I love pirates. Growing up, my step dad told me he was one before he met my mum, so maybe that’s why. It helped that his name was John and that he did regularly wear long johns, which really sold the ruse. Sea of Thieves lets you live out your (read: my) childhood swashbuckling fantasies, and the upcoming Season 13 is going to test your mettle with its toughest ship yet: Captain Flameheart’s Burning Blade, a blazing monstrosity that spits fireballs at you.
The Burning Blade is a huge warship. It has ten cannons, it’s immune to fire damage, and its bow has a set of flaming jaws that spit fire. It’s a good thing you’re surrounded by water. If you can find it roaming the ocean in Sea of Thieves and manage to defeat it, you get a choice: destroy it and get the Blade of Souls, or pledge fealty to Captain Flameheart and enter into his service, captaining the Burning Blade with your own crew.
The sword does look cool, but I’m choosing the massive flame ship ten times out of ten. The thought of sailing around the pirate game and instilling fear in all the other players brings a smile to my face.
As well as the new ship and sword, skeleton camps are being added in Season 13. The skeletal residents are loyal to Flameheart, and they guard ancient temples with precious artifacts inside. You don’t need to be in control of the Burning Blade to access these camps, but you’ll look a lot cooler if you are.
There’s also a new audio queue in the game that will help you detect when an enemy pirate has grabbed a ladder to board your ship. After all, once you’ve got the Burning Blade, you wouldn’t want anyone stealing it from under your nose, would you?
Sea of Thieves Season 13 launches Thursday July 25. You can currently get Sea of Thieves for 50% off, just $19.99 / £19.99, down from $39.99 / £39.99, until THursday July 11. You can get it on Steam, right here.
If you need some help taking down the Burning Blade, our Sea of Theives endgame guide should help you. But if you’d rather be under the waves instead of on top of them, there are plenty of cool submarine games you can check out.
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