ranging Trials, each month of a Season will bring a new time-limited in-game Event offering its own rewards. See what’s up first alongside some of your favourite recurring Events!
Champions of Souls
- The Order of Souls have sensed something foul afoot and seek your support to learn more. Head to the in-game Events menu or the Events Hub on the website to learn more about Champions of Souls!
- Defeating a range of skeletal threats will award players Soul Fragments, and reaching Soul Fragment point thresholds will unlock rewards: the Order of Souls Cutlass, Pistol, Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach, and the Champion of Souls Title.
- Each week, certain undead enemy types will have their Soul Fragments value boosted, so check your Mysterious Notes to find out which foes to target first!
- When the Event ends, these rewards will be obtainable from Outpost stores after completing certain Commendations
Twitch Drops
- Unlock even more cosmetics in Season One with Twitch Drops. Tune in to Partnered streamers to earn pieces of the new Gilded Phoenix set, along with new emotes. Find out how to link your accounts and more on our Twitch Drops page.
Fort Nights
- Enjoying that Friday Fort action? These regular Fort Nights will persist through the month, so head to an active Skeleton Fort or brave the dreaded Fort of the Damned and storm the Vaults for boosted Stronghold rewards.
Pirate Emporium
There’s a definite Lunar Festival feel to the first Emporium restock of the new year, from a full ship set to elegant pirate wear – complemented by Order of Souls Possessed Pets, some dynamic new emotes and the arrival of the Plunder Pass for boosting your Season One rewards!
Season One Plunder Pass
- Purchase the Season One Plunder Pass to unlock 11 additional rewards that can be claimed while climbing the levels of Seasonal progression.
- The Plunder Pass contains not only existing items from the Pirate Emporium but early access to future Emporium items! At some point after the Season ends, all Plunder Pass rewards will be available for individual purchase in the Pirate Emporium.
- The Season One Plunder Pass is available to purchase through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium, Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store.
Lunar Festival Ship Collection
- Adorn your ship with this lavish Lunar Festival ship set, with a handsome horned Collector’s Figurehead and Collector’s Sails also available.
- The Lunar Festival Essential Bundle is also on offer, containing the core ship cosmetics at a lower price.
Lunar Festival Costumes
- Treat yourself to these regal Lunar Festival costumes to celebrate the New Year! Two costume variants are included to satisfy those who love hats and those who don’t, each equipped with the unique Kneel and Bow Emote.
Lunar Festival Weapon Bundle
- New Year, new you! Start as boldly as you mean to go on with these luxurious Lunar Festival armaments.
Time-Limited Lunar Festival Pet Outfits
- The Lunar Festival pet outfits return for a limited time. Celebrate the New Year with costumes for your parrot and monkey pets!
- The Lunar Festival Pet Outfits are time-limited for the duration of the January update.
Order of Souls Possessed Pets
- The Order of Souls have bestowed life upon these unique and unusual pets. Pick up a Possessed Cat or Monkey and head off to claim some Bounties!
Vigilant Weapon Pose Emotes
- Show your enemies you mean business with these new battle-ready weapon poses.
Heroic Emotes
- Be the hero of the seas that you know yourself to be with this evocative range of heroic poses.
Free Plead Emote
- All you have is bananas? Really want that pineapple your crewmate has stored away? Beg your crewmate for delicious fruit with this free Plead Emote.
New Year Sale!
- Seek out the Sale tab for a chance to purchase a range of ship sets, emotes, pets and weapons at a discounted price!
Lunar Festival Bundle (Store Only)
- Available only from the Xbox, Microsoft and Steam Stores, this bundle contains the bejewelled Lunar Festival Weapon Bundle and Lunar Festival Costume along with 550 Ancient Coins and a 25,000 gold bonus for use in the Outpost shops! Head to the Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store to find out more.
Outpost Cosmetics
Dark Adventurers Set
- For Legends looking to flaunt their worth, the Dark Adventurers set has arrived. The Pirate Legend shop now offers the new Dark Adventurers weapons, equipment and instruments, available exclusively to those who have become Legend.
Silent Barnacle Set
- The Outpost shipwrights, along with the clothing, equipment and weapon shops, now offer the Silent Barnacle set for purchase. Players must obtain the Hoarder of Barnacled Gold Commendation to unlock access to this set.
Bedraggled Castaway Bilge Rat Set
- The Outpost clothing shops now stock the Bedraggled Castaway Bilge Rat clothing set, available to purchase for gold.
Legacy Event Cosmetics
- Previous rewards from the 12 Deeds of Giving, Plundered Presents and Grogmanay Events have now been added to the Outpost shops.
