Quests

Quests are particular objectives, often found as part of a Voyages, that a Player's Crew may complete to uncover Treasure, gain Reputation, and progress through a Voyage. Quests are accessed from the Map Radial Menu.

Each Quest is shared between the Player's Crew. Quests can only be given to other crews by placing Voyages on their Voyage Table for voting.

X Marks the Spot Maps
X Marks the Spot Maps or Treasure Maps are thematically tied to the Gold Hoarders Trading Company. These Quests can be a part of Gold Hoarder Voyages, Athena's Fortune Voyages, Mercenary Voyages or Arena matches. Single Treasure Map Quests can be acquired across The Sea of Thieves from Quest sources like Tattered Parchments in Barrels, Messages in Bottles in the Seas or on the beaches or Mysterious Journals on Islands. These Maps can also be found from Skeleton's Orders.

These Maps display a single Island from The Sea of Thieves with red (or white and black in colourblind mode) X's, which uncover Treasure when the exact spot is dug up with a Shovel. A single Treasure Map has been recorded to have up to 25 X's.

Riddle Maps
Riddle Maps are thematically tied to the Gold Hoarders Trading Company. These Quests can be a part of Gold Hoarder Voyages, Athena's Fortune Voyages or Mercenary Voyages. Single Riddle Map Quests can be acquired across The Sea of Thieves from Quest sources like Tattered Parchments in Barrels, Messages in Bottles in the Seas or on the beaches or Mysterious Journals on Islands. These Maps can also be acquired from Ashen Guardian's Notes or Skeleton's Orders.

Riddle maps are a series of 2-4 Riddles on a certain Large Island that must be solved to find the buried Treasure. The first riddle gives the players the name of the Island. The middle riddles ask Players to find specific Landmarks on the Large Islands and perform a specific action at these locations. The final Riddle asks Players to locate a final Landmark and determine a Compass direction and state the given number of steps that need to be taken that direction to find and dig up the Treasure with the Shovel. Steps or paces can also be counted with a Compass when holding it close.

Riddle Maps most always uncover Collector's Chest that have Gold and other smaller Treasure items inside. Ashen Guardian's Notes lead players to the location of an Ashen Chest instead.

Torn Maps
Torn Maps are thematically tied to the Gold Hoarders Trading Company. These Quests are only available during Wayfinder Voyages sold by the Hoarders. Torn Maps are a collection of Map pieces that need to be pieced together from Torn Map Parchments. These Parchments are buried on Islands and are located with the help of a Golden Wayfinder Compass. Each Parchment adds a single sector of a Map to the Torn Map. Torn Maps always lead to a Large Island with a single large X on it, leading to a Treasure Vault Key. The Quest can be completed without getting all Torn Map Parchments. If the Crew recognises the Island and already finds the X, they can go and complete the Quest.

Bounty Parchments
Bounty Parchments are thematically tied to the Order of Souls Trading Company. These Quests can be a part of Order of Souls Voyages, Athena's Fortune Voyages or Mercenary Voyages. Single Bounty Quests can be acquired across The Sea of Thieves from Quest sources like Tattered Parchments in Barrels, Messages in Bottles in the Seas or on the beaches or Mysterious Journals on Islands.

Bounty Maps lead Players to specific Islands with 1-4 Skeleton Captains who have to be defeated along with their underlings. The Captains may be preceded by multiple waves of Skeletons of the same type. After defeat, the Captain's will drop a Bounty Skull, which can be sold to the Order of Souls for Gold and Reputation.

Ghost Ship Quests
Ghost Ship Parchments are thematically tied to the Order of Souls Trading Company. These Quests are only available from Ghost Ship Voyages sold by the Order to anyone who has reached at least the Rank 25 Promotion with the Company. These Maps send Players to a single Large Island to take down a Ghost Ship fleet headed by the Ghost Captain Ship. The Ghost Captain Ship will not appear until a number of Grunt Ships have first been defeated. The Captain's Ship drops Ghostly Bounty Skulls that can be sold to the Order for Gold and Reputation.

