Sea of Thieves ‘Dark Relics’ patch notes – Mysterious chests, new cosmetics, trailer and more

Mysterious chests and a whole host of brand new content have been added to Sea of Thieves with August’s ‘Dark Relics’ monthly update, and there’s a lot to get through. 

Rare appear to have shaken up their pirate game yet again with the introduction of fresh concepts, arrival of even more customizable cosmetics to unlock, and some interesting changes to gameplay. 

The update goes live on August 14 and is just the latest in a series of large monthly updates that have been promised by the developer, following on from the Black Powder Stashes patch that in went live July. 

Sea of Thieves ‘Dark Relics’ update trailer

There’s no better place to start than the new Sea of Thieves trailer, which sheds some light about the changes that have been made to gameplay, including the arrival of harpoons on smaller boats. 

A few new cosmetics can also be spotted in the video, as well as other changes included in the patch notes. 

Sea of Thieves ‘Dark Relics’ patch notes

New content:

• New Voyages into the Dark: “Assist in the urgent recovery effort and you’ll be well rewarded, but you’ll have to butt heads with some skulls along the way. Find the Relics to earn Commendations and gold, while boosting your reputation with the Order on your path to Pirate Legend!”
• Dark Times voyages: “Duke is hiring pirates who don’t mind a tussle to take on Dark Relic Voyages, which will involve smashing skellies, taking their Relics and returning them to the Order. Find him in any tavern to lay claim to a Voyage!”
• Limited time cosmetics: Three new cosmetics have been added to Sea of Thieves for the Dark Relics update, all of which can be found below: 

• Collect the relics: “There are five types of Relic to look out for: the Enchantment Vessel, Hexing Skull, Evil Eye, Mutinous Effigy and Bewitching Doll. The Order of Souls assures all pirates that they won’t get horribly cursed just by handling the Relics. There’s a special Commendation for finding one of each type – so consider trading your spares with other crews! 

  “Over the next few weeks, Duke will offer Dark Relic Voyages in The Shores of Plenty, The Ancient Isles and The Wilds, with special Titles and Commendations to earn. There will also be dedicated Devil’s Roar Voyages for Pirate Legends, which are riskier but reward more Relics…”

• Rope, rope, rope your boat: “While the skellies have been up to no good, pirate tinkers have begun attaching harpoons to Rowboats throughout the world! Just like the harpoon on your ship, the Rowboat version fires a sturdy rope that attaches to large objects or pulls in small objects.”

• Doubloons and Danger: “Duke also wants pirates to watch out for Reaper’s Chests – strange new treasures that have just begun to surface around shipwrecks. Cursed with the Reaper’s Mark, these chests show up on all pirates’ maps!

  “Getting one of these back to Duke won’t be easy with all that extra attention on you. What’s inside them? Not even Duke knows yet. However, he’s willing to pay Doubloons for each Reaper’s Chest returned!”

(Source: Sea of Thieves)

Well, there you have it. Everything that’s included in the brand new monthly update for Sea of Thieves. If you want to try out some of these new additions, just jump right into the game.