Sea of Thieves Season 13 Update Released With Patch Notes

Season 13 of Rare’s Sea of Thieves has today gone live across Xbox, PlayStation 5, and PC. Over the course of 2024, Sea of Thieves has seen a massive resurgence, primarily thanks to the game’s release on PS5 just a few months back. Now, another massive wave (pun intended) of content has come to Sea of Thieves and has given players plenty to keep them busy for the foreseeable future. 

Downloadable right now, update 3.1.0 for Sea of Thieves ushers in the start of Season 13. This patch brings with it a new world event that is dubbed the Burning Blade to go along with Skeleton Camps to fight, new rewards to earn, and another Plunder Pass to purchase. Outside of these new content additions, Rare has also tweaked many existing gameplay elements and has pushed out the usual array of bug fixes to improve SoT just a bit more. 

You can view the full Season 13 patch notes for this new Sea of Thieves update at the bottom of the page. 

Sea of Thieves Update 3.1.0 Patch Notes

The Flame Rises

Captain Flameheart has returned, but the real star of Season 13 is his fiery flagship, awaiting crews who have what it takes to claim it for themselves!

The Burning Blade

• Ready your crew and take on the Burning Blade World Event! Easily spotted from afar with its telltale burning braziers and skyward beacon, this infernal ten-cannon warship will take a seasoned crew to take it on.

• Players who subdue the ship’s Obsidian Skeleton crew can choose to pledge service to the notorious Captain Flameheart and take control of the Burning Blade for themselves. Once in control, the crew will be assisted by Flameheart’s skeletal followers and have access to its weaponry, including Obsidian Ashen Winds Skulls to help repel boarders and the devastating Ashen Roar fired from the bow of the ship.

• Loyal Guardians can instead choose to completely sink the Burning Blade and claim its sizeable bounty from the wreckage. This includes the Blade of Souls, a fiery new melee weapon capable of setting foes ablaze!

Skeleton Camps

• Flameheart’s forces have constructed Skeleton Camps across the Sea of Thieves, built over the Ancient Temples hidden below the surface. Crews can discover these camps naturally on islands or dive straight to them from the Quest Table.

• Descending into an Ancient Temple, players must unravel the mysteries of the constellations by solving puzzles to unlock access to the Crypt Vault. There, those who oppose Flameheart can put a stop to the Ritual, snatch the Orb of Secrets and deliver it to the Trading Companies for a reward.

• Crews who have pledged service to Captain Flameheart and taken command of the Burning Blade, however, should complete the Rituals within the Ancient Temples to gather the lost knowledge that Flameheart seeks.

• As crews complete Rituals, Flameheart’s power grows, rewarding pledged pirates accordingly when they return the Burning Blade to him at The Reaper’s Hideout. Crews who instead destroy the Burning Blade and retrieve the Blade of Souls can sell it for a value depending on the Rituals performed before the ship was defeated!

Commendations and Rewards

• Crews choosing to side with the Pirate Lord and sink the Burning Blade will unlock access to items from the Obsidian Bone Crusher set, with ship parts, clothing items and weapons all available to earn.

• Those instead choosing to pledge to Flameheart and sail the devastating Burning Blade will unlock the Burning Blade Reborn ship set, and Servants of the Flame who have already drunk from Flameheart’s chalice can unlock new skeleton cosmetics and bone colours when crewing the Burning Blade as skeletons.

• Taking the Orbs from the Temples can unlock the Cracked Orb Lantern, and those seeking to steal the Orbs from unsuspecting crews can earn the Reaper’s Bones Shattered Mask.

• Descending deep into the Ancient Temples below the Skeleton Camps to unravel their mysteries will unlock access to new tattoos for your troubles.

Season 13

Another Season means 100 new levels to climb by raising your Renown, with racks full of rewards to snag along the way – and an optional Plunder Pass adding even more. Emissaries aren’t forgotten either, with the latest Company-themed cosmetics for qualifying Ledger performances!

Season 13 Rewards and Plunder Pass

• Progressing through the 100 levels of Renown in Season 13 will reward players with Bloodstone Dragon cosmetics alongside other time-limited Seasonal specials. Head to the Seasons profile page to browse the new rewards and check your pirate’s progress!

• Pick up the latest Plunder Pass to gain access to a plethora of additional unlockable cosmetics from the Eclipse set, including a full ship set plus the Jacket, Hat and Gloves, all available to earn by raising your Renown. Purchase a Pass in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, or via the Pirate Emporium webpage, Microsoft Store, PlayStation™Store or Steam Item Store.

Season 13 Emissary Ledger Rewards

• This Season, the Guild Emissary Ledgers offer the ‘Secrets of the Ancient Flame’ Painting, Dark Hand of Fate Ornament and Guild of Fiery Spirits Title to Guilds who represent them well and perform proudly in the Ledgers.

