Sea of Thieves: How to Best Use the Barrel Disguise Emote

Though pirates are not often well known for their subtlety, a new emote in Sea of Thieves Season 2 can make sneaking around and pulling off ambushes against enemies a more prominent part of the pirate’s life. Like Fortnite, Sea of Thieves has a collection of pirate-themed emotes that allow pirates to better interact with the environment and communicate to other players. Some of these can be purchased at the Pirate Emporium, while others come as free rewards. The Barrel Disguise or Barrel Tuck emote is one of the latest free emotes to be added to Sea of Thieves. It allows a pirate to fold up inside the bottom of a barrel, well-hidden from opponents, and strike them by surprise.

Players can earn Renown to progress through the Season 2 rankings and unlock the Barrel Disguise emote for their pirate and add it to their emote wheel. While there are a few limitations to what the emote can do, the Barrel Hide does create a sort of stealth mechanic that particularly crafty pirates can use to gain an advantage ahead of a combat situation. Here’s how to unlock and use the Barrel Disguise emote in Sea of Thieves Season 2.

How to Unlock the Barrel Disguise Emote in Sea of Thieves

The Barrel Hide Emote in Sea of Thieves unlocks at level 13 for all players, whether they have the free or premium version of the Season 2 battle pass. To reach level 13, players will need to earn Renown. Renown is a sort of XP in Sea of Thieves, and nearly every activity in the game will award it. Completing Deeds and Trials is also an effective way to earn more Renown.

Players who want access to the Barrel Disguise emote right away may want to accelerate the rate at which they earn Renown. To do this, they should prioritize large, more difficult fights and events. Killing Skeletons, Skeleton Captains, Ashen Guardians, and Ashen Key Masters, slaying Krakens and Megalodons, scuttling Ghost Ships, and completing World Events like Forts of Fortune are all ways to earn large amounts of Renown in a single activity.

Once players unlock the emote, it will appear in the ship’s Vanity chest or the one outside any Outpost. They can add it to their emote wheel and access it quickly by pressing Z or down on the D-pad.

How to Use the Barrel Disguise Emote in Sea of Thieves

When a pirate uses the Barrel Disguise emote, they will produce a barrel out of thin air and lift it over their head, then tuck themselves into it and hide inside. It will be indistinguishable from other barrels decorating the environment. There will, however, be a small cloud of dust that pops up when the barrel hits the ground, so players will want to disguise themselves early to avoid other pirates seeing this indication there is a pirate inside.

Pirates can still take damage while disguised as a barrel, though not from friendly fire. While this trick can fool other players, it does not work against Skeletons and other AI enemies, which tend to comprise the majority of fights in Sea of Thieves. These enemies will still register the pirate inside and launch attacks.

If timed and placed correctly, pirates can disguise themselves as a barrel near other barrels in the world and wait for an opponent to get too close. Then, they can remove the disguise and ambush the rival pirate, likely taking them by surprise. It may be a good idea to practice using the emote near other barrels ahead of any fights to get the spacing and placement correct.

One thing players will want to note is that pirates disguised in barrels will not rock while on a ship the way other barrels tend to do. It is possible for other rival pirates to try to infiltrate a ship, disguising themselves as a barrel until the crew is at sea. Pirates will need to keep an eye on all barrels and check to see that all move properly when the ship is moving. If one does not move, it is likely an imposter, and players should prepare themselves for a fight.

Sea of Thieves is available for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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