Sea of Thieves: Should we play it now?- Jeuxvideo.com

Three years ago came out of the waves - like a cursed galleon - Sea of Thieves, a funny multiplayer game where pirates around the world traveled land and seas in search of treasures.Soft under British pavilion gave multiple tools to players so that they plunge into adventures made of small missions and eminent battles.After more than 35 updates, the title added new elements and revised some mechanics.As a picture of the holder funds, we land at the tavern and question the god of the swell: in March 2021, is it the right time for a young moussaillon to get into the big bath flowing by rare?

The experience of the old sea wolf

With its XP system giving pride of place to strictly cosmetic improvements, the famous pirate game has always bet on the trip rather than on the destination. Compared to the 2018 cuvée, the Sea of ​​Thieves of March 2021 fortifies this postulate. Above all thanks to its battle pass which attributes reputation according to the tasks accomplished. Here, the levels go up fairly quickly: just navigating or putting the foot on an island brings in experience. Arrived at certain levels, the player is rewarded with skins for his weapons, his pirate, his boat, or simply recovers a little virtual currency. In three years, Sea of ​​Thieves' goal has not moved an iota. It is always requested to fulfill different objectives and then bring back the loot won (chests, skulls, cages, opposing pavilions, etc.) to an outpost in order to earn money, and thus benefit from reputation points. It is nevertheless possible to work for local guilds just to increase its multiplier of points, but this has the effect of attracting the lust of the bones of the mower, a brotherhood specializing in PVP. Indeed, the boats in the colors of the guilds appear directly on the world map of these terrible crooks.

Daily tasks and active events are - without surprise - recorded in the Pirate newspaper, which allows you to quickly know how to optimize the evolution of its reputation as much as possible. These XP points which are acquired over this first season do not supplant the ladder to climb with local guilds, such as the mower bone (PVP oriented), gold collectors (treasures to be found) , the alliance of merchants (objects or animals to be delivered), the order of souls (skeleton captains to be destroyed), the hunter's call (fishing of sea creatures), sea wolves (pvp in the arena) and Athena's fortune (for legendary pirates). Let's be clear, however: Sea of ​​Thieves can be traveled without having an eye fixed on the stats. The new weapons to obtain does not do more damage and the legs in golden wood do not increase the speed: the modifications are only visual. As a result, the new player who wants to try the adventure will never find himself crushed by over -equipped human corsairs. Unless the incandescent eyes of the ash curse carried by another Forban makes him lose all his means, but this is another problem.

Content to overflow the ocean

Those who have never played Sea of Thieves have the opportunity to discover the bases of the gameplay by embarking on the inaugural journey, absent from the original game when it was released.What to learn gently the fundamentals of the software.Weapons are never prohibited in the game of rare, which means that vile palefreniers can gently wait for the return of lonely wolves to the forefront to relieve them of their expensive cargo.Meetings on land as at sea are the highlight of the Sea of Thieves experience, and are the cause of the most epic game sessions as the worst moments of dismay.You are warned!

Since the first birthday update, the Fables du Filibustier have been the (vaguely) scripted game. Compared to guild quests, travel requires using special objects and visiting real temples filled with traps. In total of 12 in total (including the inaugural trip), they reserve hours of exploration and confrontations. If you are wondering what a fable looks like, we presented you a video overview of the "Ardent Heart" mission last year. Again, the time has never been so good to get started for the very first time in these special quests, since Rare added judicious checkpoints. In the past, it was necessary to achieve the objective at once to permanently validate the progression. The short sessions were therefore unthinkable, and the slightest glitch required to start everything again. This is now ancient history: yes, a fable can be taken up.

Sea of Thieves, to discover Heart of Fire

Between the exploration of Devil's Roar, the brews of the arena, the destruction of skeleton ships, the fishing of rare species, the confrontation of the Cendré lords, the assault of the Cursed Strongs or the attack on the Fan, there is always something to do and discover in Sea of Thieves.Even if these activities would ultimately report only enough to get a new hat.In many in the same galley, the events generated by the universe lead to unpredictable parts that can prove to be absolutely epic.

The sea of thieves as a service

The principle of Sea of ​​Thieves may not have moved since the day-D, the rare software has gleaned over the months of welcome mechanics, starting with the fact of being able to harpoon treasures (or comrades) on the sea , to draw up a pavilion to organize alliances, or to be able to revive a comrade fallen in combat before his soul joins the galleon of the Damnés. It was mainly the naval battles that have been reworked by the British studio, since the release. In addition to enchanted balls and other grenades likely to ignite ships, which appeared over time, boats have localized damage. During a confrontation, the mast, the Cabestan and the bar can be put into pieces. The victims of these deterioration crews are able to repair them through a few wooden planks. In the regrets department, we note facing confrontations that have not really evolved in three years. The sword duels always display a certain lack of finesse. The fact of having to find a way to effectively fight the special skeletons does not prevent us from noticing that the fights on hand-to-body are below the other proposals of the game.

