In Sea of Thieves, Skeletons are the most common island dwellers you’ll meet.
Most of the time, they don’t pose much of a threat, and you can kill them with just a few swings of your sword.
Beware though:
During your travels, you’ll find out that not all Skeletons are the same. They don’t even have to be your boss to ruin your day!
Here are the skeletons you need to watch out for in Sea of Thieves that we think are the most important.
9. Gold Skeletons
In Sea of Thieves, looks aren’t always what they seem.
And this Skeleton is proof of a trick:
Gold doesn’t make something valuable just because it’s gold.
Gold Skeletons can be hard to deal with. If you try to cut them with your sword, you’ll just miss.
You can slow them down, though, if you lead them to water, which makes them rust.
If you try to slash, you’ll still bounce, but a few shots from any gun will do the trick.
If you want to get rid of Gold Skeletons quickly, firebombs are your best bet. With one of these, you can set a whole group of them on fire, then sit back and watch them burn to ash.
8. Plant Skeletons
If your crew is at sea battling a Skeleton Galleon and you’re wondering how it’s still floating after dozens of shots, this is probably the reason…
Or you just missed a lot. That can happen too.
Plant Skeletons regenerate health if they’re in the water.
This is a non-issue if you encounter them on land. But if they’re manning a ship and are on repairs, they can be a real menace.
These things will keep patching a ship up no matter how much it fills with water.
And unlike you, they can’t drown.
Try and get one of your crew aboard and let them fight up close and personal, if you can’t spare the cannonballs.
7. Shadow Skeleton
It can be scary to think about how deep the ocean goes.
Even more so when you’re alone and the moon is out.
But these nasty enemies make sure that you also have to worry about things on land.
Shadow Skeletons love the dark so much that at night they can’t be hurt by anything.
Until you shine a lantern in their faces, at least.
By holding a lantern up to these enemies, you can stun them and get in a few hits.
Even when you’re alone, it can be hard to fight groups of Shadow Skeletons because you have to keep switching weapons.
So try to stun more than one of them at once before you try to kill them.
6. Gunpowder Skeleton
If you ever thought that Creepers from Minecraft would fit into Sea of Thieves, these are pretty close.
The weapon of choice for a Gunpowder Skeleton is a big powder keg.
And once they’re close enough to send you to Davy Jones’ Locker, they’ll set it up to blow up!
But don’t get scared if you hear one coming toward you.
You can run away and shoot them from far away to make a nice explosion, or you can carefully kill the Skeleton (shooting the legs is a good way to do this), which will leave the powder keg on the ground.
Taking these on your ship is always dangerous.
But are you really a pirate if you’re not willing to take risks?
5. Ancient Skeleton
Some of the coolest cosmetics (including pets) will cost you Ancient Coins, Sea Of Thieves’ premium currency.
Fortunately, if you’re not looking to spend, there’s still a way to get your hands on these precious coins.
Ancient Skeletons are incredibly rare – and are noticeable by the unique blue and gold body, along with the backpack full of coins.
These skeletons have a tiny chance to appear on any island.
And if they show up, music will play, and they’ll jingle as they move.
You’ll have to act quick on these – as they only appear for 20 seconds before they disappear back into the ground!
If you manage to kill one in that time, you’ll be treated to a bounty of Ancient Coins.
And this can be up to 800 if you’re really lucky!
Sadly, there’s no way to guarantee these elusive enemies will show up. And some people have played the game for hundreds of hours without seeing one.
Just remember: if you hear strange music on an island, act fast!
4. Coral Skeleton
Colorful glowing skeletons appear within Siren Shrines and Siren Treasuries, as well as during certain Tall Tales.
They appear to have about as much health as normal skeletons but appear in large groups and spawn as long as the Crew is on the Island.
The glow effect seems to persist only when players are within a relatively close range.
Aside from a unique glow effect that seems to persist only when players are within a relatively close range, they are no different from ordinary Skeletons.
Like all other variants of skeleton, they can spawn with bare hands, a Cutlass, a Pistol, or a Blunderbuss, and they can eat Bananas to recover their health. There is no reward for killing Coral Skeletons.
Coral Skeletons can spawn in waves as part of certain sections of Tall Tales. They mostly appear to guard Ancient Vaults or on an Island when some Tall Tales steps are completed, endlessly chasing the player characters down.
They can also spawn in certain Siren Shrines in set locations as well as Siren Treasuries where any dry wave can consist of coral skeletons, often as Gunpowder Skeletons.
3. Gold Hoarder Skeletons
Gold Hoarder Skeletons are a unique Skeleton variant in Sea of Thieves. These Skeletons are loyal to the Skeleton Lord, The Gold Hoarder.
Gold Hoarder Skeletons spawn during The Art of the Trickster and Shores of Gold Tall Tales to ambush players trying to find Tribute Peak and the Vault of the Gold Hoarder.
They are also summoned by the Gold Hoarder himself when fighting him as a boss during the Shores of Gold Tale.
Gold Hoarder Skeletons also appear to ambush players during Wayfinder Voyages issued by the Gold Hoarders.
These Skeletons can appear when players dig up Torn Map Parchments and have a chance to drop Artefacts upon defeat.
2. Ashen Skeletons
Ashen Skeletons are an unique variant of Skeletons that are found in The Devil’s Roar Region in Sea of Thieves.
Ashen Skeletons replace Regular Emergent Skeletons in The Devil’s Roar Region. During an active Skeleton Fort at the Molten Sands Fortress, Ashen Skeletons can spawn as a whole wave.
Like other variants of Skeletons, they can spawn with a Cutlass, a Pistol or a Blunderbuss, or no weapon at all (unarmed attacks). They do not spawn on Skeleton Ships.
They are also encountered as a part of The Seabound Soul and Heart of Fire Tall Tale.
Ashen Lords summon Ashen Skeletons instead of regular Skeletons. These summoned skeletons are very weak.
Emergent Ashen Skeleton Captains like Ashen Key Masters and Ashen Guardians all spawn as Ashen Skeleton Captains with a red glow around them.
Ashen Skeletons are resistant to Fire damage, taking a lot longer to kill with Firebombs.
1. Shadows of Fate
Shadows of Fate are an unique type of Shadow Skeletons that appear in waves during the Fort of the Damned Raid.
Most commonly found as a part of the Fort of the Damned Raid, Shadow of Fate skeletons are similar to Shadow Skeletons, with their invulnerable ghostly form, however, to be susceptible to attack, they must be exposed to a specific Flame of Fate indicated by the colour of their glowing eyes.
Players must acquire the corresponding flame (all present during a Fort of the Damned Raid in the main tower), then raise the lantern to the Skeletons to make them vulnerable to damage.
They have the same amount of health as regular Skeleton Fort skeletons, taking about 8 Cutlass hits, 2 Pistol shots, 2 Eye of Reach shots or a point-blank Blunderbuss shot to kill.
A Green and Red Shadow of Fate skeleton also appear during Athena’s Run of Thieves’ Haven. These have a chance to drop a Skull of Ancient Fortune or a Villainous Skull of Ancient Fortune.
They were featured prominently in the Fate of the Damned event in which they were found alongside the Ghost of Graymarrow, performing rituals and assaulting islands.