• The Trading Company Emissary Ledgers have been refreshed this month with the previously lost Pocket Watches. Players can therefore now earn the Tribute Peak, Relic of Darkness, Merchant Ambassador, Masked Renegade and Magpie’s Glory Pocket Watches when reaching the top tier of the Ledgers. Players who have previously unlocked all rewards within the Ledgers will find these new Pocket Watches already in their Equipment Chests!

Chest of Fortune

• The Chest of Fortune has now been locked away in the belly of the Burning Blade, challenging crews to sink this formidable ship to claim its prize.

• Crews who retrieve Chests of Fortune can now earn the next Grade of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation, unlocking access to the Fates of Fortune Fishing Rod, Shovel, Pocket Watch, Tankard and Speaking Trumpet.

• An additional reward has been retroactively added to Grade II of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation, which now contains the Fates of Fortune Gloves. Players who already earned Grade II prior to this update will be able to purchase the gloves from the Outpost clothing shops straight away.

Reaper’s Chests

• Crews chasing down the telltale beacon of the Reaper’s Chest or Reaper’s Bounty can earn the next Grade of the Reaper’s Riches Commendation, and start unlocking access to the Fates of Fortune Hurdy-Gurdy, Concertina and Scar.

Pirate Emporium

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!

• Radiant Comet Ship Collection

• Radiant Comet Weapon Bundle

• Radiant Comet Lantern

• Cloudburst, Treetop, Brightbill, Seaspray and Sugarspun Toucan pets

• Runway Emote Bundle

• Mayhem Ship Bundle

• Sting Tide Cutlass (free!)

Outpost Cosmetics

New Outpost Stock!

• Outpost clothing shops have received a shipment of brand new items and now offer the Proud Plume clothing set, available for gold.

• The Cephalopod Courtly Jacket, Whalebone Tattoo and Tentacled Terror Tattoo are all available from the Outpost clothing shops for those with enough gold to spare.

• Outpost weapon shops now carry a range of armaments from the hand-carved Carpenter’s weapon set.

• Outpost weapon shops also stock a selection of heavy swords and rapiers from the Kraken, Inky Kraken and Venomous Kraken sets, locked behind their associated Commendations.

New Throwing Knives

• The Outpost weaponsmiths now stock a choice of new throwing knives, all locked behind lofty accomplishments.

• The Cartographer Throwing Knives are unlocked upon completion of the Triple Threat Thrower Commendation, the Guardians of Fortune Throwing Knives unlock at Allegiance level 50 with the Guardians of Fortune, and the Servants of the Flame Throwing Knives unlock at Allegiance level 50 with the Servants of the Flame.

Season Six Legacy Cosmetics

• Cosmetics previously available during Season Six have arrived in Outpost shops and can now be yours in exchange for Doubloons!

• Players can now purchase the Naval Commander clothing set, along with a range of unique one-off items that were available during this Season. Pirate Legends can also pick up Belle’s Hat and Stranger’s Cutlass.

• The time-limited Dark Relics items, however, remain exclusive to players who participated in Season Six.

Gameplay Improvements

Post-Defeat Ship Sinking

• Once a ship is destroyed, the time taken for it to sink and release its cargo has been reduced, allowing the sunk crew to interact with the mermaid and head to their new location more quickly.

• While each ship previously had a unique sinking time, this update brings them to consistently shorter post-defeat sinking times.

Bone Caller Skeleton Improvements

• Summoned Bone Caller Skeletons will no longer uncover players using a hide emote to hide in plain sight.

• Players being chased by Bone Caller Skeletons will now be able to hide if they are able to lose line of sight and complete the hide emote before being found.

• Players can now lure Bone Caller Skeletons to a location by firing a weapon and hiding again, causing the skeletons to patrol the location of the sound.

Updates

PlayStation®5 Activities

• Before starting a Sea of Thieves session on PlayStation®5, players will now have access to two new Activities allowing them to make a headstart on their session. Players can select High Seas or Safer Seas from the control centre and be taken straight to Ship Selection in the front end.

• Players engaging in a Faction Battle via the Hourglass of Fate will now also have their battle status shown in the control centre, and shared on their Friend profile for others to see.

View Profile on PlayStation®5

• Players on PlayStation®5 will now have the ability to view another player’s Network profile by selecting View Profile from within the Crew Management and Guild Menus.

Fixed Issues

Gameplay

• When boarding a ship from the sea, players can no longer silence the boarding audio effects by grabbing the ladder while repeatedly holding out items, ensuring nearby players will always hear the signs that someone is boarding from the water.

