The Sea of Thieves Festival of Giving update is now available and free for all players. Like last year, Rare has decked the hulls with seasonal decor and given players several new ways to interact on the seas, including gift-giving and exploring a once uncharted island hosted by the masked Mysterious Stranger.
Stitcher Jim now offers Gift Seeker Voyages inside every tavern, where players can set sail in search of gifts lost in transit. Bring them to The Reaper's Hideout east of Wanderer's Refuge and you'll earn Doubloons. Special commendations will also be available for players who let other crews deliver their discovered gifts to the Mysterious Stranger, in the spirit of the holidays.
Tomes of Power can be found in Skeleton Forts and delivered to Stitcher Jim -- provided you can defeat the three new permanent Pirate Lords hoarding over the vaults, The Duchess, The Mutinous Helmsman, and The Two-Faced Scoundrel.Tomes may also be found following successful sea battles or when facing Ashen Guardians.
The Calendar of Giving kicks off on December 13 and runs through Christmas Eve, December 24, offering upcoming but unannounced in-game rewards for players each day.
A new feature designed for first-timers at sea welcomes the incoming Christmas-gifted pirates with a Maiden Voyage, a more guided quest meant to onboard new players with clearer instructions than the game's usual hands-off approach allows. Even if you're not new, you can still embark on the Maiden Voyage and earn new commendations too.
The Pirate Emporium has been updated with new Festival of Giving items too, including Festival outfits for all breeds of pets, as well as jingle-belled weaponry. Remember, Emporium items can only be bought with Ancient Coins which are bought with real money or occasionally found from defeated skeletons. New Black Market items have arrived too, with several new cosmetic sets available for pirates with deep pockets of gold and Doubloons.
Quality-of-life updates also arrive in today's patch, including adjustments to swordfighting. Missed sword strikes now have a shorter cooldown before you can swing again, and new visual enhancements alter what it looks like when you swing, as well as an improved direction damage indicator in the UI.
Portable ammo crates, intended to come along with a previous update, are now much more numerous and can be found washed ashore on any of the islands. They hold 50 ammo and can be restocked with the permanent ammo crate on your ship or others found on islands.
Other new changes included Collector's Chests that can now be sold at the end of Tall Tales story missions, improved HDR effects for in-game fire, and lightning strike frequency reductions. You can even throw up on fires to extinguish them now. The full patch notes can be found here. The update requires free space of 5.54 GB on Xbox One or 8.59 GB on Xbox One X and Windows 10. It's free and available now.
