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Sea of Thieves' Shrouded Spoils launches with update 1.4.0

New skeleton forts have been activated, greater ship customization, thick fog, old content dropping loot, skeleton ship improvements, raise your tankard, and more!

Sam Chandler

November 29, 2018 5:00 AM

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Sea of Thieves continues to impress with its seemingly never-ending release of free content updates, and now with update 1.4.0 comes Shrouded Spoils. This massive update adds a lot of reasons for players to go back and experience some of the content that was introduced at the start of the year. Plus, the ship customization options have been increased to include a few of the tools players use during every voyage.

One of the biggest gripes players had with a few activities post-launch was that there was little reason to return and experience old content, and Rare hopes to address that with Shrouded Spoils. The kraken, megalodon, and mermaid statues now all drop loot upon completion, giving players a very clear reason to pursue these activities.

The kraken and megalodon encounters have also been improved with added difficulty to the former and more varieties of the latter. The kraken can now attack any ship size, so sloops are now fair game!

Ship customization is also a big talking point for players, and Rare has heard and responded in kind. The cannons, anchor, and helm can now all be customized to match the sails and paintjob of the sloop, brigantine, and galleons.

Speaking of ships, the skeleton ships have a new vessel, the sloop, and much like the player version this one lacks firepower but makes up for it with manoeuvrability. Skeleton ships will now be found sailing around the Sea of Thieves much like other players, though the skeleton cloud still remains for a guaranteed fight. The roaming skeleton ships aren’t always hostile, so it’s up to the player whether to engage or let them on their way.

Even the old skeleton content has been expanded with six new skeleton forts being activated across the seas. Players will no longer be limited to Crow’s Nest, Shark Fin, and Keel Haul fort and can now look forward to fighting on some of the other previously unused strongholds. The treasure found within the forts has also been updated to include some skeleton-themed items for the merchants, who had previously missed out on Stronghold-specific loot.

The Stronghold Gunpowder Keg and Ancient Bone Dust can be turned in at the Merchant Alliance for a price equivalent to the Stronghold Skull and Stronghold Chest. Alternatively, use the Stronghold Gunpowder Keg as a weapon, as it generates a larger explosion!

There are a lot of other improvements coming with the Shrouded Spoils update, but I’ll let you read all about them below. Be sure to check out our Sea of Thieves guide and walkthrough for everything you need to know about Rare's delightful pirate game!

Sea of Thieves update 1.4.0

Download size:

• Xbox One: 2.94GB
• Xbox One X: 2.94GB
• Windows 10: 4.22GB

Shrouded Spoils

• Expanded Ship Customisation - Pirates can now flaunt their riches by customising their ship's wheel, cannons and capstan! These new cosmetics can be bought from Shipwrights across the Sea of Thieves and their stock is split by region (matching locations to our existing sets). So if you want to round out a cosmetic set, visit the Shipwright you bought it from the first time around!
• Fog - Additional care needs to be taken when sailing the seas, as fog has now been reported across the Sea of Thieves!
• Megalodon Variety - More of these toothy fiends (each with their own distinctive look) have reached the surface. Shrouded Spoils introduces the Crested Queen, Shadowmaw, Ancient Terror and the extremely rare Shrouded Ghost!
• Kraken Updates - The difficulty of Kraken encounters has been increased and balanced for different crew sizes, meaning it can now assault any ship, even your Sloop! Watch out for its new slap attack too. The seas just got more perilous...
• Kraken and Megalodon Rewards - Loot can now be found bobbing on the surface after defeating a Megalodon or Kraken.
• Activated Skeleton Forts - Six additional Skeleton Forts have now been occupied by the undead.
• Fort Commodities - Loot in Forts can now include the extra-powerful Stronghold Gunpowder Keg. Ancient Bone Dust crates can also be found and exchanged for Gold and reputation with the Merchant Alliance.
• Skeleton Ships - Players can now encounter passive and aggressive emergent Skeleton Ships anywhere in the world! Passive ships just want to go about their business but they will fight back if you attack them. Best of luck if one of the more aggressive ones surfaces near you...
• Mermaid Statues - These have reappeared on the sea bed of the Sea of Thieves! They also now drop Gems when defeated which can be cashed in with any Trading Company for Gold and reputation.
• Raise your Tankard - You can now raise your grog to fellow pirates to celebrate a lucrative adventure or commiserate a crewmate sent to the Ferry of the Damned.
• Time-Limited Items - Spend your hard-earned Doubloons on the Wailing Barnacle sails, hull, figurehead, flag, cannons, wheel and capstan. These won't be available forever, so buy them while you can!
• Commendations - Shrouded Spoils introduces 17 additional Commendations for pirates to achieve.
• Commendation Grouping - Commendations in the quick menu are now grouped by campaign/Bilge Rat Adventure to make them easier to navigate.
• Pirate Legend Commendations - 20 additional Commendations have been added as part of this update exclusively for Pirate Legends to pursue.
• Bilge Rat Titles - Shrouded Spoils introduces 11 additional titles. Are you a Legendary Kraken Hunter or Hoarder of Mermaid Treasure? The Pirate Legends of the seas can now also become Pioneers of Athena's Fortune.
• Bilge Rat Doubloons - Earn a total of 355 Doubloons by achieving the Commendations added as part of Shrouded Spoils. These Doubloon rewards are here to stay!

