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Changelog for 1.4.4.2.1 id: 712 open prev next custom

manifest date: 2019-03-16 00:00:00 UTC

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# Insider Patch Notes 1.4.4.2.1

Introducing Insider update 1.4.4.2.1 which for many of you will be the first time getting to go hands-on with The Arena. Excited? Read on to find out what's in store!

## Insider Patch Notes - Update 1.4.4.2.1

Welcome New Insiders – To The ARENA!

We’re excited to open the doors of the Sea Dog’s Tavern to all our new Insiders for an evening of competition in Arena. Rally your Galleon crew and head into the Arena to pit yourselves against other Rival crews to see who will leave victorious.

**THIS ARENA PLAYTEST WILL RUN FROM 17:00 GMT ON 16TH MARCH TO 10:00 GMT ON 17TH MARCH**

## Updates!

* **New Contest Areas **– 8 New Contest Areas have been added bringing the total up to 16. Spread across all 4 regions in the world; Layouts differ in size, number of islands and quantity of Hand-In locations. 
* **Treasure on Outposts?! **– Within the Arena, Outposts have been added to some Contest Areas as potential Treasure Spots! 
* **Arena Matchmaking **– When selecting a Closed Crew, your crew will always begin in the Sea Dog’s Tavern ready to begin a Contest. If you select an Open Crew you will have the ability to join a Contest already in progress. 
* **Cursed Cannonballs – **All ships now start with a stock of Cursed Cannonballs, however, use them wisely – these resources can no longer be found out in the Arena.
* **DeMarco’s Announcements** – DeMarco will now keep players aware of the status of a Contest. When inside the Sea Dogs Tavern waiting for a Contest to begin, DeMarco will announce once the countdown begins to join. Once the Contest kicks off, he will continue to announce at regular intervals as time ticks down before the Contest ends. 
* **Silver Scoring **– The Contest Scroll has had its countdown timer removed (now shown onscreen) and replaced with a handy list of what actions in the Arena will reward crews with Silver 
* **Contest Boundary Balancing** – Reduced the distance you have to sail into the Devil’s Shroud before the sea turns red and begin taking damage 
* **Contest Boundary Presentation** – Improved presentation of the Contest Boundary on the Ship’s Map 
* **Treasure Hand-In** - Players must press and hold to hand a chest into a vendor, extending the time the player is vulnerable when handing in
* **No Fighting in the Tavern!** – Weapons have been removed from all pirates in the Sea Dogs Tavern until further notice 
* **Non-Verbal Scroll** – The Contest Score Scroll now has Non-Verbal Commands when held 
* **Sea Dogs Tavern NPC’s** – Tavern NPC’s now have dialog added when interacting with them

## Arena Flow

With the Arena Mode in Sea of Thieves being so different to Adventure, here’s a brief rundown of the flow for the Arena.

* **Arena or Adventure?** - When navigating the Front End, players are now offered the choice of Arena or Adventure to play. For this Playtest, please select Arena!
* **Galleon Battles** – The Arena currently offers Galleon only contests, once selected you are then free to join an Open or Closed Crew and prepare to enter the Arena!
* **Sea Dog's Tavern** - On joining the world you will be first placed in the new Sea Dog's Tavern, take some time to look around and chat to your fellow rivals before the Contest begins. (Open Crews may sometimes backfill into an already started contest, which would place you right in the action!)
* **Let the Contest Begin!** - When the Contest starts, all crews will begin on their unique ships ready to begin, an opening ceremony will confirm your ship identity. Check the Map Radial for your Contest Score Scroll to keep aware of your Contest Rank, an onscreen scoreboard & timer are displayed in the top right for fast access to your score, rank and time remaining! All crews ships are displayed on each other’s Ship's Map along with their associated crew icons – There is no hiding in the Arena!
* **Treasure or Battle?** - All crews in the Contest share the same Treasure Maps, leading crews to strategise to outwit their rivals. Your crew will receive notifications when rivals dig up and hand in treasure from these Maps. Silver is the currency of choice in the Arena and awarded for a range of activities within the Contest, whether you hunt for treasure or charge into battle - the choice is yours!
* **Rewards for Everyone!** - After a Contest, crews are returned to the Sea Dog's Tavern and rewards are paid out based on your placement. After a short break, the next Contest is ready - prepare to go again.

## The Sea Dog Company

The Sea Dogs Company offers Ranks, Promotions and exclusive rewards for pirates looking to progress through their ranks. The Sea Dogs Company also counts as One of your Three companies required to unlock Pirate Legend, offering an alternative route to Pirate legend for the most daring pirates.

