Sea of Thieves release notes (August 22, 2024): Patch revealed

The Sea of Thieves August 22 release notes have officially been revealed and the latest update has brought a plethora of changes to the game. From strengthening the Blunderbuss knockback effects to several bug fixes, this update has a lot to offer. The game has also added brand new items on the Pirate Emporium Page for players to purchase.

To learn more about the latest Sea of Thieves release notes, read below.

Sea of Thieves August 22, 2024 release notes

Here are all the changes done to Sea of Thieves after today's update:

The Flame Rises

Returning the Burning Blade in Battle

Crews in command of the Burning Blade are now prevented from returning the ship to The Reaper’s Hideout while still in combat. Rival ships in close proximity to the Burning Blade will prevent it from being returned.
A majority vote from the crew will now be required when pledging to become the crew of the Burning Blade, or when returning the ship to The Reaper’s Hideout.
Any crew votes to return the Burning Blade to The Reaper’s Hideout will now be cleared if the ship is sailed away from the island, and the vote will need to be retaken upon returning to the vicinity.

Gameplay Improvements

Blunderbuss Rework

The blunderbuss knockback effects have now been strengthened, with close-range shots now consistently propelling players forcefully backward and applying more vertical height to repel boarders over ledges and obstacles.
The spread pattern of the blunderbuss has been widened, both when firing from the hip and aiming down sights, maximizing the knockback potential at close range.
Players propelled backward by a blunderbuss shot no longer have movement control while in the air, ensuring they are forced in the direction determined by the blast.
New visual effects have been added to the blunderbuss, with white-hot debris, smoke, and distortion effects identifying the effective range of its new knockback strength.
The damage dealt by each pellet fired from the blunderbuss has been slightly reduced, reducing the total output of the weapon to 90 damage. As a result, the blunderbuss will no longer be able to perform a one-hit kill on a player with full health.
Pellets fired from the blunderbuss now fizzle out at long range, reducing the overall range of the blunderbuss and cementing its role as a close-range tactical choice.

Horn of Fair Winds Availability

The Horn of Fair Winds is now more easily discovered within the world. These items are guaranteed to be found within Siren Treasury Vaults, and now have an increased chance of being salvaged from shipwrecks. In addition to these specific locations, there is a small chance of finding a Horn of Fair Winds washed up on islands across the Sea of Thieves.
To balance out this increased availability, the gold awarded when cashing in a Horn of Fair Winds has now been reduced. As a reminder, the gold amount earned is not linked to the power remaining within the Horn, so blast away!

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Pirate Emporium

Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets, and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium page to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

Motley Mariner Ship Collection
Motley Mariner Weapon Bundle
Motley Mariner Costume Set
Motley Mariner Ship’s Crest
Motley Mariner Trinket
Motley Mariner Drum
Ashen Curse Owl
King’s Ransom Weapon Bundle
King’s Ransom Ship’s Crest
Idle Conversationalist Emote Bundle
Omen Ship Bundle
Red Card Emote (free!)

Pirate Emporium Browsing Improvements

The Pirate Emporium store experience has been improved with an expanded ‘Browse All’ section added to the top bar, allowing players to more easily scour the wealth of items available to purchase.
Within this new menu, players can filter items by category such as weapons, ships, and equipment, then dive deeper to find specific types such as cannons, pistols, and banjos.
Players can also sort these filtered items by name or by price to help them find exactly what they are looking for.

Outpost Cosmetics

New Outpost Stock!

The Outpost clothing shops have received a fresh shipment of items and now offer the Simian Courtly Jacket and several colorful new halter tops, all available for gold.
The Outpost weaponsmiths now stock a selection of weapons from the new Stonebark Carpenter’s weapon set.

Fixed Issues

Gameplay

When attacking players with throwing knives, a missed throw will no longer incorrectly cause them to take damage.
Attacking Gunpowder Skeletons with throwing knives and directly hitting the keg should now consistently detonate it.
Crews diving to the submerged wreck as part of a Lost Shipment Voyage should no longer find an empty Captain’s cabin on arrival.
Players are now targeted correctly by enemy Bone Caller Skeletons after migrating across servers.
Crews can once again discover Chests of Ancient Tributes in the following Sunken Kingdom locations: Shrine of Ocean’s Fortune, Shrine of Ancient Tears, and Shrine of Tribute.
Ship Milestones for Voyage Quests Completed now increment properly depending on the crew’s size.
Attempting to deliver Athena’s Fortune treasure to an Outpost will now guide players to the correct location.
The Logbook of a Captained ship will no longer continue to gain progress while the crew is pledged to the Burning Blade.

Blade of Souls

Players can no longer bypass the stun when missing a heavy strike with the Blade of Souls by dropping the sword.
The Blade of Souls is now correctly positioned in a player’s hands view while running or swimming.
The Blade of Souls is now correctly stashed on a player’s back while climbing ladders.
The correct icon will now show on the Map Table when a player is holding the Blade of Souls after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.

