How to complete Sea of Thieves' Captains of the Damned Tall Tale

The third Tall Tale in the Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life expansion, Captains of the Damned, takes place immediately after the second, The Sunken Pearl, concludes. You and/or your crew can activate the Tall Tale in The Castaway’s hideout just like normal. 

How to complete Captains of the Damned Tall Tale

Once that’s done, The Castaway will inform you she and Gibbs are working together to try and bring Captain Jack Sparrow back to safety. Of course, this is where you come in, as you have to venture out and locate the captain. You receive Jack’s Compass to locate him and after this, you set sail for the Sea of the Damned in the portal near the outpost. Make sure you have no treasure on board your ship. 

Going through the portal takes you to the Tunnel of the Damned where you’ll be sailed to a bayou. Once you have control of your ship, go in any direction until you reach a greenish arch. As you get closer, the arch’s forcefield will light up some torches to the west. This is where you need to dock your ship and disembark. Follow the torches’ path, getting out Jack’s Compass at times to ensure you’re heading in the right direction. This will eventually lead you to a shipwreck named the Blue Bayou. 

The Flame of Souls in the Blue Bayou. (Picture: Rare)

Climb up the Blue Bayou using the rock sticking out from it. Go into the captain’s quarters with your lantern out and take the Flame of Souls from the candle on the captain’s desk. Next, head out and look for a rowboat to the north of the ship. Hop in the rowboat and begin rowing north down the river. You’ll eventually reach your docked ship near the lit torches. Across from there, you’ll see a big wooden hut. 

Make your way to the hut and climb up the ladder and light the two torches on either side of it. When you’re done, several souls will appear below you. You need to light the candle of any soul that doesn’t have a lit candle. Tia Dalma will then spawn a well-known pirate and allow you to cross the green forcefield that was blocking your ship’s way. This complete’s the Ghosts of the Bayou Commendation. 

Get back in your ship and sail through the arch to the tall tower southwest of you. Park the ship at the lit-up dock and disembark. You’ll see a skeleton on the dock with an unlit lantern. Be a good samaritan and light its lantern, which will light up a line of torches on a path in front of you. Follow the path and head into the huge fort once the gate lowers. From here, light four braziers around the well in the middle of the area. Jump down and then jump into the water to find a skeleton with a lock pick. 

The skeleton on the dock. (Picture: Rare)

After you’re out of the water, head into the large stone building across from the gate you entered through. Use the lock pick to enter the gate and then climb the ladder inside of it. However, before you fully ascend the ladder, look down and to your right to view a pulley with a rope attached to it. Slash at the rope, causing the pulley to release and wooden crates to fall. You can now use the wooden crates to jump across to the other side of the barrier with the stairs. 

Ascend the stairs to find another pulley, which you need to use to lower a cage. Once the cage is close enough, hop inside and you’ll be lifted to the top of the fort’s wall. Get out of the cage and go to the right. This path leads you to some platforming. Once you get across the platforms, climb up the ladder to reach another path. Head past the cannons on the wall to reach a gap, which you need to jump over with a running start. After you’re across, use the pulley to lower the elevator and get inside. You’ll be lifted up higher on the wall. 

Outside of the elevator, you’ll see a lighthouse with a brazier. Light it and then light the beacon with the lens of the lighthouse. This is slightly to the left of the default position you start in. Next, you need to light the second beacon, which is further to the left next to a mountain. From here, move the lens down a little to find the third beacon and then more to the left to locate the fourth. 

Lighting the beacons. (Picture: Rare)

Finally, the fifth beacon is even more left, between two pillars. Once you light the last beacon, a battle will ensue in the fort, led by Phantoms and Black Dog Briar. The Phantoms are looking for Captain Jack as well. All you need to do here is fight the Phantoms, which we’ve covered how to do previously. After you’ve defeated enough of the Phantoms, the Black Dog Briar will fight you himself. Naturally, you need to beat the leader and this will end the fight at the fort. This completes the Captain of Memories Commendation. After the Phantoms are gone, two beacons will light up across the sea. Get back in your ship and sail to their location. Eventually, you’ll enter a cave that leads to Isla Tesoro. 

Dock your ship at the town and head straight to complete various Commendations or head right to continue with the story. Either way, you’ll eventually need to go right to the wall with the cannons on it. Head up the stairs at the end of the wall, where you might need to fight some Phantoms. Keep following the path, fighting off any Phantoms you see, and you’ll reach the Black Dog Briar in the courtyard. Once again, you need to defeat him to get rid of the Phantom fleet in the town. 

After the briar is defeated, get back on your ship and sail to the newly lit beacons across the sea. This leads you to the Black Pearl, which spawns Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman. A battle breaks out between the two sides and all you need to do is sail towards them. Some scenes will be viewable involving Captain Jack’s fate but after they’re complete, keep sailing through the lit beacons and reach the Tavern of the Damned. 

Giving Jack his Compass back. (Picture: Rare)

Inside the tavern, you’ll find the Cursed Captain and Jack Sparrow. Jack doesn’t want to leave the tavern but Pendragon appears to fully convince him. You hand him back his compass and he leaves with you on your ship. Sail through the portal back to the regular map and the Tall Tale will be complete. You can now move onto the fourth tale, Dark Brethren.