Sea of Thieves: How to complete The Shroudbreaker Tall Tale

The Shroudbreaker holds the power to travel through the Devil’s Shroud and reach lands no other pirate can. If you’re embarking on the quest to claim this artifact for yourself, here’s how to complete The Shroudbreaker Tall Tale in Sea of Thieves.

How to start The Shroudbreaker Tall Tale in Sea of Thieves

Mysterious Stranger standing in the tavern — Some prefer the old-school way of starting Tall Tales. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To start The Shroudbreaker Tall Tale, head to the Quest Table on your ship and select the quest in the Tall Tales tab. Then head to the tavern and come up to the Mysterious Stranger standing in the far back. Alternatively, you can head to the tavern directly and vote for the Tall Tale on the book next to the Stranger.

If you’re using the Quest Table while on the outpost, don’t use the diving feature; the game will force you to dive to another outpost as opposed to the one you’re currently on.

Find the Magpie’s Wing log on an uncharted island

Square N13 circled on the SoT map — Not something you can find on a map. Screenshot by Dot Esports

The pages of the Tall Tale book tell about a shipwreck on an uncharted island between Crooked Masts and Crook’s Hollow. To find the uncharted island, sail to the bottom-right corner of the N13 square on the map. You’ll see a small isle with a few palm trees and red bushes as you get close.

Bird's eye view of the uncharted island — It’s a beautiful tiny haven hidden from the maps. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Once you’re on the island, jump underwater on the northwest side of the island. You should see a shipwreck among the coral reefs. There are two parts of the ship, head to the back part (aka the stern) where the captain’s quarters are and you’ll find the ship’s log in the captain’s chair.

Went down with the ship. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Track down the Ancient Chest

The newly added pages to the Tall Tale book describe the ship’s path and where the crew dropped the Ancient Chest. The path will be random but will always mention an island name at the start. In our case, it was Discovery Ridge.

Mark every island on the map and you’ll see the path. Screenshot by Dot Esports

From there you should follow the log’s directions and look for clues in the island’s descriptions. For example, a fortified island is a skeleton fort. Small shallow isles could be the Old Salts Atoll, and a cluster of islands could be the Snake Island. Keep in mind that descriptions can vary even for the same island. I also recommend using the Sea of Thieves interactive map to check whether the final island you’re sailing to is a part of the Tall Tale.

Ancient Chest lying underwater — One step closer to the Shroudbreaker. Screenshot by Dot Esports

At the last island, jump underwater on the side mentioned in the book and look for the white loot glint. That should be the Ancient Chest. Inside there are more pages for the book and a Totem.

Locate the Ancient Vault

Page of the book showing the target island — The shape of the island is quite distinct. Screenshot by Dot Esports

The Totem is a key to the Vault, and newly added pages will show an island with the Vault you need. There are six total islands with Vaults you might have to go to.

Here are all the Totems and corresponding islands:

Totem Name	Location
Scarab Totem	Crook’s Hollow
Moon Totem	Crescent Isle
Crab Totem	Uncharted island on N13
Boar Totem	Devil’s Ridge
Shark Totem	Kraken’s Fall
Snake Totem	Mermaid’s Hideaway

Sail to the island and find the Vault. If you’re struggling to find the Vault, once again use the Sea of Thieves interactive map. There are descriptions to find every Vault on each of the islands.

Stone entrance to the Scarab Vault in Sea of Thieves — This stone wall looks a little suspicious. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To find the door to the Vault, look for the red markings related to your Totem. Since I had the Scarab Totem, I found several red scarabs on the cave walls at Crook’s Hollow. Near the markings, there should be a stone placeholder for the Totem (it’ll even say “Totem needed to unlock” if you are standing close). Place the Totem to open the secret door and enter the Vault.

Solve the Vault’s puzzle

On the last page of the Tall Tale book, there are three rows of symbols. To solve the puzzle, you have to rotate the pillars in the Vault and enter the sequence shown in the book. Three times, from top to bottom.

Puzzle room inside the Vault in Sea of Thieves — The sqeuences are also very simple and involve three of the same symbol. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Get yourself familiar with the symbols and start the puzzle by lighting the four braziers around the stone table in the middle. The door of the Vault will shut and the water will start filling up the room. Select the right symbols and then submit them using the button at the stone table. Rinse and repeat three times and you’re done.

Dig up three Medallions and claim the Shroudbreaker

A screenshot from Sea of Thieves showing a Medallion dug up — Remember the location or take a screenshot of it. Screenshot by Dot Esports

After completing the puzzle, the table in the middle will show an image with a glowing circle. You need to find the place displayed in the image on the island and dig where the circle is. If you do that correctly, you’ll find a Medallion.

Take the Medallion back to the Vault and insert it in the table. The image will refresh, showing you the location of the next Medallion. Do this three times and the Vault will reveal the Shroudbreaker. Snatch the Shroudbreaker and run to the ship as the skeletons will constantly spawn until you leave the island (unless you’re on an uncharted island, then relax I guess).

Shroudbreaker on its pedestal in the vault — Cue the *Indiana Jones* music. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Return the Shroudbreaker to the Mysterious Stranger

Mysterious Stranger in the tavern at the outpost — He doesn’t look too happy to see us. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Your final task is to return the Shroudbreaker to the Mysterious Stranger at any outpost. The circle is complete, but your adventure has only just begun. After examining the artifact, the NPC will say the Shroudbreaker is missing four jewels that grant hold its power and that you need to reclaim all of them if you want to reach the Shores of Gold.