Sea of Thieves Season 5 is well underway, with a host of new wintery content for pirates to explore.

Sea of Thieves continues to add new content every few months in the form of seasons. The latest one started in early December 2021 and will end sometime in March 2022. Season 5, like previous seasons, introduces new gameplay elements and cosmetic items alongside a long list of bug fixes and quality of life improvements.

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Season 5 is largely Christmas-themed, and many of the features help to introduce some holiday cheer to the game. The new season is well underway, so any pirates looking to jump in have no time to waste.

One of the big gameplay additions to Season 5 is the new fireworks and flares. These items can be purchased in crates from Merchant Alliance vendors or found in barrels throughout the Sea of Thieves. They can be loaded into cannons and, when fired, produce beautiful displays in over 50 different designs. Flares operate similarly, though they hang in the air rather than explode. Fireworks can't be used to directly damage enemy ships, but they are capable of lighting fires if they land right.

This pirate trope was one of the few missing from Sea of Thieves, and its addition is more than welcome. Players can now bury treasure in sand or soil and will be given a map with a classic red X leading them back to their stash. These maps are then stored on the Captain's Table in a Map Bundle and can be gifted to, or stolen by, other crews. Players can also post their maps to a Quest Board for other players to use, and doing so will earn the map's owner a good chunk of Renown. Like most things in Sea of Thieves, however, the treasure a crew buries won't be accessible to them in future sessions.

New world interaction was added to the game in the form of seats and beds. When walking up to certain locations on ships, Outposts, or islands, the player will be given a prompt to sit or sleep.

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This is a great addition for anyone who enjoys really roleplaying as a pirate, and the third-person camera option provides an opportunity for some beautiful screenshots. Sleeping even provides a mechanical benefit, as a sleeping pirate will slowly regenerate some health.

Pirates looking to express themselves get a slew of new options both emotive and musical in Season 5. The songbook grows with the additions of "Ballad of the Mer," "Infernal Galop," and the always-classic "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." New emotes featuring polyhedral dice allow pirates to randomly assign duties or play some games-within-games. The Sand Angel emote lets a pirate lay down on the ground and make some beautiful art as well.

Any game as big as Sea of Thieves is going to need tweaks along the way to balance gameplay or fix bugs. Season 5 helps make the whole experience smoother with a handful of changes. Skeletons and Phantoms now have a chance to drop ammo pouches when killed, which can refill all weapons. Seagulls will now circle the remains of a Kraken or Megalodon, aiding players in finding the loot those creatures drop. There are several other tweaks and small additions that generally improve gameplay.

Since Season 5 began in early December, much of it is Christmas- or winter-themed. As they gain Renown, all players will receive costumes and items from the Bell Brigade set, a fancy cosmetic family in mostly reds, greens, and golds. Items such as the Mistletoe Fishing Rod, the Snug Scarf Jacket, and the Snowbound Ship Lantern help players decorate with cheer.

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Pirates who have purchased the Plunder Pass will also get access to the Boreal Aurora items, a set of ship cosmetics with a purple and blue color scheme featuring reindeer iconography. These holiday items are available throughout the season, so pirates can begin collecting them to wear next year.

Pirate crews who didn't get to fully explore the Siren Treasuries and Shrines of Sea of Thieves Season 4 need not worry, as that content is still very much in the game. This continues the trend of Sea of Thieves spotlighting new content via its season structure, but not making that content exclusive to the season. It's a great way of giving players a limited amount to focus on each season while simultaneously building up the game's world and making it a lot richer.

Each season brings with it a host of new items for pirates to buy with their hard-earned loot. One of the biggest sets this season is the Royal Revenge ship set, a gorgeous red and gold collection that prepares a crew to sail the seas in style. For the pirates themselves, the Frozen Horizon equipment and instruments add onto the Frozen Horizon ship set introduced last winter. The game also continues its brand tie-in with Pirates of the Caribbean with the Captain Barbossa costume set.

Several events have already come and gone within Season 5, but there will be more on the way. The season kicked off with the Festival of Giving followed by the New Year-themed Grogmanay. In addition to these multi-day events, Sea of Thieves is introducing regular events to be announced a week ahead of time. These events vary widely in their content, from increased hauls for selling treasure to bonus Renown rewards. The specifics are ever-changing, so pirates looking to plan ahead should consult the Event Hub on the Sea of Thieves website.

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Declan is a writer and editor for Comic Book Resources and an independent game designer. They've been playing video and tabletop games since childhood and continue that love today.

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