Sea of Thieves Boost: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

Welcome Aboard, New Pirate! So you’ve just launched Sea of Thieves in 2025 and you’re staring at the ocean wondering, “What now?” You’re not alone. Sea of Thieves is beautiful, chaotic, hilarious, and often overwhelming for new players. But once you break through the fog, it becomes one of the most unique and rewarding multiplayer games ever created.

Whether you’re brand new, returning after a long break, or even 50+ hours deep and still feel lost, this guide is designed to set you on the right course. We’re going deep into everything you need to know—from sailing mechanics and gold farming, to choosing a role, ship management, PvP, trading companies, and long-term progression goals.

This is not a basic checklist. This is your ultimate roadmap to becoming a true pirate legend. Let’s dive in this amazing Sea of Thieves Boost Guide.

What Is Sea of Thieves?

Before anything else, it’s crucial to understand what kind of game you’re getting into.

Sea of Thieves is an open-world PvPvE multiplayer sandbox where you choose how to play. There are no levels locking you out of content, no classes to grind, and no fixed storyline paths. You explore a shared ocean filled with treasure, enemies, and other real players.

In 2025, Sea of Thieves offers:

• Story-based Tall Tales that act as the game’s cinematic campaign.
• Faction Quests and world events like Skeleton Forts, Ghost Fleets, and Sea Forts.
• Seasonal content, progression systems, and battle passes.
• Player-versus-player combat through Hourglass mode or spontaneous ship battles.
• Cosmetic rewards and rare gear earned through gameplay challenges.

It’s not just a pirate game. It’s a platform for player-driven chaos, cooperation, and storytelling.

Safe Seas vs. High Seas: Which One Should You Choose?

When launching the game, you’ll be prompted to choose between Safe Seas and High Seas.

• Safe Seas: Solo instance with no PvP. Great for learning mechanics, completing quests, and exploring at your own pace.
• High Seas: The full multiplayer experience. Other crews can attack you, and danger lurks on every wave.

Start with Safe Seas for your first 10 hours or so. Learn to sail, fight skeletons, and complete simple voyages without worrying about being sunk. But once you’ve got the hang of things, move to High Seas. The real game—and the real fun—is in the unpredictable interactions with other players.

Your First Hour: Start With the Maiden Voyage

The best place to start is the Maiden Voyage, a solo tutorial island that teaches you core mechanics:

• Sailing and anchor control
• Repairing ship damage
• Finding treasure
• Combat basics

Complete it fully. This gives you free cosmetics and prepares you for the basics you’ll need every single session.

Starting Out: Beginner Quests and Voyages

After Maiden Voyage, begin your pirate career by picking up quests from the quest table on your ship. Focus on simple missions like:

• Gold Hoarder map digs
• Order of Souls bounty hunts
• Merchant Alliance delivery contracts

These offer a taste of each major faction and help you build early gold and reputation.

Stick to short voyages and small islands at first. Your goal here is learning how to read maps, fight AI enemies, and safely sail from island to outpost.

Understanding Trading Companies and Reputation

Sea of Thieves has six primary trading companies, each offering unique loot and quests:

1. Gold Hoarders – Treasure chests
2. Order of Souls – Skulls from defeating skeleton captains
3. Merchant Alliance – Cargo deliveries and animal captures
4. Reaper’s Bones – Sells stolen loot and enemy flags
5. Athena’s Fortune – Pirate Legend-exclusive voyages
6. Hunter’s Call – Sells fish and cooked meat

Every company tracks your Reputation (level 1 to 100), and after level 100, you earn Distinctions (reset to 1 with bonus rewards). Reaching level 50 in three companies earns you Pirate Legend status—a major game milestone that unlocks Athena’s Fortune content.

Your First Major Goal: Buy a Ship

Buying your own ship is a key turning point. It allows you to:

• Customize your vessel permanently
• Access the Sovereigns (a faction that lets you sell all loot in one place)
• Earn ship milestones and unlock cosmetics

Prices:

• Sloop (Solo/Duo): 250,000 gold
• Brigantine (3 players): 375,000 gold
• Galleon (4 players): 500,000 gold

As a beginner, focus on earning your first 250,000 to unlock a Sloop. This should be your first major goal.

