Sea of Thieves Skeleton Fort Guide - How to Take Down a Skeleton Fort, Skull Cloud Explained, Skeleton Fort Loot Rewards Guide

Skeleton forts pose the hardest challenge you can encounter in Sea of Thieves, as you, your crew, and even other crews will have to band together to conquer the fort and the enemies lurking within. In this Sea of Thieves skeleton fort guide, we’ll be walking you through how to defeat a skeleton fort, as well as all the skeleton fort loot rewards that you can expect to find within.

If you need anything else on Sea of Thieves, including how to get to grips with setting sail on your first voyage in your pirate ship, as well as a complete in depth guide to the combat of the game, make sure to head over to our Sea of Thieves guides walkthrough hub.

Sea of Thieves Skeleton Fort Guide

To find the location of a skeleton fort on the map of Sea of Thieves, you’re going to have to look to the horizon whenever you’re out on the high seas. Look to the clouds, and you might happen to see the shape of a large skeleton skull in the sky, formed out of clouds. This is actually the position of a skeleton fort on the map, and all you have to do to reach the fort is point your ship in the rough direction of the skull.

You’ll know you’re near the skeleton fort island when the skeletons themselves start raining cannon fire on your pirate ship, so make sure to weave your way to the island as quickly as possible, and safely dock your ship, hopping out with your crew. Don’t forgot to use the Ammo and Armory Chests to stock up on all your gear before you head into the fort, since you don’t want to be running out of pistol ammo halfway through the fort.

A solid alternative tactic for approaching a skeleton fort is to return fire with your cannons and other long range weapons like rifles, picking off the skeletons that are shooting at your ship, and then finding somewhere safe and relatively secluded to dock your ship. You'll also want to make sure your ship is in good health before you depart, since you can use it as a respawn point while you and your crew tackle the fort.

We’d recommend kitting yourself out with one melee weapon like a cutlass or saber, and one ranged weapon, preferably a blunderbuss if you’ve got one stashed away in your Armory Chest. The blunderbuss is capable of hitting multiple skeletons with a single shot, and and this is critical when you’ve got an extremely limited supply of ammo outside of your ship.

Make sure your crew stick together, and start off using your melee weapons against the horde of skeletons, saving your ranged ammo for when the going gets really tough. You’re going to want to head deep into the island to complete the actual fort, and trust us when we say you’ll know the heart of the skeleton fort when you see it (it’s basically a massive arena filled to the brim with skeleton warriors).

To conquer the actual skeleton fort and claim the rewards, you simply have to slay every single skeleton that you encounter in the fort. They won’t keep respawning (unless you leave the island for some reason), so keep your crew together, and you shouldn’t have trouble hacking every skeleton in the fort to bits.

There are actually several different types of skeletons found in Sea of Thieves, all of which you're going to encounter at some point while taking down a skeleton fort. Just below, you can find a list of every type of skeleton in Sea of Thieves, as well as the different methods you should use for taking down each:

• Metal Skeletons - These skeletons look like they're covered entirely in treasure and are insanely hard to kill with your conventional weapons, but slow down and become far weaker if you throw a bucket of water over them.
• Seaweed Skeletons - This type of skeleton is very quick and nimble, so a good strategy to take them down is to either shoot a gunpowder barrel near them, or to lure them to the beaches where your crew can blast them with cannons.
• Shadow Skeletons - Finally, these dark skeletons are powerful while indoors and under the cover of shade, but become weaker and slower while under the sun.

Sea of Thieves Skeleton Fort Loot Rewards

But what will you actually find once you reach the end of the gauntlet in the skeleton fort? Once every skeleton has been defeated, you’ll be presented with multiple treasure chests for you and your crew to claim, which is where things can get a little dicey if you decided to take on the fort with a rival pirate crew.

If you entered the fort with an ally crew, maybe they want a larger cut of the rewards, or maybe they’ll even try to literally stab you and your crew in the back and take every treasure chest for themselves. This is where things get tough, but one thing’s for certain: those treasure chests in the skeleton forts hold some of the largest amounts of gold in the game. As we’ve detailed over on our Sea of Thieves gold guide, it’s through the skeleton forts that you can frequently earn upwards of 4,000 gold in one go, so you’ll want to try and cash in as many chests as you can.

We might have concluded this Sea of Thieves skeleton fort guide, but make sure to continue ahead to our full Sea of Thieves Kraken guide for info on defeating the massive monster.