Sea of Thieves is set to add one of its most significant updates yet: solo play.
Ever since Rare’s multiplayer-focused pirate adventure game launched in 2018, the developers have faced questions about the addition of solo play. Now, it’s finally coming as part of Season 10 in December. Finally, you won’t have to worry about rival pirates stealing your hard-earned treasure!
In a post on Xbox Wire, creative director Mike Chapman explained the decision. “Just as we hope that the Skull of Siren Song will encourage competitive play, we recognize that for some players, a quieter, more independent experience can be preferable,” Chapman said.
“That’s why, in December, Season 10’s third major feature will introduce an entirely new game mode that grants players the ability to sail the Sea of Thieves alone or with a crew of friends, within their own private game session.”
Solo play comes as part of the Safer Seas feature. It’s intended to offer a “gentler” introduction to Sea of Thieves for new players, as well as a quieter map for existing players who want to play their own solo adventures.
My guess is they mean that if you’re doing the Safer Seas stuff, you get a standard ship and you can customize how it looks (sails, cannons, etc.) from the NPCs in the harbour but you don’t get to name the ship, and any customizations you do aren’t saved for the next time.
If you do the High Seas, you can buy a ship, name it, and unlock lots of customizations (more than standard ones) which are saved with the ship, so they’re there next time you log in and select that ship.
I don’t know about the other current major advantage of a captained ship, which is currently being able to unload all your treasure and sell it extremely quickly. Without that you need to dock, then manually run all the skulls to the skull guys, all the trade goods to the trade guys, all the treasure to the treasure guys, etc.