Season One of Sea of Thieves has introduced Trials, a new leveling system that lets you unlock loads of rewards, even if you don’t have the premium season pass. These trials are broken down into Adventure, Exploration, Combat, and the Sea, and each encompasses a certain aspect of the game. The Exploration Trials are about visiting different islands, discovering hidden secrets, and seeing what Sea of Thieves has to offer.
The Aspiring trials are the easiest to accomplish, introducing you to the basics and suggesting a few tasks you can, but even so, the tasks can be difficult to understand and find amongst all the other parts of the system. This guide will show you the definitive list of Aspiring Trials of Exploration, as well as walk you through exactly how to complete each one.
How to Complete All Aspiring Explorer Trials In Sea Of Thieves
- Find and examine a nameplate at Shipwreck Bay, or a unique rock painting at Snake Island, Plunder Valley, or Thieves’ Haven
- Set foot on an island somewhere on the waves
- Speak to Umbra at her camp located on the Lagoon of Whispers
The Aspiring Explorer Trail wants you to find some of the most well-known secrets in the game, and even tells you what island to go looking for them.
The first deed wants you to find the nameplate at Shipwreck Bay, or the unique rock painting on Snake Island, Plunder Valley, or Thieves’ Haven. This means that you only have to find one of them to complete the deed.
None of them are too difficult, especially since you know what island to head to, but if you’re struggling to find them, we’ll help you out. Each of the unique paintings are less than subtle references to Rare’s other games, so if you happen to spot something that doesn’t feel exactly in keeping with the piracy, there’s a good chance you’ve come across one.
The nameplate at Shipwreck Bay can be found on the largest, most intact shipwreck on the southern shore. The nameplate itself is just above the door to Captains Quarters.
On Snake Island you’ll want to search the larger, central island to find this small painting. Find the large snake altar on the north side of the island then look around the northern side of that statue to find a ledge with the painting.
Plunder Valley is quite large, and with multiple levels there is a lot of places for this painting to hide. Head towards the centre of the island and look for the Huge rock formation in the shape of a bird. The painting your looking for is around the base of that.
Thieves Haven is equally big and complex. If you’re looking for the painting here, you’ll want to explore the caves on the northern side of the island. Don’t bother looking along the coast as you’ll need to be up as a level. Once you’re in the right area you should spot the Viva Pinata painting easily enough.
The second deed is the easiest deed in Sea of Thieves. It wants you to set foot on any island. Unfortunately, it doesn’t count the island you spawn on when you first load Adventure Mode up, but sail to literally any other island and get off your ship to be rewarded with this deed.
The final deed for Aspiring Explorers is to find and speak to Umbra. This might have be a little trickier but the deed also tells you what island to head to. The Lagoon of Whispers is not a large island, and you shouldn’t have any problem finding her once you come ashore.
How to Complete All Aspiring Scavenger Trials In Sea Of Thieves
- Catch a wild animal in a cage
- Start an island campfire at night and cook some food
- Pick up treasure that’s been washed up on shore
Aspiring Scavengers are looking for treasure and opportunities wherever they can. The first deed you need to complete is to catch a wild animal in a cage. You can find animal cages occasionally on islands as you explore them, or you can take a Merchant Alliance voyage and try and get animal cages off them.
There are three animals you can cage: pigs, chickens, and snakes. Each on has their own type of cage so make sure you’re chasing the right animal with the right cage. Pigs and chickens will run when you chase them, but snakes will hold fast. Get to close to one of these and their spit poison in your face. Have another pirate play music to pacifiy them as you approach.
Once you have an animal in a cage, this deed will be done. You can turn the animal in at the Merchant Alliance too, to complete some of the Merchant trials of Adventure.
The second deed is very specific. To complete it, you’ll have to start an island campfire at night, and cook some food on it. There are dozens of campfires across Sea of Thieves, and they’re easy enough to spot with their blackened wood underneath and cooking pot suspended above. Most islands have one so if you can’t spot on where you are just head to the next island and have a look around.
