How to Locate the Ancient Chest in Sea of Thieves | Shroudbreaker Tall Tale

In part one of The Shroudbreaker Tall Tale guide, we went over how to start the quest and find the Magpie's Wing Ship's Log, located on island N13. Unfortunately, that was the most straightforward part of the quest, and things get a bit more complicated from here. Now we must find the Ancient Chest, which could be in one of several locations!

Sea of Thieves | Shroudbreaker Tall Tale | Locate the Ancient Chest

Before we begin, we will inform you that this guide only covers locating the Ancient Chest. The rest of the Tall Tale instructions can be found in the other parts of the guide listed below.

• Sea of Thieves | Shroudbreaker Tall Tale | How to Get the Magpie's Wing Ship's Log
• Sea of Thieves | Shroudbreaker Tall Tale | Ancient Vault Locations & Solutions Guide
• Sea of Thieves | Shroudbreaker Tall Tale | Where to find Ancient Medallions
• Sea of Thieves | Shroudbreaker Tall Tale | Where to find the Journal Locations

The Ancient Chest is found in the water on the shallow shores of a randomly selected island. You will find that upon completing this Tall Tale and voting to perform it again, it will likely be on a different island than where you find it this time! We assume this is because the game's developers wanted to add re-playability to these Tall Tales. One of the Commendations for all Tall Tales is to complete it five times, so you'll surely notice this as you go through them.

Having said all that, we're still faced with the question of where the Ancient Chest is located on this playthrough. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell you precisely where the Ancient Chest can be found. Still, we can certainly explain how to follow the directions in the book to find it!

Step One: Understanding the Directions

In the pages you obtained by finding the Ship's Log in the previous guide, you will find descriptions of the islands along the path the Magpie's Wing took to escape the Burning Blade. These descriptions are somewhat vague and, unfortunately, will rarely provide exact names of the Islands. The one exception to this the ship's starting point, which is where the Burning Blade began to chase them down.

Related: All Beacon Locations in Sea of Thieves - Pro Game Guides

The good thing about these instructions is that you don't have to follow the Magpie's Wing's path on your boat. Instead, you can track their most prominent locations on the map on your ship to determine where they ended their journey. Listed below are some helpful notes while trying to determine the location of the Ancient Chest.

• The island in each next step is generally close to the island in the step you're currently on. This means once you have found your starting point (and the island on every subsequent step), you'll be looking at the islands surrounding the one you're currently looking at on the map. As such, you'll rarely, if ever, be looking more than two or three map blocks away to find the next location.
• Pay attention to the compass directions. Not only do the directions listed on the map give you a general idea of where to look on the map, but they are also crucial to determine the exact spot of the Ancient Chest on the island it's located. When reading the instructions, if it says they dumped the chest overboard, you'll find the Ancient Chest on the island associated with that step.
• Some islands have description shortcuts. The steps in the Ship's Log have some key phrases that will help you determine the ship's path. The list below contains a few of them.
  • Fortified Island: These are Forts. Look for islands nearby that are hare known fort locations. Fort locations typically have defenses used by skeletons to fend you off from coming to the island.
  • Chain of Islands: This is likely referring to Snake Island. If you see this described on the Ship's Log, you can assume that step is taking you to Snake Island and work your way to the final location from there.
  • Island With Tall Arches: This is Thieves' Haven.
  • Small Shallow Islands: This is Old Salts Atoll.
  • Large Tangle Nest of Islands: This is Shark Bait Cove.

Below is an example of how to follow the path outlined in the Ship's Log shown in the image shown above. As explained before, you don't actually need to sail to these locations. Instead, just follow the map to determine near which island the Ancient Chest was thrown overboard.

Your Ship's Log steps will be different than the ones we've shown above. Since the ship's path is randomized for each instance of the tall tale, you'll have to work out the path points yourself based on the instructions provided. Once you follow the instructions on your Ship's Log notes and you're confident you have the correct place, you must sail to that island and get ready to go swimming!

Step Two: Swimming for the Ancient chest

Since it was thrown overboard, the final location of the Ancient Chest will not be on land. Unfortunately, this means that you're going to need to swim in the shallow waters of the island. Following the compass directions listed is crucial because it significantly reduces the area for you to search. If the log doesn't tell you which part of the island it was thrown overboard, you must consider the direction the Magpie's Wing was sailing from the previous island.

In the example shown above, we can determine the Ancient Chest is on the shores on the [x] part of the island because that is the previous island's direction. This is where we will part our ship and dive into the water below.

Related: Sea of Thieves Fish Guide: Fish Prices, Cooking Time, & Locations - Pro Game Guides

Similar to determining which island the Ancient Chest is on, we are also unable to tell you exactly where on the island it will be. Because of this, you need to search thoroughly and keep your eyes open for the shiny white glint of the chest. It's not always easily seen and is commonly found disguised by large plants or behind rocks. If you keep swimming and looking, you will generally find it within 5-10 minutes. If it takes you longer than that, you might want to consider the possibility that you didn't follow the instructions correctly or that you're on the wrong part of the island.

The image above is an example of how it might appear to you while searching for the Ancient Chest. While you're looking, you'll also want to keep an eye out for sharks. If you spend too much time in open water, they can spawn and swim up to attack you. They can quickly kill you, so be ready to fight when you see one! Heal yourself if you take damage, then dive down and keep looking! One last tip for looking for the chest: it is generally within 40 feet from dry land. So if you find yourself swimming out to deep water, you've likely gone too far.

Once you've obtained the chest, you can bring it back on to the ship. Inside, you'll find additional pages for your Tall Tale book and a totem. This totem will determine where you'll go to find the Ancient Vault, which we cover in our next guide: Ancient Vault Locations & Solutions Guide.

Want to become a legendary pirate in Sea of Thieves? Find out how with our guide to Get the Pirate Legend title!