How to perform a sharp anchor turn move in Sea of Thieves

If you master your ship in Sea of Thieves, you’ll be an unstoppable force against hordes of Skeleton crews attempting to board you or against players looking to rob you from your hard-earned loot. A tactic you can use against both of them is called the sharp anchor turn, and you can perform this on any ship. With a little bit of practice, you can use it to make quick turns and prevent your ship from taking heavy damage, or use it to gain a position advantage to fire your cannons.

How a sharp anchor turn works

The sharp anchor turn is a double-edged sword. The main purpose of using it is to change the direction of your ship. But to do this, you need to drop your anchor, and if you do that your ship sits there until you or your crewmates raise it back up. Before lowering your anchor, make sure your masts are fully down, and you’re turning your vessel in the direction you want to turn.

When you’re ready, go to the location on your ship where you raise and lower your anchor, and lower it. If you have multiple crewmates with you, make sure someone is manning the wheel, and the two of your communicating to ensure they have the wheel in the correct direction. If you’re by yourself on a sloop, crank the wheel as far to the left or right, and then turn around to lower your anchor. Wait until it reaches the bottom. You’ll notice your ship is starting to veer in the direction you have the wheel, and at that point, start to raise the anchor as quickly as possible.

The key is to raise the anchor as fast as you can because if you leave it there for too long, your ship loses momentum. Naturally, the ship will lose momentum because it is being forced to go in a new direction, and it’s being weighed down, but you want to limit this as much as possible. After you’ve raised your anchor, readjust your ship’s wheel to take you on the direct course of where you want to go, and then you’re ready to go.

One of the Trials of Adventure for Season 1 of Sea of Thieves requires players to perform this tactic for the Novice Sailor deed.

About the author

Zack Palm

Zack Palm is the Senior Writer of Gamepur and has spent over five years covering video games, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Oregon State University. He spends his free time biking, running tabletop campaigns, and listening to heavy metal. His primary game beats are Pokémon Go, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and any newly released title, and he finds it difficult to pull away from any Star Wars game.

More Stories by Zack Palm