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Sea of Thieves 2022 roadmap reveals sea forts, mysteries, and more

Rare is looking to add more stories to the game that shape the world of Sea of Thieves.

Sam Chandler

January 27, 2022 11:40 PM

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The world of Sea of Thieves is constantly changing and evolving, and it looks like Rare is doubling down on the player experience this year. The team behind the hugely popular pirate game has revealed the Sea of Thieves 2022 roadmap, which looks to add Sea Forts, monthly stories, as well as new mechanics and Pirate Legend content (finally).

The above 20 minute Sea of Thieves 2022 preview video gives a small insight into how the world of Sea of Thieves is changing this year. Firstly, Adventures are coming to the game. This is a new type of narrative-driven live event that will shape the Sea of Thieves based on how players engage with the content. Beyond Adventures, Rare will also be creating something called Mysteries. This looks to blend real-world stories and puzzles with Sea of Thieves in a sort of ARG experience.

Starting with Season 6 will be the Shrouded Islands Adventure. This Adventure will focus on Golden Sands Outpost, which has been abandoned after a terrible fog has rolled in, plunging the once bright and cheery island into gloomy darkness. This Adventure will also introduce Belle, a character who has appeared in the franchise’s literature and who will be coming to the aid of the Pirate Lord.

Sea Forts are one of the other new additions coming to the game. These sound similar to the Skeleton Forts, though, judging from the above video, it seems like players won’t be fighting other players over who gets to keep the treasure. Perhaps the Sea Forts are not a server-wide event but tailored to each crew like voyages?

Beyond these new additions for all players, Pirate Legends can finally breathe a sigh of relief. It seems as if Pirate Legends will finally receive new Legend-specific content. These voyages offer more story elements than standard quests and will also change each time you play. This request for Pirate Legend-specific content has been around since the game released back in 2018, so it’s great to finally have this wish fulfilled.

Finally, Rare also announced that it would be removing Arena from the game. This competitive-focused mode was added to the game with the Anniversary Update in 2019. Though it did receive an update to change how the game mode worked, Rare revealed that less than 2% of player time is spent playing the game mode. Executive Producer Joe Neate went into more detail in a post that explained that, even though the Arena was no longer receiving updates, the new additions to Adventure Mode meant that the team had to constantly update the obsolete mode to make sure it didn't break. By removing it from the game, Rare is able to focus those resources on improving the main user experience.

It sounds like there are big things in-store for Sea of Thieves in 2022. With new story-driven Adventures hitting the game, brand new mechanics, and some Pirate Legend-specific content, we could be looking at yet another golden age of piracy. Make sure you keep it locked to Shacknews as we bring you the latest on 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