Ashen Winds centers upon “the rage of Captain Flameheart” as he infects his most loyal followers with a curse that transforms them into Ashen Lords. Players are tasked with overthrowing this growing power, though the flaming skulls of vanquished lords can also be used to devastating effect.
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Ashen Lords have powerful summoning abilities; they can conjure ash and flame tornados to blind players, while their offensive skills can also outright incinerate opponents. However, defeating an Ashen Lord yields the second of the new features being added to Sea of Thieves: the Ashen Winds Skull.
Skulls can be sold to the Order of Souls for a good amount of gold and an increase in reputation, or kept and weaponized as flamethrowers. However, Ashen Winds Skulls won’t last forever, and after they run out of power, they aren’t usable as weapons or worth much to the Order of Skulls, so players will have to think carefully about what they wish to do with the skulls they uncover.
It’s not hard to get started with Ashen Winds content: once the update is installed, the Ashen Lords can be encountered on a visit to any island in Sea of Thieves. However, players who wish to actively hunt Ashen Lords can do so by keeping an eye on the horizon; ashen tornados mark the spot where a lord has spawned. Then again, Sea of Thieves players who don’t feel the need to hunt down an Ashen Lords can also attempt to just steal an Ashen Winds Skull from a fellow player.
Those aren’t the only new features coming to Sea of Thieves with the update; the Pirate Emporium will now be stocking fiery pets, while the Black Market is getting an influx of new goods that can be purchased at any pirate Outpost. The update also adds new accessibility options and an event called Skull Sweep Wednesdays for players to engage with - players should have their work cut out for them with the update’s introduction.
Sea of Thieves is available now for PC and Xbox One.
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