Disclaimer: This article was written for the original Festival of the Damned Event—how we long for the simpler times of 2018…
‘Twas all Hallows’ Eve of 2018—only months after Sea of Thieves was opened to all! Aye, this was the first haunted celebration on the seas.
Although much time has gone by since the original Festival of the Damned, pirates can still relive the fun and earn all the commendations!
If you’d like to see what the original Festival of the Damned event was like—or get those commendations—feel free to continue on with the article below.
Without further ado, let’s pick up where the original article began…
Time to party! On your next visit to the Sea of Thieves you will find that Duke has kicked off a spooky celebration, the Festival of the Damned, to honor all fallen pirates as well as the Ferryman that guides them back to the land of the living!
The community can participate in the celebration by bringing different colored Flames of Fate from the Ferry back to the Sea of Thieves. Upon their return, pirates can spread the flame taken from the Ferry to other lanterns and beacons scattered across the four regions in the Sea of Thieves.
Below, you’ll find an image and text-based guide to help you along. There are videos, too!
You might find the interactive map helpful, as well. There you can plan your voyage from one beacon to the next, easily zoom in and out, and find a number of other helpful markers—in addition to…
You can access the web version here.
Of course, if you’re wanting to read along with this guide on your screen, you can also use the free mobile app.
Festival of the Damned Flame of Fate Commendations
To earn the Flame of Fate commendations, you will need to ignite your lantern with six different Flames of Fate.
Acquire these vibrant hues by succumbing to rather colorful deaths.
Death by Skeleton
Death by Shark Bite
Death by Snake Venom
Death by Pirate
Death by Volcano
Death by Lightning
When you arrive on the Ferry of the Damned, you will see a large floating flame at the center of the ship: the Well of Fates.
Approach the flame with your lantern equipped and raised up high. This will prompt you to take the new flame. You will now be able to spread the flame you gathered from the Ferry to other lanterns and beacons in the Sea of Thieves!
Pirates, Ye Be Warned!
Warning #1:
The Flame of Fate commendation you are trying to unlock must be gathered from the Well of Fates yourself. The commendation will not unlock if you take the flame from another pirate once back in the Sea of Thieves.
Warning #2:
If you are trying to collect all the Flames of Fate it is important to keep your boat afloat. You will also lose any flames placed in lanterns in your ship if your ship sinks.
So Much More to the Flames of Fate!
Oh, there is so much more to know about these alluring little flames.
The Flames of Fate were originally introduced in the Festival of the Damned. At the time—October 2018—the Festival of the Damned was the only in-game challenge requiring these flames. So, originally, we had all the Flames of Fate information here in this article.
Now pirates also need these flames to activate the Fort of the Damned! Who knows how the flames might be used in the future?
Rather than rewriting the same information every time the Flames of Fate are used anew in the Sea of Thieves, we decided to create an article dedicated solely to the Flames of Fate.
That way—whenever the Flames of Fate make an appearance in the game—we can simply provide a little link to that article for any pirates who are curious.
Curious? Sea of Thieves Flames of Fate: Light your Lantern in Colorful Flames
Lightbringer Commendations
The Lightbringer commendations will have pirates taking their newly acquired colorful flames and spreading them across the Sea of Thieves. There are 3 beacons to light per region for a grand total of 12.
If you arrive at a beacon to find it ablaze with a color different from the color you hold in your lantern, simply light the beacon as you would if it were not lit.
If you arrive at a beacon to find that it has already been lit with the same color you hold in your lantern, you won’t be able to light it. Never fear, simply use a bucket of water to douse the fire. Then, reignite the beacon with your own flame.
Pirates will also need to make nice for a bit. There is a commendation for synchronizing your ship’s lantern colors with another ship while in an alliance.
Lightbringer of the Shores of Plenty
Find the Shores of Plenty beacons at Cannon Cove, Mermaid’s Hideaway, and Smuggler’s Bay.
We show you the locations in images below—both in game on the islands and from a bird’s-eye view. But, we also thought it might be helpful to add a video of the actual footpaths—or cannon flight paths—you can take to make your way up to those beacons yourself. To add the videos as quickly as possible, we decided to add videos for each area as soon as completed. The first is for the Shores of Plenty. Enjoy, me hearties!
Cannon Cove
The Festival of the Damned beacon is located on the gigantic main rock located at the center of the island. The beacon is only accessible by cannon so you must shoot yourself up from your ship. The best approach is likely to park your boat on the East of the island and aim your cannons West (and up!).
