Guide

15 beginner tips for all new PlayStation pirates in Sea of Thieves

30/4/2024

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Six years after PC and Xbox, everyone who owns a PS5 can finally set sail in Sea of Thieves. Here are the most important tips for aspiring pirate lords.

«Drink up me hearties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!» No one knows whether Captain Jack Sparrow was thinking of Sea of Thieves when singing this ditty. It’d certainly be fitting. The game has been available for PC and Xbox since 2018. As of today, you can also sail the seas on PS5.

Sea of Thieves is a sandbox game. In other words, there’s a huge open world in which you can let off steam. Travel wherever you want, except maybe over the edge of the map – as we all know, the earth is a disk. Since its launch, the game has evolved enormously and now offers countless activities.

To stop you from getting overwhelmed, I’ve put together a few tips to help you get started in Sea of Thieves.

1. Choose the right ship

The first thing you do before each game is select your ship. There are three types – Sloop, Brigantine, and Galleon. Your choice also determines the size of your crew. You can only sail with four people on a galleon. If you feel like it, you can also go at it on your own. However, you can only sail the ship efficiently with a full crew. The sloop is recommended for solo pirates. You can customise the appearance of your ship by visiting the right chest while docked. However, you have to unlock cosmetic items first.

There are three ship types to choose from.
Source: Rare

2. Accept missions

Before setting sail, you can accept missions from various factions. You’ll find them at every outpost, your adventure will start there too. The first missions are free, after that they cost gold. I recommend that you first sign up with the Gold Hoarders. They’ll have you killing skeleton captains or digging up treasure. These missions are linear and provide you with gold as quickly as possible.

The Gold Hoarders are a good starting point for your first missions.
Source: Rare

After you’ve acquired one or more missions, you must propose them on the ship in the captain’s cabin. If you play with other pirates, they have to agree. The mission then starts and you’ll find the corresponding treasure maps in your quick selection, pointing you to your objective.

3. Collect supplies

It never hurts to search barrels for bananas, cannonballs and boards directly at the outpost. You can never have enough of them. Fruit restores your health, you use boards to repair leaks. Various cannonballs types are used in battles with fellow pirates or other foes. As you can only carry a limited amount of supplies on you, stow most of it in the barrels provided on board your ship.

You can find all kinds of resources in barrels.
Source: Rare

4. Sail the right way

Once you’ve weighed anchor, you need to adjust the sails. Depending on the ship type, there are up to three sails and two types of ropes on the railing. Use one to lower the sail and the other to change the angle. Align them with the wind, easily recognisable by white lines in the air. When the wind blows into your sail, the game gives you an acoustic signal.

Use these ropes to hoist or furl the sails and change the angle.
Source: Rare

5. Harpoon, the Swiss Army knife of the seas

Your ship’s harpoon can be used in a variety of ways. You can use it to catch flotsam while sailing, or you can deposit found treasures on the beach and bring them on board with the harpoon instead of swimming back and forth. You can even pull people to you – both friendly and hostile. Experienced pirates also use the harpoon to skilfully navigate around rocks or other obstacles. If you shoot at solid objects, the harpoon will get stuck.

The harpoon is very versatile.
Source: Rare

6. Fire yourself

If cannons aren’t loaded, you can climb in yourself and fire yourself through the air. Pretty useful if you want to get ashore quickly. Depending on how you land, you may take some damage, but it’s always worth the fun.

With the cannons, you can fire more than just cannonballs.
Source: Rare

7. Progress

Sea of Thieves has no role-playing elements. Your ship and your character always remain the same strength. Nevertheless, there is one levelling system: your reputation. You increase it with almost everything you do, unlocking new mission types or access to cosmetic items.

There are numerous achievements and challenges to unlock.
Source: Rare

8. Using the compass for treasure hunts

Treasure hunts often require you to take a certain number of steps in a defined direction. Easier said than done in a first-person game. Best to use your compass, holding it right in front of your face. With it, you’ll hear your footsteps as you walk.

