Over the years, the world of Sea of Thieves and the content in it has grown and evolved. One of the main focuses of updates to the multiplayer action-adventure has been on Tall Tales. These quests differ from normal ones as they are based on the stories told in Tale Books.
There are a total of 17 different Tall Tales that can be experienced in the game, including the tutorial Tall Tale that everyone must play through to gain access to sailing the seas. While each tale features a lot of cool experiences, it is clear that the team over at Rare continues making these quests better.
Updated on February 23, 2023 by Chris Birsner: Tall Tales continue to be an important aspect of the Sea of Thieves experience. As pirates sailing the seas and collecting treasure, there may not be a need to understand all that is going on the world nor seek out all the answers. However, the Tall Tales serve as a great tool to tell the stories of the sea as it adds an extra layer of lore that you may not have known you wanted. On top of that, these Tall Tales can also provide some neat rewards, so even if you don't really care about what is happening in the game's world, you can at least walk away a little richer than before. While there haven't been any newer Tall Tales, the ones that are there continue to serve a great purpose for both new and old pirates.
15 The Art Of The Trickster
The first set of tall tales implemented into the game was the "Shores of Gold" series. The story revolved around finding Devil's Shroud to reach Tribute Peak, the home of various vaults and plenty of loot for a pirate crew to share.
Many of the best tales happen later in the arc, including Chapter 6: The Art of the Trickster. Part of the storyline revolves around making the Shroudbreaker, and one of the stones is being protected by a Trapmaker. The tale includes solving a riddle using skeleton corpses, finding various objects using a spyglass, and battling foes in an evil lair.
14 The Shroudbreaker
Those that start the Shores of Gold arc will start here with Chapter One: The Shroudbreaker. The story focuses on The Magpie Wing, the ship once owned by the Pirate Lord that has since been lost. The job of the crew is to go out and find it somewhere in The Ancient Isles.
After talking to the Mysterious Stranger at the Tavern, you and your crew can set off for the islands. The tale sets up a nice adventure that involves finding chests, unlocking a vault, and attempting to flee Coral Skeletons as they attempt to take any prized possessions away from you.
13 The Seabound Soul
Some of the tall tales are released as standalone story updates. The Seabound Soul was added to the game in November 2019 as part of a content update of the same name.
The tale starts out with you talking to Sir Arthur Pendragon, a ghostly captain of the sunken ship Blackwyche. Now a freed spirit, he asks the crew to help him save some souls that were taken out by the Ashen Dragon, the fleet of Captain Flameheart. The adventure revolves around hunting down these fleets while also searching sunken ships for the skulls of fallen captains, learning their stories as they are saved.
12 The Fate Of The Morningstar
After completing The Art of the Trickster and three other chapters in the Shores of Gold questline, pirate crews can experience Chapter 7: The Fate of the Morningstar. The tale focuses on the crew of the Morningstar ship who were killed by the skeleton lord Graymarrow in order to retrieve a Shroudbreaker stone from them. Their spirits would then be locked away in chests.
The goal of this tall tale is to travel to the island where the bodies were last seen and free all the spirits at last. This can be done by using an Enchanted Lantern that can retrace the crew's steps.
11 Stars Of A Thief
It is not often that the Tall Tales take full advantage of the day-night cycle to tell their stories, but Chapter Four: Stars of a Thief does so in an impressive way and is perfect for those who like to solve puzzles on their seafaring adventures.
As part of the Shores of Gold story arc, Stars of a Thief continues the goal of finding pieces of the Shroudbreaker. You can pick this tale up at the North Star Seapost where Sudds, a pirate astronomer, will assist the crew as they look to the stars to decipher the location of another piece.
10 Heart Of Fire
Similar to The Seabound Soul, Heart of Fire is another standalone tall tale that matches the namesake of the update it came in. They are also similar in that they are both a part of the Ashen Age story arc.
You will learn of a tail of an alliance that went to The Devil's Roar region. While there, they make a discovery that leads one of the crewmates, Stitcher Jim, to kill most of the crew. One of the remaining members, Grace Morrow, has been tracking Jim ever since. The goal of the tale is to find Stitcher Jim's whereabouts and navigate the skeleton-infested lair he's in.