Mermaid’s Hideaway
You will find the Festival of the Damned beacon above the Mermaid’s Lagoon. No need for cannons. Just climb on up.
Smuggler’s Bay
Head to the North of the island. On the topmost ridge you’ll find the Festival of the Damned beacon.
Lightbringer of the Ancient Isles
Find the Ancient Isles beacons at Crook’s Hollow, Devil’s Ridge, and Plunder Valley.
Here’s another little video showing possible footpaths up to the beacons.
Crook’s Hollow
This beacon is located at the highest point of the island. No need for a cannon, though. Just scamper on up.
Devil’s Ridge
This beacon is just above the waterfall—and accessible on foot.
Plunder Valley
The Festival of the Damned beacon on Plunder Valley is located at the top of the island. There’s no need for cannons, but it is a bit of a hike.
Lightbringer of the Wilds
Find the Wilds beacons at Kraken’s Fall, Marauder’s Arch, and The Crooked Masts.
Here’s a little video showing you footpaths—and a cannon flight path—you can take to actually get up to those beacons yourself.
Kraken’s Fall
You will find this beacon atop the big rock structure to the North of the island. Make your way up the rock structure first, then head North. You will have to drop down a few ledges to reach this beacon. Pack a banana or two.
Marauder’s Arch
There’s perhaps no better place for a Festival of the Damned beacon than on the iconic Marauder’s Arch. Climb on up and light that beacon!
The Crooked Masts
This is one of the two that cannot be reached without an assist from a cannon. This beacon is located at the top of the North peak on the island. Park your boat on the North side and aim your cannons high!
Lightbringer of the Devil’s Roar
Find the Devil’s Roar beacons at Fetcher’s Rest, Ruby’s Fall, and The Devil’s Thirst.
If the beacons are already lit—as many of them are right now—then the footpaths to these beacons are easy to find. Since these beacons may not be lit quite as often in the future, we made a little video. Plus, since these newer islands are a bit less familiar to the community, we thought it might help fellow pirates get their bearings and see where they might want to park their ship.
Fetcher’s Rest
This beacon is located on the northeast part of the island. No cannon needed for this one.
Ruby’s Fall
Head on over to the bridge that connects the two main rock formations on Ruby’s Fall. You will find the beacon for the Festival of the Damned just North of it.
The Devil’s Thirst
This beacon is just West of Old Coop’s remains located on the main hill to the north of the island.
Now that you know how to attain—and where to spread—each Flame of Fate, you can properly honor the Ferryman during the Festival of the Damned. As always, if you have any questions or need any help, leave a comment below!
53 thoughts on “Sea of Thieves – Festival of the Damned Guide”
Krakens Fall, no need to fall, you can run up under the arch and around it, no jumping even required.
You can put out the beacons with a bucket of water!
Yes you can! That is a useful bit of info we didn’t put in there originally. Will add it now as other pirates might find that helpful.
Hi I went to every island with the beacon and apparently im missing one 11/12 it saids for one commendation worth 50+ Dablooms im very upset because I don’t know what island im missing i went to every single one i swear
Hmm, unfortunately there is no way of knowing which one you are missing. For some reason, one didn’t count when you lit it. It seems like you will have to go through them again and find the missing one. Good luck!
I had the same problem as you. I lit all of them but I have 11/12.
Thx this helped a lot , I got the tile first out of everyone I know
How do you light the beacon from your torch?
Hold your lantern out with Left Trigger similar to how you collected it.
Thanks, I’m having to use the R key. It doesn’t show when you are at the beacon.
So if the beacon is already lit with the color that you have in your lantern, you need to put it out first with water. If it isn’t lit or a different color than what you are carrying, you should be able to light it by raising your lantern.
I’m a little confused on the “lighting each region” part I understand you have to be killed by specifics to gain a certain color but what colors are required to light the beacons and do we have to light each location at each region to earn the commendation?? Help!
You can light the beacons with any color. This is for all regions. If you like, you could light the beacons with your default lantern color.
This isn’t true from what I gathered whilst doing this, you have to use a flame of fate which means you have to get one from the ferry of the dammed. I went around the entire ocean and lit all of them but the first one I did default (I died to a skelli on my 2nd one) lit every other one green. I had to go back to that first one and light it with a flame of fate and just like that I got the commendation.
The molten lava on the ground will trigger the unlock for The Flame of Burning Hearts. Just stand on one and die.
Nice find!
Great tip I was having so much trouble with this one!
where
In the Devil’s Roar.
Great tip
Can you switch between colors without dying?
