How To Find And Use Ritual Skulls In Sea of Thieves

Ritual Skulls are a unique type of resource that was first introduced into Sea of Thieves last year as part of the Dark Relics Content Update. And although they were initially known as Dark Relics, they have since been updated to be classified as Bilge Rats Treasure.

You require this rare item to attempt the Fort of the Damned, which is a unique fortress in the world of Sea of Thieves that rewards players with some precious treasure.

Ritual Skulls can be acquired in the game through a number of different ways.

Some of these always guarantee a drop, while others simply have a chance of rewarding the item.

Complete Skull Stash Voyages: 

The Skull Stash Voyages are a guaranteed Ritual Skulls source, and they only require players to complete a quest with a single chapter. Find the X marked on the map to dig up the skull.

These Voyages can be acquired for 30 Doubloons from the Bilge Rats Black Market in every outpost in the game by talking to the NPC Larinna in front of the Tavern.

You can only purchase one Skull Stash Voyage each month.

Defeat The Captain Of A Skeleton Fleet:

Skeleton Fleets are a type of world event in Sea of Thieves in which players have to face off against three waves of progressively harder Skeleton Ships.

Once they defeat the third wave with the Skeleton Captain, they are rewarded with a Ritual Skull alongside many other treasures.

Skeleton Fleets randomly appear near the center of the game map, easily indicated by the dark grey galleon-shaped clouds in the sky.

Defeat Skeleton Ships

While sailing through the sea, players will often come across individual Skeleton Ships that are not a part of any large Skeleton Fleet. These are relatively common occurrences in the Sea of Thieves.

And although there’s never a guarantee that attacking these ships will reward you with a Ritual Skull, there is always a small chance that they might drop one upon being destroyed.

So if you’re on the hunt for Ritual Skulls, consider sinking as many solo Skeleton Ships as you can.

Defeat An Ashen Lord

The Ashen Winds are another type of world event in Sea of Thieves where players have to face off against one of four different Ashen Lords. These are incredibly challenging boss fights with different phases, and one of the guaranteed rewards for beating them is a Ritual Skull.

To participate in these battles, keep an eye out for the Ashen Winds Cloud over an island when sailing. This is a red fiery tornado that marks the site where a summoning ritual for the Ashen Lords is taking place.

Once you get close enough to an island where a ritual is happening, the fight should automatically begin.

Open Ashen Chests

Ashen Chests are special containers that always have three pieces of treasure within them. One of these is always an Ashen Tome, but the other two are randomly selected from a number of different items, including a Ritual Skull. These chests also require an Ashen Key to open.

Two Ashen Chests and Ashen Keys always drop after defeating the Captain’s Ship of a Skeleton Fleet, but you can also get them from several other activities like completing an Ashen Guardian’s Notes quest, finishing a Skeleton Fort world event, or even from sinking random Skeleton Ships.

Open Collector’s Chests

Collector’s Chests are one of several different container chests in Sea of Thieves, and there’s a random chance that they house a Ritual Skull within them.

Collector’s Chests can be acquired through many different sources, but some of the most reliable ones are completing Riddle Maps and Wayfinder Voyages.

You also have a chance of acquiring them from any fortress or shipwreck.

Weekly Fate Of The Damned Voyages

The Weekly Fate of the Damned Voyages is a Bilge Rat Voyage in Sea of Thieves, which can be acquired for free at any outpost from Larinna. By completing this weekly event, players are guaranteed to receive a Ritual Skull drop and an Order Of The Souls treasure. These voyages take players to different parts of the sea to uncover the Skeletons’ plans and their alliance with the Ghost of Graymarrow. While the challenges presented by the weekly voyages change every week, they provide an easier way for players to obtain a Ritual Skull.

How To Use Ritual Skulls

Ritual Skulls can be used to initiate the Fort of the Damned raid, which is essentially a superior version of the Skeleton Fort raids that yields a lot more loot.

In order to activate the raid, first, make your way to the Fort of the Damned in The Ancient Isles and locate the six different Ferryman statues surrounding the ritual cage with a headless skeleton inside. You have to light each of these statues with the corresponding Flame of Fate.

Starting clockwise from the ritual cage, light the statues with:

• The Flame of Treacherous Weather – (White): Get struck by lightning and die.
• The Flame of Embattled Souls – (Pink): Attacked by players from other crews.
• The Flame of Lost Seafarers – (Blue): Let a shark kill you.
• The Flame of Cursed Bones – (Green): Death by a skeleton.
• The Flame of Burning Hearts – (Red): Catch on fire and die.
• The Flame of the Viper – (Purple): Die after getting bitten by a snake.

Once all the statues have been lit with the correct flame, the ritual cage will open up, allowing you to place the Ritual Skull on the headless skeleton.

Now you and your crew can start the Fort of the Damned raid and reap the rewards of your efforts.