9 Revenge Of The Morningstar
As covered in Chapter Seven of the Shores of Gold arc, Graymarrow killed the members of the Morningstar and took the Shroudbreaker stone for himself. In Chapter Eight: Revenge of the Morningstar, it is time to confront Graymarrow and take the stone back for yourselves.
This tale will take you to the wreck of the Morningstar to retrieve a ship log. Players will need to decipher a code that will ultimately lead them to Graymarrow's location. The chapter ends with a massive confrontation that will require you and your crew to be prepared for a strategic battle.
8 Shores of Gold
The work put into the original Tall Tale arc leads to this final chapter. Shores of Gold, sharing the name of the story it's a part of, is the culmination of the work done to get you and your friends to Tribute Peak.
The journey involves sailing the Devil's Shroud, a blood-red ocean, to get to the island. From there, you will need to complete four different puzzle vaults that will result in earning tokens into the underbelly of the island. This will all lead up to having to fight the Gold Hoarder. Completing this quest will result in a solid payday.
7 The Cursed Rogue
While it is only the second chapter of the Shores of Gold story arc, The Cursed Rogue is actually one of the more exciting the chapters in the entire series as it sets the stage for the rest of the arc as well as includes some fun action sequences for those that like battling.
Needing some extra jewels for the original Shroudbreaker artifact, the crew speaks to Madame Olivia who puts them on a question to find out what happened to Captain Briggsy's crew, who once reached the Shores of Gold only to never be heard from again. The tale seeks to answer that mystery.
6 The Sunken Pearl
A surprising update in collaboration with Pirates of the Caribbean, these Tall Tales are unlike anything seen in the game up to this point, leading to many of these upcoming entries coming from the "A Pirate's Life" content update.
The Sunken Pearl is the second chapter of the arc where players must help Captain Jack Sparrow retrieve his compass. To do this, the crew must travel around the Sunken Kingdom in search of the Black Pearl. Unfortunately, the ship has been kidnapped and is guarded by the Sirens.
5 Dark Brethren
A common theme throughout a majority of the "A Pirate's Life" tall tales is Davy Jones looking to wreak havoc. The Dark Brethren is the fourth chapter of the experience where the supernatural ruler is attempting to create his own Dark Brethern Court.
In order to prevent Davy Jones from gaining more power, Jack and your crew must work together to sneak into the fortress where it's all going down. The exploration includes traveling through more underwater-themed areas and a room where you must learn to play notes on an organ.
4 A Pirate's Life
This is where the adventure begins. In "A Pirate's Life," you will enter the Mythical Portal and sail through the Tunnel of the Damned before beginning your adventure. Once arriving on the Strange Shores, your crew will maneuver your way through Dead Man's Grotto before riding a waterfall into Sailor's Grave.
It's in this mission that you'll get your first taste of lore and make your way through some basic puzzles. The mission as a whole is pretty tame, but it ends with an epic battle between your ship and an enemy ship you'll get quite used to.
3 Wild Rose
While still on the mission to find pieces of the Shroudbreaker, Shores of Gold Chapter Five: Wild Rose feels like a bit of a departure from the rest of the arc as it zeroes in on a much more personal story between a couple that has gone missing days before they were meant to be wed.
After getting the tale from Madame Olive, the crew will be tasked with sailing out to find the last known location of Rose and George. Along the journey, you will find treasure that may mean more than gold: memories of the missing couple and all that they went through in their relationship up until that point.
2 Captain Of The Damned
For those who know the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, you know it would be uncharacteristic of Captain Sparrow to not get himself in trouble. The Captain of the Damned mission is in the dead center of "A Pirate's Life" and revolves around Jack getting lost. After retrieving his compass in "The Sunken Pearl," the crew will be able to use it to navigate through the Sea of the Damned to find him. Meanwhile, you will also be experiencing his memories as they advance.
The tall tale is filled with unique locations to explore, including the town of Isla Tesoro.
1 Lords Of The Sea
Considering the production quality of "A Pirate's Life," it is fitting that the grand finale of the tall tale series is the best part. This quest will involve a lot of combat, so be prepared to take on a plethora of enemies.
After a cutscene, you will need to sail towards the giant Davy Jones cloud in the sky, similar to the world events that happen on the Sea of Thieves servers. It is here that you'll need to take on a ton of ghost ships, some manned by captains. The long combat sequence is the perfect cap on the epic adventure.