Sea of Thieves update brings major blunderbuss changes and event tweaks

An extensive patch named 3.1.1 is being released today for Sea of Thieves, a massive multiplayer pirate video game; this brings in a major revamp of the blunderbuss and tweaking on the significant parts of the Burning Blade World event. As part of its thirteenth season, this update also has some other bug fixes and improvements that are meant to enhance the general gameplay experience.

Update highlight: Blunderbuss rework.

A Blunderbuss shot can now only do a maximum of 90 damage, but it will also now consistently propel enemy players over ledges and obstacles, like this: pic.twitter.com/IlZXtzgNMT— Sea of Thieves (@SeaOfThieves) August 22, 2024

Blunderbuss, which is one of Sea of Thieves’ primary weapons, has undergone extensive changes. Rare, the developer behind this game, has improved the weapon’s knockback effects so that close-range shots will now forcefully push players backward, often even over ledges or obstacles when taken.

The blunderbuss spread pattern has been increased to maximize its knockback capabilities at point blank range. The impact force directed by each pellet was slightly reduced though without compromising much damage output per shoot from the weapon hence it can no longer kill someone fully healthy with one shot.

Burning Blade Event receives tactical revamping

The Burning Blade World event has been attracting great attention from players, and Rare has brought some strategic changes to it. Now, crews commanding a Burning Blade are not allowed to take the ship back to The Reaper’s Hideout while still involved in combat.

Also, a majority vote from the crew is now required for pledging to become the crew of the Burning Blade or trying to return the ship to The Reaper’s Hideout. These amendments have been made to make it more tactical and demanding, as per players who thought that the event had become too obvious.

The developer introduced new regulations, such as removing all crew votes, which will bring back the Burning Blade if and when it sails away from its island. This forces crews into complete commitment to another layer of strategy during this time.

New gameplay tweaks and bug fixes improve player experience

Some enhancements have been made to Pirate Emporium, such as having a “Browse All” section under which nice filter options are available for users’ convenience when navigating through available products in-store. Fresh customization options have been provided by adding new cosmetics, namely Motley Mariner Ship Collection and Ashen Curse Owl.

Technically, this update deals with acts like throwing knives causing damage even upon missing a target, gunpowder skeletons failing to explode consistently after being hit, and stuttering by gamers when moving through some areas within the game world, among others. All these amendments were made to clean up the title and provide a better playing experience for all users, according to Rare Development Studio.