Sea of Thieves guide: How to find and defeat Captain Flameheart's Ghost Fleet?

Sea of Thieves - Phantom Ships (Image via Rare)
Sea of Thieves - Phantom Ships (Image via Rare)

In Sea of Thieves, you can either play alone or join a crew with friends to complete voyages for trading companies and fight against other pirate crews. Player crews can come across several encounters in Adventure Mode to have a chance at getting various treasures that would make exploration easier. Some of these encounters include World Events where only one can be active at a given time in a single server.

A previously removed World Event in the game called Ghost Fleet is now back with Captain Flameheart, and you can find and defeat him to get various rewards, such as a handful of Ghostly Treasures and a Cannonball of the Damned that contains Ghostly Cannonballs. The event is coming back with a little change on how to find Captain Flameheart, and virtually no change in the gameplay.


Where to find Captain Flameheart’s Ghost Fleet in Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves - Captain Falmeheart (Image via Rare)
Sea of Thieves - Captain Falmeheart (Image via Rare)

Captain Flameheart’s big head in the sky is no longer present as the indicator for the Sea of Thieves World Event. Instead, a thin green tornado above an island now indicates that the event is active. This must not be confused with the Legend of the Veil tornado indicator, which is thicker, larger in size, and is usually above water.

The Ghost Fleet world event does not scale to the number of participating pirates, so every pirate, regardless of crew size, will experience the same fight. This makes teamwork valuable, especially if a solo sloop is too hard for you.


How to beat the Ghost Fleet

Sea of Thieves - Ghost Fleet (Image via Rare)
Sea of Thieves - Ghost Fleet (Image via Rare)

Before going into battle, you have to be prepared and stock up on supplies such as cannonballs, food, and wood planks. Around 100 cannonballs to sink all the enemies should be safe for beginners, while 50 planks should be enough to repair the holes from the enemy’s attacks.

First Wave

The goal for the first wave of the Ghost Fleet World Event is to destroy any seven Grunt Ghost Ships that are circling the island. These ships only need to be hit thrice by cannonballs to sink or scuttle.

It is important to note that if you run out of cannonballs, it is possible to shoot firebombs, blunderbombs, and chainshots at the enemies, as these will also damage them. Ships that you sink will also drop a Storage Crate of the Damned, which contains cannonballs and wooden planks that can help you if you are low on supplies.


Second Wave

Sea of Thieves - Ghost Fleet (Image via Rare)
Sea of Thieves - Ghost Fleet (Image via Rare)

After defeating seven ghost ships, you will now move on to the second wave where you have to take out two formations of ghost ships, each led by a Captain or Formation Leader. You can quickly spot the Ghost Captain Ships by looking for the Ashen Dragon on their sails. The Ashen Dragon Captain ship is stronger than the Grunts, needing 10 cannonballs to scuttle.

Even though it is not essential to take them down first, this is recommended, because doing so would also destroy any remaining ghost ships in their formation.


Third Wave

Once the two formation leaders have been defeated, the third wave will start, which is only a repeat of the first wave where you have to destroy any seven Grunt Ghost Ships. The only difference here is that you might be low on food, planks, and cannonballs. As such, it is imperative that you save as much as you can and get as much crate as you can before the final wave.


Fourth Wave

Sea of Thieves - Captain Flameheart (Image via Rare)
Sea of Thieves - Captain Flameheart (Image via Rare)

After defeating seven ghost ships, the fourth and final wave will start where you will need to take down the Burning Blade, which is Flameheart’s ship, and two formations, each with an Ashen Dragon Captain Ship, just like from the second wave.

You will usually want to take down the captain ships before the boss to secure all the loot. Although it takes a little bit more time, it is easy. The Burning Blade, which can be identified by the red outline of a heart, takes 24 cannonballs to scuttle so it could take a while.

Upon defeat, the Burning Blade will drop a massive pile of loot that includes a Cannonball Crate of the Damned which contains various ghostly cannonballs including the Wraith Cannonball which is necessary for completing the Unleash the Damned Commendation and is also crucial in turning the tide in a fight.


It is entirely possible to play aggressively and sail straight to the island in Sea of Thieves to take the enemies head-on while they sail toward you. However, it is still better to play it safe and keep your distance as you sail around the island, passively taking out any Grunt ships that pass by.

Your priority should be to maintain your ship afloat by repairing and bucketing when you can while also keeping a distance from enemy ships to avoid a collision. This shouldn’t be too hard, as enemies usually only land one or two cannonballs when they fire back. To defeat Captain Flameheart in Sea of Thieves, all you need is a little bit of strategy and patience.

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