The Burning Blade

Crews pledged to the Burning Blade should no longer be open to invasion by rival crews as part of an Hourglass battle.
The Burning Blade will no longer be able to enter the Tunnels of the Damned as part of a Tall Tale.
Crews burying items while pledged to the Burning Blade will now find that Map Bundles appear in the Captain’s cabin.
Players will now see the Burning Blade announcement banners only once upon approaching and not repeatedly when engaging or returning from the Ferry of the Damned.
The banner for pledging to take control of the Burning Blade now correctly displays the name of the crew that accomplished it.
If a Burning Blade crew leaves the game, nearby crews will no longer see the ‘Defeated’ notification.
The crew of the Burning Blade can no longer access the Ship Customisation Chest at Outposts after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
The Ashen Roar will no longer get stuck and become unusable if the Burning Blade moves servers while it is heating up after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
Storage merfolk will now recognize the Burning Blade when the pledged crew has stored treasure in the depths of the Sunken Kingdom.
Treasure from the Burning Blade’s hold will now be released and rise to the surface consistently when the ship is sunk.
The allied skeleton crew on the Burning Blade will no longer react when hit by the pledged crew.
The Burning Blade’s middle mast repair location has been moved to avoid the location of the bell.
Losing the Burning Blade within the Devil’s Shroud no longer repeats defeat notifications for the crew and rival players nearby.
Joining a session in progress on the Burning Blade no longer starts battle music if the ship is not in combat.
Battle music for the Burning Blade crew now consistently starts when a ship comes into battle range and ceases when the last ship leaves.
The Burning Blade will no longer fire the Ashen Roar when it is considered downed or flipped.
Players can no longer become stuck in the ship’s barrels and be ejected from the ship.
A notification has been added to indicate that The Reaper’s Bones Emissary Flag can’t be lowered when in control of the Burning Blade.
The Burning Blade is no longer able to migrate to a location where another Burning Blade is already present.
Completing Rituals at a Skeleton Camp now requires the Burning Blade to be closer to the island.
Captains defeating the Burning Blade should now consistently be rewarded with the Blade of Souls.
Bone Caller Skeletons will now appear on the Burning Blade when summoned.
Players using Controller Aim Assist will no longer find that allied skeletons on the Burning Blade trigger the assist effects.
The Blade of Souls will only be shown next to Captain Flameheart while the Burning Blade is not roaming the seas.
Improvements have been made to the visual quality of the carpet in the Captain’s cabin on the Burning Blade after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
While sailing the Burning Blade, the border of the Devil’s Shroud now appears in the correct locations around the world map after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.

Skeleton Camps

Improvements have been made to the Skeleton Camp and Ancient Temple environments to enhance navigation and visual quality.
Constellations will now be correctly highlighted on the pillars after a failed attempt.

Environment

The feet of Barbary and Capuchin pets will now align properly when perched on the bar at taverns.
Barrels at Blind Man’s Lagoon will now be solid and will not allow players to walk through them.
Pet perch spots in the Pirate Legend Hideout have been updated, allowing players to place dogs in various locations.
Pets in the Pirate Legend Hideout no longer partially float in the air when placed on a certain stool.
The floating Wild Rose journal at the Lagoon of Whispers has been placed correctly so that it appears to sit on the surface below.
Gold in the coffers at Picaroon Palms can now be collected by players.
Players should no longer experience stuttering when going down the stairs at Sea Forts.
‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players can now sit on benches at Isla Tesoro without sitting on other players.

Visual and Audio

Players of all body types using the Mayhem Capstan will now see their hands holding on to it correctly after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
Fireworks can now be heard while inside caves after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
The buttons on the Eclipse Jacket now display correctly if a player views it from further away after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
The Pirate Lord’s speech will no longer be cut off when players sail away at the end of the Captaincy tutorial.
The audio effect for collecting a chicken in the Merchant Alliance Tutorial Voyage now matches other animal capture Voyages after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
Enemy skeleton music will no longer be heard when allied skeletons are nearby.
Rolling Dice Emotes now also display a notification showing the dice roll result.
Pocket Watches now consistently have visible glass faces after being equipped.
Flameheart’s animations have been improved to be smoother when the Burning Blade is returned to The Reaper’s Hideout after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.
The underside of a player’s foot is now visible when performing emotes or sitting on ledges after the Sea of Thieves August 22 update.

PlayStation®5

Players browsing the Pirate Emporium should no longer experience client instability when attempting to purchase Ancient Coins.

Text and Localisation

Approved Xbox terminology is now used across a range of menu items in non-English languages.
‘Revenge of the Morningstar’ – Incorrect translation in Tyler’s dialogue has been addressed, which previously blocked players using non-English languages.

Performance and Stability

Improvements have been made to server stability to avoid instances where players are disconnected from their session.

That covers everything you need to know about the Sea of Thieves August 22 release notes. Check out our other Sea of Thieves news and guides:

Edited by Niladri Roy