The compass leads you in the right direction and helps you count your steps.
Source: Rare

9. Handing in your loot

Filling your ship with treasures is only half the battle. As a rule, you’ll only receive a reward once you’ve handed in crates, skulls and gems in the right place. To do this, sail to an outpost – ideally one where no enemy ship has docked. You never know what other pirates are up to. Once the path is clear, you can deliver treasure chests and gems to the Gold Hoarders. Skulls go to the Order of Souls, trade goods to the Merchant Alliance. It doesn’t matter who delivers the items, the reward is shared.

Loot tends to attract other pirates.
Source: Rare

10. Avoid skulls and ghost ships at first

In Sea of Thieves, you can experience a lot even when not on a specific mission. Dive for sunken ships, go fishing or get into a fight with other pirates. I’d only steer clear of skulls in the sky or ghost ships at first. Skulls lead you to a heavily guarded skeleton fort. They do contain plenty of booty, but also heavy resistance. A well-coordinated crew is required here. Same for ghost ships. Be prepared to patch a lot of holes and scoop up plenty of water in sea battles with them.

Skulls point the way to skeleton forts.
Source: Rare

11. Tall Tales take time

Tall Tales are multi-part quests most similar to classic single-player games. In them, you can experience a longer plot with cutscenes and everything that goes with it. Only recently, there was a crossover with Monkey Island. You travel to Mêlée and Monkey Island, meeting zombie pirate Le Chuck. As you can’t save manually, you’ll have to play up to a checkpoint. This can easily take 30 minutes or more. Next time you log in, you can continue the mission in the menu under Quests and Tall Tales.

Tall Tales like the crossover with Monkey Island offer more complex quests.
Source: Rare

12. Don’t worry about your ship

Unless you have valuable treasure on board, your ship can be traded. If it sinks, a mermaid or merman will appear in the water. They’ll teleport you back to land, where a new cutter already awaits.

Don’t worry, your ship will simply spawn again.
Source: Rare

13. Join a guild or found one

Guilds have existed in Sea of Thieves since the end of 2023. They can consist of up to 24 people. To found a guild, you first have to be a captain. You’ll need to buy a captain’s ship for this. That’ll cost between 250,000 and 500,000 gold – quite a pretty penny. In return, they retain their cosmetic customisations and don’t have to be refitted for each game. In addition, a guild unlocks new quests and new cosmetic items. Plus you level up faster..

A guild opens up new gameplay possibilities.
Source: Rare

14. If you’re looking to slow down, choose a solo game

Sea of Thieves is primarily a multiplayer game. However, private servers have also been available for a few months with Safer Seas. In them, you can sail across the sea alone or with friends without having to worry about other pirates. However, the rewards aren’t as good, and not all quests are available to you.

If you’re not in the mood for hostile pirates, choose Safer Seas.
Source: Rare

15. All about adventure

The most important tip I can give you for your journey – let yourself drift. Sea of Thieves is all about adventure. Of course, it’s great to deliver a shipload of treasures, but unpredictable events are the most entertaining. Be it the unexpected appearance of a sea monster, or a powder keg blowing up the entire ship due to an unfortunate hit. Or encounters with other pirates, where you never know what the outcome will be. Sea of Thieves is always good for a surprise, offering a free gaming experience like no other.

There’s always something to experience.
Source: Rare

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Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.

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15 beginner tips for all new PlayStation pirates in Sea of Thieves

1. Choose the right ship

2. Accept missions

3. Collect supplies

4. Sail the right way

5. Harpoon, the Swiss Army knife of the seas

6. Fire yourself

7. Progress

8. Using the compass for treasure hunts

9. Handing in your loot

10. Avoid skulls and ghost ships at first

11. Tall Tales take time

12. Don’t worry about your ship

13. Join a guild or found one

14. If you’re looking to slow down, choose a solo game

15. All about adventure

These articles might also interest you

Ghost of Yōtei: 23 helpful beginner’s tips for this samurai adventure

From action-packed to strategic: 5 board games for the whole family

12 tips to help you get started in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

2 comments

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1. Choose the right ship

5. Harpoon, the Swiss Army knife of the seas

9. Handing in your loot

10. Avoid skulls and ghost ships at first

11. Tall Tales take time

13. Join a guild or found one

15. All about adventure

2 comments