Merchant Contracts
Merchant Contracts are thematically tied to the Merchant Alliance Trading Company. These Quests are given as Merchant Alliance Voyages, or they can be found from single Quests sources like Tattered Parchments in Barrels, Messages in Bottles in the Seas or on the beaches or Mysterious Journals on Islands.

These Ledgers Commission specific Merchant Alliance Goods that have to be acquired and delivered to a specific Outpost Merchant Alliance NPC within a set date and time. The Merchant Alliance Representatives provide Player Crews will all the necessary Crates to capture or acquire all of the necessary goods. These Goods can be Animals, Gunpowder Barrels or Resource Crates. These items sell for 10 times their regular price if sold on Commission.

Cargo Contracts
Cargo Contracts are thematically tied to the Merchant Alliance Trading Company. These Quests can be a part of Merchant Alliance Voyages, Athena's Fortune Voyages or Mercenary Voyages. Single Cargo Commissions can be be acquired across The Sea of Thieves from Quest sources like Tattered Parchments in Barrels, Messages in Bottles in the Seas or on the beaches or Mysterious Journals on Islands.

Cargo Runs provide players with a Trade Good Ledger to pick up and deliver a specific amount of Cargo Crates from one NPC to another within a set date and time. These NPCs can be any Outpost NPC, a Sea Post Trader or any Large Island Outcast NPC. Cargo Crates come in three types - Plants, Rum and Cloth - and have to be handled carefully, since the condition of these Crates can get worse in unfavourable environments. For example, Plants need water to be healthy, Rum needs to be handled carefully and away from any damage sources and Cloth needs to be kept away from water. The reward of these Crates depends on their condition at turn-in. Cargo Crates cannot be sold after the Contract delivery time has expired.

Tale Books
Tale Books are story-driven Quests obtained through Tall Tales. The Books are filled with multiple pages that contain stories, riddles, and other challenges that the player must decipher and follow in order to progress.

Mysterious Notes
Mysterious Notes are Parchments left by the Bilge Rats to any Player Pirates waking up in Taverns. These Notes clue Players in to the most recent developments in The Sea of Thieves. Mysterious Notes can also be acquired during Bilge Rat Voyages.

Quest Sources
Quests can be acquired from various sources, either alone or in groups:

Trading Companies
The Gold Hoarders, Merchant Alliance, Order of Souls, Athena's Fortune and Bilge Rats Trading Companies all provide players with Voyages, which are either singular or a collection of Quests thematic to these companies.

Gold Hoarders Voyages
Gold Hoarder Voyages are sold by Gold Hoarders on any Outpost and provide players with a collection of X Marks the Spot Maps and Riddle Maps, which reward players with Treasure Chests and Collector's Chests filled with Trinkets. Either of these Treasures can be sold to the Gold Hoarders for Gold and Reputation with the Company.

Order of Souls Voyages
Order of Souls Voyages are sold by Order of Souls Representatives on any Outpost, which provide crews with either one or multiple Bounty Maps or a single Ghost Ship Map that reward players with Bounty Skulls, which in turn can be sold back to the Representatives for Gold and Reputation.

Merchant Alliance Voyages
Merchant Alliance Voyages are sold by Merchant Alliance Representatives on any Outpost, which always give Crews either a single Trade Good Commission or Cargo Commission. The Trade Good Ledgers can require numerous Animals and Gunpowder Barrels to be delivered to a certain Outpost. The Cargo Commissions require Crews to pick up and deliver up to 8 Cargo Crates.

Athena's Fortune Voyages
Athena's Fortune Voyages can only be purchased by Pirate Legends who have access to the Athena's Fortune Hideout. These Voyages consist of two chapters, with the first chapter offering Players 2 X Marks the Spot Maps, 2 Riddle Maps, 2 Bounty Maps and 2 Cargo Maps. The final chapter will give players a single X Marks the Spot Map that leads them to the location of a Chest of Legends.