* **Glorious Sea Dog Items** - The item vendors in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Compass, Pocket Watch, Spyglass, Concertina, Hurdy Gurdy, Lantern, Speaking Trumpet, Shovel, Tankard and Bucket.
* **Glorious Sea Dog Ship** - The shipwright in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Hull, Sail, Figurehead, Wheel, Capstan and Cannons.
* **Glorious Sea Dog Clothing** - The clothing vendors in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Jacket, Hat, Gloves & Hook.
* **Glorious Sea Dog Weapons** - The weapon vendors in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Flintlock & Eye of Reach.
* **Sea Dog Titles** - After reaching Grade 5 in any Sea Dog Commendation, players will unlock a new Title for use in both Arena & Adventure.
* **Sea Dog Cutlass** - On unlocking the 'Arena Pup' Promotion, DeMarco & Lesedi both now offer the first tier of the Sea Dog Cutlass for players to purchase.
* **Sea Dog Blunderbuss** - On unlocking the 'Arena Mutt' Promotion, DeMarco & Lesedi both now offer the first tier of the Sea Dog Blunderbuss for players to purchase.

## Insider Features Still Active

* **Mercenary Voyages of the Devil's Roar & Shores of Plenty** – Visit Duke to find new ‘Mercenary Voyages’ on offer. Both voyages cost 5 Doubloons, additionally, the Devil's Roar voyage offers significantly higher rewards! 
* **Reaper's Run of Shipwreck Bay** – Duke by the bar offers another treacherous 'Reaper's Run Voyage’ costing 5 Doubloons to challenge daring pirates. Any crew willing to accept this challenge must brave the waters surrounding Shipwreck Bay - with multiple crews all heading to the same location, prepare to do battle! 
* **The Gilded Mercenary Voyage of Legends** - Pirate Legends should visit Duke to find the return of a popular voyage - the notorious 'Gilded Athenas'. This voyage can only be taken once - so make it count! 
* **Shipwreck Reaper Sails, Mercenary Eye of Reach & Blunderbuss **- Visit Duke for his next set of Time-Limited cosmetics; Mercenary Eye of Reach, Mercenary Blunderbuss & Shipwreck Reaper Sails. 
* **Mercenary Cosmetics Bundle** - The previously-exclusive 'Mercenary' cosmetics bundle is now available for purchase at Outposts across the world. Head to the Wilds, Ancient Isles or Shores of Plenty to purchase the Mercenary Clothing, Equipment, Pistol & Cutlass from their respective outpost stores. 
* **New Player Onboarding Improvements** - The final onboarding popup informing players where to purchase their first voyage now persists onscreen until the onboarding is complete. 
* **Year One Celebration Shop Items** – To celebrate our first year, for a limited time, players can purchase two exclusive cosmetics. Pick up the Golden Sailor’s Hat and Golden Sailor’s Cannon for only 320 gold each from their respective outpost shops – get them before they’re gone! 
* **Xbox Mouse & Keyboard Support **– Players on Xbox can now take full advantage of Mouse and Keyboard support on their favourite console! 
* **Xbox Chatpad Chat Support **– Players on Xbox can now use a Microsoft Chatpad to engage in Text Chat with other players. Press ‘T’ (Default) to initiate chat or rebind from your settings menu. 
* **Wielding Weapons** – Removed the forced firing delay when wielding a gun after sprinting or undocking, allowing players to fire sooner. The forced firing delay when switching weapons still remains. 
* **Construction in Progress **– Building work appears to have begun around the Arches rock formation, what are they building? 
* **Molten Sands Fortress** – Molten Sands Fortress is now active! Faceoff against skeleton waves while dodging volcanic rocks and luring them onto Geysers before raiding the vault for Ashen Rewards!

## Fixed Issues

* Resolved issue causing players to be held on a Grey screen after finishing a contest while on the ghost ship 
* Resolved layout and ordering issues on contest scoreboard 
* Resolved issue preventing score popups to update while onscreen 
* Scoreboard entries will now correctly reset when finishing a contest and starting a new one 
* Resolved incorrect icons on chest dig up and cash in popups 
* Joining a Contest in progress no longer breaks the scoreboard for that player 
* Prevented players from falling out of the Tavern when having too much fun in the Hot Tub 
* Resolved UI icons flashing when receiving multiple rewards in succession 
* Resolved issue when killing a player, where the scoreboard would display the incorrect icon 
* Resolved missing geometry on Sovereign Figureheads 
* Resolved a server stability issue when servers where at end of life 
* Year One Celebration Shop Items are now correctly stocked at Morrow’s Peak Outpost 
* Prevent Fog from changing the colour of UI Banners

## Known Issues

* **Extended Black Screen on Loading** - There is a chance that players may be held indefinitely on the Black Loading Screen with Spinner when returning from the Ghost Ship. 
* **Duplicate Treasure Maps – **During****a Contest, there is a small chance for all crews to be provided duplicate maps for a given treasure island. Once this map is complete the duplicate is removed. 
* **Arena Performance – **During intense battles within The Arena, we've identified scenarios where performance for all players drops below acceptable levels. You may experience periods of low framerate during this time.
* **Tavern Performance – **When a full server of players are present in the Sea Dog's Tavern, we've identified scenarios where performance drops below acceptable levels. You may experience periods of low framerate or see other players running on the spot and 'teleporting' around the Tavern.

