Can Sea of Thieves be played solo?

Sea of Thieves pits you and a small crew together to sail the many seas, explore multiple islands for buried treasure, and fight off mystical forces. Most of the time, you’ll do this with a small crew, working together to earn many treasures. However, you might want to go out of your way to spend time by yourself and start playing alone, even though Sea of Thieves is typically a multiplayer game. Can you play Sea of Thieves solo? Here is what you need to know.

How to play Sea of Thieves solo

We can confirm that you can play Sea of Thieves solo, but the things you can do and participate in the game vary based on their overall difficulty. Not every encounter can be done alone, but there are some fights you can win if you’re the only player in your party. It is important to note that while playing Sea of Thieves, there are typically other players throughout the game who are also playing, and if they’re in a party, they might not always play nice when they encounter a character who is on their own. In addition, player-versus-player battles happen often, and it’s difficult to win these fights when you’re alone.

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You can sail a ship by yourself, although sailing larger ships, such as the Brigantine or the Galleon, are much more challenging to manage by yourself. You’re better off using the Sloop, a smaller vessel that can quickly zip across the water and is manageable by a single person or even two. However, we recommend bringing a few friends when it comes to the more complicated encounters and battles.

Most skeleton forts and behemoth sea creatures require a full crew to take them on. You certainly don’t want to find yourself in a Sloop, surrounded by a Kraken, or hear the encroaching sounds of an angry Megalodon. These creatures won’t go down without a tough fight, and sometimes they can be swallowed by a full crew of four unprepared players.

A single person can jump into their Sloop, explore the game, take part in smaller quests for the NPC factions and work their way up through the reputation ranks, and earn a decent chunk of gold. You couldn’t do it quickly by yourself, but you could do it. You’d have to be patient because no one could revive you when you die, and enemy players could easily take your ship.

Regardless, Sea of Thieves is not a single-player game. It’s challenging to play it by yourself, but no rules or forced requirements make you form a crew. For those who don’t have any friends who actively play the game, random players can always join your crew, and you work with them to accomplish some pirate goals. You might make some friends along the way, turning a Sea of Thieves adventure into a weekly get-together.