Patch 1.8 Maritime Update - Open Beta

Ahoy!

On the menu:

• Open Beta 1.8 is live
• No new game required
• 2.0 teaser trailer — in case you missed it
• DLC announcement: "Maritime Stories"
• Naval gunnery just got a lot more satisfying
• Bearing angle — now actually readable
• The world map feels more alive than ever
• We really need you to play the beta and share your thoughts

2.0 Teaser Trailer

https://youtu.be/yk4MVykhbp8
"How I remember a game Vs how it really looked" — @Spruehwuerstl

The trailer made some waves, so let's clear the air and answer the big questions.

• The DEV build of 2.0 can already be completed from start to finish with the new visuals. What you saw in the teaser is not a demo.
• Even the original untouched locations, ships and NPCs already look dramatically better.
• On a GTX 1060, you're looking at around 100 FPS. No drops, no stuttering.
• No AI, no ENB, no DLSS.
• Almost every location, ship, and gear piece in the game will be rebuilt.
• The sea and world map will look significantly better — we'll show those off in a dedicated post later.
• 2.0 will bring gameplay changes too. One of them: buying out businesses in colonies.
• Patch 2.0 will be free for everyone. Seems obvious, but yes — we got asked. ːrofl_pirateː
• A new game will be required for 2.0. ːcharles_happyː
• Releasing in 2026. We already have an exact date.

Learn more and Make It Happen on Patreon.

DLC "Maritime Stories"

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4454410/Caribbean_Legend__Maritime_Stories/
If patch 1.8 breathes new life into the world map, then Maritime Stories takes it a step further — turning it into a full-fledged experience on par with land and naval layers of the game.

• New world map gameplay mechanics
• 70 unique stories
• Story-driven and freeplay events
• The captain's power — to punish, to pardon, to rule
• Cabin comfort — spend time with friends and lovers
• Road of adventure — traveling the world map will be more engaging than ever
• Roleplay and replayability — your choices are shaped by your skills and backstory
• 5 Steam achievements

You know what to do — wishlist it now!

Open Beta 1.8

How to join the beta ːsteamthisː

Patch 1.8 brings major improvements to naval combat and the world map. Cannon fire feels meatier, and the game world feels more alive. This is the second-to-last major patch — and it doesn't require a new game. Jump into the beta, sail around, and tell us what you think — we read everything.

Seasons

In the Caribbean Sea, “seasons” don’t work the way people from temperate climates expect.
No familiar summers and winters with temperature swings; no red-and-gold rainy autumn in Cuba; no spring thaw and first snowdrops in Antigua.
But that doesn’t mean the archipelago lacks its own rhythm and cycles. Humidity shifts. Currents change. Winds rage — then calm. Every colonist and free captain lives by that cycle… and players won’t be able to ignore it either.

Seasons split the in-game year into parts and apply powerful global effects to the entire world. Each Season is unique and changes year to year — sometimes it behaves as expected, and sometimes the Caribbean transforms beyond recognition.

Season of Crown

During the Season of Crown, pirate activity noticeably fades. Shops are replenished with crown goods — timber, gunpowder, provisions. Ship repairs are cheaper, and recruiting a crew is easier.

If you’re hunting strategic supplies, this is your moment. To strengthen their influence, the powers send far more royal convoys during this Season — and you’ll have a much easier time running into them.

Season of Cane

This Season is a trader’s paradise. Stores overflow with colonial goods, the gap between import and export prices grows, and even rising pirate activity can’t drown out the greed and hunger for profit swallowing the whole archipelago.
Buy a trade license at a discount, pack your holds to the beams, and make your fortune while it’s still possible. Because very soon…

Season of Storm

The Season of Storm is a trial for every captain. The raging elements test every ship and every port; disease spreads; goods vanish from shelves; sailors refuse to put to sea.
The Caribbean seems to fall silent — and finding wreckage is far easier than finding an intact ship.

Season of Shade

This is the season of payback and war. Cut off from Europe by an Atlantic you can’t cross, weakened and vicious, the powers start devouring each other like spiders in a jar.
At sea, there’s nothing left but pirates and battles. War fleets raid exhausted colonies again and again, and shortages become downright brutal.
Your job is to survive until the Season of Crown — or use the chaos to bite off a piece for yourself.

Veteran characters prepare better for harsh times — and squeeze more out of seasons of opportunity.

The current Season is shown on the global map UI, and its effects can be checked via the in-game tooltip.

Boarding

Boarders can now help you during cabin fights — we’ve added a new event where the enemy captain barricades in the cabin with their officers, forcing a mass brawl.

If it happens, you’ll see a special notification.

That’s how the balance holds: a captain might be bold and come up to the deck (and you’ll find an empty cabin), or they might play it safe and barricade themselves in the cabin with their officers.

This will also stack with other random boarding events — so variety stays high.

• Mass cabin combat is available only on medium and large ships. Small cabins remain duels.
• Maximum fighters: 3v3. This is limited by cabin size.
• Boarding officers join the fight from top to bottom as listed in the interface.
• If no officers are assigned, their slots are filled by Alonso and a regular sailor.
• Some merchant captains may be missing one of their officers.

Heading

The system has been fully reworked.

