Compulsive ahoy, pirate. season 8 of sea of thieves launches tomorrow, offering on-demand shipboard battle and a faction system that pits good ghost pirates against evil skeleton pirates. It’s all woven into the existing open world, with your ship sinking beneath the waves when you tell it you want to go hunting.
If you want more information, you can watch the developers properly dig deep in their latest updated video.
As they discuss, to trigger a battle you’ll have to go to the new hourglass on the captain’s desk and tell it which side you’re on. That takes you under the waves, speeding toward a crew from the opposition whose crew skills (based on previous wins and losses) are right for you. There’s no escaping, once that happens: if one of the crew tries to run away, their hourglass will explode and sink the ship.
I like it. This sounds like an elegant way to bring quick PvP battles to those who want them, without disturbing those who would rather do their usual pirate stuff. It also has a neat layer of risk and reward, because chaining successful battles together earns you more progress – but you only get that after you’re back in port. Winning four matches in a row allows opposing faction members to see you on the map, and makes your ship cool and vibrant.
You can also dig up faction treasures when going out, which can cause players from the opposing faction to be knocked down. Defending your ship will earn you rewards for your faction based on how much treasure you’ve accumulated, with new cosmetics purchasable along the way to unlock new areas in the game. tavern of Legend of the Pirates and Lair of Death. The top bonus turns you into a skeleton or a ghost. Great.
You can buy Sea Of Thieves for £17.50 on the Microsoft Store. It’s also available on Game Pass.
