Hazards

Environmental Hazards make up the dangerous Encounters throughout the Sea of Thieves.

Types
The following section lists all the various environmental and non-environmental Hazards that Player Pirates can come across

Lightning
Lightning bolts will strike random areas within a Storm, damaging players and enemies alike. Lightning can strike through a ship, damaging players both inside and under the Hull. Lightning can also blow up Gunpowder Barrels. Dying from Lightning allows a player to acquire a White coloured flame for their Lantern at the Ferry of the Damned.

Cursed Mermaid Statues
These Statues are found on the shores of small and large Islands. The curse of these statues will continuously do 5% damage a second to any Pirate that gets too close to them.

Tephra
These hailing Volcanic Rocks are a byproduct of Volcano eruptions in The Devil's Roar and can kill a player with full health upon impact. They also deal heavy damage to the Ship's Hull, Wheel, Capstan and Masts and blow up any Gunpowder Barrel they come to contact with. The range of an erupting volcano is indicated by falling Cinders. Dying from Tephra allows a player to acquire a Red coloured flame for their Lantern at the Ferry of the Damned.

Earthquakes
Earthquakes are the byproduct of both inactive and active Volcanoes in The Devil's Roar. Earthquakes inhibit a player's movement, producing an effect similar to being drunk and limping at the same time.

Boiling Water
Boiling Water is a byproduct of active Volcanoes in The Devil's Roar. The waters surrounding the erupting Volcano will start to boil, dealing 5% damage per second to anyone swimming or touching the water, even inside a ship. Rowboats are not affected by the boiling water, making them effective tools for accessing and escaping erupting Volcanic Islands.

Lava
Flowing lava is a byproduct of active Volcanoes on the large Islands of Devil's Roar. Volcanic Rock with cracks inside them will start spewing out lava during an eruption, making much of the Islands inaccessible as it does 5% damage per second to anyone on it.

Geysers
Geysers are small pressurised pockets of hot water on Devil's Roar Islands. Geysers erupt either individually or in bursts on the soft terrain of Volcanic Islands. When a player stands on a Geyser, they will be launched high in the air, which will often inflict fall damage. Skillful players can aim their landing on high ground or slopes to avoid taking damage. Most Geysers erupt more than once, making digging treasure and navigating Volcanic islands more difficult.

Traps
Traps were introduced to the game with the Anniversary Update Tall Tales. There are permanent trapped cave structures on Sailor's Bounty and Shores of Gold. These structures include various types of spike traps and swinging axe and log traps. These traps immediately kill a player on contact. Some of these Traps can be manually activated using levers placed on cave walls to help clear the trapped room of ambushing waves of Skeletons. Various Large Islands also have hidden trap caves that start filling up with water or waves of Skeletons until a riddle is solved or the skeletons are defeated. These caves can only be accessed with opening these vaults with appropriate Totems gained from various Tall Tales. Discovery Ridge and Plunder Valley also house rigged Stronghold Gunpowder Barrel traps, which are limited to the fifth Tall Tale, The Art of the Trickster.

Skeletons
Skeletons are the most common mob enemy of Sea of Thieves. Skeletons mostly appear on Large and Small Islands. They mostly attack in groups and can use the same weaponry as the players. There are different types of Skeletons with different strengths and weaknesses that appear on active Forts or as part of Order of Souls Voyages. Skeletons can also be found manning the crews of wandering Skeleton Ships. Dying to a Skeleton allows a player to acquire a Green coloured flame for their Lantern at the Ferry of the Damned.

Sharks
Sharks swim all around the Sea of Thieves, hunting for any live prey. Sharks will eventually appear and start chasing a player if they stay in water for too long. Groups of Sharks are attracted to combat, usually gathering around players battling a Megalodon, a Kraken, a Skeleton Ship or even other Player Crews. A shark takes around 3 Blunderbuss shots, 4 Eye of Reach shots, 5 Pistol shots and 5 Cutlass Combos to kill. A Shark's bite does exactly 50% damage to a player. Dying to a Shark allows a player to acquire a Blue coloured flame for their Lantern at the Ferry of the Damned. Note that a Megalodon is also categorised as a shark. A Megalodon's bite does identical damage to that of a shark's.

Venom
There are currently three sources of Venom poisoning in the game. Either getting bitten by a Snake, getting hit by a Venomball or coming in contact with a Kraken's black Ink. When poisoned, a player's screen turns purple/black and the player will take 5% damage per second. Venom can also damage and kill Skeletons. Dying from Venom poisoning allows a player to acquire a Purple coloured flame for their Lantern at the Ferry of the Damned.

Fire
Players can be set on fire by explosions, either from Gunpowder Barrels or Firebombs, or from contact with a burning ship. While burning, the player slowly takes damage over time until the fire is extinguished. Fire lasts only a brief duration, but can be put out through contact with water. Dying to fire gives the player a red Lantern flame from the Ferry of the Damned, similar to dying to Tephra.

Players
Last, but not least, one of the more unpredictable hazards of the open seas are other Player Pirates and Crews. While not all players are necessarily hostile, they can and mostly will try to kill any other players they come in contact with. All Pirates in the Sea of Thieves are equally equipped and have equal capacities, so overcoming these threats usually require a combination of skill and knowledge to outwit and outplay them. Dying by the hands of an enemy Pirate allows a player to acquire a Pink coloured flame for their Lantern at the Ferry of the Damned.