The latest Sea of Thieves update is live, addresses ship respawn death issues and nerfs the Blunderbuss

An excited pirate from Sea of Thieves.

Rare has just released a brand new update for Sea of Thieves on Xbox One and PC in a bid to improve players swashbuckling adventures. With a download size clocking in at 1.2 GB for both platforms, the update comes off of the back of the studio’s recent blog post, which promised to deliver several tweaks and changes to iron out issues players have been encountering at sea. 

One of the most noteworthy features of the update is the ‘message from beyond’ addition. Players will now see a message from the Ferryman nailed to the door post on the Ferry of the Damned. The post will instruct players how to scuttle their ship to get out of a hairy situation, saying “this is a reminder to players that if their ship and/or crew is in a position they want to get out of, simply going to “My Crew” in the settings page and voting to “Scuttle Ship” will sink the ship and start the crew in a new location.” 

This feature is Rare’s way of trying to help players combat the recent issue surrounding endless killing respawn cycles. Hopefully this will go some way to tackling enemy ship invaders who could rather frustratingly keep on killing crew members as they respawn. 

The studio has also been checking what weapons players have frequently been choosing and looking at the damage dealt to make some balancing changes. The Blunderbuss, which packs a mighty punch at close-range, has been given a bit of a damage reduction, while the Eye of Reach sniper-like weapon has been given an increase. Going forward, Rare plans to closely monitor weapon damage stats to keep tweaking it further as needed. 

And some fixed issues will also help reduce the salt levels when any pirating escapades get cut short without warning after a server goes down. Players will now get at least a 30 minute advance warning before a server shuts down. Hopefully this is something players won’t have to see all too often since the studio is working on countering server shutdowns unless it’s for maintenance, but having some warning if it does happen is better than no warning at all. 

Implemented performance improvements will counter poor ping times reported in South America, as well as multiple reported server crashes. A couple of adjustments to the PC side of things has been brought in, including increased mouse sensitivity for better aiming and mouse scrolling rebinding controls. While some of the more annoying issues are still being resolved, the update is a good start.  

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good. 

Latest in Action
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 reveal art
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 is in development following the explosive success of Space Marine 2, and it's promising even bigger battles
How to enter GTA 5 cheats
Despite its history of taking action against GTA mods, a Rockstar-approved GTA 5 modding tool is on the way to "assist the modding community" in the wake of the recent PC upgrade
best zombie games
The Last of Us "became the brand name for quality and storytelling within games" says Joel actor Troy Baker: "It became like the fridge"
Rift Apart
Retiring Insomniac boss says developers should still tackle new genres, but it's much riskier these days due to time and money
Dollman being buckled into a seat in Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima left "a number of clues" in the new Death Stranding 2 trailer, including hints of a day/night cycle
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Ubisoft shareholder plans protest in response to mismanagement, Assassin's Creed Shadows delays, and alleged acquisition talks with Microsoft and EA
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2, dock and TV
Report: Nintendo analysts expect Switch 2 to cost at least $400, have a great launch lineup with new 3D Mario and Metroid Prime 4, and be the biggest console launch in history
Silent Hill f
Famed Higurashi When They Cry creator Ryukishi07 says he worked so hard on the Silent Hill f story that "I don't think I would mind if it was the last thing I ever wrote"
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors devs launch official wiki "free of ads, banners, and all of the junk that gets in your way," joining Stardew Valley and Terraria in community wikis with minimal intrusions
Gachiakuta season 1 promo art featuring Rudo
The anime for stylish action manga Gachiakuta will be a Crunchyroll exclusive, and the hit series could be the next big shonen star
WalkScape
"Staying MTX and advertisement free is absolutely key": Almost 20 years later, RuneScape fan turns his MMO love into an old-school RPG where fitness is the grind
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition Magellan Man
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding 2's Collector's Edition 15-inch Magellan Man is part of his studio's "spirit and soul," so the crew went to China to make sure it's good enough