Ahoy there, it’s Librarian Husky here! So, you’re new to Sea of Thieves. Now you’re probably wondering: where do I even start? How do I earn gold? What mistakes should I avoid? This guide will not only explain how to play this open-world pirate game but also how to master it. So without further ado, let’s dive right in.

Choosing Your Pirate

The first step in Sea of Thieves is selecting your pirate, and this decision is important. Once you pick your pirate, you’re locked in unless you’re willing to buy a pirate appearance potion from The Emporium, which costs real money. If you prefer not to spend cash, the other option is deleting your pirate, but this will erase all your cosmetics, gold, and progress. So, take your time—if it takes a few hours to find the right pirate, that’s perfectly fine.

High Seas and Safer Seas

After selecting your pirate, you’ll need to choose the game mode. New players are prompted to complete the Maiden Voyage, which serves as a tutorial for basic ship controls. After finishing this, you can choose between High Seas or Safer Seas. Safer Seas is a private server where you and your crew can play without encountering other players or hostile ships. There’s no PvP, allowing you to explore the game world without threats.

Choosing Safer Seas for New Players

If you’re new to the game or not comfortable with running into other players, Safer Seas is a good choice. However, you will only earn 30% of the gold and reputation compared to playing on High Seas. The game follows a high-risk, high-reward structure, so as soon as you feel confident, switch to High Seas for faster progress in gold, reputation, and commendations.

Picking the Right Ship

As you prepare to set sail for the first time, the game will prompt you to pick a ship. While it might seem appealing to choose the large and powerful galleon, that’s not always a good idea. There are three ship types in the game, each suited to different crew sizes. If you’re playing solo or with one other person, the Sloop is your best option. Never attempt to sail a galleon alone—you’ll sink quickly. Brigs are recommended for three players, and a galleon is only manageable with a full crew of four. The Sloop, despite being the smallest, is often the most deadly.

Stocking Up on Supplies

No ship should set sail without proper supplies. Make sure to load up on wood, food, and cannonballs before leaving the Outpost. You can speed up this process by purchasing a storage crate from the Merchant Trader at the docks, which makes gathering supplies from barrels around the Outpost much more efficient.

Efficient Storage and Supplies

At The Outpost, you can gather supplies from various barrels and store them in a storage crate. Once the crate is full, simply transfer its contents into the barrels on your ship. Though storage crates cost gold, the efficiency they offer makes them well worth the investment. When it comes to food, the best options are pineapples, followed by mangoes, pomegranates, coconuts, and finally bananas. Focus on collecting pineapples and mangoes. Additionally, you can purchase crates of food, wood, cannonballs, and bait from the merchant. However, bait is only useful if you’re planning to do some fishing, so you can skip it otherwise.

Settings and Key Binds

Before setting sail, it’s essential to adjust your settings for smoother gameplay. While personal preference plays a role, here’s a general recommendation: go to settings, then head to the graphics section and adjust your field of view to 90 for a broader perspective. Most players prefer not to go below this value. Afterward, in the keyboard and mouse or controller settings, bind keys for quick access to food and wooden planks. These items are crucial in emergencies, so having them easily accessible can make all the difference.

The Hourglass on Your Ship

You’ll notice a small hourglass on the quest table of your ship. The best advice? Ignore it completely. Don’t activate it, don’t vote on it, and try not to focus on it at all. Engaging with it could lead to unnecessary frustration, as it often brings more trouble than it’s worth.

Avoid Voting the Hourglass

When you vote to engage the hourglass, it throws you into a 1v1 battle against another player’s ship. While this could be an opportunity to sharpen your PvP skills, the game lacks skill-based matchmaking. You’re more likely to be up against a seasoned player with thousands of hours logged, who will sink your ship in moments. For this reason, it’s best to avoid activating the hourglass unless you’re truly looking for a fight.

Understanding Emissaries

Emissaries are a key method for earning gold quickly, but what exactly are they? In Sea of Thieves, there are five main factions that you can sell items to in exchange for gold and reputation. These include the Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls, Merchant Alliance, Reaper’s Bones, and Athena’s Fortune. At every Outpost, you can find these factions’ tents. Each faction has an emissary flag that you can raise, allowing you to represent them and earn bonus rewards. However, there’s a prerequisite: to purchase an emissary flag, you need to be at least level 15 with that faction and pay a one-time fee of 20,000 gold.

