Each new season of Sea of Thieves has brought several changes and added new content to improve the gameplay and pirating experience. When it hit live servers on Jan. 23, season 11 majorly overhauled key features like quests and traveling for both high-level and beginner players.
It’s a great opportunity for seasoned players to not only get the season rewards but also try out the new features and Trading Companies level progression. New players, on the other hand, will have a better experience with a new start directly in your ship instead of the Outpost and enjoy the quest menu overhaul.
What’s new in the Sea of Thieves season 11 patch?
Since it’s a season patch, there were a lot of things added and fixed at once. We’ll cover the major changes you’ll notice as soon as you hop on the Sea of Thieves servers and other major improvements made to gameplay. If you wish to know about the minor details, you can visit the release notes available on the Sea of Thieves website.
Here are the major changes that arrived in Sea of Thieves with season 11:
- Quest Table
- Diving to Voyages
- Changes to the Trading Companies’ progression
- New season rewards
- New loot exclusive to Voyages
- New cosmetics
Sea of Thieves season 11 patch notes
Quest Table and the Quest Menu overhaul
Players can access the list of Voyages and Tall Tales from the Quest Table in your ship. In the same menu, players can see suggestions for their next adventure, active time-limited community events, and available Trading Companies Voyages.
Most Trading Companies had their max level raised to 100 and after reaching it, players will unlock a Distinction, resetting the level. Each Distinction will reward collectibles and unlock rings that represent the level of Distinction of that trading Company.
Here are other changes you’ll find involving quests and the Quest Table:
- Raid Voyages are new Trading Company-themed versions of World Events with unique treasure types on offer.
- Some reputation is now earned at the point of Voyage completion
- New Tutorial Voyages led by the Pirate Lord are in place for new players and can be revisited from the Quest Table.
Diving as a form of fast travel
When picking a Voyage or a Tall Tale, you’ll have the option to dive directly to the location instead of sailing all the way to the final destination. If you and your crew prefer to sail, the dive option isn’t mandatory.
The dev team said in the Pirates of the Quest Table: Official Sea of Thieves Season 11 Deep Dive video that they made gave that option not only to get players into action faster but also to increase the chances of ships carrying loot coming back from a Voyage instead of carrying nothing, because they are still on their way to get the treasure.
Sailing and all the troubles you can run into while sailing will still be a big part of the Sea of Thieves experience, since players won’t be able to dive back to the Outpost to sell the loot and get their gold. They can dive, but all the loot they just got will be lost at sea if they do.
Rewards
With the new season, players can level up their Renown up to 100 and receive a reward at each level. season 11 will reward all players with the Cunning Serpent clothing set and the Swift-Winged Wayfarer collectibles.
The Plunder Pass rewards the Well-Travelled Trader ship set, including Collector’s Sails and Figurehead, and the Well-Travelled Trader Hat, Jacket, and Gloves. In season 11, each Trading Companies will reward a themed Speaking Trumpet and Lantern to the emissaries at the top of the Emmissary Ledgers.
Here’s a couple of changes for the Chest of Fortune and the Reapers’s Chest during season 11:
- The Chest of Fortune will surface following the defeat of an emergent Fleet of Fortune. These special Skeleton Fleet encounters are signified by a glowing red cloud in the sky when active.
- Those who retrieve Chests of Fortune can now earn the next Grade of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation, unlocking access to the Fates of Fortune Cannon, Flag, Capstan, and Wheel.
- Crews coveting 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 Blunderbuss and Eye of Reach.
Smaller rewards players can find in the world were improved:
- The rewards found within a sunken shipwreck have now been improved.
- Crews defeating an Ashen Guardian will now be rewarded with a map to an Ashen Chest on the same island along with a Key to unlock it, no longer requiring them to seek out a Key Master.
Gameplay
There are some changes to gameplay that will affect more players than others. For example, it’s more important to know that Emissary Voyages are now lost if the ship sinks or if the Emissary Flag is lowered at the Outpost than knowing that Cloth Crates will no longer become drenched if they’re being held while swimming.
We selected the ones you should pay more attention to:
Improved Hit Markers
- Players now have further control over the hit markers shown when striking targets with a projectile weapon.
- The game settings now enable switching from the existing client-predicted markers to server-confirmed markers, which only display hits confirmed directly by the server for improved accuracy.
Bounty Voyage Improvements
- A new Order of Souls Bounty Voyage has been added which tasks crews with hunting a Skeleton Lord that drops Dark Relics.
- A new Ghost Ship Voyage within The Devil’s Roar is now available from the Order of Souls.
- Bounty contracts now provide the landmark location of the target along with the island to help guide players to the correct location.
Emissary Voyage Improvements
- Upon reaching Emissary Grade V for a Trading Company, crews can now head to Morrow’s Peak Outpost and speak to their Company representative for an Emissary Voyage in The Devil’s Roar that will yield Ashen-themed rewards.
- Emissary Voyages are now lost if the ship sinks or the Emissary Flag is lowered at the Outpost.
Merchant Contract Improvements
- Crews now recover the required Animal Crates from the beaches on the contracted island.
- All requested animals are now guaranteed to be found on the contracted island, including the various rarities.
- Crews will no longer trigger emergent skeleton encounters on their contracted island, to reduce scenarios where animals are caught in the crossfire.
- Contracts now complete when the crew returns them to the Outpost, rather than upon catching the animals on the island.
Treasure Vault Improvements
- Treasure Vaults now scale the available raiding time to the size of the crew; the smaller the crew, the more time to collect the treasure.
- The braziers surrounding the Vault’s altar are now extinguished over time as an indicator of how long the crew has left before the door slams shut.
Skeleton Encounter Balancing
- Ambush skeleton groups now dynamically scale based on the size of the crew; the bigger the crew, the more ambush skeletons to fight.
- Defeating a Skeleton Captain now yields increased rewards and ammunition, with the potential to recover Reaper’s Chests and Reaper’s Bounty, Gunpowder Barrels and ammunition-stocked Resource Crates. These new rewards are also recoverable from the same island as the encounter.
Message in a Bottle Rewards
- Quests from a Message in a Bottle are now significantly more rewarding and likely more valuable than the Voyage already underway.
Minor updates
There are a few minor updates that some players should take note of since it may affect their progression in the game. For example, several legacy Commendations have been retired, and their associated rewards are now unlocked through other ways.
Some achievements also had their completion criteria updated. In case you were working on an updated achievement, you’ll have to start over following the new criteria, but those who already completed any of the changed achievements can keep them.
