As every month, Rare talks openly about Sea of Thieves to discuss the new features to come, but also the problems that remain. As the release of Season 13 approaches, many topics have been discussed, including new features, but also changes to come beyond the next update. Of course, with the arrival of Season 13, new items will be available in the outposts, as well as in the Pirate Emporium.
Sea of Thieves Season 13's Main New Features Explained
Sea of Thieves Season 13 will arrive on July 25th with a host of new features, including a brand new world event. The Captain's devoted followers Flameheart will now sail aboard the Burning Bladeperforming rituals at sea to gain the favor of their fearsome master. Finding this imposing warship will trigger a fierce naval battle. The Burning Bladethe most powerful ship in Sea of Thieves, is equipped with 10 cannons, is resistant to fire-based attacks and can launch massive fireballs, making it particularly difficult to destroy.
If they win, players will have a choice: continue bombing the Burning Blade to sink it and obtain the Blade of Soulsan object of great value, or choose to join Flameheart and join the crew of the Burning Blade. Players who choose the second option will have to complete rituals, a task linked to another new feature in Season 13: Skeleton Camps.
These camps, scattered across the Sea of Thieves, were built by the Obsidian Skeletons loyal to Flameheart to extract artifacts from ancient temples hidden beneath the surface. Like sea forts, these camps can be visited at any time by any crew, whether you control the Burning Blade or not. Descending into these temples involves solving complex puzzles by searching through star maps to reveal hidden constellations and unlock the secrets of the Ancients. Additionally, these temples are full of treasures to plunder.
Changes for Skeleton Summoners
The upcoming July update will include a change to Skeleton Summoners. The team has been working to resolve situations where Skeleton Summoners could discover hidden players. In the upcoming update, Skeleton Summoners will no longer be able to detect players using a hide emote, allowing players to remain hidden on a defended ship.
This update will also allow players to attract and even escape from these skeletons. By making noise or being chased by these skeletons, players will be able to break line of sight and hide. The skeletons will then move to the players' last known position and patrol the area. These changes should make stealth gameplay more consistent when encountering crews using Skeleton Summoners.
Coming soon the ability to sprint with loot
Changes to loot items are coming soon. In Season 13, the Blade of Souls is a new weapon obtained by sinking the Burning Blade. This blade can be sold or used as a melee weapon to set your enemies on fire. It is the first loot item that allows players to sprint while wielding it, ensuring maneuverability equivalent to that of a classic sword.
Beyond the July update, Insiders will be making a change to test sprinting with other one-handed loot items. For example, stowing a Wanted Skull on your belt while sprinting, or grabbing a Horn of Favorable Winds and quickly swimming to your boat. Some exceptions will remain, such as the Skull of Siren Song. This change maintains the balance between two-handed items, which offer higher rewards but with a movement penalty, and smaller items which now allow for faster traversal.
Changes Coming to the Pirate Emporium
Since its launch in 2019, the Emporium team has released a ton of cosmetics, but the experience of the store itself and its integration into the game has remained largely unchanged until recently. They now have a dedicated part of the team working on improvements to the Emporium, some of which you may already see. Further improvements to the browsing experience are planned, with features like filtering and sorting that will help players find items from the last five years.
These improvements are designed to make the Emporium more accessible and enjoyable for players, reinforcing its vital role in maintaining and growing Sea of Thieves. Through these efforts, they hope to continue to deliver new and exciting content while supporting the passionate community of players that has helped make Sea of Thieves an enduring success.
Added a new sound to better hear players climbing ladders
Back in June, a change was made to Sea of Thieves that wasn’t mentioned in the patch notes. This update included a new audio that indicates when a player climbs a ship’s ladder. The audio team worked on this improvement in preparation for Season 14, which focused on stealth. They felt it was time to address feedback about how difficult it was to hear a player climb a ship due to other water-related sound effects.
With this new, more distinct sound effect, attentive players should now be able to more easily hear the telltale sign of someone climbing their ladder. This change was made ahead of Season 14's stealth focus.
Sea of Thieves is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. It can also be played through Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.