Sea of Thieves is going new ways in 2022. In addition to new story missions every month starting with Season 6, players will be able to determine the story.
In a lengthy video message, the development team at Rare has revealed their plans for the future of Sea of Thieves. At the core of this is the idea that the game world should feel more alive and that players should decide how the story progresses.
In addition, there will be new adventure stories to explore every month, as well as mysteries that are set out over a longer period of time. In the future, Sea of Thieves will therefore be based on the three pillars:
- Seasons
- Adventures
- Mysteries
At the same time, however, a complete mode is going down the drain: the PvP Arena mode is being cancelled.
In addition to the video presentation, we also had the opportunity to ask Executive Producer Joe Neate and Creative Director Mike Chapman about the planned changes. What is planned for 2022 in Sea of Thieves, we summarise here in the article.
Table of Contents
Adventures: New story updates every month
The Tall Tale adventures in Sea of Thieves were great, but the supply of staged story missions stalled quite a bit. This is supposed to change in 2022, because Rare wants to add a new, cinematically staged adventure for you and your crew to the game every month. The highlight: Depending on how the majority of players decide in these missions, the further course of the story changes.
Unlike Tall Tales, these stories are also time-limited live events. So if you pause Sea of Thieves for a month, you might miss such a mission. After all, there are no commendations for these monthly changing adventures, only individual cosmetic items to unlock. But if you miss them, you won’t have a chance to make up for them.
The first adventure is “Shrouded Isles”. In this story, Larinna asks you to look after things at the Golden Sands Outpost. The otherwise sunny island is not only shrouded in ghostly fog, but also completely devastated and there is no trace of the inhabitants. In the course of this adventure, the pirate legend Belle supports you and sends you to several ghostly mist islands, where you also have to defeat the new ghost pirate type Soulflame Captain. “Shrouded Isles” runs from 17 February to 3 March, after which it will be replaced by the next chapter in the story.
Mysteries: Scavenger Hunt for Pirates & Creator
In addition to the monthly adventures, there will also be long-running mysteries. These scavenger hunts will extend over the whole year and will be constantly expanded. You will not only collect clues in the game, but also outside in the form of an ARG.
So detectives should also snoop on other websites, the Sea of Thieves social channels and other sources. Already, dozens of Sea of Thieves streamers and YouTubers regularly try to figure out Eastereggs hidden by the developers in the game, and with the Mysteries, this is now to be expanded further.
Logically, Rare did not want to reveal much about the content of these mysteries yet, but the first one will be a “Murder Mystery” – a murder case in which the players have to find the murderer of a popular character from the SoT universe.
Seasons: New gameplay mechanics, ranks & more
As in 2021, Sea of Thieves will also get a total of four content seasons in 2022. Each of these phases, which will run for around three months, will deliver new gameplay systems, the opportunity to climb 100-fame ranks and a new paid Plunder Pass with additional cosmetic items. With each season, there will also be three adventures and a continuation of the mystery campaign.
Season 6 is scheduled to begin in March 2022 and will bring Sea Forts into the world of Sea of Thieves for the first time. Unlike the skeleton forts, these mini-raids overrun by ghost pirates can also be mastered by single players and smaller crews. Depending on the region, there are three different types, at the end of which a large treasure beckons.
With Season 6, Pirate Legends will also be able to embark on a new type of repeatable voyage, during which they will also be able to influence the overall story. Among other things, high-level players will be able to dive into ship graveyards, explore ghost islands and search for treasure.
For the later seasons, there’s no such concrete info yet, but Rare promises “innovations for the way to play and progression”, “new quest types & more role-playing” as well as “new social possibilities for crews”.
Roadmap 2022 for Seasons 6, 7, 8 & 9
Season 6:
- From March 2022
- Sea Forts: mini-raids for individual crews against ghost pirates.
- New Legendary Voyages with Ghost Island Expedition, Ship Graveyard Dive and Treasure Hunts. Influence the storyline.
- Two more new adventures
- Beginning of the Mystery
- New Shop Content
- New Plunder Pass
- Community Tag
Season 7:
- From June 2022
- Changes in game type and progression
- Three new adventures
- Continuation of the Mystery
- New Shop Content
- New Plunder Pass
- Community Tag
Season 8:
- From September 2022
- New quest types & more role play
- Three new quests
- Continuation of the Mystery
- New Shop Content
- New Plunder Pass
- Community Tag
Season 9:
- From December 2022
- New social opportunities for crews
- Three new adventures
- Continuation of the Mystery
- New Shop Content
- New Plunder Pass
- Community Tag
Arena: PvP mode will be switched off forever
Bad news for the unloved stepchild among the Sea of Thieves modes. Because after months of persistent problems, bugs and glitches, Rare has decided to close the PvP arena for good.
So, on the total game time in Sea of Thieves, Arena would only account for around 2% worldwide. Nevertheless, with every gameplay change in Adventure Mode, Rare would have to implement them for Arena as well, which is a staff and resource expense they don’t want to bear in the future. Instead, the team wants to focus entirely on Adventure Mode for the future.
In the interview, Executive Producer Joe Neate and Creative Director Mike Chapman explain that this was not an easy decision, but it was made for the good of the game’s future. The developers thank the dedicated and sworn arena community and want to give cosmetic items to all who have played the mode as compensation.
It is still unclear what these are and whether the cosmetics of the swashbuckler faction will no longer be unlockable in the future or will be offered elsewhere.
Sea of Thieves 2022: Will it even surpass 2021?
2021, Rare pulled off a huge surprise with the Pirates of the Caribbean update “A Pirate’s Life”, which sent player numbers soaring to unprecedented heights with over 25 million pirates. Together with the season model, which was also only introduced last year, more players have played Sea of Thieves regularly than ever before, according to the developers. The trailer shows how much Pirates of the Caribbean atmosphere was in the update:
But as Mike Chapman tells us in an interview, there was always a dip in player numbers in the middle of the season. The reason: Previous live events were mostly dull tasks that didn’t keep as many pirates in line as the start of a new season with new gameplay mechanics. So for 2022, Rare is following a new course of keeping the game “alive” over the span of a season and providing reasons to sail off again on a regular basis.
As successful as A Pirate’s Life was: for Rare, the story update created in collaboration with Disney was a huge feat that kept large parts of the team busy for many months. Rare does not want to rule out similar projects in the future, but players should not expect an expansion of similar dimensions any time soon. Instead, Rare wants to introduce smaller innovations more often and involve players in story decisions.
