5. Filching a FoF Without Fighting

Yes. You read the title correctly. Last week Jimi and Poet stole an entire Fort of Fortune without firing a single cannonball or bullet (or even swinging a sword)! And as if that wasn't uncanny enough, we did this on a server where a FoF never appeared. How did this happen, you ask? Read on!

A Fort of Fortune Key at Skull Keep

1. No Sign of a FoF

Last week, in How to Enjoy Season 8, I wrote that you should always check out the servers you pass through when you use the new PVP matchmaking feature to dive to new servers. You never know what adventures might await you! Some of my most exciting adventures on the Sea of Thieves to date have been discovered in this way, including the Fort of Mysteries!

When we emerged from the waves onto the server, there was a red Ashen Winds tornado looming nearby. There was no sign of a Fort of Fortune, nor was there any sign of a FoF vault key on the map.

Using the new PVP matchmaking mechanism, we emerged onto a server with an Ashen Winds event. From the beginning, there was no sign of a FoF or FoF key.

2. Stealing a Veil from Jolly Captain GG

So why did we stick around on this server? Well, we may not have seen any keys on the map or Reapers on the horizon, but we did see a blue Veil of the Ancients tornado nearby, which we decided to investigate instead of diving for another PVP encounter. 😇

Poet and I were both working on the final few levels of our ghost curse, but we decided to take a break from diving and stick around on this particular server because there was a Veil of the Ancients nearby.

We arrived at the Veil (it was south of Plunder Outpost) just as the crew was finishing it. Poet managed to nab the Chest of Legends and get it on our ship right away. They attacked us in an attempt to reclaim the chest, but alas (for them) they sank! 

The Veil crew were very cheerful and very good sports. Their captain kept telling us "GG." I've erased his name from the screenshot to protect his privacy, but, incidentally, his initials were also "GG"!

3. A Mysterious Key Appears

As we gathered the treasure from the stolen Veil fortress, Poet glanced at the map one more time and was flabbergasted to find a Fort of Fortune key had appeared without explanation at Skull Keep, far to the north in the Wilds. This key had not been there before, and there had not been a Fort of Fortune on our server. 

The key appeared to be right in front of the vault. It did not move. Usually, a crew will use the key to open the vault as quickly as possible to make the key icon disappear from the map before it attracts too much unwanted attention. We could only come up with one explanation for why a crew would leave the key in front of the vault unused: they must have merged onto our server immediately after completing the FoF on another server.

This happens all-too-often on the Sea of Thieves. Once the final boss falls, the server merges. Fortunately, your treasure remains, but (unfortunately) so does the key. The door to the vault automatically opens, meaning you cannot dispose of the key. The key remains visible on the map, alerting everyone on the seas that a Fort of Fortune treasure hoard is in play.

A FoF key suddenly appeared on Skull Keep. This key opens a vault filled with untold riches, and most crews use it immediately. Yet, this key did not move or disappear. Very suspicious! What was going on? We suspect it was the result of a server merge.

We kept an eye on the mysterious key as we sold the Veil treasure at Plunder Outpost. It still did not move. Skull Keep was far away, the treasure was likely long gone, and we started to talk about diving for more action rather than sailing across the map for nothing.

But very suddenly, the key moved off the island, into the water, and then drifted to nearby Galleon's Grave Outpost. Someone was moving the key! They parked on the northern coast of the outpost, at the Sovereigns' dock. For those unfamiliar with the mechanics of Sea of Thieves, if you are wealthy enough to own and captain your own ship, you can sell your treasure to a special "Sovereign" NPC on the docks. The Sovereigns are snobs who only do business with captained ships. Selling to them is much faster than carrying treasure around town to different shops. 

The key moved to Galleon's Grave Outpost. Someone must have carried it there... Did they have loot from the FoF as well? (Also, am I the only one who sees Mickey Mouse? 😅)

So, it appeared that our target had likely merged into our server after completing a Fort of Fortune elsewhere. They hauled all of the treasure and (foolishly) the unused key to the Sovereigns at Galleon's Grave Outpost. Within a minute or two, they would probably have the treasure loaded onto the dock and sold.

We were still more than four map squares away and the wind was working against us. It seemed impossible that any scraps of treasure would be left once we arrived! Once again, we debated giving up and diving again for more PVP. But we decided to continue on, even if just to say hello and ask what happened. We did not expect there to be any treasure left.

4. The Bloodless Heist

Finally, we arrived at Galleon's Grave Outpost. There was a brigantine parked at the Sovereigns' dock. Poet shot himself out of the cannon onto the island to say "Ahoy!" Then things took an almost unbelievable turn!

Our enemies had moved all of the FoF treasure from their ship onto the docks, but they had not sold a single piece, not even the coveted Chest of Legends! Turning the helm slightly to the left so that the ship would circle around the island on its own, Jimi abandoned the ship and rushed over to the island to assist Poet. We planned to do some swashbuckling on the docks, fighting the enemy while selling as much of their treasure as possible.

But strangely enough, no one was on the dock! The entire brigantine crew had returned to their ship and dropped sails to chase after our sloop... which was empty! They left us alone with the treasure on the docks! We sold it all while they chased our ship in circles around the island!

You can watch a video of this incredible, bloodless heist on Skipper Jimi's YouTube channel!

While our opponents chased our empty sloop in circles around the outpost, we sold all of their treasure, including a Chest of Legends and Ashen Winds Skull, right under their noses!