- The Eastern Winds equipment, Frostbite Cannons, Order of Souls Bucket, Gold Hoarders Spyglass, Tankard and Speaking Trumpet can now be found in their respective stores, locked behind Commendations.
Gameplay Improvements
Arena Communication
- To create a more welcoming experience when joining The Arena, changes have been made to how crews can communicate in this mode – find out more in this developer Forum post.
- In the Arena tavern and during active Arena gameplay, cross-crew voice chat and cross-crew text chat are now restricted, leaving non-verbal as the only cross-crew communication option.
- Players can continue to communicate within their own crew using all available communication options.
Recommended Crew Size
- When browsing the Ship Selection Screen, each ship now indicates the crew size recommended to operate the vessel.
Updates
120Hz Performance Mode
- On the Xbox Series X console, a performance mode is available supporting 120Hz at 1080p. Some TVs do not support 120Hz and HDR simultaneously, so HDR may need to be disabled from the Console Settings.
Larinna’s Black Market
- The Black Market ‘Goodies for Gold’ tab has been removed and the Ritual Skull Stash Voyage moved to the Doubloon store.
Fixed Issues
Gameplay
- Reduced the frequency of players encountering an extended black screen or becoming stuck when using a mermaid or returning from the Ferry of the Damned.
- Skeleton ships should now take hull damage when on fire.
- When performing consecutive heavy cutlass strikes, the lunge animation should now show correctly when blocking between each strike.
- Opening or closing a Collector’s Chest held by another player should now correctly show as opened or closed for the player holding it.
- Items inside a Collector’s Chest should now only be retrievable when the chest is open.
- Washed-up items should no longer appear to hover above ground when leaving the area and coming back.
- The Frozen Horizon and Nightshine Parrot Wheels have been modified to make it more obvious when the ship is sailing straight.
- The Sailor Cannon Flare now has the correct name and description.
Pirate Emporium
- The Soulflame Ship Bundle now uses the correct local currency pricing.
Mysterious Notes
- Notes should now read correctly, even when shown to others.
- Stowing a Mysterious Note and re-equipping it from the radial should result in it being wielded as expected.
Tall Tales
- Vault Totems acquired during a Tall Tale can no longer be sold to representatives of the Gold Hoarders or Reaper’s Bones.
- ‘Shores of Gold’ – While exploring the Shores of Gold, if another crew starts the Tall Tale the medallions should no longer appear in the air within the Vault.
Localisation
- To improve readability, the font size in Korean and Chinese languages has been increased in a range of areas along with additional punctuation.
Environment
- During the Fort of the Damned encounter, a number of areas where Graymarrow could become stuck on the surrounding environment have been improved.
- Players should no longer get stuck on a broken staircase after exiting the Gold Hoarder Throne Room.
- Players should no longer be able to fall or see through the environment on Shark Bait Cove.
- Players should no longer get stuck and teleported when attempting to ascend the stairs in a tavern.
- Players should no longer be able to swim under the map on Plunder Outpost.
Visual and Audio
- Sound should no longer become distorted and increase in volume when a player surfaces from water or is briefly submerged by a wave.
- During a Ghost Ship encounter, Captain Ghost Ships should now use portals to spawn and teleport.
- The sails equipped on Skeleton and Ghost Ships now consistently appear in high quality.
- The Castaway Bilge Rat Eyepatch icon has been updated.
- The Confusion and Face, Meet Palm emotes should now have appropriate iconography.
- Having multiple Riddle Quests for one island should no longer cause music to trigger multiple times.
- Approaching a lit beacon with an unraised lit lantern should no longer show an empty tooltip.
- Island banners should now have appropriate iconography in The Ancient Isles and The Shores of Plenty.
- Buying items, Voyages and Titles should no longer cause a black grid to flash up on the screen.
Performance and Stability
- When trying to join a crew that has disbanded, players should now receive an appropriate error message.
- While Sea of Thieves is suspended, joining a game should no longer cause instability.
- Further improvements made to server performance, reducing latency during gameplay.
- Improvements made to server stability, reducing disconnections during gameplay.
Known Issues
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 improvements continue to be delivered during our content updates, this continues to be a key priority for the team.
Players Impacted Following Server Migration
- We are currently tracking a number of player-impacting issues which can occur following a server migration. These include crews migrating near Outposts finding themselves moved to a location where another ship is already present, and issues with ship interaction points following a migration.
Stuck UI Menus
- When interacting with a barrel and moving quickly through its inventory, players may find that the barrel’s state is not updated as items are removed. Players can also experience Game Options becoming stuck on screen when exiting a barrel in this state.
Sea of Thieves is out now on PC and Xbox One.
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