There may “only” be a few curses in Sea of Thieves right now, but that could change depending on how popular they are.
As cosmetic items, they are something that other players will notice right away and ask how they can get something similar to show off their achievements in style.
Cool effects like these don’t come cheap or for nothing. Because these curses don’t happen very often, people talk about them a lot.
But if you know where to look, put in some work, and stick with it until the end, you’ll have them all in your inventory before you know it.
Hodey Johns last changed this on January 1, 2021: The list now has one more curse, so it was time to update this guide. The game is slowly adding curses, which makes each one more mysterious.
The new ones are exciting, but they don’t take away from the classic allure of the old ones. To keep the guide’s integrity, all of the old curses are still on this list, along with the instructions on how to get them.
The Curse of Sunken Sorrow is the newest curse, and it has its own rules.
1. Curse Of Sunken Sorrow
When players start to notice that some of their teammates have glow-in-the-dark markings on their upper chests and faces, they are probably noticing the Curse of Sunken Sorrow.
Before anything else can happen, players will have to find thirty journals in the Sunken Kingdom. That means you have to find five journals in each of these shrines:
- Shrine of Hungering
- Shrine of the Coral Tomb
- Shrine of Ocean’s Fortune
- Shrine of Flooded Embrace
- Shrine of Ancient Tears
- Shrine of Tribute
This unlocks the quest called “The Curse of the Sunken Kingdom.” Immediately after this begins, buy The Legend of the Sunken Kingdom off of Larinna.
This will unlock a voyage that entails visiting the following three shrines:
- Black Water Enclave
- Sailor’s Knot Stronghold
- Shrine of Ancient Tears
During the next few steps, players will have to start over if they lose any items or quit. So make sure you give yourself enough time to do these steps, which can take a while.
There are several items that are obtained on this journey that must remain on your person or your ship. They include:
- The Forbidden Coral Chest
- Gold Hoarders Medallion
- Three Forbidden Keys
- Mysterious Ancient Key (from the Forbidden Coral Chest)
In the last step of this questline, you turn in the Mysterious Ancient Key to open a door. Go inside and get your prize!
2. Legendary Curse
The Legendary Curse is noticed for its glowing blue eyes on the icon. Shirtless pirates will get an extra bonus, as a like-colored skull will be emblazoned over the heart.
To get the Legendary Curse, players will have to get to a legendary reputation level with at least three of the major companies. That’s 50 levels with three of the following:
- Gold Hoarders
- Merchant Alliance
- Order of Souls
- The Hunter’s Call
- Sea Dogs
- Reaper’s Bones
Players will also have to reach Renown level 100 during season one. There is a sneaking suspicion that it will be available again in a future season or that these future seasons will feature new curses, so stay tuned!
3. Curse Of The Order
This item adorns the wearer’s cheeks with pitch-black paint and replaces their eyes with black orbs. Getting it requires completing the questline entitled “The Cursed Rogue.”
- Go to the Plunder Outpost, visit the Order of Souls tent, and find Madame Olivia inside. Her face is already under the effect of the Curse of the Order, so you’ll know you’re on the right track.
- Vote on the Tale Book next to her and activate the Tall Tale.
- Read the book “Chronicle of Forgotten Lives.” Your next task is to kill Captain Avery and her two mates, Stan and Jones, but her location varies based on the hint in the book.
- Look and read carefully, Captain Avery can be on any of several islands and you’ll need to use the clues and pictures to determine which one.
- The following locations are the possibilities: Castaway Isle, Barnacle Cay, Devil’s Ridge, Shark Bait Cove, Snake Island, or Wanderer’s Refuge.
- Kill Captain Avery and her two pals.
- The appropriately named “Skeleton Key” will be dropped NEXT to her and it’s not ON her, so make sure to look for it and loot it.
- Reading the next pages in the book, entitled “The Memories of Blackheart Bill,” will tell you where the Skeleton Chest that corresponds with that key is and, once again, it will vary based on the text and pictures.
- The following locations are the possibilities: Crook’s Hallow, Discovery Ridge, Lookout Point, Mutineer Rock, Plunder Valley, or Thieves’ Haven.
- You’ll know you’re in the right place if you do battle with another skeletal pirate named Captain Blake, who attacks along with a couple of henchmen.
- Unlike the key, the chest is buried at this location, so you’ll want to look at the ground for abnormalities and then start digging.
- Bring the best back to the ship.
- Open it up and loot the Broken Skyglass and Star Map.
- Return to Madame Olivia and she will trans-mutate the two items into the Enchanted Compass. Pick this up from the table.
- You’ll be killing a third and final skeletal pirate and her crew, but this time, her location is not hinted at by the book, but by this Enchanted Compass, which will point to her location.
- The following locations are the possibilities: Cannon Cove, Discovery Ridge, Kraken’s Fall, Lone Cove, Mermaid’s Hideaway, Shipwreck Bay, The Crooked Masts, or Wanderer’s Refuge.
- The target is Captain Briggsy, who is not one to be trifled with.
- You will want to bring all of your friends along for this fight, unlike the other two, she has limitless minions are her command and you’ll most likely be overwhelmed.
- Loot her skull off of her and return to Madame Olivia.
- Turning in the skull will complete the Tall Tale and give you the Fateful Memories Commendation.
- Finally, go to the Vanity Chest and collect your well-earned Curse of the Order!
- This is the only curse that grants some weaponry in the process. If you’ve followed along, check your armory and you’ll have a hard-earned piece of equipment there. Briggsy’s Sword is sure to impress since most players have a tough time taking him down.
4. The Ashen Curse
One of the Tall Tales that were added in a later update is Heart of Fire. This quest centers around stopping the resurrection of Captain Flameheart, so it’s fitting that the cosmetic players can earn on this tale is The Ashen Curse.
A person wearing the curse will be given glowing orange eyes with flame scars covering their body with parts being charred.
Getting this cosmetic requires The Blackwyche Reborn commendation to be completed. This is earned by getting all the commendations associated with Heart of Fire. That includes:
- The Liar’s Hideout (Discover Stitcher Jim’s Hideout)
- The Path of the Eternal King (Walk the path of the Eternal King)
- The Path of the Forsaken Flame (Walk the path of the Forsaken Flame)
- The Path of the Burning Heart (Walk the path of the Burning Heart)
- The Fire Rises (Find the Chest of Rage)
- Stitcher’s Schemes (Read all five of Jim’s journals)
- Heart of Fire (Complete the tale once)
- Savor of Souls (Complete the tale three times)
5. Shores of Gold Curse
The Shores of the Golden Curse will take you longer than any other to complete. It’s well worth it because the golden splotches look incredible on the character’s skin and it gives a cool effect to any scars it covers up as well.
- If you’ve followed this guide so far, you’re well on your way. You’ll need to complete the original nine Tall Tales five times each.
- Find all of the journals in each Tall Tale to receive the commendation. You’ll know you’ve done it if there is a checkmark in the lower-righthand corner of the entry.
- Complete the rest of the entries before doing the fifth run through Shores of Gold, the ninth entry, since this is when the Shores of Gold Curse will be awarded.
- The commendation you’re looking for is called “Seeker of Grand Adventure.”
- After getting it, like the other curses, you’ll find it unlocked inside the Vanity Chest.
- Fitting the theme of gold-plated customization, this ninth entry will give the Gold and Glory commendation which also unlocks a Gold Hoarder Figurehead to put on your ship. It’s perfect for players who like to keep everything coordinated and show off to the fans.
And that’s it! Wearing even one of these curses means you’ve done significant amounts of the story and other players will automatically take note and be impressed.
Sea of Thieves is available now on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Windows.