Once you’ve found one, you’ll have to wait until night before you can start it up. While the sun’s in sky you can get the supplies you need though, as you’ll need wood to build the fire and food to cook on it. Look in nearby barrels and you should quickly find everything you need.
When the stars come out, use your wood to build the fire, your lantern to set it ablaze, then put the food in the cooking pot. The deed should complete then.
The final deed for the Aspiring Scavenger is to pick up treasures that been washed up on shore. This means you’ll be looking along the beaches and coasts of the islands across the Sea of Thieves. Despite a pirate’s desire to hoard as much treasure as possible, a lot of booty seems to wind up washed up on shore so it shouldn’t be too difficult to come across something.
You can normally see light glinting off the treasure as you approach, just make sure you’re grabbing some actual treasure to complete the deed and not a message in a bottle.
How to Complete All Aspiring Historian Trials In Sea Of Thieves
- Find and read one of Umbra’s Journals
- Find and examine some of Umbra’s Immortalisations
- Speak to Umbra at her camp located on the Lagoon of Whispers
The Aspiring Historian challenges are all about Umbra, a scribe who has recorded a lot of the history of Sea of Thieves.
For the first deed, you’ll have to read one of her Journals. She has ten in total scattered across the game, but for this deed you need only find one. Her Journals are all called Legends of the Sea with a roman numeral to help you keep track, so you might have stumbled across one on your adventures already.
The first can be found on Devil’s Ridge, the second on Crescent Isle. Legends of the Sea III is hiding on The Devil’s Thirst, with IV on The Crooked Masts. Book number five is on Krakens Fall, and number six is in the Pirate Legend Hideout. Legends of the Sea VII is on Hidden Spring Keep, and VIII is on Shipwreck Bay. The final two books can be found at the Wild Treasure Store and the Fort of the Damned respectively.
If you’re struggling to find one, check out the Accomplished Trials of Exploration guide for more detailed guides on where five of the Journals are hiding.
The second deed wants you to find one of Umbra’s Immortalisations. These are the small honours left to the early Sea of Thieves players and their often amusing exploits. There are fifty of these Immortalisations in total, but you only need to find one. For more details on where to find all the rest please check out our Umbra’s Immortalisations Guide, but for this guide we’ll just lead you to the easiest one to find.
First you have to die, which is easy enough in Sea of Thieves. Once you’re on the Ferry of the Damned, look at the righthand column in front of the door to see a name etched in the wood. Interact with it to have this deed completed.
The final deed will be very familiar to anyone who already did the Aspiring Explorer trial. You have to find and speak to Umbra at her camp on the Lagoon of Whispers. Simply head over to the Lagoon and you’ll find her on the northern shore.
How to Complete All Aspiring Lightbringer Trials In Sea Of Thieves
- Acquire a Flame of Fate from the Ferry
- Use your lantern to light a beacon with the Flame of Fate
- Light all your ship’s lanterns with a mix of blue and white Flames of Fate
The trials of Exploration will take you across the Sea of Thieves, but they’ll also ask you to explore the Ferry of Damned, the ship that takes dead pirates back to the land of the living. These trials are all about collected coloured flames from the Ferry of the Damned.
The first deed is just that, acquire a Flame of Fate from the Ferry of the Damned. Flames of Fate can be gathered into your lantern by holding it high while standing next to the brazier on the Ferry, but the colour depends on how it was you met your fate.
Blue flames are awarded to pirates that were eaten by sharks or a Megalodon. Green flames are available if you were slain by a skeleton. Pink flames can be collected into the lantern for any player killed by another player. Purple flames represent a pirate killed by the poison of a snake or Kraken. Red flames are summoned by pirates killed by fire, volcanoes, or lava. And finally white flame is for the pirates unlucky (or lucky depending on your point of view) enough to be killed by lightning.
