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It’s a festive time for Sea of Thieves: Rare’s pirate adventure is coming to PS5, where fans have been going wild with pre-orders, and the sixth anniversary of the title went by on March 20, 2024. Celebrating this occasion, Rare broadcasted a preview program diving into the details of what a seasoned sailor might expect from the game throughout this year.

Far from merely promising fresh cosmetics, the developer actually has some pretty massive additions to Sea of Thieves planned in 2024, including an arsenal of brand-new weapons – it’s been many years since we’ve seen an expansion of this area.

Find out everything about the Sea of Thieves roadmap for 2024 below.


It's time for PS5 players to enjoy the pirate life.Rare

Sea of Thieves Season 12 updates

Season 12 is set to launch on April 30, 2024, and will already bring the first new weapon to the game in the form of the double-barrelled flintlock. Designed for close-range combat, it can fire two bullets in rapid fashion before having to be reloaded. Alternatively, you can opt to unleash both shots at once, pulverizing anything caught up in the chaos.

Accompanying the flintlock will be a throwing knife, which is quite a versatile weapon as it can be used in melee and ranged combat. This blade is capable of quick stabbing attacks or a more powerful stab after being charged up. Naturally, a thrown specimen won’t magically return into your hands – knives get stuck in whatever surface they land on and need to be retrieved to be used again. Beware, though, lest an enemy might get their first and turn the weapon against its owner.

Pirates can look forward to some additional tools. A new type of ammunition, the Scattershot, allows you to fire four cannonballs at once in a wide spread, though with limited range. While their power doesn’t match those of an individual cannonball, their ability to create four holes in enemy vessels at once makes them a strong tool to overwhelm the opposing crew.

If you ever wanted to play a pirate necromancer, I’d suggest you get into Total War: Warhammer 3. Alternatively, you can use the Bone Caller coming in Season 12, which lets you spawn allied skeletons to help you in battle. Another magical addition to the toolkit will be the Wind Caller – as you might be able to guess, this horn creates a strong gust. You can use this to boost your sails, put out fires quickly, or even push someone back and into the ocean. More creative uses include the prevention of fall damage by using it in the last second before hitting the ground or increasing your rowboat speed. It’s a very practical accessory.

Several islands will see a neat quality-of-life improvement in Season 12 as well in the form of ziplines, which ease the way back to your ship. Agile sailors will also be able to walk on lines created by their harpoons, albeit not on steep inclines. A chonky update, huh?

Sea of Thieves Season 13 updates

Season 13 will see the return of a familiar villain – Captain Flameheart. He’s back with a bigger and badder version of his trusty flagship, the Burning Blade. Roaming the Sea of Thieves with ten cannons and a flamethrower, this vessel will be the game’s first world event not rooted to a particular place. However, glory and power awaits those managing to board the ship, as they’ll get to replace its crew and become Flameheart’s new minions. Which, yes, means that you’ll get to grill other players with that neat flamethrower at the front of the Burning Blade.

It’s not all fun and flames for the new owners of the vessel. Flameheart expects tribute in return for putting up with the situation, so the Burning Blade must seek out Skeleton Camps and grab the Orbs of Secret found in these. Presenting them to Flameheart increases the amount of treasure in the Burning Blade’s holds – it’ll be up to players to decide on whether to cash out (and leave the Burning Blade behind) or be greedy and risk seeking out another camp. Naturally, other players will have the opportunity to stop the current crew and thwart their plans.

Sea of Thieves Season 14 updates

Season 14 details are still a bit more sparse, but Rare revealed yet another exciting tool – the Grapple Gun. Players can use it to reel in items or fellow pirates, haul themselves up ledges, or even to make Jack Sparrow-esque boarding maneuvers after firing themselves out of a cannon.

You can find the full VOD of the preview event embedded above.

This article first appeared on Video Games on Sports Illustrated and was syndicated with permission.

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