Sea of Thieves Release Notes - Hotfix 3.8.0.2 (9th July 2026)
Rare has patched critical issues preventing Chests of Fortune from dropping in World Events and halting fort progression mid-encounter.
Rare's latest hotfix tackles two problems that have been grinding fort runs to a halt. The Chest of Fortune, a high-value loot drop, wasn't appearing when it should across eight different World Events, and now it is. Better still, the chances of finding one or even multiple copies have been significantly increased, which means crews tackling Skeleton Forts, Reaper Fortresses, the Fort of Fortune, Ashen Winds, Skeleton Fleets, Ghost Fleets, the Burning Blade, and the Fort of the Damned should see noticeably better payouts.
The second fix addresses a progression-breaking bug where skeleton waves could simply stop spawning during a fort siege, leaving crews stuck and unable to complete the encounter. That's now resolved across the same fort types.
A smaller fix prevents players from scuttling their ship before sinking during Faction Battles to deny opponents their victory and rewards, and the Bilge Rats Weekender challenge checklist should no longer appear blank when opened. The full breakdown of changes is below.
Full Patch Notes
▲ Buff✓ Fix◆ TweakUpdates
Chest of Fortune Balancing
- The issues preventing some emergent World Events from awarding the Chest of Fortune upon completion have been addressed, and the Chest of Fortune is now being awarded where intended.
- When tackling any of these emergent World Events, the chances of players finding one or even multiple Chests of Fortune have now been significantly increased!
Fixed Issues
Gameplay
- The following World Events now provide a chance of discovering a Chest of Fortune as intended: Skeleton Forts, Reaper Fortresses, the Fort of Fortune, Ashen Winds, Skeleton Fleets, Ghost Fleets, the Burning Blade and the Fort of the Damned.
- Crews should no longer find that during a Fort siege, skeleton waves can stop appearing, halting progress through the encounter. This addresses issues experienced in Skeleton Forts, Reaper Fortresses, the Fort of Fortune and the Fort of the Damned.
Faction Battles
- Players who attempt to scuttle prior to sinking during a Faction Battle can no longer prevent their opponent from receiving the win and their rewards.
Bilge Rats Weekender
- Further improvements have been made to prevent Challenge checklists from appearing blank when opened during the Bilge Rats Weekender.
Known Issues
To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.
Full Release Notes
These release notes cover a hotfix. For full details on recently added game features, see the release notes on our latest content update.
Sources
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Written by
Nathan LeesGaming journalist and founder of XP Gained. Covering patch notes, breaking news, and updates across 160+ games.
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