Rare reintroduces the cut stealth mechanics in Sea of Thieves
Season 14 was supposed to be a big one for Sea of Thieves, introducing a host of new mechanics aimed at giving players ways to wreak stealthy havoc. Sadly, even before Season 14 rolled out, the developer had to disable the new trap items and ledge-hanging ability due to some major issues. This resulted in two Xbox achievements being disabled before players could have a stab at them.
Shortly after the season’s launch, Rare then disabled crouching and disguises, as they led to several game-breaking problems, such as invincibility exploits and weapons quick switching. These mechanics are linked to two other Sea of Thieves achievements, both of which were also temporarily discontinued.
All four Sea of Thieves achievements should now be unlockable, as the game’s latest update “sees Season 14’s stealthy feature set finally unleashed in force, providing players with plentiful tools to wreak mischief upon one another.” For the full list of changes included in today’s update, it’s worth taking a look at the patch notes, but we’ve got the fixes for the removed mechanics here for you.
- While crouched, players can access the stealth menu to put on a disguise and blend into the environment as a barrel or treasure chest. Unlike hide emotes, disguises allow players to sneak around the world, albeit at a much slower pace.
- New disguises can be unlocked through a range of new Commendations added in Season 14. After unlocking one, head to the Vanity Chest and the new Disguises category to equip it.
Hanging from Ledges
- While crouched, players will find various locations around the ship where they can vault over the edge and hang from the outside in order to hide from those on board. They can vault back onto the deck or let go at any time, but if discovered and attacked they’ll be knocked into the sea below!
- Pirate explorers may also find a few locations out in the world where they can hang from certain ledges away from their ship. We’ll leave players to discover these locations for themselves…
Traps
- Players can now find deployable traps in various storage containers throughout the world which can be used to damage unsuspecting enemies. These are considered a throwable item, and while players can hold up to five in their inventory, only two can be deployed at any time, destroying those previously placed.
- A deployed trap will become armed, and then can be triggered by any careless foot, dealing damage and briefly inflicting a limp. Sneaky players can disarm a trap by crouching, and recover the trap for later use.
- A deployed trap can be enhanced with additional items by crouching close to it and using the menu to select an object. The item’s effect is triggered when the trap snaps shut.
- Traps can be partially buried beneath softer surfaces for a more effectively concealed surprise, and even placed together to trigger a sequence of catastrophic events!
Blowpipe Balancing
- The blowpipe’s quickfire has been tuned to ensure that it still provides a quick but accurate shot at close range, without overshadowing the benefits of a more considered charged shot.
- Even a brief charge will now deliver a strong mid-range shot, while fully charged shot travels the maximum shot range.
Commendations and Rewards
- With a suite of mischief-making tools now re-enabled, the previously blocked Commendations, rewards, achievements and Trophies are available for players to make progress towards unlocking.
In other Rare news, studio boss Craig Duncan succeeds Alan Hatman as the head of Xbox Game Studios this month.
