Simply days after the launch of Sea of Thieves’ stealth-focused Season 14, developer Uncommon has yanked almost all its new options – together with the flexibility to crouch and don disguises – acknowledging “important points” arising from their addition to the sport.
Uncommon had already been pressured to disable a variety of flagship new options forward of Seasons 14’s launch final week – that’s, the flexibility to put traps and to hold from ledges – on account of stability considerations and a “excessive participant affect difficulty” found throughout a remaining spherical of testing. As such, its resolution to now take away crouching and disguises means solely a tiny fraction of Season 14’s introduced options are at present out there to gamers.
Talking in a video replace detailing the “drastic steps” earlier as we speak, Sea of Thieves manufacturing director Drew Stevens defined the arrival of crouching had “launched a variety of knock-on results to the broader expertise”. Extra particularly, it had result in the return of a variety of PvP exploits Uncommon has beforehand tried to stamp out, together with the flexibility for gamers to modify weapons quicker than supposed and to regulate their air actions after blasting from a canon. Uncommon has additionally recognized an invincibility exploit.
“We’re actually sad in regards to the high quality of Season 14’s launch”, Stevens acknowledged in his video replace, including that Uncommon is “taking this case very critically”. He went on to elucidate the studio’s first precedence is “stabilising” the participant expertise, and it will start re-enabling options as soon as it is “assured they meet our high quality bar”.
Crouching and disguises had been briefly disabled throughout emergency upkeep earlier as we speak and the hope is to convey them again as a part of a scorching repair concentrating on “excessive affect points” scheduled for subsequent week. Stevens stated that slightly than speeding its launch and “compounding points additional”, Uncommon desires to make sure subsequent week’s scorching repair brings “significant” enhancements and is given “the mandatory time [in] inside high quality assurance”.
As for traps and ledge hanging, the studio hopes to re-enable them as a part of its recurrently scheduled month-to-month replace in November, which additionally guarantees “additional fixes, enhancements, and balancing adjustments”. This replace will see Uncommon trialling a brand new course of behind-the-scenes that is supposed to offer “longer time and focus for our inside testing” and permit for “further hardening” with Insiders. If every thing goes to plan, all commendations, rewards, and achievements related to the at present disabled options must also return.
“All of us perceive how irritating this has been,” Stevens continued. “I do know I’ve spoken about it earlier than, and I am positive you are sick of listening to it, however we all know we have to do higher right here, and Season 14 has suffered from an absence of high quality management… We will be all fingers on deck by means of the following releases to get again answerable for sport high quality”.
Following as we speak’s adjustments, the one key Season 14 additions nonetheless at present enabled are the grappling gun and new blowdart weapon. And as to what’s subsequent for Sea of Thieves – past the regular reintroduction of these at present lacking options – Uncommon hasn’t but stated. Season 14 marks the top of the 2024 launch roadmap it shared again in March, so it is unlikely the studio shall be able to share any main future plans till the 12 months is thru.
