Release Notes

Join a mass battle between up to six Sloops in the strange surroundings of the Sea of the Damned! Last Ship Standing's debut appearance will be active for the duration of Season 19: Act 3.

Solo and Duo Sloop Battles

• Sloop crews can now join in a battle to the death within the Sea of the Damned to become the Last Ship Standing! During Act 3, both duo and solo Sloops will only battle in Last Ship Standing, while Brigantines and Galleons will continue to dive into 1v1 Faction Battles.

• Crews ready to fight should choose their Faction at the Hourglass of Fate, unfurl the War Map and prepare to dive. Solo and duo crews are matched separately to ensure a fair fight.

• All participating Sloop crews will be held beneath the waves until six ships are ready to battle. If matchmaking cannot find enough rivals for the fight after a short time, it will reduce to five and then further to four to allow battles to commence in a timely fashion.

• On arrival, all crews will be eligible for Faction Storage Crates if their stocks are low, ensuring they can be competitive without prior stocking. During the battle, resources from sunk ships will continue to resurface and can be collected for mid-battle restocking.

• During the fight, the Battle Bounds will shrink in size at set intervals to bring ships together, discourage fleeing and ensure the fight is brought to a climactic end with one crew victorious.

Seas of Sailor's Grave

• Last Ship Standing takes place in a new location within the Sea of the Damned: the Seas of Sailor’s Grave. This battle area has three distinct environments, each with unique characteristics to provide a varied landscape for crews to master in battle.

• The Fingers of Dread test crews’ navigation through a jagged gauntlet of towering stones; Fate’s Passage has low-lying sea stacks perfect for trading shots at distance and retreating for cover; and the Ruins of Lost Freedom are littered with crumbling structures perfect for hide-and-seek engagement.

Earning Allegiance

• Ships sunk during the battle are returned to the High Seas, but will be rewarded with Allegiance for their chosen Faction based on their final placement. The last ship standing will earn a significant amount of Allegiance and is then free to leave through the portal when ready.

Act 3 Rewards

• Crews diving into Last Ship Standing and completing Act 3’s Deeds can earn new ship items to proudly represent Athena’s Fortune or the Servants of the Flame in battle.

• Servants of the Flame can earn the Champion of Flame Battle-Scarred Sails, Hull and Flag, while those battling on behalf of Athena’s Fortune can earn the Champion of Fortune Battle-Scarred Sails, Hull and Flag.

Reaper’s Chests

• Reaper’s Chests handed in to The Reaper’s Bones now reward crews with 20 Doubloons, and continue to offer boosted returns when sailing as a Reaper’s Bones Emissary!

Shrinking Battle Bounds Improvements

• The audio and visual treatment of the Seas of Fate found at the edge of Faction Battles has been improved to address player feedback.

• Crews sailing into the Battle Bounds will find the sea retains its deep red colour to signify the perilous nature of sailing near to the edge. The player’s screen, however, will no longer turn red and will instead shift to greyscale, ensuring players retain the danger cue but can still stay competitive during the battle.

• When players are caught in the Battle Bounds, the audio mix has been softened to continue providing clear danger cues but not overwhelming players navigating through this perilous zone.

Deck Grate Improvements

• The deck grates on each ship now prevent throwables from being thrown through and will instead cause them to explode on impact. Players will, however, continue to be able to shoot and bail water through the grates.

Performance Improvements

• This update includes an optimisation to provide a smoother client framerate in scenarios where multiple objects are created in rapid succession, such as approaching a busy area of gameplay or when spawning large groups of enemies during an encounter.

• In addition to the above areas, this update includes a range of smaller improvements to high-framerate play, addressing hitches that impact the smoothness of gameplay.

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!

• Shoreline Scouts Ship Collection

• Shoreline Scouts Weapon Bundle (Cutlass, Pistol, Blunderbuss, Eye of Reach)

• Shoreline Scouts Clothing Bundle (Hat, Jacket, Trousers, Gloves, Boots)

• Shoreline Scouts Spyglass and Compass

• Crustacean Celebration Emote

• Mystery Egg Emote

• Shovel Skills Emote – now returning for free!

New Outpost Stock!

• The Outpost clothing shops now offer the Painted Peacock clothing set for purchase with gold.

Improved Streamer Settings Support

• The Streamer Mode Support section of the Game Settings has been expanded to provide easy access to communication controls with players met at sea. During a session, players can now Mute All Other Crews' Voice, Text and Phrases Chat from the Streamer Mode Support Menu.

Bilge Rats Weekender (June 12th – June 15th)

• New Challenges task crews in High Seas to venture into The Devil’s Roar for a quick grog, ride a Megalodon and go on the rampage with the Horn of Fair Winds, among other hilarious activities awarding Doubloons.

• The time-limited Smugglers’ Doubloon Run and Recovery of a Secret Shipment Voyages return, and all players are now issued with five Voyages each to increase their Doubloon-earning potential during the Weekender!

• The Raid on a Dark Fortress Live Event returns for this Weekender. Once started from the Quest Table in High Seas, crews must take on Ghost Ships and Phantoms defending treasure-filled Sea Forts – with Event goals earning crews those sought-after Doubloons.

• Players should check with Larinna to find out more details on the Weekender and the location of the next Outpost Firework Display!

Gameplay

• Improvements have been made to how resources are added to and removed from Resource Barrels. These improvements should address scenarios where items can go missing when using barrels and storage containers.

• Further improvements have been made how players are harpooned off ship interactions, to address rare issues of players losing the ability to use weapons, items or their radial menu once untethered.

• Items placed onto Rowboats can now be more easily retrieved when standing adjacent to the Rowboat, and no longer require players to be standing on it.

