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According to Rare, the studio wants to offer a balanced experience that's equal in almost every facet. In practice, that means a game with full feature parity, but more than that it means an equal playing field from day one. So Rare also says they're planning on launching Sea of Thieves day and date on both console and PC, with launch still on track for early 2

Ship customization seems to be another thing unearthed by the data-pirates. The files found seem to imply the ability to customize a ship's cannons, capstan (pirate talk for 'anchor holder'), livery, mast, and the captain's wheel. There are additional sections as well, listed under 'Ship misc' is a harpoon

One caveat should be considered with this data dive. The assets pulled are not officially announced, and could, therefore, be cut content or take on a much different role in the final game, especially when a beta is usually never the same version of the game that's released when a game is launc

"One of the things we’re very aware of is the need for the balancing to be right. After running some recent tests, we found that PC players were 4.5% more efficient at killing skeletons than Xbox players, and this feels close enough that it’s something we’ll continue to monitor. However, PvP between platforms, or more importantly device input, is the big focus point for us as a Design team, and already we’ve been working closely with the Game Experience team to change the way the guns work to be better balanced for cross play. We’ve put in a bunch of telemetry around this, and with the change to guns it’s made them feel tonally so much more fitting, as previously they felt more like laser weapons than ancient plundered-and-pillaged gunpowder-driven blunderbuss

The beta for Sea of Thieves happened recently, and to not many people's surprise, dataminers got a hold of the game's data. What perhaps was not expected is what they found hidden beneath the sea of thieves patch notes of c

What Redditor m4rx hauled in from their dive into the Sea of Thieves data was pretty interesting. While many of the assets have yet to be decrypted, it turns out some the elements found were also present in the Pirate Legend video released previously by Rare. But there's also quite a lot m

There are definitely some major questions about Sea of Thieves, especially when you consider that Rare is not a studio that has ever put together an online game that feels truly cutting edge, but if everything hits, Microsoft's investment in this legendary studio could be totally worth it. The real goal here should be to find a way to make a charming, deep online version of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag , considering that may be the best pirate game we've ever received.

While the infamous bananas are the only healing factor in the beta, the full game will also feature coconuts, pineapples, pomegranates, and rum. It's not clear what the difference between grog and rum will be, though it's likely pirates will make haste of their own supply. Those who have played the beta also know it has a few gaps in the equipment wheel, and while the full inventory hasn't yet been discovered, there was an entry here for dice, which is a solid indication that players will be able to gamble with one another. There will also be a variety of at least three usable potions which seem to be health restoration, resurrection, and poison. If there's a chance to poison the grog supply on an enemy ship, we imagine impromptu stealth missions will be a joy to beh

This isn't the first time that Rare has talked about cross-play for Sea of Thieves , however. Earlier this year, when Rare first activated the closed alpha on PC, the team decided to try out cross-play just to see how it felt. Executive Producer Joe Neate called the experience "magical," explaining that it led him to question why any game would split player bases. But questions about balance and fairness prevented Rare from making it official straight away, however the more the studio considered cross-play, the more it realized there was no good reason not to include

For now, though, Rare will continue with the development of Sea of Thieves in preparation for its forthcoming launch. There's plenty to do, and Rare seems like they're adding new ideas as fast as they can come up with them. The studio just revealed how players can now get sick and vomit into a bucket, then use the bucket as a weapon against friends (or alli

The addition of harpoon guns brings some exciting possibilities for underwater combat and maneuvering: it's a great shark deterrent (as it's likely gunpowder-based weapons won't be usable under water post-beta), and also brings the possibility that pirates will be able to attach themselves to opposing ships via the harpoons and potentially sneak up the sides. Of course, that's not the only new weapon to watch out for. The boarding axe, heavy sword, rapier, flintlock pistol, and blunderbuss will also be featured in the full version of Sea of Thiev