A new season has begun in Sea of Thieves, with “The Battle for the Sea of Thieves” update, with its rollout of two factions to potentially choose to support, opt-in PvP ship combat, new rewards, and secrets to uncover.
After a series of content updates have shaped the narrative and the features of Sea of Thieves, now with the arrival of Season Eight, the lines have been drawn between two factions, Guardians of Fortune and Servants of the Flame. You'll have the ability to pick a faction and when you sink opposing factions' ships, you can earn Allegiance and other rewards, including special privileges like entering faction hideouts and reputation.
There are two new Milestone alignments in the Ship's Log where you can make progress by representing the faction you choose. On your ship you’ll find The Hourglass of Fate. Its value will go up the more enemies from the opposing faction that you sink. If you decide to leave the battle at an outpost, the Hourglass’ value will be exchanged for gold and Allegiance rewards at the time. It's important to go and leave the battle to make that exchange, because if you sink before you leave the battle, you won't get anything.
When you decide to hunt down an enemy, you'll go under the water and find your rival, and if you build up a streak of four or more wins, your ship will be marked on the map as a Faction Champion. It will make you a bigger target, because if others take you down, their rewards will also be greater. This is also true if you become an emissary of a Trading Company while supporting your faction.
With those Allegiance rewards, you’ll also be able to earn passage to faction hideouts. Pirate Legends supporting the Guardians can enter a special part of the Athena’s Fortune tavern, while Reapers can enter the Reaper’s Lair. Oh, and you can earn curses. Ghostly curse for Pirate Legends and the Skeleton curse for Reapers.
The update also includes a number of fixes, accessibility changes, and 100 levels of rewards to earn.
Read the full notes over at Sea of Thieves.
