On the Sea of Thieves, you can learn a lot about a crew from their sails.
You’ll learn to recognize other ships by them, and experienced pirates can guess how strong a crew is based on what they choose to dress their masts with.
This is mostly true… then again, some of the most dangerous crews rock basic sails because they don’t care. So maybe just pick your favorites!
If you’re struggling to make a decision, here’s our ranking of the best sails in Sea Of Thieves.
20. White Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
One thing that new players quickly learn is pirates can never be trusted.
And usually there’s more to a crew than meets the eye.
White Sails are what every ship in Sea of Thieves starts with.
They show that your ship has just loaded in, or you’re a new player that hasn’t unlocked anything else… At least they do until you remember what game you’re playing.
There’s nothing to stop a good crew from using them to attract hungry crews just after an ‘easy’ sink and giving them way more than they bargained for!
19. Magpie’s Fortune Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
Who said you can’t have pretty sails as a new player?
Some of the best cosmetics are locked behind commendations, and The Magpie’s Fortune Sails are no exception.
These are awarded for completing every commendation in the Maiden Voyage.
It’s good to take your time when you’re new.
And if you want some solid foundations to grow on as a pirate, these are a great early goal to work towards!
18. Sails Of The Blue Horizon
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
The best thing about Seasons in Sea of Thieves is you get a ton of new cosmetics just by playing.
Some of the seasonal rewards are a little hit or miss, but the Sails Of The Blue Horizon from Season 3 stand out in a good way!
These bright blue and yellow sails bring a great splash of color compared to the usual dark and grimy cosmetics that many crews seem to prefer.
These sails aren’t quite bright enough to light up The Wilds or Devils Roar – but it’s a start.
17. Ancient Vault Sails
Cost: 49,000 Gold
Shop Location: Shipwright Shop
If you know more about Treasure Vaults than the Gold Hoarders themselves, these sails will make a fine addition to your ship.
The Ancient Vault Sails are only available to those with the Seeker of Ancient Vaults Commendation, awarded for opening 100 Vaults across the seas.
These sails sport a unique Golem’s head, and they look exceptional on a Brigantine or Galleon.
100 Vaults may not sound like a lot.
But chances are you’ll be a Pirate Legend long before you get these.
16. Cursed Captain’s Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
The Pirates of the Caribbean Tall Tales are a fantastic addition to Sea of Thieves, and brought some pretty awesome cosmetics with them too!
The Cursed Captain’s Sails are awarded for completing every commendation in the ‘A Pirate’s Life’ Tall Tale.
And for your troubles, you get a set of beautiful torn red sails, complete with a ghostly green glow around the edges that looks incredible at night.
15. Duke Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
If you were fortunate enough to get your hands on an Xbox Series X/S between November 2020 and November 2021, you likely claimed this set of console-themed sails along with cosmetics for the entire ship.
The Duke Sails are Xbox themed, with the iconic black and green color scheme of the original console. Not to mention the iconic “X” logo.
The details are colored to match the buttons on the controller too – which is a really nice touch!
If you want to represent the console that started Sea Of Thieves, the Duke sails are perfect.
14. Legendary Sails
Cost: 300,000 Gold
Shop Location: Athena’s Fortune Shipwright
Becoming a Pirate Legend is a long term goal.
So when you get there, naturally, you’ll want to show it off.
The Legendary Sails do exactly that, and are available for purchase once you become a Pirate Legend.
Arguably, these sails are a bit garish with a giant Pirate Legend emblem emblazoned across them.
But for some, the grind for Pirate Legend can take hundreds of hours.
If you want to tell the world about that then hey, that’s fine by me!
13. Glorious Sea Dog Sail
Cost: 69,550 Gold
Shop Location: Shipwright Shop
Nowhere else will kick you into shape quite like the Arena.
The Glorious Sea Dog Sails are awarded for reaching Level 5 with the Sea Dogs in the Arena.
These sails look a little drab on a sloop, as you only get the red sail. But on the larger ships, you get purple sails too which make an awesome combination.
These are an early reward with the Sea Dogs – so they don’t say much about your skill.
But they do show you care about the glory much more than the gold!
12. Venomous Kraken Sails
Cost: 330,750 Gold
Shop Location: Shipwright Shop
Wise pirates know that when there are no world events up, the Kraken comes out to play.
If you’re fearless and want to take your chances with the terrifying beastie itself, you can show the server how reckless you are with these.
The Venomous Kraken Sails are available after you’ve defeated 10 Krakens and earned the Legendary Kraken Hunter commendation.
These battle-worn sails display an inky image of the mighty beast, and the rips make the sails great to use as you can see just that little bit more ahead of you.
11. Ruby Splashtail Sails
Cost: 599 Ancient Coins
Shop Location: Pirate Emporium
Fishing in Sea of Thieves has got many a pirate hooked.
If you’re one of them and want to tell the world well, these sails are for you!
The Ruby Splashtail Sails proudly display an enormous Splashtail on a bright blue and pink background. These depict the exact moment where Sea of Thieves became a fishing game instead of a pirate one for countless players out there!
Not sold on the fishing yet?
I say try it!
Nobody will think less of you when you rush back to an outpost to buy the sails.
10. Black Phoenix Sails
Cost: 799 Ancient Coins
Shop Location: Pirate Emporium
Fire is a scary thing in Sea of Thieves.
And the bigger your ship, the bigger problem it can become.
With this in mind, if you want to set the server ablaze and have sails tipped with glowing cinders then the Black Phoenix sails are for you.
