The pirate MMO Sea of Thieves (Xbox One & PC) throws you into the game without much preparation or explanation. What you should do best afterwards will be revealed in our beginner’s guide with tips and tricks for Sea of Thieves.
Those starting the shared-world MMO Sea of Thieves for the first time will be pretty much left to their own devices. As soon as your own buccaneer is chosen from a selection of shabby faces, you’ll be thrown into the deep end and will have to figure out what to do next. The game certainly doesn’t explain it to you!
But with the tips and tricks from our beginner’s guide, you’ll quickly go from a landlubber to a salty sea dog!
“What should I even do? How do I get quests?”
Of course, you can sail around aimlessly with your ship and cause mischief for as long as you like, but eventually, most players crave tasks. But how do you get quests in Sea of Thieves?
Simply head to an island with an outpost. There, you’ll find not only many huts but also three different tents with strange NPCs.
- The “Gold Hoarders” let you search for treasures.
- The “Order of Souls” sends you out as a bounty hunter.
- For the “Merchant’s Alliance” you transport cargo and livestock around.
What do I do with the quest?
You can pick up a total of three quests from the NPCs of the three factions. Then, go to your ship into the captain’s cabin and place the quest on the table. Now the crew must vote on whether everyone wants to do it. Although pirates were indeed rough rogues, they usually operated democratically.
If the quest is accepted, you’ll receive an item with further information about the quest. Now, access the item by holding down “RB” on the Xbox controller and selecting the map, or hold down the “E” key on PC to select the map. With “RT” or a right-click, you can hold the treasure map up to your face to see it better. Below deck, you will also find a large map where you need to find the target island. This is usually located near the outpost around you.
It depends on which faction you are doing this quest for. The Gold Hoarders have typical “Here is a red X, dig there for the treasure” maps. However, there are also puzzles in Sea of Thieves that you need to solve. In those cases, you might only be given the name of the island, which you then have to find on the large map on the table.
Remember the direction and use your compass to find your way at the helm of your ship.
Once you’ve reached the island, it’s best to check the map or the riddle again to confirm where the treasure is buried. The map will clearly mark this with a red X, which you just need to verify.
… and dig!
Do you think you’ve reached the spot where the treasure is buried? Then take your shovel in hand (select from the inventory) and start digging. But be careful, as the islands are guarded by nasty skeletal enemies. And they don’t just hand over the treasure.
If you’re digging in the right spot, you’ll hear a friendly “plong” at the first shovel strike when the digging tool hits the chest. Not lucky? Then double-check with a look at the map if you’re really standing in the right place.
Once the chest is dug up, bring it back to your ship. Store it there in a place of your choice and either return to the client at the outpost to exchange it for gold or directly head off to the next adventure.
Why should you even do quests?
When you complete quests, you earn money and reputation with the respective faction. Over time, better quests become available, which you’ll then have to unlock with gold.
However, the rewards also keep getting better, and so you can gradually afford all those cool weapons, figureheads, and other goodies at the outposts.
“Hey, where’s my ship?” – What to do when your crew sails off without you?
Hordes of clueless sailors from the past have experienced this: You’re dawdling drunk in the harbor or searching for treasures on an island. Happily, you stagger back to the pier or beach, but your ship has long set sail, and you’re standing dumbly in front of the endless ocean.
The same can happen to you in Sea of Thieves. Among other things, if you spawn fresh and your crew didn’t wait until you boarded. Or the rest of the crew simply forgot that you weren’t on board after an island trip.
Use the mermaid taxi
So what to do? Instead of languishing as a shipwrecked sailor, you should bravely jump into the sea and swim after the ship. Unlike many real pirates, your characters in the game swim well. If a shark doesn’t eat you, you should soon meet a friendly mermaid in the water.
The fish lady carries a kind of torch, so she should be easy to spot. When you reach the mermaid, you can ask her to bring you back to the ship. Done and dusted. In no time at all, you’ll be back on board thanks to the mermaid taxi and can punish your treacherous companions with some jaunty sea shanties.
What should you do if you die or the ship sinks?
Death can come quickly to you in Sea of Thieves. A careless jump into the water with the sharks, an unfortunate encounter with a cannonball, or a rusty cutlass in the rum-soaked guts can quickly mean your end.
So what should you do if it happens to you? Fortunately, pirates in Sea of Thieves tend to come back over and over again. Because when you die, you don’t end up in Davy Jones’ locker at the bottom of the sea forever, but on the “Ship of the Damned”.
There, you have to hang out with other cursed souls for a while. After some time, the captain’s cabin will open up, and you’ll be teleported back to your ship. At least as long as no one has sunk it.
What happens to the ship if it’s damaged?
But what to do if the ship is in trouble because the helmsman ran it aground or other pirates have riddled the vessel with cannonballs? First, all crew players respawn somewhere else.
Swim around until you find a mermaid. The friendly lady will then teleport you to a new ship. But watch out! All your treasures on the old ship are gone! So make sure your ship doesn’t sink!
Do you have any other tips for newcomers? Then let us know here!
What to do if you get an error message like “Bronzebeard”? Here you can find out!
