The latest Pirate Emporium has appeared for Sea of Thieves, and it brought a little bit of the wild west with it. Starting on August 14, the Riptide Rodeo set will dress the pirates as cowboy outlaws who somehow lost their way on the sea. And judging by the reaction of some, this shall surely divide the community more than a kraken attack on a solo sloop.
The announcement tweet featured the full set, leather chaps and giant hats, with fringed glitz that would make any saloon girl jealous. Now, that is the quick story of Sea of-Thieves cosmetics-they ignite a fair bit more debate than a tavern full of drunken pirates. Some of these players might just be nearing their downloads into their wallets while the others…should probably not be tipping their hats to Rare’s design choice.
CowboyTechTV summed up one side down in the comments, “As a cowboy, I NEED this!” Then Shanick92 threw the shade: “Next year E3 Trailer will be for Emporium Cosmetic Set” – that’s a burn. The back-and-forth between players is what makes these premium cosmetics so contentious. Some want even more pirate-y stuff (we’re looking at you, McChickeney, still begging for that full fallen sea dog set after 679 days), and others couldn’t care less about the silly crossovers.
Now, spice is brought in by вongwater, who went all conspiracy theorist alleging that the devs “trying to indoctrinate kids to be gay” with “fem coded slop.” Yikes. Most players had a laugh, though, with Snorthgaming perfectly capturing the chaotic essence of cowboy pirates: “Cowboy piracy! I’m liking this!!”
The trailer gave a little insight into the finer details. CappCabbage said, “sand dusting is pretty sweet,” while others joked that Flameheart looked different (thanks, MutinousMel). But really, what is anyone thinking about? “How many Ancient Coins is this going to cost?” The previous Emporium sets were sold anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 coins or roughly $15-$20 in real-world money. Not very loose change to many gamers.
Also cute is the note of Rare ever pushing these thematic sets where different genres will be blended with pirate life. We had the Greek mythology stuff; now we’ve got the Wild West…who knows what’s going to come next? CloverPurple is already begging for an Overwatch crossover (McCree skin when?), while Valor Omega and Shanick have started joking about One Piece collabs. It’s an endless possibility when you have a game whose lore basically becomes “anything goes if it looks cool.”
The thing is, that not really everybody has been pleased. SAsparaguss kept his absolutely blunt demand in the midst of some weird personal beef with some bloke named Taaamas (drama we’re not even qualified to unpack) to “fix the game.” Meanwhile, Spikes17T gave it a backhanded compliment, saying it’s “a little cheaper looking” than the previous sets. Oof.
Truly, there are some percentiles of this game in which the bulk of the fun comes from the cosmetic options. Whether you’re the type to spend on just about everything, or the type that will stay long enough to chuckle about the idea of cowboys on a brigantine, Riptide Rodeo is making waves. Mark your calendars because August 14th will be high noon on the sea, partners! Just don’t expect your entire crew to dress in the same outfit unless you want to be sunk by your fellow ship mates for crimes against fashion.
Let’s all be honest here; you know someone buying this just for the Arthur Morgan meme posted by a_littlefella. Because nothing screams “pirate fantasy” quite like pretending to be a cowboy who somehow ended up on a boat. Rare knows exactly what they want from these sets, and our wallets are weeping for it. But hey, at least we’ll be looking good while getting sunk by a five-year-old in a galleon.
