Sea of Thieves' bumper 2024 bringing windy horns, grapple guns, a roaming warship, and loads more

20.03.2024 - 19:39 / eurogamer.net / Rare

Sea of Thieves is celebrating its sixth anniversary today, 20th March, and to celebrate, Rare has given an unprecedented look at the year ahead for its multiplayer pirate game, with 2024 bringing the likes of windy horns, roaming warships, and portable grappling guns that let you whizz around the place with giddy abandon.

ALl this new stuff starts spewing forth with the arrival of Season 12 on 30th April, which marks the first time Sea of Thieves has received new weapons since the game's launch back in 2018. First up, there's the new double-barrelled flintlock, designed for shorter-range combat, which is capable of rapidly firing two shots individually before a reload is required. Alternatively, both shots can be fired simultaenously for a more powerful attack.

That's joined by the new throwing knife, which has a couple of different uses. It can give an opponent a quick (if not particularly powerful) stab, or it can be charged up to release a high damage attack that's particularly deadly if you can sneak up behind an enemy. And it won't surprise you to hear throwing knives can also be thrown to damage opponents at long distances. They'll also become embedded in environmental geometry, and you'll need to retrieve them to reload — unless your opponent gets there first and uses your blade against you.

As for new tools, Season 12 brings the Scattershot, Bone Caller, and Wind Caller. The Scattershot, is a new type of cannon ammunition consisting of four smaller cannonballs with a wide spread but shorter fall-off compared to other types. When it successfully strikes an opponent's ship, the Scattershot creates four holes at once — albeit only small holes that can be easily patched — meaning it can be used to quickly overwhelm enemies in the right hands.

As for the Bone Caller, it's a new throwable that causes skeletons to spawn out of the ground when tossed, whether on land or sea. Notably, these skeletons ally with whoever throws the Bone Caller, providing additional support in combat. However, opponents can retaliate by throwing their own Bone Caller, leaving the skeletons to duke it out among themselves.

And finally for Season 12's new tools, there's the Wind Caller, a remarkably versatile addition resembling a shell-horn. Blowing into it creates a powerful gust of wind that can be directed at sails to move faster then full billow, or at flames to quickly put out fires. Alternatively, it can blasted at players to knock them backward — perhaps off their ship or a cliff — even used to propel yourself quickly through water, turn your rowboat into a speedboat, or prevent fall damage. The only downside is it has a finite charge, meaning