Ashen Lords arrive in Sea of Thieves

This month’s Sea of Thieves content is being served up hot – literally! Captain Flameheart’s manipulation of Stitcher Jim, Duke and countless other pirates on the seas has finally granted him the knowledge and resources he needs to transform some of his most trusted underlings into Ashen Lords. This July, pirates are tasked with taking down a fearsome foursome in Sea of Thieves’ latest monthly update Ashen Winds, available today for all Sea of Thieves players across Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Steam and with Xbox Game Pass.

Lording It Up

July’s update centers on the rise of the Ashen Lords: four of Flameheart’s followers boosted by the blistering energy of the Ashen Curse, leaving them capable of causing huge destruction. These powerful skeletal foes have emerged across the Sea of Thieves and will strike back with fire, ash and flaming rocks at any pirates who dare to challenge them. The Ashen Lords have distinct personalities and different abilities to anything else seen on the seas, so seafarers must stay sharp at all times to ensure their defeat.

These emergent enemies will appear on islands indicated on the horizon by a raging tornado cloud, and will remain on the Sea of Thieves as a permanent threat to pirates. The Ashen Lords’ fires are far from burning out, and their hot-headed ways are set to rain fiery terror down on players for months to come!

All the Hot Gossip

In combat, an Ashen Lord can spit flame at its opponents – but even after defeat, it’s rumored that the Ashen Winds Skull left behind is potent enough to use as a deadly weapon. Take the cursed cranium and aim it at your enemies to use its fire for your own purposes, but be warned: constant use will drain its power, and reduce its substantial value to the Order of Souls. So if it’s the gold and reputation you’re after, a little restraint will go a long way. If not… fire at will!

Accessibility Additions

In a continued push to open the seas to everyone, more accessibility options are being added to Sea of Thieves this month. The most notable is support for play with a single analog stick, where players can opt to, well, play with just a single analog stick. All ship, pirate and menu controls are moved to your stick of choice, allowing anyone not comfortable with a traditional controller to reduce the number of held inputs required to set sail.

In addition there’s a new auto-centering camera option that ensures it always tends towards the horizon, and an auto-float mode to keep pirates with a dislike of the watery depths bobbing on the surface in a virtual lifejacket. With the number of options in the menu, there’s also a handy button to reset all accessibility options to their default state.

Pirate Emporium Scorchers

Ashen Curse pets are sizzling onto the scene with July’s update, and these charmingly charred critters are joined in the Emporium by new roleplay emotes for your pirates, based on the mannerisms of some of your favorite Sea of Thieves characters. If you’ve ever wanted to prop up the bar just like Duke or delve deeper into roleplaying as a Trading Company Emissary, you’re in luck.

Meanwhile, if you’ve been hankering to dress your four-legged friend in something that reminds you of your many-tentacled enemies, look no further: Kraken cat outfits have reached the Emporium, so your cute kitty can trot about in a dapper new outfit inspired by a terrible behemoth!

There’s also a sale coming to the ship livery aisle of the Pirate Emporium, with a range of Rare-inspired ship bundles (paying tribute to games as diverse as Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata and Perfect Dark) getting a sweet 35% discount to mark Rare’s 35th anniversary. Check out the Pirate Emporium page for all your window shopping needs.