• Players can once again summon text chat after rebinding it to either the C key on the keyboard or R3 button on PlayStation®5.

• Crews diving for an Hourglass battle as a Grade 1 Emissary, and earning enough following a win to skip straight to Grade 3, will now correctly progress Commendations that required Grade 2 status to unlock.

• Crews are no longer able to vote down an Emissary Flag in the short window after the sinking death knell is heard and before the ship is destroyed.

• The Gold Hoarders Boots can now be found in the correct shop at Outposts.

• Players using a mermaid to leave a stormy area and return to their ship should no longer find themselves sometimes unfortunately struck by lightning when arriving back on their ship.

• Snakes caught inside crates will now attack players when held and stationary.

Performance and Stability

• Players should no longer experience scenarios where the sea becomes frozen or reduced to moving slowly, significantly affecting gameplay.

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

The War Chest

• The Twin Shot Target Commendation is now visible in the War Chest when progress has not yet been made.

• Bone Caller Skeletons roaming a ship now offer a short grace period before attacking players returning from the Ferry of the Damned.

• Throwing a knife at a blocking player will now display the correct visual effects.

• Players can now retrieve Deadlock Jailer Throwing Knives embedded in the environment without having throwing knives in their loadout.

• When a charged shot is fired from a Double Barrel Pistol, the animation no longer shows the hammer being primed before reloading, allowing the weapon to now reload more quickly.

PlayStation®5

• When browsing Guild members on PS5®, players should no longer see other Guild members as anonymous.

• Guild members playing on PS5® should now consistently display their PlayStation™Network Icon alongside their gamertag.

• During a Faction Battle, crews on PS5® sailing out of bounds will now find their view desaturates as they leave the area, clearly indicating the danger.

Visual and Audio

• When a player boards a ship, the audio cue is now only heard around the vicinity of the ladder and not from further away.

• Battle music during Faction Battles will now continue to be heard after a player has died and returned from the Ferry of the Damned.

• Several wheels have been improved to prevent players’ hands from intersecting with the handles when turning.

• Pigs caught in a Pig Crate will now appear at the correct size.

• Transitioning from a Sleep or Sit Emote to any other emote now updates the camera zoom point correctly.

• When wielding a pocket watch, players will now flick the watch open.

• Improvements have been made to the blade textures of the Gold Leaf Cutlass.

• Performing the Scrappy Weapon Pose Emote no longer causes players’ hands to intersect with throwing knives.

• When a player is observed using a spyglass, the item should no longer intersect with their head when looking towards the ground.

• The grog inside the Evening Tide Tankard now appears correctly.

• The Legendary Spirit Pistol should now fire in line with the pistol’s centre point when aiming.

• Larger pirates wearing the Paradise Garden Costume should now fit snugly without visible seams.

• The colour of the Frozen Horizon Frigid Hair tips is now maintained when a headband is equipped. 

• Placing the Scrivener’s Writing Set on a ship now results in it sitting neatly in place.

• ‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – The skull that Guybrush finds in the catacombs now sits in his hands while animating.

• ‘The Quest for Guybrush’ – When unlocking the Summon the Beast shanty, the notification now shows the correct iconography.

Environment

• A visible hole in the Vault wall at Fetcher’s Rest has been filled.

• Improvements have been made to the shorelines at Plunder Valley and Sailors’ Bounty to ensure the waves crash smoothly onto the beaches.

• Treasure dropped near the Vault doors on Sailor’s Knot Stronghold will no longer fall beneath ground level.

• Pets will no longer be automatically removed from hangout spots within the Pirate Legend Hideout.

• Floating items in the Shrine of Ocean’s Fortune have been removed.

• Players can now smoothly pass through a gap under one of the platforms on the eastern side of Skull Keep without getting stuck.

• ‘The Legend of Monkey Island’ – The following portrait Trinkets now only fit on certain hanging spots around the ships to prevent them from intersecting with other items: Governor Guybrush Portrait, Governor of Mêlée Portrait and Governor Marley Portrait.

User Interface

• When attempting to invite players to a Guild, the invite menu should now consistently show all available friends.

• After navigating from the Discover tab on the Quest Table, returning to the Discover tab will retain focus on the previously selected option.

• Players diving to an encounter and receiving an extended wait in the Tunnels of the Damned will once again be shown notifications that the search is still in progress.

Accessibility

• Players on PC using the ‘Toggle Radial Menus’ accessibility setting will no longer find that pressing the Q and E keys together causes the Game Options menu to become stuck on screen.

Text and Localisation

• Players using French localisation will now find that the Seaposts have reverted to their English names as used previously.

• ‘The Fate of the Morningstar’ – Improvements have been made to the Tall Tale Quest Books to resolve a range of text issues when playing in Japanese.