The Phantoms that inhabit the Sea Forts throughout the Sea of Thieves have plundered a massive fortune and gone to great lengths to defend it. While they’ve stored some of it in the usual hiding places, they’ve stashed most away in locked prison cells below the Sea Forts.
To recover the keys to the locked cells and raid their tremendous treasure, you must break through their defenses of Ghost Ships, Phantoms, and a fearsome Phantom Jailor!
A Raid on a Dark Fortress Voyage
A Raid on a Dark Fortress is a multi-phase, time-limited Voyage. Unlike the standard A Raid on a Sea Fort Voyage that has you fighting waves of Phantoms to defeat a Captain of the Fortress, you must also scuttle multiple defending Ghost Ships and take down a Phantom Jailor to complete the Voyage.
A Raid on a Dark Fortress Voyage also has more rewards than a standard Sea Fort, with additional treasure spread throughout the Sea Fort and high-value treasure like Chests of Ancient Tribute in the Fortress Treasury. You’ll also find that the Prison Cell has treasure to loot, including more Chests of Ancient Tribute. Even the Fortress Store Room at the top of the Sea Fort has more treasure than usual!
You should be able to earn around 100,000 Gold without even raising an Emissary Flag if you collect every piece of treasure available.
You can only start the A Raid on a Dark Fortress Voyage in the High Seas. To find the Voyage, go to the Limited Voyages section of your Quest.
Once you vote for the Voyage and dive, you’ll emerge in front of a random Sea Fort at the start of the first Phase!
UPDATE: Make sure you choose to dive to the Voyage for now. Diving ensures you experience the full Voyage and can encounter the extra treasure.
Phase 1: Defeat the Ghost Fleet
The first Phase of the Voyage will have you fighting a Ghost Fleet defending the Sea Fort you are raiding. You only need to scuttle three Ghost Ships from the fleet to complete the Phase and progress the Voyage.
Each Ghost Ship takes three cannonballs to defeat. While maneuvering around the circling Ghost Ships, you’ll want to be mindful of the Phantoms shooting you with cannons from the Sea Fort.
After you scuttle three Ghost Ships, the remaining Ghost Ships from the fleet will retreat, and you can sail to the Sea Fort to start the next Phase.
Phase 2: Defeat the Captain of the Fortress
Once you reach the Sea Fort, dock your ship and hop onto the Sea Fort to begin the second Phase of the Voyage. You’ll need to defeat seven waves of Phantoms and, finally, the Captain of the Fortress to complete the Phase and progress the Voyage. The Captain of the Fortress will have a Nameplate above their head, letting you know which Phantom you need to take down.
Defeating the Captain of the Fortress will reward you with the Fortress Treasury Key, which you need to open the Fortress Treasury.
However, you should hold off on unlocking the treasury right away. Upon opening it, the next Phase of the Voyage will start with another Ghost Fleet.
Instead, you will want to search for the Dark Cell Key that opens the Dark Cell next to the treasury.
Open the Dark Cell
The Dark Cell Key is hidden somewhere in the Sea Fort. You can specifically find the Dark Cell Key inside any of the many objects you can interact with at the fort, including the cabinets, cupboards, and crates. It can spawn on any floor of the Sea Fort and in one of the many wooden crates outside.
As you search the Sea Fort, you can also find Gold Pouches, pieces of treasure, and a Fortress Store Room Key. You can use the Fortress Store Room Key on the door at the top of the Sea Fort to find extra treasure!
Once you’ve found the Dark Cell Key and unlocked the Dark Cell, you can unlock the Fortress Treasury with the key from the Captain of the Fortress to start the third Phase.
You’ll see another locked cell inside the Fortress Treasury with even more treasure. You’ll need to finish the rest of the Voyage to access the key for the cell, so we’ll return to it later.
Phase 3: Defeat the second Ghost Fleet
The third Phase of the Voyage will have you fighting another Ghost Fleet circling the Sea Fort. Again, you only need to scuttle three Ghost Ships to complete the Phase and progress to the final Phase of the Voyage.
You can return to your ship to use your ship’s cannons or use the cannons around the Sea Fort to attack the Ghost Ships. If you don’t use your vessel, you’ll still want to return to it and make sure it didn’t take any damage during the attack.
After you scuttle three Ghost Ships, the remaining Ghost Ships from the fleet will retreat, and you will be on the fourth and final Phase of the Voyage.
Phase 4: Defeat the Phantom Jailor
With the second Ghost Fleet defeated, it’s time to fight several more waves of Phantoms on the Sea Fort until you face the Phantom Jailor. Like the Captain of the Fortress, the Phantom Jailor will have a Nameplate above their head.
Once you defeat the Phantom Jailor, they will drop the Dark Treasury Cell Key, which opens up the locked cell in the Fortress Treasury.
Defeating the Phantom Jailor will complete the Voyage!
