That was a massive update wave with all the hype. During a big developer update from Rare, starting with Production Director Drew Stevens, some major reveals were leaked—cross-region matchmaking and the field of view from 90 to 110, and presumably, a look at what the Showcase trailer will be about this Sunday. Yeah, a bunch. And the community is just losing their minds over it.
Some specifics: cross-region matchmaking. Are you still joking? A player should never again be trapped in a lobby where he’s the only one speaking his language, or dealing with laggy connections because the server is on the other side of the universe from him. Now, with PvP for Hourglass being legitimized, players can have more offenders, bigger battles, and more voyages. Some are crazy happy and even want local matches: “Cross region? I would like to encounter more people from my same country on the server🥲,” said rotoso85. Sure. More options mean more chaos, and Sea of Thieves is all about chaos.
Then comes the FOV increase announcement. For decades it was the one thing Rare was asked about, and they finally got around to doing it. The current 90 FOV feels like looking through a very restricted fernglass, especially for the PC side where wider FOVs are considered almost the norm. Wiley84 put it better than anyone: “Finally, 90 fov is horrid.” Preciously indeed. The increase from 90 to 110 will basically wipe out those awkward scenarios, at least for those who have not yet felt the weird need to wall themselves in for the past several years. It’s a small update, but to a seasoned player, it means worlds.
The above are just headlines that got updated. The update gave some love to commendation requirements for caskets and urns, rocking the vibe a little controversial. One set of players (ashrya_) are quite annoyed that Rare isn’t cutting back on the grind: “There are a couple of loot items that are so high, that I would have the voyage completion painting before I achieved Grade V and that’s ridiculous.” Meanwhile, others (HaugenKitaugen) view it as insulting: “Kinda crappy they aren’t lowering the commendation requirements. Like, give the players who did it some kind of title or something special for grinding it out.” Oof. Rare’s stance? They acknowledge the grind is tough but aren’t backing down, at least not yet.
The community is torn between celebrating the wins and side-eying the misses, with null_apu getting straight to the point: “What a massive W holy shit.” Shayxis, however, labeled the FOV update as a “decoy” to distract from the commendation drama: “Thanks you for Value our playtime and making the game for Content Creator and Hardcore Player. We, simple players who haven’t dedicated our lives to the game, don’t deserve access to new in-game cosmetics.”
And oh my, the replies! From UltimateX12 disconnecting console settings: “LEARN your System.” to SkillynKas shouting out, “Crud SoT rant is the best thing that happened 😩” pretty much show how crazy things have gotten. Even Drew Stevens entered to shed more light, confirming cross-region matchmaking will be applied from Hourglass to “Tunnels of the Damned.”
Now here’s the thing. More surprises might await in the Sunday showcase trailer, and with Rare teasing work in progress for second chances (per Drew’s reply to _nightplace), there must certainly be more in the oven. Sea of Thieves keeps on cruising whichever side of the spectrum you are—FOV, matchmaking, or just drama. If only, someone would fix those commendations already.
