One type of Treasure that can be found in Sea of Thieves is known as a Bounty Skull. The most common way to acquire them is by defeating a Skeleton Captain, but this varies based on the skull and your location.
There are several types and you can sell them to the Order of Souls or The Servant of the Flame. You will be rewarded with various amounts of Gold, and they can also boost your Emissary Grade and Reputation.
When searching for these skulls you should understand what each one is worth so you can make the most of your Voyages. The Bounty Skull you want to acquire could determine your direction as you seek them out in Sea of Thieves.
Regular Bounty Skulls
The Regular Bounty Skulls are the most common variety and are easily found across the map. The best way to find these is to complete Bounty Map quests as it will take you to the Skeleton Captains whose skulls you need.
All the possible ways you can acquire these Bounty Skulls are as follows:
- Killing Skeleton Captains during Bounty Map Quests or Voyages
- Beached on islands
- Closed Collector's Chests
- Defeating a Kraken tentacle
- Sunken shipwrecks
- Barrels of Plenty
- Defeating a Megalodon
- Skeleton Ships
- Skeleton Fort Vaults
All of the Regular Bounty Skulls include:
- Foul Bounty Skull
- Disgraced Bounty Skull
- Hateful Bounty Skull
- Villainous Bounty Skull
Foul Bounty Skull
The Foul Bounty Skull is the most basic of all them all as it only sells for 90 to 180 Gold. It looks like a regular skull with glowing green eyes and it is an easy find.
Many players even toss these to the side because it is not worth the effort to lug them back to their ship.
Disgraced Bounty Skull
You will earn 180 to 350 Gold for selling the Disgraced Bounty Skull to the Order of Souls. It still isn't very lucrative but at least its design is eye-catching.
It is a plain white skull with green eyes and markings across the top of its head. This is another skull most players try to stay away from due to its low gold amounts, but it can give a decent boost to your Emissary Grade.
Hateful Bounty Skull
The Hateful Bounty Skull is a bit more lucrative as it will reward you with 350 to 750 Gold. It is a silver skull with green eyes and markings, meaning it will glitter in the sunlight aboard your ship.
Make sure to put this one down below so other pirates don't catch a glimpse of it from a distance.
Villainous Bounty Skull
The Villainous Bounty Skull is bursting with energy as the top of the skull is broken with the pieces suspended above it in a green mist.
The skull itself is gold and it has green markings across its face and this is one skull other players desire to have. It sells for 750 to 1,450 Gold which is pretty good for a Regular Bounty Skull.
Ashen Bounty Skull
There is an alternative Bounty Skull called the Ashen Bounty Skull and these are located in The Devil's Roar Region. They sell for a bit more Gold and it doesn't take much searching in this area to find them.
If you want to acquire an Ashen Bounty Skull then you have a possibility of finding them in these places:
- Closed Collector's Chests
- Skeleton Ships
- Killing Skeleton Captains on Ashen Bounty Maps Quests or Voyages
- Shorelines of the Devil's Roar Region Islands
- Skeleton Fort Vaults
- Defeating an Ashen Lord
- Defeating a Megalodon
- Sunken shipwrecks
- Barrels of Plenty
- Defeating a Kraken Tentacle
The types of Ashen Bounty Skulls are as follows:
- Ashen Foul Bounty Skull
- Ashen Disgraced Bounty Skull
- Ashen Hateful Bounty Skull
- Ashen Villainous Bounty Skull
Ashen Foul Bounty Skull
The Ashen Foul Bounty Skull looks like the Regular Bounty Skull version, but it has strips of red across its face. It will sell for 180 to 350 Gold, so if it comes down to the skull or your life, it is better to just hand it over.
Ashen Disgraced Bounty Skull
You can sell the Ashen Disgraced Bounty Skull for 350 to 750 Gold. It does give a nice boost to your Emissary grade, but you should still hope to find a better skull during your travels.
The skull has a white appearance with green markings as well as the standard red markings across its face. It looks as formidable as this area, but the risk pays off with great rewards.
Ashen Hateful Bounty Skull
The Ashen Hateful Bounty Skull has green and red markings, and the skull has a silver appearance. It will sell for 750 to 1,450 Gold so make sure to avoid any threats with your Spyglass when transporting this to an Outpost.
Ashen Villainous Bounty Skull
The most lucrative of all the Ashen Bounty Skulls is the Ashen Hateful Bounty Skull which is made of gold. It is covered in red and green markings, and the skull itself has been broken on the top.