Si le Sea of Thieves de 2018 n’avait pas enregistré tous les codes du jeu-service, celui de 2021 en dompte ses rouages. Pour le meilleur comme pour le pire. Avec l’arrivée du Battle Pass de la première saison, les pirates qui décident de dépenser 9,99 euros débloqueront du contenu supplémentaire (comme une superbe barre Banjo & Kazooie au niveau 30, oui oui). L’emporium pour acheter des animaux de compagnie ainsi que tout un tas d’éléments de personnalisation contre de l’argent réel est lui aussi de la partie. Et les prix sont salés comme la mer ! Comptez une quinzaine d’euros pour débloquer un skin complet de navire, 5,49 euros pour adopter un petit chat/chien/perroquet, et 2,99 euros pour bénéficier d’un pack d’attitudes. Les marins d'eau douce qui envisagent de rejoindre l’expérience Sea of Thieves doivent surtout retenir deux choses. La première, c’est que jouer seul augmente la difficulté du périple. Dans cette configuration, le moindre pépin se transforme rapidement en catastrophe, surtout depuis l’arrivée des dégâts localisés et du feu qui se propage. La seconde, c’est que si vous jouez sur une Xbox, pensez à exclure les joueurs PC de votre matchmaking, cela vous donnera plus de chances en cas de rencontre hostile. Ultime conseil si vous voulez gagner des niveaux rapidement, dressez les pavillons des guildes à chaque fois que vous le pouvez (même pour ne visiter qu’une épave). Sachez également que les marchands payent bien du côté de Devil’s Roar.

A season 2 that does not make waves

Almost three months after the release of her first season, Sea of Thieves returns with a second season.Let's not go there by four paths: this update feels a little the low tide, the fault of the three main novelties which do not manage to bring the hoped shiver.

First there is the new job proposed by the merchants. Each outpost now has a register indicating products sought by all the outposts in the world. Selling raw tea to a merchant who is looking for it reports some additional gold coins. Bringing the guild pavilion gives the ability to buy the products to be delivered directly to other islands. It should be noted that it is also possible to obtain directly from the sellers of the boxes of balls, fruit, storage or even wood, which is practical to properly prepare for an assault. Unfortunately, and even if this addition is sympathetic, it does not necessarily deepen the experience. Deliveries are extremely common in Sea of ​​Thieves, since they have been present since its launch (in another form, of course). The other important addition comes from fortunes of makeshifts which involve waves of skeletons and captains with devastating powers. The challenge is difficult, but the reward promised, namely Athena treasures, has something to motivate the crews to make the trip. Again, cursed forts, we are starting to get used to it in Sea of ​​Thieves! Therefore, this supplement seems quite negligible. Finally, the addition that has been talked about a lot on the specialized forums, although relatively anecdotal, is the "barrel" emote transforming the player into a wooden barrel. In this state, his pseudo disappears, which makes him less detectable in the eyes of his human adversaries. This special faculty is unlocked once level 13 of reputation has reached. In the world of Sea of ​​Thieves, this is equivalent to about 4 hours of play.

The richest pirates will be delighted to take a tour in the emporium to discover the Tarsmith Skin the dark. For the first time in Sea of ​​Thieves (excluding display bugs making us appear as a skeletal spectrum), it is possible to become a skeleton for finance (9.99 euros). Do not expect to transform yourself into a cursed captain once you arrive at level 100 of this season 2, the skin being exclusively reserved for sale even if you have the Plunder Pass. The batch of Warsmith ships which contains a figurehead, sails, a shell, a bar, cannons, a capstan, a pavilion and a brightness of cannon is sold at the particularly high price of 22.99 euros. Yes, it's far too expensive. Despite the presence of various small improvements in game mechanics, this season 2 is not the most convincing. We hope that for the following, rare teams will offer really refreshing things, such as new breeds of opponents to face, daring fables to discover, or unprecedented regions to explore.

Originally thought of as a multiplayer software going against many concepts, Sea of Thieves today follows its river.If the words "Battle Pass" and "Service game" do not scare you, it may be time for you to (re) dive into the agitated seas of this colorful world.