Maximizing Emissary Grades

Once you’ve purchased an emissary flag, it’s yours to raise as frequently as you want. The more you work for that company, the higher your grade goes. Completing quests, commendations, and placing specific loot on your ship will increase your emissary grade, all the way up to a maximum of grade five. What’s the point of reaching grade five? If you do, you’ll earn a bonus of 2.5 times the gold and reputation for every item you sell. This should be one of your first goals in Sea of Thieves, as it makes the journey much more rewarding.

Sovereigns and Becoming a Captain

Becoming a captain is arguably one of the most important things in Sea of Thieves. To become a captain, you simply need to buy your own ship. Head to the main menu and look under the “My Ships” tab, where you’ll see the option to purchase one. While it’s an investment, trust me, it’s worth it. Once you’ve bought your ship, the fun begins. You can choose your ship’s name, but be careful, as you’re stuck with it unless you pay real money in the Pirate Emporium to rename it. Avoid naming it something overused like “The Black Pearl.” Be original—choose something that represents you and your adventures on the seas!

Importance of the Sovereigns

You may wonder why all of this is so important. Well, a few reasons. First, there’s the Sovereigns’ tent, which is found at the secondary dock at every Outpost. This tent is the quickest way to sell loot in the entire game. Instead of running to each individual trading tent, you can sell everything right here. This is especially helpful when being chased by an enemy ship, as you can quickly pull up and turn in your loot within seconds. Other perks of captaincy include saving ship cosmetics and purchasing captaincy supplies at every Outpost, saving you valuable time.

Navigating with the Wind

Is there weather in Sea of Thieves? Yes, and it changes constantly. Every good pirate knows how to angle their sails to take full advantage of the wind. You’ll get to your destination much quicker with the wind in your favor, which is essential when chasing down or escaping from enemies on the high seas. While standing on your ship, look up to see which way the wind is blowing. Use the ropes to guide your sails into the wind, and you’ll hear a distinctive noise signaling that your sails are perfectly aligned. This sound is especially useful for bigger ships like Brigs and Galleons.

Sailing Without the Wind

When the wind isn’t in your favor, there are still ways to maintain efficient navigation. For Sloops, simply angle your sails directly forward to get the best speed. On larger ships like Brigs or Galleons, it’s better to angle your sails fully to the left or right, depending on the wind’s direction. Even without catching the full force of the wind, larger ships move faster with angled sails. A bonus tip for Sloop captains: if you’re being chased by a bigger ship, sail against the wind. The Sloop performs better than larger ships when sailing into the wind, making it an effective escape strategy.

World Events for Quick Gold

World events are one of the fastest ways to earn gold in Sea of Thieves. These events are high-risk but also very rewarding, and they spawn randomly on your server with only one active event at a time. You can identify them by looking at the clouds, which form into noticeable shapes such as massive skulls or tornadoes. Once the event is completed, or if the timer runs out, the cloud will vanish, and another event will be triggered soon after. World events offer excellent opportunities to acquire high-tier loot, gold, and reputation while working toward commendations. However, keep in mind that other players on the server can see these events too, making you a potential target.

The Value of Shipwrecks

If you spot a shipwreck nearby—either by seeing part of it above the water or noticing a flock of birds hovering overhead—it’s always worth a stop. Shipwrecks are treasure troves of resources, often containing extra supplies like food and cannonballs. They may also house rare fish and, of course, valuable treasure. You’ll almost always find something of worth, making them ideal for topping off your supplies or increasing your gold. Pro tip: if you find yourself running out of air while exploring underwater, eat some fruit to stay alive longer (though it’s not a good idea in real life!).

Messages in a Bottle

And no, we’re not referring to the famous song by The Police. Along the shorelines of many islands, or sometimes floating in the ocean, you might see something shiny—it’s likely a message in a bottle. Picking these up will give you random quests, and these are always worth your time. Each quest leads to high-value loot and plenty of gold. Many players overlook these messages, but don’t make that mistake—those little treasures are a great way to boost your earnings and embark on new adventures.

The Role of Mermaids

Whenever you find yourself too far from your ship or in the unfortunate event of it sinking, a mermaid will come to your rescue. You’ll hear the distinct sound of its arrival and see a plume of blue smoke, marking where the mermaid is. Interacting with it will teleport you right back to your ship. But there’s more to mermaids than just a ride home—they can also serve as warnings. If you notice a mermaid without blue smoke during a world event, be cautious, as it means an enemy player is lurking nearby. Always keep your guard up when rogue mermaids appear.

Avoid the Boom Barrels

Boom barrels, as the name implies, are highly explosive and can cause serious damage to your ship if they detonate. It’s wise not to keep them on board—selling them only yields 100 gold and provides almost no reputation in return. Worse still, they can be easily triggered by an enemy sniper or a stray cannonball, which can spell disaster, especially for solo players. If for some reason you need to carry a barrel, never store it in the crow’s nest. An explosion there will knock down your mast, leaving your ship immobile and at the mercy of enemies.