The whispers of this Bounty Skull will be stuck inside your head, but it is well worth it for the 1,450 to 2,800 Gold you could be rewarded with.
Ghostly Skulls
You might come across a Ghost Ship or two during your travels in Sea of Thieves, and this is where Ghostly Skulls come from. These ships were called by Captain Flameheart from the Sea of the Damned and they have a green appearance to them.
The Ghostly Skulls you can acquire are as follows:
- Skull of the Damned
- Captain Skull of the Damned
Skull Of The Damned
The Skull of the Damned has a greenish tint to it that is similar to that of the Ghost Ships from which you earn them. It can be sold for 1,050 to 1,250 Gold so it is worth the resources to take down these ships.
There are two ways in which you can obtain the Skull of the Damned:
- During Ghost Ship Voyages (two to four skulls per ship)
- During the Ghost Fleet World Event (several dropped by each ship)
Captain Skull Of The Damned
It is a bit more difficult to acquire the Captain Skull of the Damned as you must have an experienced crew. This skull is a ghostly green with a whitish tint, markings, and a bandage wrapped around it. You will be rewarded with 1,700 to 2,900 Gold, which equates to the difficulty of acquiring this Treasure.
You are guaranteed to add this skull to your inventory by:
- Going on a Ghost Ship Voyage and sinking the Ghost Captain Ship
- Participating in the Ghost Fleet World Event and sinking the Burning Blade
Powerful Skulls
It is common to endure an encounter while at sea, and sometimes you will be rewarded with a Powerful Skull. The type of skull you are given depends upon the circumstances, but their rewards are much higher than any of the other skulls. If you want to collect a lot of gold, then seeking out these skulls will do the trick.
The different types of Powerful Skulls you can acquire include:
- Skeleton Captain's Skull
- Stronghold Skull
- Gold Hoarder's Skull
- Ashen Winds Skull
Skeleton Captain's Skull
The Skeleton Captain's Skull will give you 850 to 2,200 Gold, making the effort you put into obtaining it worthwhile. The appearance of this skull is white with golden eyes and teeth, and it also has the tell-tale green mist coming from the top of it. It is wrapped in what looks to be a black piece of leather which is the easiest way to tell it apart from some of the more basic skulls.
There are several ways to obtain the Skeleton Captain's Skull, and they are as follows:
- Defeating a Kraken tentacle (possible reward)
- Inside Emergent Skeleton Ships (high chance)
- Defeating a Megalodon (high chance)
- Defeating a Skeleton Captain Ship during the last wave of the Skeleton Fleet World Event (six skulls guaranteed)
Stronghold Skull
The Stronghold Skull is identifiable by its silver skull with golden teeth. It is also missing part of the bone at the top of its head and has green markings on its face.
There is a brown wrap across its top where green mist billows out. When you sell this skull you will be reward with 1,800 to 4,200 Gold, so make sure to have your weapon at the ready.
This skull can be added to your inventory by:
- Defeating a Kraken tentacle (possible reward)
- Defeating a Megalodon (possible reward)
- Skeleton Ships (possible reward)
- Skeleton Lord Boss in a Skeleton Fort (guaranteed)
- Fort of the Damned (Raid) Vault (four skulls guaranteed)
- Skeleton Fort Vault (one skull guaranteed)
Gold Hoarder's Skull
The Gold Hoarder's Skull can only be found at the end of the Tall Tale called Shores of Gold (and this walkthrough can help you complete it). You will earn it once you have defeated the Skeleton Lord known as the Gold Hoarder, and it is the reason why you will earn so much coin for this completion.
This skull can be sold for 10,000 Gold, but it will not boost your Reputation or Emissary Grade because it is a special item. The appearance of this skull is golden in color with glowing green eyes and it has a gold coin stuck to the middle of its head.
Ashen Winds Skull
The Ashen Lords World Event is the only time when the Ashen Winds Skull can be obtained. When you defeat the Ashen Lords they will drop this skull as a reward, but they are no walk in the park.
You can sell this Treasure for 4,000 to 10,000 Gold, and its appearance is a white skull with flames inside of it. However, there is more to this skull than initially meets the eye.
The Ashen Winds Skull also functions as a weapon due to its fire properties. It has something called a Flame Charge, but this is limited.
When holding the skull you can use it to shoot fire at players or objects in order to set them ablaze. It doesn't deal any major damage and it only lasts for 45 seconds, so use your new weapon wisely.