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The Art of the Trickster is one of Sea of Thieves' original Tall Tales, which tells the story of the legendary Shroudbreaker, an item needed to reach the fabled Shores of Gold. In this Sea of Thieves story, you navigate through obstacle courses, solve cryptic riddles, and fight an insane number of PvE skeletons to find the Shroudbreaker Stone, which eventually constitutes the Shroudbreaker.
In this article, we will walk you through The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale in Sea of Thieves. We will list the solution to every puzzle and where you might find each one.
The Art of the Trickster guide in Sea of Thieves
The Art of the Trickster is a simple quest, but it has many phases. Most of these require looking with a cryptic spyglass to find locations to dig at, which will reveal instructions for the next phase. In totality, this Sea of Thieves Tall Tale primarily revolves around puzzles, traps, and fighting hordes of skeletons.
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Here's how to start and complete this quest:
Step 1: Head to Plunder Valley to start the quest
To start The Art of the Trickster, head to Plunder Valley and find Salty the parrot. Salty is a skeleton of a parrot and will tell you a little story about the Shroudbreaker Stone. Vote on the book in front of Salty to begin this quest.
Step 2: Head to the western part of Plunder Valley
Head to the western part of Plunder Valley situated at G-16 coordinate in Sea of Thieves, and locate the waterfall. You should see a cavern entrance just beside it. This is your first mission location. You do not have to fight anyone here, but it does involve solving a skeleton puzzle.
Step 3: Move the skeleton arms to solve the puzzle
This is the first puzzle in The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale. In this cave, you will have to change the actions of the skeletons by moving their arms to the correct positions. There are five skeletons you need to interact with here:
- For the skeleton with a mask in its hand, change it so that he wears the mask.
- For the skeleton chugging a mug, put the hand down so that the mug rests on his femur.
- For the skeleton pointing at something, make it point at the fireplace directly in front of it.
- For the two skeletons sitting by each other, move both so that it seems like they are holding hands.
Once you set the positions of the skeletons, a cage will descend from the top, with a skeleton in it. This skeleton will contain two items - the Trapmaker's Spyglass and his notes. Take both of these to continue in the story.
This Spyglass is a special quest item needed for the next phase of The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale.
Also read: Sea of Thieves Wild Rose walkthrough
Step 4: Head to the next location and use the Spyglass to find the barrel
The Trapmaker's notes should now be added to your quest book, which should tell you where to go. There are two possibilities here — you must either go to Discovery Ridge or stay at Plunder Valley. The location will be mentioned in your quest book.
How to use the Trapmaker's Spyglass in The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale?
For this stage in The Art of the Trickster, extensively use the Trapmaker's Spyglass. The view from the spyglass is essentially a skeleton. Stand on the marked position and view the objects as described in the quest book.
Your view with the spyglass will be the face of a skeleton, where you must place the two objects in the eye sockets of this skeleton. The mouth of this skeleton, marked by an "X" will denote the location where you need to dig.
Digging in the right place will give you more Trapmaker's notes, and this will update your quest markers. You will have to use the spyglass to dig three times, following which you will receive a barrel.
To find the right place to dig, refer to the riddle and the cryptic map provided in the quest book. You will know you are in the right place to dig once you locate the Trapmaker's mark on the ground, either on a wooden board or painted directly on the rocks. Stand atop this marker and use the spyglass to reveal the dig location.
Locations of all digging spots in Plunder Valley for The Art of the Trickster
Locations of all digging spots in Discovery Ridge for the Art of the Trickster
Step 5: Find the Trapmaker's Gunpowder Key
In your last dig spot, you will find The Trapmaker's Gunpowder Key, which is essentially a gunpowder barrel. Once you dig this piece up, random explosions will start on the island so be sure to find a safe way to your ship.
Also be careful not to let anything or anyone shoot you, as it will explode and you will must repeat the process of finding it all over again.
Step 6: Head to Sailor's Bounty and enter the cave
For the next stage in The Art of the Trickster, take the Trapmaker's Gunpowder Key and head to Sailor's Bounty on C-4 coordinates on the map. In the middle of the island, you should find paths leading down to a cave.
This cave has a lot of traps, in the form of wooden spikes that protrude from the ground and the sides. Getting your timing right is necessary as you will die if the spikes hit you, and the gunpowder barrel in your hand will also explode.
You are advised to keep the keg on the ground and attempt to cross these spikes without it once to get the hang of it so that it becomes easier for you to traverse this with the Trapmaker's Gunpowder Key.
Also read: Sea of Thieves ship speed adjustments explained
Step 7: Place the keg and fight!
Once you cross the traps, you will reach the central room. Here, place the Trapmaker's Key at the central structure and be prepared for a long fight. And by long, I mean excessively long. There will be innumerous waves of skeletons coming at you. The barrels contain enough food to sustain you, and they refresh rather fast as well.
You are recommended to take a blunderbuss for this challenge in The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale, as blasting skeletons at close range is satisfying as well as effective. To aid you, there are levers on the walls that will spawn wooden spikes from the ground to destroy the skeletons. It can also hit you and take a chunk of your health if you are not careful enough.
Step 8: Defeat the Captain of the Lair and get your Totem
Keep fighting the waves of skeletons till the Captain of the Lair appears. This is your final target at this stage. Kill the captain to make him drop a final set of Trapmaker's notes and a unique Totem.
This Totem will be your key for the next stage in The Art of the Trickster quest, and it will also tell you which island you need to go to.
Step 9: Head to the island that your Totem represents
There are six Totems you can get, and each requires you to go to a different island for the next stage of The Art of the Trickster tale. These Totems unlock a special Ancient Vault you need to open.
Here is a list of the Totems and the islands that contain their vault:
Step 10: Open the Ancient Vault and get the Shroudbreaker Stone
Head to your designated island and find the vault it opens. In most cases, these vaults will be inside caves. Place your Totem on their specified altar to open the vault and head inside it.
Once inside, light the four braziers to reveal a door at the back of the cave, and pick up a red and glowy Shroudbreaker Stone. However, you are not done yet, as one last part in The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale remains.
Step 11: Beat the three Captains and escape the vault
The moment you pick up the Shroudbreaker Stone, the entrance to the vault will close, and you will have to fight three hordes of enemies. Each horde will have one captain, and killing them will drop a medallion.
These medallions fit into their respective slots at the central altar where you lit the braziers. After defeating all three captains and placing their medallions in the three slots, you can open the vault again and get out of it. Remember to take the Shroudbreaker Stone with you, or your efforts in The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale will be wasted.
Step 12: Return the Shroudbreaker Stone to Salty the Parrot
Once you return the Shroudbreaker Stone to Salty, you will have successfully completed The Art of the Trickster Tall Tale in Sea of Thieves. However, Sea of Thieves' story is not over yet, as you are yet to find the remaining pieces of the Shroudbreaker and reach the Shores of Gold, where you will face the ultimate fight against Graymarrow.