Proper Placement of Boom Barrels

If carrying boom barrels is unavoidable, the safest place to store them is at the bowsprit. This way, even if they go off, your mast will remain intact, though the front part of your ship will sustain some damage. It’s a much better alternative than risking the destruction of your entire ship and losing mobility.

Staying Aware on the High Seas

On the high seas, danger is everywhere. A smart pirate constantly scans their surroundings and remains aware of potential threats. Frequently check your map for Reaper ships, which are part of a faction dedicated to PvP and sinking other vessels. If a Reaper emissary is in your area, your ship becomes visible to the entire server. Reapers can’t track you until they reach grade five emissary status, at which point they can see all ships flying an emissary flag. Exercise caution when encountering a grade five Reaper ship, as your own emissary flag makes you an easy target.

Preparing for Enemy Encounters

Even if there are no Reaper ships in sight, you should still be wary of other ships in the distance—they might be planning an ambush. Never drop your anchor, as doing so puts you in a vulnerable position if enemies approach. Instead, practice raising your sails quickly to stay mobile. Dropping the anchor in combat wastes valuable time and could lead to a swift defeat if you’re not careful.

Choosing Your Weapons

Your weapon setup is a key factor in determining the outcome of any battle. In Sea of Thieves, there are four weapons available, but you can only equip two at a time. The blunderbuss, or shotgun, is capable of one-shot kills at close range and is excellent for fending off boarders due to its knockback effect. The flintlock, or pistol, deals about 50% damage but requires precision and timing. Its fast reload makes it a versatile option. The Eye of Reach, a sniper rifle, inflicts around 70% damage, leaving enemies in a panic state. Lastly, the cutlass, or sword, deals 25% damage per swipe and is simple to use—just keep swinging. For beginners, the sword and blunderbuss combo is easy to pick up and quite effective. With time, you’ll find the loadout that best matches your style of combat.

The Ferry of the Damned

Not every encounter will go your way, and sometimes you’ll end up defeated by an enemy—but don’t worry, the game doesn’t end there. When you die, you’ll be transported to the Ferry of the Damned, a temporary afterlife where you serve a short stint before being sent back to your ship.

Time on the Ferry of the Damned

How long you spend on the Ferry of the Damned depends on your crew size and ship. Solo players using a Sloop respawn much faster compared to a full crew on a Galleon. A fun tip: while on the ferry, you can also switch your weapon loadout before heading back into the fray.

Changing Servers

There may be times when you encounter toxic players or get spawn camped repeatedly. If this happens, changing servers might be your best option. In regular fights, you may need to eliminate enemies multiple times to ensure their ship sinks—that’s not spawn camping; it’s just securing the victory. But if you’re being killed over and over without your ship being damaged, that’s considered spawn camping. In these situations, you can scuttle your ship by opening the menu, selecting “My Crew,” and choosing the option to scuttle. This will sink your ship, allowing you to respawn on the same server in a different location. If you wish to switch to a completely new server, you’ll need to vote to scuttle, but remember you’ll lose all your loot and supplies—although you’ll gain some peace of mind.

Forming Alliances

You’ve probably heard the phrase “mics save lives,” and in Sea of Thieves, that holds true. Using the speaking trumpet, you can communicate with other crews from a distance. Let them know you’re friendly or a new player looking for guidance rather than cannonballs.

Forming Alliances

While it may not always succeed, many players with decent morals won’t want to sink a beginner. This can sometimes lead to them proposing an alliance. How do alliances work? You can raise an “Offer Alliance” flag from the second page of your ship’s flag box. If the other crew chooses to join, they can raise their “Join Alliance” flag. Just like that, you’ve formed an alliance.

Enjoying the Game

The most important piece of advice is to have fun. There’s no right or wrong way to play Sea of Thieves. If you prefer exploring the beautiful scenery, go for it. If you want to engage in naval battles, feel free—don’t feel guilty, after all, it’s a pirate game! On the other hand, if combat isn’t your thing, it’s okay to run away from fights. Play the game in whatever way brings you joy. Learn to accept sinking, losing loot, and unexpected surprises—that’s part of the adventure. Each session is unique, and even experienced players still lose battles and treasure. Remember, loot isn’t truly yours until it’s sold, and in the end, it’s just pixels on a screen. Don’t take it too seriously—that’s what makes you a true pirate.

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