A Newcomer's Handbook for Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves is a pirate-themed sandbox game that provides minimal guidance following the introductory tutorial. For a deeper understanding of the game, including essential information for newcomers and helpful tips to embark on your pirate journey, be sure to explore Game8’s beginner’s guide!

Table of Contents

• Helpful Hints and Strategies to Kick Off Your Journey
• Comprehensive Guides for Tips and Tricks
• Associated Guides

A Newcomer’s Handbook for Sea of Thieves

Select Your Pirate Wisely

In Sea of Thieves, players create their characters using the Infinite Pirate Generator, which produces a variety of pirate options for selection. You have the ability to reroll the generated characters as many times as you wish until you discover one that appeals to you.

Take your time during the character creation process, as altering your pirate’s appearance later will come at a cost.

Remove your pirate character or purchase a Pirate Appearance Potion to alter your appearance.

If you wish to alter your character’s look in the future, you will need to either erase your existing pirate and create a new one by navigating to the Pirate Profile section in the settings, or you can purchase the Pirate Appearance Potion from the premium currency store for 149 Ancient Coins or $1.99 USD.

Experience the Maiden Voyage Tutorial.

Once you’ve designed your character, the initial step is to engage in the Maiden Voyage tutorial. This tutorial provides a secure environment to grasp the fundamental concepts, including:

• Preparing meals and rejuvenating well-being through nutrition.
• Employing arms such as the cutlass and flintlock pistol.
• Exploring a map and searching for hidden riches.
• Exploring and utilizing the circular menu.
• Reeling in fish with a fishing pole.
• Performing sea shanties with musical instruments.
• Locating and utilizing a small rowing boat.
• Caring for and navigating a vessel.

Make sure to spend some time getting to know the game through the tutorial, as Adventure mode offers little guidance. Experiment with all the tools available on the radial menu and practice your movement skills before you venture out.

Discover the Old Sailor’s Key to Unlock a Secret Treasure Chamber.

The Maiden Voyage tutorial features a hidden chamber that grants you 25,000 Gold and 200 Doubloons, giving you a boost as you embark on your pirate journey. Be sure to seek it out before you depart to ensure you have some initial resources when you set sail on the High Seas.

Modify Your Controls and Enhance Your Settings

Newcomers to the game often find it challenging to navigate the radial menu. Given that you’ll frequently rely on this feature in Sea of Thieves, it might be beneficial to assign keybinds on PC or shortcuts on your controller for the most important items.

Suggestion: It might be beneficial to create shortcuts for Wood Planks and Food at the very least. These two resources will enable you to repair your ship more swiftly and restore health in urgent situations without the need to navigate the radial menu while in battle.

Expand Your Visual Range to Observe More of Your Environment

View Angle Configuration
Lower FOV setting.
Higher FOV setting on the same spot.

Field of View (FOV) is a visual setting that determines the extent of the game environment visible on the screen at any given moment. If your system is capable of managing the performance demands, consider maximizing your FOV to enhance your on-screen visibility, allowing you to notice more details in the game world.

Discover the Technique for Executing a Sword Lunge

As a beginner, it’s beneficial to incorporate sword lunges into your practice. This technique involves executing a charged attack with a cutlass, allowing you to traverse significant distances, particularly over water.

There are numerous applications for this, but the key advantage is that it enables quicker access to your ship from the shore, or the other way around. While it might be challenging to master the timing initially, with practice, it will become effortless.

Opt for a sloop as it is more manageable for those just starting out.

If you’re embarking on your first solo sailing adventure or going out with a friend, a Sloop is the ideal choice for your vessel. Sloops are simpler to handle, particularly for beginners, thanks to their compact design and single sail configuration.

The anchor capstan and sail controls are conveniently located on the upper deck adjacent to the ship’s wheel, allowing you to anchor or modify your speed without having to travel far.

This does not hold true for the other vessels, so it’s advisable to avoid sailing the Brigantine or the Galleon alone, as they demand flawless teamwork to navigate successfully. Additionally, they present a larger target than the agile Sloop.

Navigate Against the Breeze While Being Pursued

The Sloop outpaces the other two ship types when navigating into the wind. The larger vessels, equipped with additional sails, depend more heavily on the wind to achieve speed.

If you ever find yourself pursued by hostile vessels, you should maneuver your Sloop into the wind. This tactic will allow you to outpace your chasers, and if they are also sailing Sloops, they won’t be able to catch up to you.

Finish the tutorial voyages for the trading company.

Upon completing the Maiden Voyage tutorial and reaching the Sea of Thieves, the Pirate Lord will guide you to the quest table. Here, you can embark on quests known as Voyages, which will immerse you in the life of a pirate, allowing you to earn gold and build your reputation with the Trading Companies.

It’s essential to complete all the introductory voyages for the three trading companies to understand the mechanics of voyages and the operations of each company. Additionally, finishing the tutorial voyage for one of the companies is necessary to access more voyages.

Expeditions will serve as your primary means of acquiring gold and building your reputation, both of which are essential for advancement. Completing at least one of the introductory voyages will also grant you access to Tall Tales, which can be found at the quest table.

Begin with the Gold Hoarders’ quests as they are the simplest to undertake.