Cosmetics

• Stream Sailor Makeup - This new look, inspired by a famous pirate who was known for her sense of style and loyal following is now stocked across all Outpost's.
• Sea Dogs Ship Cosmetics - The Sea Dogs capstan, wheel and cannons are now available to purchase from the Shipwright in The Wilds. These are locked behind progression with the Order of Souls.
• Sovereign Ship Cosmetics - The Sovereign capstan, wheel and cannons are now available to purchase from the Shipwright in The Ancient Isles. These are locked behind progression with the Gold Hoarders.
• Admiral Ship Cosmetics - The Admiral capstan, wheel and cannons are now available to purchase from the Shipwright in The Shores of Plenty. These are locked behind progression with the Merchant Alliance.
• Kraken Ship Cosmetics - The Kraken capstan, wheel and cannons are now available for purchase from the Shipwright in The Devil's Roar.
• Bone Crusher Ship Cosmetics - The Bone Crusher capstan, wheel and cannons are now available to purchase from the Shipwright in The Devil's Roar.
• Ocean Crawler Ship Cosmetics - The Ocean Crawler capstan, wheel and cannons are now available to purchase from the Shipwright in The Devil's Roar.
• Pirate Legend Cosmetics - The Legend capstan, wheel and cannons can now be purchased from the Shipwright within the Pirate Legends' Hideout. Alongside the ship additions, the hideout is also stocking the Legend shovel, compass, lantern, tankard, spyglass and pocket watch. These require various Pirate Legend Commendations to be completed before they can be purchased.
• Ghost Sail and Flag - These cosmetics have now been updated and appear with an eerie glow!

Updates

• Cannonball Radial - When docked to a cannon, players can now select which type of cannonball to load from the nifty new radial menu.
• Achievement Rebalancing - We've listened to feedback and adjusted the requirements of some of the achievements related to cashing in items. These are: Black Powder Merchant, Merchant Voyager, Merchant Forager, Voyager of Lost Souls, Golden Voyager, Hoarder of Barnacled Gold, Hoarder of the Captain’s Gold and Master Hunter of Villainous Skulls. Players who earned those achievements before the rebalance will receive an exclusive in-game item over the next couple of weeks to mark their prowess. If you find you now meet the requirements, just cash in one more item to trigger your achievement!
• Devil's Roar Rebalancing - Based on player feedback and data analysis, The Devil's Roar has cooled off a little. Volcanoes will now erupt less frequently and volcanic rocks will hit players and their ships less often.
• Gunpowder Barrels - Explosions from Gunpowder Barrels now damage Kraken tentacles.
• Treasure Glint - Sunken or floating treasure will now glint, making it easier to spot.
• Rowboat Push - The angle from which you can push a stuck Rowboat has been improved, which should make it easier to get it out of tight spots!
• Hear That Grog - Players will now hear the hearty slosh of their grog as they jump with, walk with or raise their tankard. Cheers!
• Rowboat Docking - Players can now dock/detach the Rowboat from their ship while sitting in the Rowboat.