You can switch colors without dying if you have multiple colors ignited on your boat lanterns. You will only unlock the commendations though if you die yourself to collect the flame from the Well of Fates.
So if you log out then back in you have to die to get another color?
Hmm, sorry I guess I didn’t understand your question. You can switch out your flame with another flame color using lanterns on ships. To actually unlock the commendation for getting the color, you need to die in the required way and get the flame from the Ferry of the Damned. Every time you die, you lose whatever flame color you were previously holding.
Make trading posts around the map and sell your stuff and set your own price so pirates can buy them from you
How do we get the commissions for doing the three different islands. I tried to do the 3 I’m the devils roar with all 3 different lights. Nothing happened. Than we tried to do the three normal ones with cannon cove, used same light that time, nothing happened. Do they have to be different? The same? I’m wasting my time!
There isn’t a commendation for doing three in each region. There are four commendations for doing one in each region and then one commendation for doing all 12 in all regions.
So… do I need to light each of the 12 beacons 6 times (one for each color) to gain the big commendation? Or just light 12 beacons any which way?
You only need to light each beacon once with any color of your liking.
How do you get to the flame on smuggler’s bay?
You just need to walk up the left or ride side of the island. There are paths on both sides to get to the top of the island where the beacon is.
I speak Spanish, this I am translating, I do not know if I explain myself well.
When I reach one of those islands and the torch I find it off, it does not let me turn it on again. Should I wait for the night or an hour? What I can do?
Thanks for the info.
Equip your lantern, raise it and there will be a prompt to light the beacon. If the beacon is lit with the same color as the color in your lantern, you must put out the beacon fire with a bucket of water first. You don’t need to wait for a time of day to light the beacon. You can light them whenever.
Thank you
How do I set the beacons on fire with different colored flames? It always comes out as the normal for color for me. Also, is there a way to save the flames in the lanterns on your ship so that I don’t have to “re-die”
You need to die in a certain way to collect the color flame you want. With that flame, go to the beacon and light it with the color in your lantern. If you die after getting the color you want, you will lose the color in your lantern. Yes, you can light the lanterns in your ship to “save” colors. Even in a sloop there should be enough lanterns to have one of each color. If your ship sinks though, you will lose all the colors in the lanterns so make sure you don’t lose your ship!
I need to first on all plenty, after all acient? or doesn’t matter the order of beacons?
I cant get the flames with the standart lantern, do you need any special one?
I light all 12 beacons and i have 11/12
I dis it alain all 12 becouse to be site i didnt miss one first time still 11/12
PLEASE HELP
Did all 12 and i have 11/12
I did it again all 12 to be sure i didnt miss one still 11 /12
The hardest commendation in the Festival of the Damned is the one that requires you to light up your boat with five different colors (Yes not six) just five as long as they re all different. This means that your boat has to stay afloat and getting in combat or sinking is not a very good idea. It is recommended to travel with a friend. The first light color we recommend that you get is a white one simply because dying in a storm can be dangerous later down the road, so it s nice to get that out of the way first when you do not have any colors to begin with. After you get your white flame, the order doesn t really matter anymore since most of them are easy, although I would simply avoid getting the pink flame because that involves you in getting into combat unless you have a really trust worthy alliance.
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Does this event still work? Me and my friend have tried to do this and it doesn’t work.
What part of it? You should be able to get the colors as stated and the beacons are still around the world ready to be lit.
Do you have to light the 12 beacons in the same
game ? and I’m having trouble getting in the lava to kill me.
Nope, you don’t have to light them all at the same time. You can light one a session and get the commendation. Hmm, as for the red light, keep trying the lava or try to get hit by one of the falling rocks from the volcano blast.
I’ve just been to all 12 islands, lit every beacon. Yet it still says i only have 11. I did it with the normal lantern flame, does it have to be one of the death flames?
Hmm, no you can use any flame, even the default one. A few other pirates mentioned missing just one as well and had to go back through them all to find the missing one. Unfortunately it sounds like you might have to do that as well. Good luck!
Hello. When is this tournament is över?
It’s still running 🙂
Thank you so much for this guide and for all the patient people responding to the questions in the comments. I had quite a lot of trouble getting another Pirate to kill me since he was too friendly. He didn’t have text or voice chat. I felt bad stabbing him with a sword so he understood what I was doing but it finally worked. All challenges completed for this one, when I thought I’d never be able to. Thanks again!
Having the same issue, i did all of them 100%, triped them off. and got 11/12. seems to be bugged sometimes.
Does anyone know if the 12 Lights is fixed yet?