# Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 3.5.1 - Product: Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/sea-of-thieves-2026-edition) - Vendor: Rare Ltd - Date: 2025-09-18 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1172620/view/543368994111882281 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/sea-of-thieves-2026-edition/releases/2025-09-18-sea-of-thieves-release-notes-3.5.1 What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'. --- - **added** — A daring Heist at Royal Crest Fortress is now available during Act 2, allowing crews to retrieve a target painting and earn 175,000 gold upon success - **added** — Royal Crest Fortress Plans and Royal Crest Fortress Blueprints Trinkets can be unlocked by completing the Royal Crest Fortress Heist - **added** — Players can now extend their field of view up to 110, above the previous limit - **added** — Individual field of view override settings are now available for areas where players dock to objects such as the ship's wheel, Rowboat, or ladders - **added** — A reduced Lower Banner Style option is now available in HUD Settings to retain visibility of health and ammunition during gameplay - **added** — A Special Items tab has been added to the Pirate Emporium navigation menu for items such as Pirate Deed, Renaming Deed, and Pirate Appearance Potion - **added** — The Pirate Legend Hideout weaponsmith now stocks the Legendary Fortune Double Barrel Pistol, Grapple Gun, Blowpipe, Throwing Knives, Heavy Sword, and Rapier - **added** — Pirate Legends can now access the Sovereign Ship's Crest previously available during Season Ten - **added** — The Russet Resolute Hull, Sails, and Flag are now available from shipwrights - **added** — Lucky Rover equipment and instruments are now available at Outpost shops - **added** — Ship's Crests are now available for purchase from shipwrights - **changed** — The frequency of Phantom encounters during Smugglers' Route Run Voyages has been reduced - **changed** — The Ashen Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage in The Devil's Roar now rewards the Ashen Skull of the Banished instead of the Skull of the Banished - **changed** — The Ashen Followers of the Flame Voyage now rewards the Ashen Chest of Bones, which offers higher value than the Chest of Bones - **changed** — Captains can now decorate their ship with all previous tiers of Trophies when interacting with a Trinket location - **changed** — Players can now sprint when holding the Skull of Siren Sorrow - **changed** — Merfolk Statues in the Sunken Kingdom now only store treasure discovered within Shrines and Treasuries, and Trading Company items from Raid Voyages - **changed** — Swimming players making quick changes to pitch and rotation will have smoother animations when viewed by others ##### Smugglers’ Tide: Act 2 New blood brings new opportunities as The Smugglers’ League settle into the shadows of the Sea of Thieves! To learn more about this Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated [Season 17 page](https://www.seaofthieves.com/season-17). **The Smugglers’ Heist** - For the duration of Act 2, a daring Heist at Royal Crest Fortress will regularly be available via a note pinned to the ship’s mast, allowing all crews to join The Smugglers’ League in their task. - Once the Heist has begun, crews will need to follow directions to retrieve a key from a Smuggler contact and then set sail to Royal Crest Fortress in search of a precious painting. - Players must stick to instructions sent by The Smugglers’ League to ensure the correct painting is retrieved. There are many decoy paintings which can also be found and sold, but only the target painting will allow you to become the victor of the Heist! - Crews that hold the target painting should be ready to fend off Ocean Crawler ambushes while aboard their ship. Other crews can also join in the Heist at any stage, so be prepared to use any means necessary to get the painting safely back to the designated Smugglers’ Hideout. - Successful crews will earn a hoard of 175,000 gold for returning the correct painting, while Guilds will receive a significant bonus to their Guild Reputation! **Smugglers’ Tide: Act 2 Rewards** - Crews taking on the Heist at Royal Crest Fortress can unlock the Royal Crest Fortress Plans and Royal Crest Fortress Blueprints Trinkets to commemorate their daring accomplishments. **Smugglers’ Route Run Balancing** - The frequency of Phantom encounters while taking part in a Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage has now been reduced. ##### Gameplay Improvements **Improved Field of View** - Players can now extend their field of view above the previous limit up to 110, providing a range of wider view options. - To give players more control over their field of view experience, the graphics settings now provide individual field of view override settings for areas where players dock to an object such as the ship’s wheel, Rowboat or ladders. **Cinematic Banner Improvements** - The cinematic banners shown on the HUD have been extended to provide support for a reduced banner option that retains visibility of the player’s health and ammunition during gameplay. - Players can navigate to the HUD Settings and switch between Full (default) or Reduced Lower Banner Style. **Underwater Animation Improvements** - Players swimming in water and making quick changes to their pitch and rotation will now find their pirate moves more smoothly when viewed by others. - These changes aim to reduce the impact of players making fast movements with their mouse or controller to avoid damage during gunplay while underwater. **Ashen Skull of the Banished** - The Ashen Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage in The Devil’s Roar now rewards players with the new Ashen Skull of the Banished, replacing the Skull of the Banished on this Voyage. **Ashen Chest of Bones** - The Ashen Followers of the Flame Voyage now rewards players with an Ashen Chest of Bones, offering higher value than the Chest of Bones. - The Ashen Chest of Bones retains the same number of charges as a Reaper’s Chest, but will not reinforce crews with Order of Bone and Blade Captains. **Displaying Trophy Tiers** - Captains who have earned multiple tiers of a Trophy are now able to decorate their ship with all previous tiers when interacting with a Trinket location. **Skull of Siren Sorrow** - Players are now able to sprint when holding the Skull of Siren Sorrow. **Sunken Merfolk Statues** - Merfolk Statues found within the Sunken Kingdom will now only store treasure that can be discovered while exploring the various Shrines and Treasuries, and Trading Company items recovered during Raid Voyages. ##### Pirate Emporium Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! 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