Emissary Quests
Emissary Quests are high-value collections of Quests given by Trading Company Representatives to any Crews representing the company as Emissary Grade V Emissaries. Players can become Trading Company Emissaries by buying and raising an Emissary Flag at an Emissary Table. Once the Crew completes actions and retrieves Treasure related to that Company, they will earn Emissary Grade Reputation, which increases their Treasure Gold, Reputation and Emissary Value gains. Once a Crew reaches the maximum Grade V, they will be notified of unlocking an Emissary Quest. These Quests can be claimed from Trading Company Representatives. Only one Quest can be claimed at one time per Crew and Grade V Flag. These Quests are similar to Gilded Voyages, giving Crews plenty high value Treasure related to the Company. Emissary Quests are designated by a Gray Emissary Flag icon.

Mercenary Voyages
Mercenary Voyages are time-limited Voyages offered by the Bilge Rats for Doubloons to introduce Crews to specific new Mechanics or Treasure Items. These Voyages can be made up of various types of Quests and always provide Crews with Voyages that have small twists to them. The Reward of these Voyages is often Commendations, Titles and Doubloons to buy various time-limited Cosmetics.

Bottles and Found Items
There are various interactive items that can be found around The Sea of Thieves that provide player Crews with Quests. These items all act the same, with the main difference being the location that they appear in. Quests received from these items will display a gray bottle logo overlaid on them in the Map Radial Menu. Due to this, they are often collectively called Bottle Quests.

Message in a Bottle
Messages in Bottles can be found all over The Sea of Thieves, either floating among Barrels of Plenty, Skeleton Ships or beached on the shorelines of Islands or Forts. When picked up, the Bottle will disappear and give player Crews one of the following Quests: X Marks the Spot Map, Riddle Map, Bounty Map, Merchant Map or Cargo Map. These Maps can also appear as Ashen Quests, leading players to The Devil's Roar.

Tattered Parchment
The Tattered Parchment can be a random find from any Barrel around The Sea of Thieves. When picked up, the Parchment will give player Crews one of the following Quests: X Marks the Spot Map, Riddle Map, Bounty Map, Merchant Map or Cargo Map. These Maps can also appear as Ashen Quests, leading players to The Devil's Roar.

Mysterious Journal
Mysterious Journals can be found as physical books on Large Islands, either on top of Barrels or other surfaces, or lying on Rocks or in Sand. These Journals can appear with random text inside, or as named Journals with lyrics to the Shanties of Sea of Thieves. Once the text inside is exhausted, the Journal will give player Crews one of the following Quests: X Marks the Spot Map, Riddle Map, Bounty Map, Merchant Map or Cargo Map. These Maps can also appear as Ashen Quests, leading players to The Devil's Roar. These Journals will not disappear after they have been interacted with, however they will not give Crews additional Quests.

Skeleton's Orders
Skeleton's Orders are dropped by Emergent Skeleton Captains or Skeleton Lords of active Skeleton Forts. When picked up, Skeleton's Orders will give players an X Marks the Spot Map or Treasure Map with a unique gray letter logo. These Maps lead Players to various high-value Treasure Items.

Ashen Guardian's & Key Master's Notes
Ashen Guardian's Notes are dropped by Ashen Guardian Skeleton Captains and give Crews either a Riddle Map (from Emergent Captains) or an X Marks the Spot Map (From Skeleton Fort Captains), which reveal the location of a single Ashen Chest. Ashen Key Master's Notes are dropped by Emergent Ashen Key Masters and give Crews an X Marks the Spot Map with an Ashen Key on the same Island. These Quests share the Gray Letter Icon with Skeleton's Orders.

Torn Map Parchments
Torn Map Parchments are only available during Wayfinder Voyages offered by the Gold Hoarders. They are found with the help of a Golden Wayfinder Compass that always points in their direction. These Map Parchments will reveal a single sector of an Island on a Torn Map.