Preview

Insider Patch Notes 1.4.4.2.1

Introducing Insider update 1.4.4.2.1 which for many of you will be the first time getting to go hands-on with The Arena. Excited? Read on to find out what's in store!

Insider Patch Notes - Update 1.4.4.2.1

Welcome New Insiders – To The ARENA!

THIS ARENA PLAYTEST WILL RUN FROM 17:00 GMT ON 16TH MARCH TO 10:00 GMT ON 17TH MARCH

Updates!

*New Contest Areas *– 8 New Contest Areas have been added bringing the total up to 16. Spread across all 4 regions in the world; Layouts differ in size, number of islands and quantity of Hand-In locations.
*Treasure on Outposts?! *– Within the Arena, Outposts have been added to some Contest Areas as potential Treasure Spots!
*Arena Matchmaking *– When selecting a Closed Crew, your crew will always begin in the Sea Dog’s Tavern ready to begin a Contest. If you select an Open Crew you will have the ability to join a Contest already in progress.
**Cursed Cannonballs – **All ships now start with a stock of Cursed Cannonballs, however, use them wisely – these resources can no longer be found out in the Arena.
DeMarco’s Announcements – DeMarco will now keep players aware of the status of a Contest. When inside the Sea Dogs Tavern waiting for a Contest to begin, DeMarco will announce once the countdown begins to join. Once the Contest kicks off, he will continue to announce at regular intervals as time ticks down before the Contest ends.
*Silver Scoring *– The Contest Scroll has had its countdown timer removed (now shown onscreen) and replaced with a handy list of what actions in the Arena will reward crews with Silver
Contest Boundary Balancing – Reduced the distance you have to sail into the Devil’s Shroud before the sea turns red and begin taking damage
Contest Boundary Presentation – Improved presentation of the Contest Boundary on the Ship’s Map
Treasure Hand-In - Players must press and hold to hand a chest into a vendor, extending the time the player is vulnerable when handing in
No Fighting in the Tavern! – Weapons have been removed from all pirates in the Sea Dogs Tavern until further notice
Non-Verbal Scroll – The Contest Score Scroll now has Non-Verbal Commands when held
Sea Dogs Tavern NPC’s – Tavern NPC’s now have dialog added when interacting with them

Arena Flow

With the Arena Mode in Sea of Thieves being so different to Adventure, here’s a brief rundown of the flow for the Arena.

Arena or Adventure? - When navigating the Front End, players are now offered the choice of Arena or Adventure to play. For this Playtest, please select Arena!
Galleon Battles – The Arena currently offers Galleon only contests, once selected you are then free to join an Open or Closed Crew and prepare to enter the Arena!
Sea Dog's Tavern - On joining the world you will be first placed in the new Sea Dog's Tavern, take some time to look around and chat to your fellow rivals before the Contest begins. (Open Crews may sometimes backfill into an already started contest, which would place you right in the action!)
Let the Contest Begin! - When the Contest starts, all crews will begin on their unique ships ready to begin, an opening ceremony will confirm your ship identity. Check the Map Radial for your Contest Score Scroll to keep aware of your Contest Rank, an onscreen scoreboard & timer are displayed in the top right for fast access to your score, rank and time remaining! All crews ships are displayed on each other’s Ship's Map along with their associated crew icons – There is no hiding in the Arena!
Treasure or Battle? - All crews in the Contest share the same Treasure Maps, leading crews to strategise to outwit their rivals. Your crew will receive notifications when rivals dig up and hand in treasure from these Maps. Silver is the currency of choice in the Arena and awarded for a range of activities within the Contest, whether you hunt for treasure or charge into battle - the choice is yours!
Rewards for Everyone! - After a Contest, crews are returned to the Sea Dog's Tavern and rewards are paid out based on your placement. After a short break, the next Contest is ready - prepare to go again.

