Sea of Thieves guide: How to find and defeat Forts of Fortune?

Forts of Fortune pits you against multiple enemy waves in Sea of Thieves (Image via Rare)
Forts of Fortune pits you against multiple enemy waves in Sea of Thieves (Image via Rare)

Sea of Thieves is a vast pirating world comprising many voyages you can embark upon and reap unique rewards. You can simply sail across the seas at your own pace for exploration or engage in naval combat with enemy crew ships. However, if you are inclined to face a challenging endeavor, clearing out the Forts of Fortune is ideal for you.

Forts of Fortune pits you against several waves of enemies and formidable bosses, warranting thorough preparation before tackling them. While these forts can be dealt with solo, having a group of friends on your side is highly recommended to make the process easier.


How to find Forts of Fortune in Sea of Thieves?

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Sea of Thieves does an excellent job of providing visual and audio cues to aid you in locating events like Forts of Fortune. You will hear the sound of horns during your journey across the sea, which gets louder the closer you get to the fort. Additionally, you can look for a huge red cloud resembling a skull visible from a great distance.

Forts of Fortune appear in locations similar to Skeleton Forts, but one must still be alert for the above cues to pinpoint their accurate location. Stocking yourself with the necessary ammunition and healing items is a good strategy since these forts are very challenging to clear out.


How to defeat Forts of Fortune in Sea of Thieves?

Forts of Fortune consist of 18 waves of skeleton enemies, and as you progress to the last few, you will also come across some bosses. You must gear yourself for facing off against enemies like gold skeletons, shadow skeletons, plant skeletons, and bone skeletons.


Dealing with the first 15 waves

You can expect to face weaker enemies in the initial few waves but be ready to face off against the skeleton enemy types mentioned earlier. Furthermore, some waves will also pit you against skeleton captains, which are harder to beat. They tend to drop important loot like skeleton orders, gold, and bounty skulls.

Skeleton orders will lead you to some powerful ammunition and loot hidden across the fort. These include cursed treasure Chest of Rage, Ashen Winds Skulls, gunpowder kegs, firebombs, and ammo crates. It is a good idea to save the gunpowder kegs for using them against the final boss in this Sea of Thieves fort.


Defeating Mutinous Helsman

Mutinous Helsman arrives in Wave 16 (Image via Sea of Thieves)
Mutinous Helsman arrives in Wave 16 (Image via Sea of Thieves)

Once you finish the first 15 waves, prepare to face a skeleton lord named Mutinous Helsman. He has a variety of attacks in his arsenal, so it is wise to keep a safe distance and charge at the right time. You must watch out for a shockwave-type attack that severely affects your health.

Having some friends aid you in this fort and dealing with formidable foes like this one will be beneficial. Defeating this opponent will yield gold, stronghold skull, and skeleton order.


Defeating The Dutchess and Two-Faced Scoundrel

You will face The Dutchess along with Two-Faced Scoundrel (Image via Sea of Thieves)
You will face The Dutchess along with Two-Faced Scoundrel (Image via Sea of Thieves)

The next battle can be even more complicated since you will face two mini-bosses in Wave 17, The Dutchess and Two-Faced Scoundrel. You must try to deal with them individually and keep your distance when reloading your weapon. Their attack patterns are similar to Mutinous Helsman, so you should be able to defeat them after some effort.

If the other skeleton enemies are swarming you, you can try to lure them toward the sea near your ship and have one of your friends fire cannonballs at them. After defeating the two skeleton lords, you will receive some more gold, skeleton orders, and stronghold skulls.


Defeating the Ashen Lord

You will face Ashen Lord in the final wave (Image via Sea of Thieves)
You will face Ashen Lord in the final wave (Image via Sea of Thieves)

The final wave can be the toughest challenge in Sea of Thieves since it involves fighting the Ashen Lord. You can leverage his slow speed to find more ammunition in the fort and prepare to deal with him before he unleashes his attacks. The Ashen Lord can resort to a fire boulder, a knockback move, and World’s End ultimate attack.

You can now use the gunpowder kegs (you might have accumulated them by exploring the fort) to deal significant damage. However, keep these kegs a bit farther away than the boss since the boulders he hurls at you can hit the kegs, causing an explosion. Try the trick of fighting the enemies closer to the shore and unleashing cannonballs at them with the help of your friends.

Upon slaying the Ashen Lord, you will obtain a key to the vault and Ashen Winds Skull. Feel free to loot the vault, yielding Athena Villainous Skulls, stronghold chests, Chest of Legends, Crates of Ancient Bone Dust, and many other rewards.


While engaging in the Forts of Fortune in Sea of Thieves, you must stay on guard for any other players since any crew can hinder your adventure of clearing the fort and stealing the treasure for themselves.

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