These sails look great on any ship.
And the tears at the bottom make it a little easier to see where you’re going too.
9. Notorious Arena League Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
If you see a ship with these sails and your crew aren’t turning tail and running, they should be.
The Notorious Arena League Sails are only awarded to crews who have won an event hosted by the Notorious Arena League (NAL).
These events are ferocious PVP battles at the highest competitive level.
Compared to most of us, these crews can sink entire servers without trying.
The sails are great. But if you want them, you need to become a Pirate Legend for real.
8. Reaper’s Bones Inaugural Master Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
This wouldn’t be a proper list without the Reapers Bones showing up – and these sails are the best of the bunch.
The Reapers Bones Inaugural Master Sails (that’s a mouthful!) are awarded for placing in the top 25% of crews for Reapers Bones emissary value in any month.
In other words, you have to get your hands very dirty if you want them.
The sails are absolutely worth it though.
And the Reaper mark is feared by many.
So you’ll stand out with these sails decorated with blood-red symbols that glow!
You’re not going to be doing much hiding with these… but you’re a Reaper! Hiding is not an option.
7. Athena’s Fortune Inaugural Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
A lot of glowing sails have made their way onto this list because let’s face it, they look absolutely incredible.
When the sun is up though, some of them fall a little short.
And that’s something these sails can help with.
The Athena’s Fortune Inaugural Sails emit a beautiful blue glow from their edges, and proudly display a bright Athena logo in the center.
During the day, the sails have a unique purple/gold gradient that you won’t see on many other ships in the game.
What’s the catch?
Well, you have to be in the top 25% emissary value for Athena’s Fortune in any given month.
Just having the flag up makes you a target for the entire server, so be prepared to fight!
6. Collector’s Soulflame Sails
Cost: 799 Ancient Coins
Shop Location: Pirate Emporium
Nobody likes being sent to the Ferry of the Damned.
But you can’t deny, the Ferryman has an insanely cool ship!
You can’t have your own ferry. But you can make your ship look pretty close with the Collector’s Soulflame Sails.
This is another set of sails that look OK on a Sloop, but look much better on bigger ships, as each sail has a different glowing image on it.
The mainsail displays a ferocious skeleton and the other sails show the Flames of Fate.
These sails glow so brightly that you’re not going to be sneaking up on anyone.
But at least whoever you sink can tell the Ferryman who sent them.
5. Mayhem Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
If I asked if you wanted to hunt vaults and you turned on Borderlands instead of Sea of Thieves, maybe we could meet halfway with these.
Nobody saw a crossover between these two games happening.
But as a limited-time event, pirates were rewarded for blowing things up eventually unlocking the Mayhem Sails, along with cosmetics for the entire ship.
These sails sport the iconic ‘Vault’ symbol from Borderlands, and they go well with the hull too, which is bright red and yellow.
Whatever ‘Vault Hunter’ means to you, if you like a bit of color then these sails will look great on your masts.
4. Killer Whale Sails
Cost: 2100 Gold
Shop Location: The Hunter’s Call
You’d be forgiven for overlooking these unremarkable sails.
But they tell a tale of traveling through perilous waters searching for the perfect catch.
The Killer Whale Sails are awarded for reaching Level 30 with The Hunter’s Call.
That might not sound like much. But it will take a ton of fishing or hunting for Mermaid Gems to get there.
Many experienced pirates recognize these sails – and the grind that goes with them.
So expect a few comments from your fellow captains!
3. Ghost Sails
Cost: 500,000 Gold
Shop Location: Athena’s Fortune Shipwright
Most crews turn their lights off to make it a little harder to spot them.
Eventually, though, you’ll be so experienced you don’t care who sees you.
And these sails sum that journey up perfectly.
The Ghost Sails have a giant glowing circle on the front that lights up the night sky, and are available for purchase upon reaching level 7 with Athena’s Fortune.
You can’t even go to the shop that sells them unless you’re a Pirate Legend And grinding Athena reputation to that level will take the average crew hundreds of hours.
So you may think a crew is foolish for making themselves stand out.
But fight them and see how well it goes.
2. Silver Blade Sails
Cost: N/A
Shop Location: N/A
If you’re desperate to see what’s coming to Sea Of Thieves before anyone else, why not get rewarded for it?
You can sign up for access to the Insider build of the game on the Sea of Thieves official website, and as long as you spend an hour there each week, you can be one of the few with the Silver Blade Sails on your ship.
These Sails are a pristine color scheme of white and blue, and really stand out since there’s nothing else quite like them.
But just a heads up: getting the rest of the Silver Blade set will take over a year so I hope you really like Sea of Thieves.
1. Dark Adventurers Sails
Cost: 8,268,750 Gold (yes, that’s correct!)
Shop Location: Athena’s Fortune Shipwright
One of the best things about Sea of Thieves is how no cosmetic gives an advantage.
These Sails very nearly go against that.
The Dark Adventurers Sails cost a fortune, and are only available to Pirate Legends.
But for all that gold, you get a slick set of black and silver sails – but they’re missing something very important…
There’s an upside-down ‘V’ cut out of the bottom of each sail, which increases your visibility.
The difference is so dramatic that you’ll find it difficult to go back to standard sails after using them.
And honestly, this is a little sad when many fantastic sails exist.
These won’t be a deciding factor in combat – but they make getting around a lot easier.
At the time of this writing, no other sails like these exist in the game. And that’s what puts them so far above any other sails – for a price.
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