Sometimes it’s good to be bad, and that’s the opportunity being afforded to players of Sea of Thieves on Thursday, July 25th, which is when Season 13 of the piratical sandbox will release and allow players to literally become the villains and the world event at the same time.
This upcoming new season is focused around Captain Flameheart’s return and the arrival of his flagship the Burning Blade, which Rare calls the most powerful ship in the game, since it fields 10 cannons and a fireball-throwing weapon at its bow while also being impervious to fire damage. Crews who are capable of taking down this immense threat are then given two choices: sink the ship fully or pledge themselves to Flameheart and commandeer the vessel for themselves.
For those who take the helm of the Burning Blade, their position will be marked on the map for everyone to see, effectively making players the world event for others. Those crewing the ship are then tasked with arriving to newly arrived skeleton camps to complete puzzle-filled rituals and thereby increase the value of the ship. Once crews have built up enough of this value – assuming they survive – they can then return the vessel to earn gold and Reaper’s Bones reputation.
For those who sink the ship, they’ll be gifted the Blade of Souls, a powerful weapon that sets foes on fire and also has a value that increases each time players complete skeleton camp rituals themselves. Turning in the weapon at any of the trading companies will generate reputation and gold as well.
As one might expect, these gameplay features all sound specific to the PvP gankbok Open Seas mode and not the barebones Safer Seas PvE mode, which gets no mention in the video at all, so if you’re hoping to captain a big flaming death barge, you’ve got only one choice to make in that regard.
