Sea of Thieves on PS5 – Everything You Need to Know

After first launching on Xbox One and PC in March 2018, with Xbox Series X/S enhancements added in November 2020, Rare’s Sea of Thieves is finally coming to other platforms. It’s out on April 30th for PlayStation 5, allowing players to experience the high-stakes, plundering adventure that’s garnered so much acclaim over the years. If you’re keen on jumping in with the PS5 version, here are 15 things you should know before buying.

Setting

If you’ve seen a single trailer for Sea of Thieves, you’ll know it’s about pirates. However, the actual year is up in the air since different ship types, weapons and more all hail from separate eras (to say nothing of all the fantasy elements and monsters). Regardless, at the end of the day, it’s a fictionalized setting with a timeline where pirates are the dominant faction.

Pirate Generator

Unlike most other live service and shared world games, there isn’t a traditional character creation suite. Instead, you’re given a set of generated pirates and can choose which ones you like the most. If you don’t fancy any, a new batch can be randomly generated and viewed. There’s also the option to favorite looks, which will remain when generating new pirates, but creating a pirate from scratch isn’t possible.

Gameplay Loop

Sea of Thieves is a first-person sandbox title at its very core. You can run around, engage in sword fights, dig up treasure chests and everything else befitting the pirate fantasy. Of course, you also get a ship to sail the world, and it’s pretty much in line with real-world mechanics, from adjusting the angle of sails and steering with the wheel to dropping the anchor and manually operating cannons. Co-op is also available to team with friends, but there are no strict guidelines for what you should be doing.

Outposts

Which isn’t to say there isn’t anything to do at all. You’ll start in an Outpost and can interact with other players, pick up resources like cannonballs, wooden planks and whatnot, visit the Quest Board to peruse Buried Treasure Maps (while submitting their own) and more. However, Outposts are where you’ll interact with most of the Trading Companies.

Trading Companies

Trading Companies are factions that reward you depending on the tasks completed for them. The Gold Hoarders are interested in locked Treasure Chests and Artefacts, which means engaging in specific treasure hunts. On the other hand, the Order of Souls is more combat-focused, tasking players to take down Ghost Ships and their Skeleton Captains, delivering their skulls as proof. Completing tasks grants Commendations, providing cosmetics and Doubloons, among other rewards, and raising your Reputation.

Pirate Legend

If you reach level 50 for at least three Trading Companies, you can become a Pirate Legend. This awards a corresponding title and clothing set, access to the Hideout for other cosmetics and higher-tier Voyages for better rewards. Pirate Legends can also embark on Legendary Mercenary Voyages and earn Commendations for even more cosmetics.

Ship Types

To sail forth, you’ll need a ship and Sea of Thieves offers three types – the Sloop for manoeuvrability with its size best for solo or two-player crews; the Galleon for a crew with multiple masts and cannons to operate; and the Brigantine, which falls in between. There’s no restriction on your choice of ship, and you can also customize their flags, sails, wheels, hull livery and much more.

Combat

Combat on foot boils down to sword fighting, with quick slashes, a heavy lunge and jumping attacks available. Players can also block and dodge, though managing your stamina is important to avoid getting winded. Other weapons include the Flintlock Pistol, Blunderbuss and the Eye of Reach.

They each have advantages, like the Flintlock being better suited for mid-range while having faster reloading. The Blunderbuss is excellent at close range but reloads slower, and the Eye of Reach is best for long-range sniping (but doesn’t quite match up to the Blunderbuss’s damage). Knowing which to opt for in a given situation is key. Of course, you can also throw Firebombs and Blunderbombs for explosive damage.

Ship Combat

Naval combat is another essential part of the experience, as you can chuck Firebombs, fire the cannons and much more to sink an enemy ship. Of course, boarding the enemy’s vessel to fight them up close is also an option. Different parts of the ship can take damage and require repairing with Wooden Planks. Of course, you need to account for environmental hazards like storms and volcanoes as well. Once a ship is damaged enough, it begins sinking, though you can also scuttle your ship, and it randomly respawns somewhere else.

Tall Tales

If narrative-focused content is your thing, then Tall Tales is the ticket. They range from investigating the mysterious Shroudbreaker and Captain Flameheart’s return to a collaboration with the Monkey Island series. Each features collectibles, including Journals for more context on the quest. Upon completing Tall Tales, players receive Gold and Commendations for unique cosmetics.

Safer Seas

Last year, Rare launched private servers dubbed Safer Seas, allowing players and their crewmates to explore without encountering others in the wild. This means they’re effectively safe from PvP and having their loot stolen by other players. While this addresses one of the bigger requests since launch, Gold and Reputation are earned at a lower rate than regular High Seas servers.

Doubloons, Ancient Coins and Seasonal Renown remain the same, but you won’t get access to Live Events or certain Treasures, much less any Pirate Legend-focused content. Still, if you want to experience the Tall Tales solo or with friends, or farm in peace, it’s a good option, especially since your character can go back and forth between Safer Seas and High Seas.

First Rare Game on PlayStation

With its launch on the PlayStation 5, perhaps the most surprising fact about Sea of Thieves is that it’s the first title from Rare to ever launch on PlayStation. In the “Message from Our Crew” video last month, the development team called it a “momentous occasion for us, and we know that we’re starting from scratch when it comes to our relationship and our reputation with a PlayStation audience.” Nevertheless, it believes “the Sea of Thieves community is the best gaming community out there”, and it “cares very much about the community and what that means to our game.”

Closed Beta

A closed beta for the PS5 version will arrive before launch, with access available when pre-ordering any of the three editions – Standard for $39.99, Deluxe for $49.99 and the Premium Edition for $59.99. Each edition also comes with its own in-game items, including Gold, unique pets and cosmetics.

Early Access

However, early access is probably the biggest reason to pick up the Deluxe Edition. PS5 players can play the game five days before the worldwide launch, getting a headstart and establishing their dominion over the high seas. It should also ensure little downtime once the beta concludes, though it’s unknown if progress carries over.

Season 12 Launch

The Deluxe Edition also includes the Plunder Pass for Season 12, also available on April 30th for all players. The season brings several new weapons like the throwing knife, double-barrel Flintlock, the Bone Caller for summoning skeletons to fight for you and Scattershot ammo (which fires four cannonballs).

There are also items like the Wind Caller to generate wind for sails, among other applications. Ziplines should also be more common, allowing players to return to their ships quicker. We need to wait for more details, but considering 2024 is the year of the sandbox, it should be interesting to see the other quality of life changes.

Crossplay

The PS5 version of Sea of Thieves will support crossplay out of the gate, and players can also invite friends from other platforms. However, to enable all these features, along with voice chat and proximity chat, you must link your PSN and Microsoft accounts. On the bright side, PS5 players won’t be flagged as such online, letting you take solace in other players robbing you in the name of piracy rather than platform bias.

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