Season 16 is in full flow, and the last update for this season is out now in Sea of Thieves. Update 3.4.2 is here, and it’s bringing change in its wake. We’ll do a quick breakdown of what the season has ushered in, and then detail some of the fixes and improvements at the end!
I’m a bit gutted to have not played any of this season, but planning a comeback to Sea of Thieves asap. Craving the open seas and a bit of quiet fishing.
Plus, I really want to try all the new mechanics and weapons that keep being added!
Sea of Thieves Season 16 official content update video
Reaper’s Rising – Sea of Thieves Season 16
A new on-demand Voyage for The Reaper’s Bones, a rebalanced Devil’s Roar, and a host of gameplay improvements and bug fixes have arrived in the Sea of Thieves with the latest update, version 3.4.2.
Sea of Thieves ushered in Season 16, dubbed “Reapers Rising.” Headlining the new season is a brand-new on-demand Voyage for The Reaper’s Bones faction, “Followers of the Flame.” In this new adventure, crews will work to resurrect the Order of Bone and Blade and forge the new, and presumably valuable, “Chest of Bones.”
For those who prefer a hotter challenge, a new “Ashen Search for Ancient Secrets” Voyage is now available in The Devil’s Roar, promising higher-value rewards for those brave enough to face the fiery landscape.
Have you ever been to the Devil’s Roar?
Speaking of The Devil’s Roar, the development team has rebalanced the notoriously treacherous region to be less frustrating for players.
Changes to geysers and volcanoes are intended to make the area more manageable, while still maintaining its challenging nature. Geysers will no longer directly target players and will scale with crew size, while volcanoes now have a longer warning period before eruption and a reduced chance of hitting ships.
I love the Roar, largely because it’s so quiet. But it’s only quiet because it can be a rough time. So I’ve got mixed feelings about the changes, selfishly.
Ultimately, it can only be a good thing for Sea of Thieves overall. So it feels like good news.
It’s a Pirates (quality of) life for me
In addition to these major content additions, the update brings a number of quality-of-life improvements.
The user interface has been enhanced with a more responsive health bar, and CPU optimisations are expected to reduce framerate drops, leading to a smoother sailing experience for all.
In a significant change to encounters, the fearsome Kraken can now emerge from the depths to attack ships even when other World Events are active, so be on your guard!
The Pirate Emporium has also been restocked with a fresh collection of cosmetics. Players can now purchase the “Bosun Brewmaster Ship Collection” and the “Ashen Curse Toucan” to further customise their pirate and vessel.
The rest…
A new event, “Legends Unleashed,” is set to run from July 17th to July 31st, offering players the chance to earn increased loot and special rewards. Furthermore, three new permanent Legendary searches have been added for Athena’s Fortune, providing more content for Pirate Legends.
As with any major update, version 3.4.2 also includes a wide array of bug fixes addressing issues in gameplay, the environment, visuals, and audio. Here are some of the highlights:
Gameplay and Item Fixes:
- Reaper’s Chests: The number of skeletons released from a Reaper’s Chest is now scaled to the size of the rival ship.
- Skeleton Mercenaries: Skeletons now have a status tag to show what they are doing and will notify the crew when they have been uncovered.
- Grapple Gun: Can no longer be used to drag the Key or Chest of the Siren Song into The Reaper’s Hideout.
- Cannons of Rage: Now consistently display the fuse after being buried and dug up, and the overheating effect transitions more smoothly.
- Storage Crates: Crates from Skeleton’s Orders can now be sold to the Merchant Alliance.
- Hunting Spear: Can no longer be duplicated and now deals damage consistently when thrown at targets below deck.
- Ashen Executive’s Lost Shipment Voyage: Issues where the location of the shipwreck, Captain’s Key, and Manifest were appearing inconsistently have been addressed.
Environmental Fixes:
- Improvements have been made to Port Merrick, Dagger Tooth Outpost, and Shark Bait Cove to prevent crews from hiding their ships to shelter from Faction battles.
- Players can no longer use a Grapple Gun to leave the designated areas during ‘The Lair of LeChuck’, ‘Shores of Gold’ and ‘A Pirate’s Life’ Tall Tales.
- Players can no longer use the Cannon of Rage to bypass the doors to Skeleton Forts, the Fort of the Damned, or Glitterbeard’s Cave.
Performance and Stability:
- Players receiving a large number of game invites should now find that their game remains stable.
- System-level optimisation for CPU performance to reduce the frequency of framerate drops.
Sea of Thieves forever
Sea of Thieves is a game that could just go on forever with the appropriate tweaks and additions of content.
Personally, I want to get back and see how much has really changed since I hit Pirate Legend. The quality of life since launch is night and day compared to where we’re at now, and Rare has a renewed focus now (sadly, thanks to the massive Microsoft layoffs and re-prioritisations internally).
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