Simply die by one of these methods and use your lantern to collect the Flame from the Ferry and this deed will be done.
The second deed wants you to use that Flame of Fate to light a beacon. Once you’ve collected your Flame and returned to the land of the living, you should set at least one of the ship lanterns to that colour. That means even if you die without collecting a new flame, you’ll still have this one to set your lanterns to. Once that is settled, all you have to do is light one of the games many beacons using a coloured flame to unlock this deed.
There are twelve beacons in total, three in each of the games regions, so wherever you are you shouldn’t be too far away. Each beacon is normally set fairly high up on the island, which makes its easy to find. If the beacon you’re approaching is already lit, take a water bucket up with you to douse it and relight it to complete the deed.
In the Shore of Plenty you can find beacons in Smuggler’s Bay, Cannon Cove, and Mermaids Hideaway.
The Ancient Isles have beacons on Plunder Valley, Crook’s Hollow, and Devil’s Ridge.
Across the Wilds you’ll find beacons on Marauders Arch, The Crooked Masts, and Kraken’s Fall.
And finally, in Devil’s Roar there are beacons found at Fetcher’s Rest, Ruby’s Fall, and The Devil’s Thirst. Just don’t mistake volcanoes for the beacons.
The Final deed wants you to light each lantern on your ship either white or blue. You can acquire the white flame by being struck by lightning, which only occurs in the storm. To have more success you'll want to damage yourself to ask low health as possible. If you're on your ship you can do this by leaping from the crow's nest a couple of times. The blue light can be gathered from the Ferry if you are killed by a shark or megalodon. Sharks are easier to find so head out to open water and jump in. Sharks tend to spawn in these situations so just float and let them take you.
Once you have one of the lights in your personal lantern, simply work over to the ship lights and set them to your colour. Once you have at least one white and blue light, and no other colours, the deed will complete.
How to Complete All Aspiring Pioneer Trials In Sea Of Thieves
- Catch a fish on Old Sailor Isle
- Find any Journal on Old Sailor Isle
- Complete the Maiden Voyage
You may have seen the deeds of the Aspiring Pioneer and looked at your map and found no sign of Old Sailor Isle on the Sea of Thieves, because it isn’t here. To reach Old Sailor Isle you’ll have to do the Maiden Voyage, an introduction of sorts to the Sea of Thieves.
You can launch the Maiden Voyage at any point from the main menu.
The first deed for the Aspiring Pioneer trial wants you to catch a fish on Old Sailor Isle. When you load in, you won’t have a fishing rod though, so you’ll have to follow the Pirate Lords instructions to find one, these are all extremely straightforward tutorials. Eating food, retrieving a sword, and defeating a skeleton.
After those, you’ll be given a map of the island with a treasure marked on it, as well as a shovel. Retrieve the treasure from the northwest sandbank and return to the Pirate Lord to access the fishing rod, then simply find a place to fish.
For more information on fishing, check out Apprentice Adventures of the Sea Guide.
The second deed wants you to find a Journal on the island. There are ten in total, and for all of their locations you should check out the Pioneer section of the Master Trials of Exploration Guide. For this guide we’ll just point out the closest and easiest to find.
From where you started turn around so you can see a rock pool with a waterfall pouring in. There is a tunnel behind that waterfall, and the Journal can be found inside beside a skeleton. Once you interact and read the brief sections the deed will be done.
The final deed wants you to complete the Maid Voyage. There are Accomplished and Master Pioneer trials that ask you to do other things on Old Sailor Isle, so you might want to do that before leaving the island, and can check the guides for more information.
But once you’re ready, speak to the Pirate Lord after retrieving his chest. He’ll instruct you to repair your ship and bail out the water in the hold. Once it's seaworthy again, you just have to follow the green markers through the Shroud into the Sea of Thieves. You’ll have a brief encounter with Megalodon, skeleton ship, and Kraken, but there are no threats here. Once you reach the Sea of Thieves, the deed should complete.