Performance Improvements

We are constantly reviewing the performance and stability of each patch and providing performance optimisations and stability improvements.

Fixed Issues

Gameplay

• Smashed rum bottles will still appear smashed when returning from the Ferry of the Damned.
• The ship's bell is correctly affected by the wind and turbulence in a storm.
• In Trading Company shops in non-English languages, Company items will now have the required rank translated.
• Stats that contribute to Commendations are now tracked when completing Skeleton Ship battles as a Pirate Legend.
• Player camera angles can no longer become incorrectly clamped after being grabbed by a Kraken tentacle.
• Players can no longer potentially be sucked through the ship by the Kraken when targeted.
• Fixed several issues which caused player camera chaos after being thrown by the Kraken.
• Skeleton Ships will no longer ping into the air on occasion.
• Players will no longer be teleported if they run into the head of a Kraken tentacle as it wraps around their ship.
• Upon leaving and returning to a caged pig, it will no longer be difficult to feed when holding a banana.
• If drowned by a Kraken tentacle, players will no longer be locked in a 180 degree camera rotation when spawning on the Ferry of the Damned.
• Equipped ship flags will persist after a crew opts to scuttle their ship.
• Players can no longer buy Letters of Recommendation from Duke when they are already at the max level with the selected Trading Company.
• Snakes in baskets can no longer attack players through the decks of ships.
• During Skeleton Ship battles there will no longer be occasional long delays between waves.

Server Migration

• Players who defeat a Fort and migrate will no longer find the Fort door shut, making it impossible to collect their treasure.
• Migrated treasure will now sink after the standard duration has expired.
• Crews are now eligible for server migration when they have a Rowboat docked to their ship.
• After migrating, players will now once again receive pop-ups when digging up treasure chests for in-progress voyages.
• If ship barrels are empty when players migrate, they will no longer get restocked.
• After server migration, players can no longer get into a state where they can't loot barrels.

Sound and Visuals

• While selecting a ship, players will now hear sound effects to accompany the character animations on the left side of the screen.
• SFX will no longer incorrectly repeat.
• Smoke VFX will now appear correctly when shooting any gun while swimming on the surface of the water.
• Upon charming and killing a snake, the hissing noise will no longer persist in that location.
• Skeletons on Skeleton Ships will no longer occasionally T-pose when moving around the ship.
• The Ghost Hook will no longer overlap with items held in players' hands.
• Campfire flames no longer clip through the cooking pot at Stephen's Spoils Seapost.
• The "We Shall Sail Together" music is no longer missing from multiple Hideout entrances.
• When first approaching a Skeleton Galleon, it is no longer temporarily displayed as a player Galleon.

Environment

• When looking at clouds from underwater, they no longer have a dark halo.
• When looking at underwater explosions from above the surface, they no longer have a dark halo.
• Skeleton Ship Clouds will no longer be hidden by other clouds.
• Players will no longer collide with the terrain and fail to fire out of the cannon on the East of Ashen Reaches.
• Players are no longer able to walk up the vertical rock on the West of Morrow's Peak Outpost.
• Fixed a rock which players could see through on Flintlock Peninsula.
• If there is a Gunpowder Barrel explosion inside a Skeleton Fort keep, it will no longer cause Gunpowder Barrels within the vault to explode.
• The moon no longer appears in front of the clouds.
• Water will no longer temporarily appear gelatinous upon approach.
• Players will no longer be teleported when swimming into the pier on Sanctuary Outpost.

UI

• Commendation pop-ups no longer appear twice.
• Players' titles are now still displayed in the escape menu after they've died.
• The top right of the Vanity Chest UI will now correctly update when players equip a different title.

Known Issues

• Players migrated while standing in a Rowboat will be teleported to the middle of the map.
• After buying Company Promotions on the Morrow's Peak Outpost, traders don't have new voyages to sell.
• Traders will have voyages if the player rejoins the game, or waits until 6am on the next in-game day.

Source: Sea of Thieves

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler