Sea of Thieves guide: How to activate and complete the Fort of the Damned

One of the most fun aspects of Sea of Thieves is the chance to raid skeleton forts. These are marked by a green skull-shaped cloud in the sky and get activated from time to time as World Events. Players can defeat enemies present within and sail away with a lucrative loot. The hardest and most rewarding among them is the Fort of the Damned.

Previously known as the Old Boot Fort, the Fort of the Damned is a special Skeleton Fort in Sea of Thieves that can be activated at any time during a session as long as players meet the requirements. The structure is located within The Ancient Isles at the coordinates of L-14.

The Fort of the Damned has no Tower Fortifications that are usually found with other forts in the game. It is surrounded by a thick ominous fog that gives it a distinct atmosphere.

How to easily finish the Fort of the Damned in Sea of Thieves

To activate the Fort of the Damned in Sea of Thieves, players need one Ritual Skull and six Flames of Fate. The former is guaranteed from Skull Stash Voyage which can be bought from Larinna for 40 Doubloons. This is the best option for players if they have the Doubloons to spare.

Ritual Skulls (Image via Sea of Thieves)

Players can also find one after defeating the Captain's Ship of Skeleton Fleet. It is a world event in the Sea of Thieves and can be discerned by a large galleon-shaped cloud in the sky.

Players need to head toward the direction of the cloud and engage in battle. Another guaranteed way of procuring a Ritual Skull is by defeating an Ashen Lord.

Taking flames (Image via Sea of Thieves)

In Sea of Thieves, the Flames of Fate are colored flames that players can take from the Well of Fates on the Ferry of the Damned. Once taken, they can be used to light beacons and lanterns when they respawn in-game. There are six colors of flame available and players can get them by dying in specific ways.

These are as follows:

Blue Flame (The Flame of Lost Seafarers) - Players need to die by a share, siren or Megalodon.
Red Flame (The Flame of Burning Hearts) - For this one, players need to die by fire, volcanic rocks, or death from lava on islands in The Devil's Roar. The best option is to utilize Firebombs.
Green Flame (The Flame of Cursed Bones) - Death by a skeleton, ocean crawler or phantom will suffice for this color.
White Flame (The Flame of Treacherous Weather) - Players need to die by lighting. Players should look at the horizon and head for a thunderstorm, hold up their cutlass and get hit while their health is already low.
Purple Flame (The Flame of the Viper) - For this, players need to die by poison. There are a lot of options available and the easiest one is through a snake bite or a poison cloud from the hermit ocean crawler.
Pink Flame (The Flame of Embattled Souls) - Players need to die at the hands of another player from another crew.

Equipped with the flames (Image via Sea of Thieves)

As players gather each flame and respawn, they should light up a couple of lanterns on their own ship with the same.

Activating the fort and defeating the skeletons

Players need to bring the ritual skull and all six colors of flames to the main room of the fort. They will then need to light up each of the six statues of the Ferryman with the correct color, which will open up access to a headless skeleton inside.

Placing the Ritual Skull atop the body will trigger the event. Unlike the skeletons found in other fort events, Fort of the Damned calls up Shadow of Fate skeletons, who have their own specific colors. They are invulnerable and can only be harmed after the flame of that specific hue are shone upon them.

Defeating the skeletons (Image via Rare)

For example, pink skeletons can only be killed after players shine a pink lantern upon them. There are twelve waves of Shadow of Fate skeletons that Sea of Thieves players need to contend with. Each color is indicated by ghostly hands springing up underneath a particular Ferryman statue.

After surviving the twelve waves, the Ghost of Graymarrow will appear. This is destined to be a tough fight which will take a decent chunk of time. Players are advised to utilize the various gunpowder barrels available on the island. They can also lure him near their ship and utilize the cannons.

Once defeated, Graymarrow will drop a Fort of the Damned key that players can use to unlock the treasure room underneath the fort's main room. Players should quickly get the loot out and onto their ship.

The reason behind this is that once the Fort of the Damned is activated, a huge red-eyed skull cloud appears above it for all Sea of Thieves players present to take note.

Some of them will seek to make their way to the place and wait for others to complete the fort before jumping on to them as they load up the loot. The best way for players to counter this is to make their way to the top of the fort and look around from time to time during the waves of skeleton enemies.

While loading the ship with loot, players should be using the harpoon while already having their ship positioned so they can make a quick getaway. They also need to keep Stronghold Gunpowder Barrels in the crow's nest, lest they blast a hole and sink the ship during a fight.

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This is all players need to know to complete the Fort of the Damned in Sea of Thieves. According to the game's wiki, the loot consists of two Reaper's Chest items, four Stronghold Skulls, one Chest of Legends, a treasure chest with gems filled with any variant, four gems of any variant, two Stronghold Gunpowder Barrels, and two Crates of Ancient bone dust.