Sea of Thieves' upcoming revive system will let you escape the cold clutches of death

Sea of Thieves update 2.0.8
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios, Rare)

Death in Sea of Thieves is a temporary state: When you get stabbed, shot, eaten by a shark, or blown up by a teammate who decides to play a game of Swingsy Swordsie while other people are moving gunpowder barrels around, you take a quick trip to the Ferryman, ride on his ghostly ship for a bit, and then get sent back to your own boat, none the worse for wear. The upcoming Ships of Fortune update will enable a new approach to those unfortunate endings with the addition of an option that will give players the ability to revive their crewmates.

When the revive system is in place, fallen players will have 15 seconds to be revived by their not-dead teammates, or 25 seconds in the PvP arena. The revival process itself takes four seconds, during which time the reviving players will be defenseless—something to keep in mind before you try to be a hero in the middle of a big fight. Both crewmates and members of alliances can be brought back, and revived players rejoin the action with 25 percent of their health.

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One thing the update doesn't make clear is whether the 15-second window is mandatory, or if players can opt to skip the wait and go straight to the death ferry. I would assume it's the latter, since that's pretty much the standard for revive systems—sometimes you just don't feel like waiting, especially if you're a solo player—but I've reached out to Rare to confirm. 

Speaking of solo players, they won't get any benefit from revives (unless they're in an alliance), but a reduction in the countdown timer on the ferry means they'll get back to the seas a little quicker than they did previously.

The change could have a big impact, particularly in large battles, but some players on Twitter are concerned that it could tip the scales too far in favor of alliances. I don't think that's actually very likely—if you're a solo ship being pursued by an alliance, you're probably in trouble anyway—but I also don't play at an especially high level, so maybe I'm not seeing all the implications. We'll find out soon enough.

Other changes mentioned in the update include an option to show Tall Tale starting locations and eligibility on the map, a new quitting penalty for the PvP arena, and a new "crew status" option that will enable players to see where their fellows are, and what they're doing, at long distances. (Personally, I think it's fun to have to figure it out manually, but some people just want to get straight to business.)

Sea of Thieves: Ships of Fortune is set to go live on April 22. In case you hadn't heard, there will be cats.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.