After completing the tutorial journeys, you can begin focusing on accumulating gold and enhancing your reputation to access additional cosmetic options for both your pirate and your ship.

Deliveries for the Merchant Alliance can be challenging due to the time constraints for completing them. Additionally, your cargo may deteriorate, resulting in reduced rewards when you hand it over to the NPC.

The voyages offered by the Gold Hoarders are likely the simplest among the three factions. If you struggle with deciphering maps or tackling riddles, consider opting for the Merchant Alliance voyages in Safer Seas mode, which allows you to complete cargo deliveries without the interference of other players.

Build your reputation to advance through the levels of every trading organization.

Improving your standing with the Trading Companies opens up additional voyages and cosmetic options for your character and ship. The cosmetics you unlock can be acquired with gold and are designed to reflect the theme of the specific trading company.

You can unlock Emissary Flags after achieving Rank 15 Reputation with any of the three initial companies. Each flag can be bought for 20,000 Gold, and once displayed on your ship, it will grant you additional gold and reputation for delivering treasure to that company.

Collect Necessary Supplies Prior to Departure

Prior to departing from the docks, ensure to review your ship’s inventory to confirm that you have all the necessary provisions, such as food, wooden planks, and cannonballs. You can gather many of these items from the barrels located at various Outposts or Islands.

Acquire a storage container to hold additional supplies.

Given the limitations on your inventory capacity, think about purchasing a storage crate from the Merchant Alliance NPC located at the docks to facilitate the transfer of resources.

Retrieve the storage crate and start collecting all the materials from the barrels. There ought to be a button that enables you to transfer all the contents from the barrel directly into the storage crate.

Refrain from Interacting with Other Players in PvP

For beginners, engaging in PvP can be quite challenging, as it demands exceptional piloting skills to achieve victory, and success is never guaranteed. When you are defeated by other players and your ship is destroyed, you forfeit all your loot and any items you were carrying.

When navigating the High Seas, it’s generally wise to steer your ship away from potential conflicts, particularly if you have valuable cargo on board. The majority of players you encounter are likely to be aggressive, so don’t anticipate friendly encounters in the Sea of Thieves.

Start by playing in Safer Seas Mode to grasp the fundamentals of PvE.

Safer Seas is a gameplay option in Sea of Thieves that allows you to explore the waters either solo or with a group, free from the presence of other players. This makes it a perfect environment for newcomers to familiarize themselves with the game mechanics. However, it’s important to note that engaging in this mode results in a 70% decrease in the gold and reputation you can earn.

Steer clear of Reaper’s Bones Emissaries while navigating the seas.

Reaper’s Bones is a Trading Company that primarily emphasizes PvP, with their emissaries identifiable on the map table by the icon displayed above. If you’re a newcomer, it’s advisable to steer clear of these players, as they are likely to attempt to destroy your ship and pilfer your treasures.

Emissaries of Reaper’s Bones at Grade 5 have the ability to detect vessels affiliated with other companies on their map table. If you are affiliated with a company and encounter a Grade 5 Reaper’s Bones emissary, marked by the number of red lines, you will be a primary target for their acts of piracy.

Change Servers If You Keep Getting Ambushed Frequently

If you find yourself on a server populated by experienced players, you may frequently face relentless attacks and be sunk repeatedly. If you’re struggling as a newcomer on a highly competitive PvP server, it might be wise to switch to a different server to maintain your peace of mind.

You can do so by going to Game Options > My Crew >Abandon your current ship and cast your vote in favor of the option to relocate to a new sea. This will allow you to sink your vessel and begin anew on a different server, ideally one with minimal PvP activity.

Important: Make sure to submit any remaining treasure you have, as switching servers will result in the loss of all your loot, including supplies.

Dive into Tall Tales for Immersive, Narrative-Driven Journeys.

In addition to Voyages, Sea of Thieves presents players with narrative-rich experiences known as Tall Tales. When selected as your primary quest, these Tall Tales guide you through the various islands of the Sea of Thieves, offering an expansive, player-versus-environment adventure.

After mastering the fundamental aspects of the game, think about teaming up with others to tackle Tall Tales, as they represent some of the finest solo and cooperative experiences available in this open-world pirate adventure.

Discover islands to uncover additional quests to undertake.

The Sea of Thieves is filled with mysteries concealed across its islands. Take the time to thoroughly investigate the islands you visit, as you may uncover secrets and concealed routes that can lead you to additional riches.

You can discover messages contained in bottles, scrolls, diaries, and even the commands of skeletons, all of which will provide you with quests and guide you toward hidden treasures.

Stay Alert to Global Developments

World Events are perilous challenges that take place in the Sea of Thieves. The significant ones are marked by prominent indicators and clouds in the sky, visible to all players on the server.

Certain encounters may arise unexpectedly, featuring perilous and legendary creatures such as the Skeleton Ship, the Megalodon, or the Kraken. If you’re just starting out, it’s wise to steer clear of these threats until you’ve gained sufficient experience to confront them and claim their valuable treasures.

Comprehensive Guides for Tips and Tricks

Guides Related to Sea of Thieves

Comprehensive Guides for Sea of Thieves

Guides for Sea of Thieves
News and Game Info	Tall Tales
Tips and Tricks	Trading Companies
World Events	Commendations