• Upon discovering blunderbombs in island barrels, players will now find they receive the intended amount and no longer only find full stacks.

• Players should no longer find Silenceballs in island barrels.

• On completion of the Legend of the Veil Voyage, the appropriate treasure is now awarded with items no longer appearing duplicated.

• Players now have a brief grace period when stepping onto tightropes, preventing them from being knocked off before settling onto the rope.

• Travelling through the Tunnels of the Damned will now continue smoothly if the ship’s Captain leaves and rejoins the crew mid-migration.

• Ships sinking on the High Seas while aligned to a Faction will no longer be taken into the Faction Battle losing tunnel or shown the option to requeue.

• Players climbing ladders at Barnacle Cay should no longer find emergent threats on the island reappear when climbing above a certain height.

• Traps can no longer be thrown through bars found on Ashen Garrisons.

• Ashen Cargo Run Voyages now consistently direct players to islands within The Devil’s Roar.

Bilge Rats Weekender

• During the Bilge Rats Weekender, players should no longer find their Challenge checklist can appear blank when opened.

• Improvements have been made to server performance, addressing issues experienced during the last Bilge Rats Weekender.

• Crews taking on the Secret Shipment Voyage should now consistently encounter Sirens while diving to the shipwreck, ensuring the Voyage can be progressed consistently.

• Diving to a Secret Shipment or Smugglers’ Doubloon Run Voyage should no longer cause players to become stuck waiting beneath the waves.

• Cancelling a Secret Shipment Voyage after the crate has been recovered should no longer cause the crate to disappear, and it will remain available to be stolen and sold.

• Players can no longer sell the Smuggler Captain’s Key for gold.

• When multiple crews are taking on the Secret Shipment Voyage, each shipwreck now has a unique name.

• During the Secret Shipment Voyage, the distance to travel to the shipwreck is now a consistent sailing time when started in different regions.

Visual and Audio

• ‘The Sunken Pearl’ – Players will now appear correctly when operating the capstan during this Tall Tale.

• Several pistol icons in the Pirate Emporium have been updated to better match their in-game appearance, including corrected trigger orientation.

• Pirates of all body sizes will now consistently see their hands correctly grasp the Spirit of Blackwyche Cutlass, Blowpipe and Double Barrel Pistol.

• Pirates wielding various Voyage parchments while jumping should now consistently find their hands grasp the item correctly.

• The player animation for the cutlass has been adjusted to keep the weapon in view when charging a lunge attack.

• The Pirate Lord’s hat now sits correctly during the Captaincy tutorial instead of floating.

• Ashen Winds Skull visual effects now remain attached to the skull when players crouch and stow the skull on their back.

• During battles with Phantoms, players should now consistently hear gunfire effects from any Phantoms firing flintlocks.

Environment

• Treasure placed in the Treasury of the Secret Wilds now rests naturally on the ground.

• Lesedi’s Spyglass at The Crooked Masts can now be interacted with.

• Improvements have been made to areas of the environment at Thieves’ Haven, Blind Man's Lagoon, Picaroon Palms, Plunder Valley, Dark Brethren Hideout, Fetcher’s Rest, Old Faithful Isle and Ruby’s Fall to address visual issues and prevent players from becoming stuck while traversing.

• Players can no longer use a Grapple Gun to climb into the ceiling of caves on Crescent Isle.

• Invisible collision on the Burning Blade’s top deck has been removed, preventing players from floating unexpectedly.

• Skeletons now respect locked Guardhouse doors at Ashen Garrisons and no longer move through them when closed.

• The third‑person camera at Mermaid’s Hideaway now behaves correctly when sitting on the chair on the south side of the island.

• Lava visuals at Ashen Garrisons have been corrected and are no longer visible through metal flooring.

• Treasure found above the stoves within shipwrecks can now be consistently retrieved.

• Opening a Reaper’s Chest within Ancient Sanctuaries should no longer cause skeletons to appear within the geometry.

User Interface

• Players enabling Streamer Mode will find that Guild ship names are now hidden promptly after the setting is enabled.

• Disabling Controller Input on PC will now fully prevent controller input from being detected.

• Players who have restricted communication features will now see a notification that they are unable to use text chat when attempting to send a message.

• Players with Game Pass Essential are now consistently shown that they require Game Pass Premium, Ultimate or PC when invited to a High Seas session by others.

• Trinkets can no longer be viewed and purchased while playing in Safer Seas.

• The Maiden Voyage quest guidance now clears correctly after players follow the on-screen prompts.

• The Deep Ocean Crawler Rapier now only unlocks once the related Commendation has been completed.

Accessibility

• Players using Game Narration should now hear the Secret Shipment Voyage narrated correctly when selected.

• Players who have swapped their Select and Back actions should now find they can navigate the Pirate Select screen.

Text and Localisation

• Improvements have been made to localisation and missing translations across a range of languages during the Secret Shipment Voyage.

Performance and Stability

• Improvements have been made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session. 

Last Ship Standing – Waiting for Battle

• While travelling beneath the waves waiting for a Last Ship Standing battle, players may experience rubberbanding when moving around their ship. The team are aware of the issue and working to address it as part of a follow-up update.

• While waiting for a Last Ship Standing battle, crews are currently prevented from loading cannons and interacting with the ship’s Ammo Crates. This is not consistent with Faction Battles and will be addressed as part of a follow-up update.

Last Ship Standing – Quick Requeue

• Following a Last Ship Standing Battle, the ability to requeue into the next fight has been temporarily disabled to address instability. The team are aware of the issue and working to address and return this feature as part of a follow-up update.

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.

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