Making Gold as a Beginner

Early game gold sources:

• Quest table missions (free)
• Skeleton camps (drop loot randomly)
• Sea Forts (AI-controlled mini-dungeons with great rewards)
• Event clouds (like Skull Forts or Ghost Fleets)

Later, learn efficient methods:

• World Events (marked by clouds)
• Emissary Flags (loot multipliers—more on this next)
• PvP rewards from Hourglass mode
• Reaper runs (high risk, high reward selling stolen loot)

Emissary Flags: Your Gold Multiplier

Each trading company has an Emissary system that gives up to 2.5x bonus rewards.

How it works:

• Reach level 15 with a company
• Purchase its Emissary License
• Raise the Emissary Flag at an outpost
• Complete quests and collect loot to increase your Emissary Grade (1–5)
• Sell loot at grade 5 for massive gold and rep boosts

Always use Emissary Flags once unlocked. They’re essential for efficient progression.

PvP or PvE? Choose Your Style

Sea of Thieves is a sandbox—you’re never forced into PvP, but you’re always at risk in High Seas. However, there are two styles of competitive play:

• Organic PvP: Emergent combat between random ships
• Hourglass PvP: Opt-in matchmaking through factions (Guardians vs. Servants)

New players should stick to PvE early on. But once you’re confident with ship combat and crew coordination, Hourglass battles are a great way to test your skills and earn gold quickly.

Managing Your Ship: Beginner Sailing Tips

Sailing may look easy, but mastering your ship is crucial.

Basic Controls

• Anchor: Avoid using it unless necessary. Use sails and turns instead.
• Sails: Lower for speed, raise halfway for turning. Angle to catch the wind.
• Wheel: Always assign one player to steer during fights.

Combat Tips

• Load cannons in advance
• Use chainshots to disable enemy masts
• Have one player patching holes and bailing water at all times

Assign clear roles: one on sails, one on helm, one on cannons. Crew coordination wins battles.

Food and Healing: What to Eat and When

Different food heals different amounts:

• Bananas: 20%
• Coconuts: 30%
• Pomegranates: 40%
• Mangoes: 50%
• Pineapples: Full heal (100%)
• Cooked Meat: 50% + regeneration

Pro Tip: Always stock up at sea forts—they’re gold mines for supplies.

Bring a mix of mangoes and pineapples for PvP. Use the right food depending on how much damage you’ve taken to avoid waste.

Weapons for Beginners: Sword and Sniper Combo

New players should start with:

• Cutlass (sword): Easy to use, 25% damage per hit, simple combos
• Eye of Reach (sniper): Long range, strong damage, complements sword well

Avoid Blunderbuss early—it’s strong but situational and requires close-range aim.

Key Terms You Should Know

• Default: Spreading across the map to scout before committing
• Lineup: Pre-planned utility toss (usually PvE or PvP)
• Anchor Turn: Drop anchor briefly mid-turn for sharp direction change
• Tuck: Hiding on enemy ships to steal loot or sabotage
• Reaper Run: Selling high-value loot to Reaper’s Hideout for bonus gold

Mid-Game Goals to Work Toward

After mastering the basics, set your sights on bigger objectives:

• Pirate Legend: Reach level 50 in three factions
• Own multiple ships: Unlock Brig and Galleon
• Earn curses: Coral Curse, Gold Curse, Hourglass Curse
• Hit your first million gold: A huge milestone that unlocks many cosmetics

Recommended Daily Routine

1. Log into High Seas
2. Raise Emissary Flag for your preferred faction
3. Do a world event or faction voyage
4. Sell to Sovereigns or your faction
5. Repeat and review your ship stock

If you only have 1–2 hours, this loop provides gold, rep, and PvP opportunities.

Final Tips for Progressing Fast

• Always raise your Emissary Flag
• Use the Sovereigns if you own a ship
• Avoid anchoring unless necessary
• Focus on PvE early, then ease into PvP
• Play with friends—it’s far more efficient
• Don’t fear losing loot. It’s part of the game.

Set Sail and Make It Yours

The Sea of Thieves is vast, mysterious, and constantly evolving. Your journey won’t look like anyone else’s. Some players fall in love with ship combat. Others prefer fishing and exploration. Many chase Pirate Legend or dominate the Hourglass ladder. It’s easy to do with this best Sea of Thieves Boost Guide.

Whatever your style, this guide is your compass. Now hoist the sails, raise your anchor, and chart your own pirate story. Your legend begins today.