Sea of Stars’ Dawn of Equinox Update Explained

Sea of Stars‘ Throes of the Watchmaker DLC may be on its way, but not before the free Dawn of Equinox update arrives. Developer Sabotage Studios is launching Sea of Stars‘ Dawn of Equinox update on November 12 to give players an opportunity to prepare for the highly anticipated DLC, and it seems like a fairly substantial update.

There is a wide variety of content coming with Sea of Stars‘ Dawn of Equinox update that may encourage players to begin a new playthrough ahead of Throes of the Watchmaker. Included in the free update are changes to combat, an updated prologue for the game’s story, new difficulty presets, and much more.

The Ins and Outs of Sea of Stars’ Dawn of Equinox Update

The Biggest Additions Included in the Sea of Stars Dawn of Equinox Update

While there are many changes coming with Sea of Stars‘ Dawn of Equinox update, not all of these changes are necessarily created equal. Among them are three major features that fans of the game should be aware of.

• All-New Local Co-op
• Combat 2.0
• Revamped Prologue

One of the biggest additions coming to Sea of Stars with the Dawn of Equinox update is local co-op, which will allow up to three players to join one another in playing through the entirety of the game’s story, including the upcoming Throes of the Watchmaker DLC. Alongside the implementation of local co-op is what is being referred to as “Combat 2.0,” which adds the Mystery Locks gameplay loop to Sea of Stars‘ combat. With the Mystery Locks system, some of the playable cast’s special skills receive a “Reveal” function, and Combo Points are retained after battle, so players can open certain encounters in different ways and experiment with various damage types to reveal enemy locks.

The Dawn of Equinox update also revamps the game’s prologue by doing away with its flashback structure to allow players to get right into the action and experience the beginning of the game’s story with Sea of Stars‘ characters as children. There aren’t many specifics about what this will look like or how drastic of a change it will be, but it seems like it will get things off to a much quicker start than the base game did before.

Sea of Stars’ Dawn of Equinox Update Brings a Host of Other Additions as Well

Local co-op, fresh combat mechanics, and a revamped prologue aren’t the only additions Sea of Stars‘ Dawn of Equinox update is bringing to the game, as there are plenty of other features being implemented as well. While these might not be as game-altering, they are still a significant part of the Dawn of Equinox update’s overall package.

• Bonus Cinematic Scene
• Speedrunner Mode Relic
• Difficulty Presets
• Improved Parrot Relic
• Quebecois Localization
• Quality-of-Life Improvements

Firstly, a new cutscene called “Paths on Water” is being added to Sea of Stars, but unfortunately, there’s no information as to what it will entail. However, Sabotage Studios has been sure to label it a “pivotal moment” in the main story. A Speedrunner Mode Relic and an improved Parrot Relic will also be implemented with the update, with the former granting a “range of features” for speedrunners and the latter improving the Parrot Relic by making it easier to locate missed challenges and collectibles.

Sea of Stars‘ Dawn of Equinox update will also add three difficulty options to the game, and it appears these options can only be taken advantage of when starting a new game, as they are presets applied with Sea of Stars‘ Relics. The game will also receive new Relics to improve quality of life and accessibility. A comprehensive French Canadian translation is also being added to Sea of Stars with Dawn of Equinox, as well as a host of quality-of-life improvements that should be noticeable throughout the entirety of Sea of Stars‘ campaign.