Sea of Thieves’ Ashen Winds Update Is Now Live

Sea of Thieves‘ latest content update, Ashen Winds, is now available for players on both PC and Xbox One. Headlining the update is a batch of new enemies with a suitably fiery demeanor: four Ashen Lords fronted by the treacherous Captain Flameheart. He’s amassed enough ‘Tomes, Jewels and other ritual ingredients’ to morph his most loyal followers into marauding fire-wielding menaces courtesy of the Ashen Curse.

Captain Flameheart’s Ashen Lords

As an emergent threat, the Ashen Lords can pop up at any time, but for those looking for a fight, set sail for the fiery tornado on the horizon. The Ashen Lords come equipped with a range of attacks, including knock-backs, lunges, fire breath, hurled flaming rocks, and clouds that coat the world in ashen darkness, and the worryingly named ‘Roar of the Devil.’ Developer Rare says, ‘You’ll know it when you see it.’

Once defeated, the corpses of the fallen lords will open up geysers that spew out loot. Among these treasures is the Ashen Winds Skull, which doubles as a trophy and a weapon that players can wield like a flamethrower to light up other players, ships, and skeletons. Its power drains with use, so be wary of not depleting it too much or risk rendering it useless for the Order of Souls.

Ashen Wind packs in new commendations granting unique titles, a sail, tattoos, and a range of new Steam and Xbox achievements. The update brings in a selection of new Ashen Winds-themed events, including Skull Sweep, to complement existing Daily Bounties and the Gold Rush multiplier.

Pirate Emporium and Black Market

Alongside the Ashen Lords, new stock is hitting the Pirate Emporium, including discounts to mark Rare 35th anniversary, a free Heel Click emote, Ashen Curse collector’s pets scorched by the Devil’s Roar, Kraken Cat outfits, a six emote Storytelling bundle, a Character emotes bundle, Bargain Pet bundle, Mau Kraken discount bundle, and Ashe Creature bundle that include two premium collector’s pet, 1000 Ancient Coins, and a 25,000 gold bonus.

Duke over at the tavern has some new black market wares to flog, including Fearless Bone Crusher and Nightshine Parrot equipment. For your Doubloons, you’ll get a unique bucket, compass, fishing rod, lantern, pocket watch, shovel, speaking trumpet, spyglass, and tankard.

Gameplay Improvements

The Ashen Winds content update packs in some gameplay improvement. Find them below:

• ”Dealing Damage Through the Environment-All melee and ranged weapons are now prevented from dealing damage through the solid surfaces of the ship. This means players can duck behind the mast for cover during a ranged weapon face-off, or sink below deck to use the environment and some quick footwork to gain an advantage in sword combat.-Shots from ranged weapons can still pass through ship railings, stairs and decking grates, providing tactical opportunities to engage rival players on different levels of the ship.
• Inactive Ships in The Arena- If a rival crew leave an active contest, their ship now begins to sink instantly, preventing any further silver gain from damaging it.
• World Event Encounters- The frequency of Ashen Lord encounters is increased for the duration of the Ashen Winds update.
• Skeleton Ship Restocking- Defeating a Skeleton Ship will now reward players with a storage crate containing food, wood and cannonballs.
• Skeleton Fort Waves- New waves of skeletons appear much more quickly after the horn is sounded.
• Swapping Between Emotes- Players now retain access to the Emote Radial while performing an emote, allowing them to switch to another emote easily.
• Mute Voice Chat Keybind- Players are now able to set a keybind for the ‘Mute All Other Crews’ option, allowing faster access to muting others when needed.
• Barrel Inventory Mouse Navigation- Opening a barrel inventory will reset the mouse cursor to the centre of the screen. This setting is now configurable within the Accessibility Settings under ‘Recenter Mouse in Menus’.”

Finally, the update features an extensive list of smaller updates, accessibility options, and fixes, which you can check out in full here.