Sea of Thieves – How to Get Started

Getting started in Sea of Thieves can be very daunting, especially if you haven’t played any of the betas up to this point. The good news is we have spent quite a bit of time learning the secrets of getting started in Sea of Thieves, and now we’re going to pass that knowledge on to you so that you know how to get started in Sea of Thieves.

Preparing to Set Sail

The first thing you need to do before you set sail in Sea of Thieves is prepare to set out on your voyage. This includes a few different things. First off, you’ll want to grab as many planks, cannonballs, and other items that you can. Store them on your boat, and then go back for more.

Once you’ve grabbed all of the items that you can (make sure you do it quickly to avoid getting attacked) it’s time to grab yourself a voyage and vote on it. We go into a lot more detail about this process is how to get a voyage, but your basic job here is to find the gold hoarder and purchase your first voyage from him.

With the voyage in hand, head back to your ship, do one last look over, and then vote on the voyage in the Captain’s cabin. Now that you have your voyage ready, it’s time to get ready to set sail.

Before you can set sail, you’ll want to do three things. First, choose a Captain. This should be someone who can quickly give orders and keep the crew on task. Second, get the sails ready. You can raise and lower the sails using a mechanism on either side of the ship. There are two different adjustments that you can make. You can raise and lower, as well as angle the sails.

To raise or lower the sail, look for this anchor on the side of the ship.

To angle the sails a certain way, look for this pulley.

Look up above the ship to see which direction the wind is sailing. The more your sails are in the wind, the faster you will go.

Keep this in mind and be sure to adjust the sails as you need to in order to keep that wind control behind you. Take a moment during the opening moments of your sailing to get used to this, as it will be vital in combat later down the line.

Set Sail

Once everything is ready, and you have your Captain and sails set in place, it’s time to raise anchor. Get your crew together, hoist up the anchor, and set out on the open seas. At this time your navigator will need to press E and look at the island on the map you’ve been given for your quest, and then determine which island you need to set out for. Find the direction using the compass on the right of the steering area, and then keep moving through the ocean.

Finding Treasure

When you’ve found the island on your treasure map, it’s time to look for the treasure itself. Many early quests will have a point marked on the map, however, others will require you to solve riddles. You’ll need to react accordingly and look out for things in the environment when solving riddles. Remember that you always have a compass that you can use to check directions. If your map shows you where it is, simply run to the spot and then pull out your shovel and dig it up to collect it.

Selling Treasure

After you have found the treasure, you’re going to want to get it back onto your ship. When it is secured below deck, have your navigator set a course for the nearest outpost. Here you’ll want to offload any treasure that you’ve found to the gold hoarder. You may also want to go ahead and purchase a new voyage, if multiple people in the crew did not purchase them at the start.

Those are the basics that you need to know to get started in Sea of Thieves. We’ll continue to update our Sea of Thieves guide with new content as the game continues to grow, so be sure to check back constantly for the latest information.