Sea of Thieves endgame: Pirate Legends, Legendary Captains, and Athena’s Fortune

This secret pirate hideout can be hidden someplace on the earth at launch, however you’ll solely be capable to entry it when you turn into a Pirate Legend. This can also be in some way associated to a rumoured treasure horde referred to as Athena’s Fortune.

As with the beginning hub, the hideout options an array of NPCs and a tavern, however it’s all constructed into some historic shipwreck in a cave behind a big waterfall. 

“When you become a Pirate Legend, you discover a secret that allows you to access this place,” design director Mike Chapman explains. “It’s not loaded in off a menu – you seamlessly access this place through the game. It’s a place reserved for Pirate Legends. When you become a Pirate Legend, you’ll be able to access the Tavern of Legends. It’s a tavern built into an ancient shipwreck.” 

At the tavern, you possibly can speak to ghostly Pirate Legends who provide you with hints as to what’s coming subsequent. “Say there’s a new trading company, there are new visitors coming to the world – we’re talking about our post-launch plans in a very in-world, in-lore way,” Chapman explains.

“There’s also the Pirate Lord – this character gives you Legendary Voyages, which are the best, most rewarding, most challenging voyages in the game. Because of our voting table mechanic, you can choose to share those voyages with others, so everyone will want to be friends with a Pirate Legend. It means something profound in the world.”

As properly as appearing because the endgame at launch, this new hub would be the jumping-off level for future content material, ultimately turning into your default residence base. From there, it is possible for you to to progress past being a Pirate Legend. 

“One of the first major updates we want to add is the idea of Pirate Legends becoming Legendary Captains,” Chapman says. “You become this fictional Jack Sparrow or Blackbeard of the pirate world in Sea of Thieves, and will build your own Black Pearl. You leave the area by sailing out through the waterfall, like Batman leaving the Batcave, and people will know you’re a Pirate Legend when they see your ship in the world.”

Other gamers would possibly see you as a high-value goal, or they could wish to turn into your buddy and share within the spoils of your adventures. You even have the choice to cover the very fact that you’re a Pirate Legend, like a star nipping out for groceries with a cap and sun shades on. 

“What we’re trying to do is make it that becoming a Pirate Legend means something in Sea of Thieves, it feels special,” Chapman continues. “The first particular person to seek out this hideout and get the Legendary Voyages might be going to turn into a little bit of a star within the Sea of Thieves world. Not everybody goes to get there, it’s an final finish aim to aspire to. 

We’ll have new methods to play for individuals who haven’t progressed to Pirate Legend post-launch, but in addition new methods to play for Legends.”

Rare additionally plan to broaden the world past its present confines. At current, in the event you sail to the sting of the world you’re met with foreboding music and the ocean turns crimson. Eventually, you sink. There is a purpose this world is just not totally spherical but, nevertheless – Rare have already got additional islands constructed, able to go.  

“The reason we haven’t expanded for launch is because over the last six to eight weeks we’ve got the number of encounters perfect,” Chapman explains. “We’ve expanded and contracted the world based on: what’s the right amount of time before you see another ship? We’ve been altering the view distance to make sure you can see the ship lights from the right distance away. Now we’ve just got that right we want to stabilise that. Beyond launch, there’s no reason why [the world] can’t expand again, then more ships come in. We don’t want it to feel like a boating lake.”