The Sea Dog Company

Glorious Sea Dog Items - The item vendors in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Compass, Pocket Watch, Spyglass, Concertina, Hurdy Gurdy, Lantern, Speaking Trumpet, Shovel, Tankard and Bucket.
Glorious Sea Dog Ship - The shipwright in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Hull, Sail, Figurehead, Wheel, Capstan and Cannons.
Glorious Sea Dog Clothing - The clothing vendors in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Jacket, Hat, Gloves & Hook.
Glorious Sea Dog Weapons - The weapon vendors in the Sea Dog Tavern now stock the Glorious Sea Dog Flintlock & Eye of Reach.
Sea Dog Titles - After reaching Grade 5 in any Sea Dog Commendation, players will unlock a new Title for use in both Arena & Adventure.
Sea Dog Cutlass - On unlocking the 'Arena Pup' Promotion, DeMarco & Lesedi both now offer the first tier of the Sea Dog Cutlass for players to purchase.
Sea Dog Blunderbuss - On unlocking the 'Arena Mutt' Promotion, DeMarco & Lesedi both now offer the first tier of the Sea Dog Blunderbuss for players to purchase.

Insider Features Still Active

Mercenary Voyages of the Devil's Roar & Shores of Plenty – Visit Duke to find new ‘Mercenary Voyages’ on offer. Both voyages cost 5 Doubloons, additionally, the Devil's Roar voyage offers significantly higher rewards!
Reaper's Run of Shipwreck Bay – Duke by the bar offers another treacherous 'Reaper's Run Voyage’ costing 5 Doubloons to challenge daring pirates. Any crew willing to accept this challenge must brave the waters surrounding Shipwreck Bay - with multiple crews all heading to the same location, prepare to do battle!
The Gilded Mercenary Voyage of Legends - Pirate Legends should visit Duke to find the return of a popular voyage - the notorious 'Gilded Athenas'. This voyage can only be taken once - so make it count!
*Shipwreck Reaper Sails, Mercenary Eye of Reach & Blunderbuss *- Visit Duke for his next set of Time-Limited cosmetics; Mercenary Eye of Reach, Mercenary Blunderbuss & Shipwreck Reaper Sails.
Mercenary Cosmetics Bundle - The previously-exclusive 'Mercenary' cosmetics bundle is now available for purchase at Outposts across the world. Head to the Wilds, Ancient Isles or Shores of Plenty to purchase the Mercenary Clothing, Equipment, Pistol & Cutlass from their respective outpost stores.
New Player Onboarding Improvements - The final onboarding popup informing players where to purchase their first voyage now persists onscreen until the onboarding is complete.
Year One Celebration Shop Items – To celebrate our first year, for a limited time, players can purchase two exclusive cosmetics. Pick up the Golden Sailor’s Hat and Golden Sailor’s Cannon for only 320 gold each from their respective outpost shops – get them before they’re gone!
*Xbox Mouse & Keyboard Support *– Players on Xbox can now take full advantage of Mouse and Keyboard support on their favourite console!
*Xbox Chatpad Chat Support *– Players on Xbox can now use a Microsoft Chatpad to engage in Text Chat with other players. Press ‘T’ (Default) to initiate chat or rebind from your settings menu.
Wielding Weapons – Removed the forced firing delay when wielding a gun after sprinting or undocking, allowing players to fire sooner. The forced firing delay when switching weapons still remains.
*Construction in Progress *– Building work appears to have begun around the Arches rock formation, what are they building?
Molten Sands Fortress – Molten Sands Fortress is now active! Faceoff against skeleton waves while dodging volcanic rocks and luring them onto Geysers before raiding the vault for Ashen Rewards!

Fixed Issues

Resolved issue causing players to be held on a Grey screen after finishing a contest while on the ghost ship
Resolved layout and ordering issues on contest scoreboard
Resolved issue preventing score popups to update while onscreen
Scoreboard entries will now correctly reset when finishing a contest and starting a new one
Resolved incorrect icons on chest dig up and cash in popups
Joining a Contest in progress no longer breaks the scoreboard for that player
Prevented players from falling out of the Tavern when having too much fun in the Hot Tub
Resolved UI icons flashing when receiving multiple rewards in succession
Resolved issue when killing a player, where the scoreboard would display the incorrect icon
Resolved missing geometry on Sovereign Figureheads
Resolved a server stability issue when servers where at end of life
Year One Celebration Shop Items are now correctly stocked at Morrow’s Peak Outpost
Prevent Fog from changing the colour of UI Banners

Known Issues

Extended Black Screen on Loading - There is a chance that players may be held indefinitely on the Black Loading Screen with Spinner when returning from the Ghost Ship.
Duplicate Treasure Maps – **During**a Contest, there is a small chance for all crews to be provided duplicate maps for a given treasure island. Once this map is complete the duplicate is removed.
**Arena Performance – **During intense battles within The Arena, we've identified scenarios where performance for all players drops below acceptable levels. You may experience periods of low framerate during this time.
**Tavern Performance – **When a full server of players are present in the Sea Dog's Tavern, we've identified scenarios where performance drops below acceptable levels. You may experience periods of low framerate or see other players running on the spot and 'teleporting' around the Tavern.