Ship speed at a chosen angle to the wind is now shown as a colored ring around the compass.
No more weird numbers and degrees — it’s simple and readable.

This works great:

• For quick orientation: want speed — point your bow at the green.
• For complex naval fights: when you need to tack and approach from a bad angle — the difference between yellow and orange sectors can cost you minutes of real time.

Ships now also show their sail rig type in the UI — square-rigged, fore-and-aft, or mixed. It makes comparing ships faster and sets expectations instantly.

In the ship interface you can view a detailed heat map for direct comparison.

• A bigger overall shape = a stronger ship within its type.
• Where the outline/fill is farther from the center, the ship is faster on that heading.
• When overlaying two ships: whoever is “outside” wins speed on that direction.
• Bigger at the top = stronger with tailwind.
• Bigger at the bottom = stronger upwind.
• A smoother, rounder shape = less sensitive to wind. A sharper, pointier shape = higher chance to lose speed after a bad turn.

Naval gunnery

The aim moves with the ship.

• Your aim now follows the ship during a broadside instead of “sticking” to a point in space. You’ll land shots more reliably, but you’ll need to account for rolling and turning.

This lets you land far more shots on targets that are sailing away.

Adjusting fire

• While aiming, your guns keep updating throughout the salvo — letting you switch targets and make corrections without scaring every fish in the Caribbean.

With enough practice, you’ll be able to switch targets.

Or pour all your damage into one priority target.

Different firing order.
We’ve added salvo modes — bow to stern and stern to bow. Unlocked via a skill and toggled with a hotkey.

Reload improvements

• Switching ammo on fully loaded broadsides no longer resets reload all the way. This unlocks via the Gunner skill.
• The AI can learn this too — so be ready for surprise volleys.

Global map

• Your current sea region is now displayed on the UI.
• Different parts of the Main have their own region names.
• Cuba and Hispaniola (split into parts) now have unique region names for each section.
• Medicine supply is now displayed.
• The morale bar has been removed from the screen.
• You can now switch ammo via the action menu.

Naval AI

• We significantly increased ship aggression at sea. No more pirates and quest ships constantly running away.
• Enemy ships are far more willing to board. More even fights and more interesting situations.
• AI ships got improved reload logic and target selection. Any enemy at sea is now noticeably more dangerous.

Quality Of Life

• Reduced the weight of almost all junk items to be closer to reality. No more 1-pound candles.
• Updated the links and dependencies texture on the skills screen. Branches should be less confusing now.
• Added fast travel to the HWIC office, plantations, cemeteries, warehouses, and back.
• Pirate coves now have a unique icon in the “Sail to” list.
• Poincy no longer strips your entire inventory — only equipped gear.
• Accidentally switching ammo to the same type no longer resets broadside charge to zero.
• Added new loading tips and pause menu tips.
• Added a hotkey for dropping a mine in combat (default: G).
• Added arrows to the ship swap screen for quick comparison. One arrow = up to 30% difference; two arrows = over 30%. For gun caliber: 1 or 2 calibers respectively.
• Added an Accessibility tab in settings: heading color scheme, navigation assist toggle, and dialogue size.
• Warehouse owners now offer renting immediately — no need to start the dialogue twice.
• If you try to sink a ship that still has an allied crew aboard, they’ll transfer to your ship. No more accidental crew drownings and reloads.
• You can now exit the ship swap menu even if one ship lacks the minimum crew. You still can’t go out to sea, but you can tow it to the nearest port.
• Doubloons stored in the cabin now count when trading with moneylenders.
• Added goods type tags. Now it’s always clear what’s produced in the Caribbean and what’s imported from Europe.
• Changed sail repairs at shipyards. You can no longer pick a percentage — sails are repaired fully.
• Improved the Stories interface: extra tooltips, clearer spacing, and better separation of reactions and decisions. This should improve readability and overall experience.
• Musketeers’ preferred weapons are now shown in the inventory. You can also change their priority there.

Balance

• Rewards for raiding colonies by sea and by land have been significantly increased.
• Naval auto-fire accuracy (third-person broadsides) has increased substantially — for both the player and the AI.
• Storm damage has been reworked. Hull and sails take less damage over time and ships sink much more slowly. Fighting in storms is no longer a suicide run. Small ships received extra damage protection.
• The “Investor” skill now increases interest rates on doubloon deposits.
• The Chief’s Musket can now use double charges.

Fixes

• Fixed a calculation error that caused raided colonies to get flooded with absurd amounts of cannons.
• Fixed grapeshot missing if the enemy stands too close.
• Fixed a rare bug where Blackwood’s Charter did not increase grapeshot damage.
• Removed the advanced musket firing animation from the game.
• A quest gem looted from a bandit in Martinique’s jungle is now removed from inventory if it wasn’t used.
• Autosave no longer triggers if you can’t go out to sea.
• Game difficulty in the save menu is now shown with words.
• Lady Beth’s trait now increases Gaspard Goldtooth’s doubloon reserve.
• Fixed incorrect time counting in the imperial AM/PM system.
• Made many small balance adjustments to quest battles, especially the Under the Jolly Roger questline.
• Fixed an ancient bug that prevented you from getting useful rumors and advice.
• Removed Russian voiceover being enabled on other languages.

And a whole lot more!

What we do — we do for you
ːjollyrː