Patch 1.3 and Black Mark DLC

Ahoy!

First, the important stuff:

• Patch 1.3 is available. We've never done anything like this before as a studio.

• Starting NG is not required. We recommend loading version 1.2.1 saves made while on land.

• Today marks the game's second 'release'—Steam will be actively promoting it for two weeks.

• To celebrate, we've set a historic low price—50% off.

• Now's the perfect moment to start playing if you’ve been holding off for any reason.

• Black Mark DLC is out now.

What's New:

Ships

One of the goals of Patch 1.3 was not only to rework the remaining player-favorite early-game ships but also to lay the groundwork for the planned boarding scenes. The ships turned out great.

New ships:

• The Valkyrie

• The Meifeng

• Fluyt

• War Schooner

• The Principio (DLC)

• Improved sail and rigging quality for all ships in the game.

In total, ~30% of the entire game fleet has been revamped by 1.3 - just as planned.

Quests

Extinguished Star We’ve never created a quest this complex, non-linear, and intricate before. It has everything: new content with Mary and Helen, direct impact on the main storyline, cutscenes, crazy flashbacks, and valuable loot. The quest starts at the end of "The Dutch Gambit" and continues through to "Turtle Soup." No spoilers—see it for yourself.

Black Mark A non-linear quest, designed for the early stages of the game, offering valuable rewards and nods to veterans of the "Sea Dogs" series. Available in both Story and Sandbox modes. Part of the"Black Mark" DLC.

Rewards include: a duelling double-barreled pistol, an Italian rapier, an Army broadsword, a Black Spot ward, armor, as well as a new officer—Tommy Irons, and the legendary Pink of Nicholas Sharp, the Principio. The Pink is stunning, but the true star of the DLC is Irons. He's got killer jokes.

Locations

No new locations in this patch, aside from a few scenes for the Longway quest. The boarding decks took up almost all of our time and will continue to do so. All four decks will be included in either Patch 1.3.1 or 1.5.

However, we did update several old locations, especially those that significantly lagged behind the newer ones in quality.

Locations update:

• Locations and scenes for the "Extinguished Star" quest

• The Old Lighthouse

• Port Royal Lighthouse

• Several beaches

• Indian village

• Improved ground textures in towns.

Animations

We continue the challenging journey of bringing quests, battles, and cities life to life. The minimum program has already been fulfilled, and with Patch 1.5, we aim for something even more ambitious. Next-gen is just around the corner.

New animations:

• Unique animations for the "Extinguished Star" quest

• 7 new contextual death battle animations

• 2 prayer animations in churches

• 2 animations for drunks in towns

• Tavern musicians no longer drown out the game’s music

• Fishermen, blacksmiths, and musicians now work according to the time of day

New Hero

Due to popular demand, Helen McArthur is now a fully-fledged character in Sandbox mode. She is compatible with the "Vile Little God" and "Black Mark" DLCs. She has unique dialogues in her hometown Blueweld, unique achievements, loot, and starts her pirate career on a war schooner.

For now, she doesn’t carry a musket or visible armor, and there may be some "gender errors" ːrofl_pirateː in the dialogues. Her development will continue in Patch 1.5, along with other Sandbox characters.