Insider Update 3.5.3.4 is now live. This Insider build brings a rebalanced Eternal Guard encounter and a wide range of new Pirate Emporium cosmetics to test.
If you encounter any bugs while playing in Insiders, please head to the Sea of Thieves support site and report an issue with our Player Support team.
Eternal Guard Balancing
The Eternal Guard’s attack patterns and movement timings have been rebalanced to provide a smoother experience when in combat and feel more responsive to the actions of the crew.
The Guard’s spear throw attack, Poison Dart and Poison Bomb have all received a damage increase to keep the fight challenging.
The brief periods where the Eternal Guard is vulnerable to attack have been increased to provide more time to deal extra damage.
The overall health of the Eternal Guard has been lowered, however it is now more resilient to throwing knife attacks.
The Dying Breath final attack from the Guard is now more deadly, dealing additional damage. The attack’s blast radius has been rebalanced to make proximity much more punishing, while players moving away will now be blasted backwards from the explosion.
Skeletons summoned by the Eternal Guard now appear faster and cannot be interrupted by crews staggering the Guard.
The frequency of encountering an Eternal Guard during a session has been increased, making them appear more frequently. They can now also be found outside of The Devil’s Roar on large islands in each region, but have a much smaller chance of spawning there.
Eternal Guard Improvements
Dialogue for all variants of the Eternal Guard can now be heard throughout the fight.
The controller vibration and screen shakes have been rebalanced across the Ritual sequence and combat encounter to provide clearer feedback.
Devil’s Roar Balancing
Across The Devil’s Roar, environmental hazards have been rebalanced further to reduce frustration while adventuring in this region during Season 18.
Geysers that appear on islands should now be slightly more forgiving when exploring, appearing less frequently and in fewer numbers.
A live volcano now erupts for a shorter time before subsiding, and while erupting the chance that nearby ships will be hit with volcanic rocks has been reduced.
Emergent Sandbox Balancing
The frequency of shipwrecks being discovered across the seas has been increased, returning to pre-Season 17 levels. Crews diving into a shipwreck will now also have a chance at discovering either a regular shipwreck or a Smugglers’ wreck, each providing different rewards.
Washed up Smugglers’ Caches will now be rarer on beaches.
Crews spotting a washed-up Rowboat will now have an equal chance of finding each different type of Rowboat, reducing the frequency of Reaper’s Bones Rowboats appearing.
Crews should find they are ambushed by skeletons wielding Black Powder Barrels less frequently.
New Items – in stock now!
Tundra Wanderer Ship: Cannons, Capstan, Collector’s Figurehead, Collector’s Sails, Figurehead, Flag, Hull, Sails, Wheel and Ship’s Crest.
Tundra Wanderer Weapons: Blowpipe, Blunderbuss, Cutlass, Double Barrel Pistol, Eye of Reach, Grapple Gun, Pistol and Throwing Knives.
Tundra Wanderer Clothing: Hat, Jacket, Gloves, Boots and Trousers.
Tundra Wanderer Equipment: Drum.
Glacial Curse Pets: Barbary and Toucan.
Festive Hats: Red Festive Hat and Black Festive Hat.
Humble Gift Emote – Free!
The Eternal Guard
Dig spots may appear underneath the sarcophagus or too close to it.
The Eternal Guard may T-pose if it’s defeated during a spear throw.
Walking over the sarcophagus can cause camera stutter.
Other enemies can incorrectly walk over the Eternal Guard’s sarcophagus.
The victory music may play again if a crewmate dies and respawns after the Eternal Guard has already been defeated.
The Eternal Guard may become stuck on terrain while navigating around islands.
Gameplay
Players attempting to use the ship’s mast ladder while the ship is moving will now consistently grab on and be able to move freely without stuttering.
Blunderbombs fired from cannons into other ships will now push ships in a more predictable direction.
The Violet Violence Trophy now unlocks properly after selling a Banished Ancient treasure on PlayStation®5.
Trident of the Banished
Players will now hear audio feedback when taking poison damage.
Flashing visual glitches after bubble explosions have been tidied up.
Trident bubbles now deal the correct amount of damage to Ancient Megalodons.
Small Trident bubbles no longer take out Kraken tentacles in a single hit.
Eternal Guard
The Eternal Guard’s sarcophagus now appears correctly on large islands outside of The Devil’s Roar.
The Banished Skeleton pop-up notification now shows its proper icon instead of a placeholder.
The Eternal Guard now appears correctly when rejoining a session after the game has closed unexpectedly.
The sarcophagus now stays in its proper state when approaching after a flame has been lit.
Subtitles no longer appear without a matching voice line during the Eternal Guard’s death cry.
Fire effects now vanish properly when the Eternal Guard cloaks.
An unexpected game closure linked to dying while fighting the Eternal Guard on Xbox One X has been resolved.
Sanctuaries of the Banished
Smugglers’ Hideouts in The Devil’s Roar
Players can no longer become stuck between a barrel and a mannequin at Ruby’s Fall.
Lighting now behaves correctly at the Fetcher’s Rest Hideout.
It is no longer possible to see outside the world through rocks in the Fetcher’s Rest Hideout.
Enemies no longer drift behind set dressing where they can’t be reached in the Fetcher’s Rest Hideout.
Season 18 Commendations
Environment
Visual and Audio
Boreal Aurora Cannons now keep their effects when viewed from shorter distances.
All Ship’s Crests now face the correct way on ships.
The glint of treasure viewed at a distance will now twinkle more randomly and not pulse consistently with other treasure.
The Purple Resolute Sails symbol is now properly aligned.
Smuggler characters’ voice lines now match their written dialogue.
Re-wielding a Fort Key after sprinting no longer causes a noticeable jump in the animation.
Frozen Horizon instruments now follow a consistent design across the set.
The Dark Discovery seasonal painting no longer merges into the ship’s hull.
The Along for the Ride Trinkets now display correctly at different distances.
The Hunting Tribute of the Banished keeps its purple gem when viewed from afar.
The Banished Ancient Rune Tablet is now held consistently in both first and third person.
Trophies now display the correct image when unlocked on PlayStation®5.
User Interface
Performance and Stability
A game closure related to Enhanced Headphone Mode and personalised face scan profiles has been resolved.
Crews experiencing issues when diving beneath the waves should no longer find themselves returned to the surface alongside a duplicate version of their ship.
