Guide to Captains of the Damned Tall Tale
Memories of the dead…
Memories of adventures past may hold the key to saving the future of two worlds…
Tall Tales are story-based voyages in the Sea of Thieves that you can experience alone or with your crew. They tell a narrative and involve solving puzzles, using unique mechanics, and overcoming perils.
The Captains of the Damned Tall Tale is the third part of the A Pirate’s Life saga, which consists of FIVE parts depicting the epic adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, finally crossing over into the world of Sea of Thieves!
This guide walks through the Captains of the Damned Tall Tale, detailing what to expect at each step, how to solve the side quests, as well as where to find those pesky Hidden Journals. This guide may contain spoilers, so read at your own risk.
To begin at the FIRST Tale of this Saga, click here!
Rewards for Captains of the Damned
- Complete the Captains of the Damned Tale for the first time to unlock the Tankard of the Damned cosmetic.
- Complete every “side quest” (more on these below) along with reading every Hidden Journal on the Tale, and you’ll unlock the Concertina of the Damned, the Hurdy-Gurdy of the Damned, the Banjo of the Damned, the Drum of the Damned.
- Every time you complete the Tale, you also pocket 8,000 Gold
Overview of “Captains of the Damned”
The “Captains of the Damned” Tale follows this basic structure:
- First, explore the haunted swampy channels where Tia Dalma resides
- Second, visit the Spanish Fort, reveal her secrets and defeat foes
- Third, arrive at Isla Tesoro and explore the vibrant city under siege
- Finally, visit the Tavern in the Sea of the Damned
Note: We will first walk through the “Core Story”, segmenting off the Side Quest and Journal Locations for lower down in the Guide if you wish to avoid them as spoilers. While walking through the Core Story, we will keep descriptions of your challenges vague while pointing pirates in the right direction, so as not to spoil the Story, Lore, or Action.
The Side Quest and Journal Locations will feature heavy spoilers, so read at your own risk!
Beginning the Tall Tale
The Tall Tale can be started from any Outpost in the game, which is where you’ll spawn if you load in to Play from the Main Menu in “Adventure Mode”. Simply walk out to the beach to find the mysterious Castaway huddled around a green campfire.
If you choose to load in to Play from the Main Menu using the “A Pirate’s Life Mode”, you will still enter the Sea of Thieves shared world and spawn in at an outpost, though you’ll spawn directly at the Castaway’s Camp and skip any other pop ups that may distract you when first loading into a session.
In either case, approach the wall backdrop behind the Castaway, and find the model ship next to a tattered old book. You’ll see the pop-up menu for “Captains of the Damned” and the option to Vote for Tall Tale. Doing so with your crew will prompt the Castaway to deliver introductory dialogue, and now you’re on your way!
Reaching the Sea of the Damned
Once The Castaway is finished speaking, return to your boat parked at the outpost’s dock, and get ready to sail! As described in the narration, a portal will open nearby at sea, so look around for the giant rock formation with green portal effects and swirling clouds above. You’ve gotta sail into there. (NOTE: whenever sailing into such a portal, you will drop any treasure you’ve gathered on your ship before hand!)
Once through the portal, you’ll enter a loading zone called the Tunnels of the Damned. You cannot steer the ship or jump off your boat, you are simply along for the short ride, watching and listening to the ghostly apparitions, until eventually you exit another portal- now in the Sea of the Damned.
Once you resume control of your ship, you’ll be headed for an island straight on. Make sure to come to a safe stop, and then you can head inland through the channels of this new swampy area…
The Swamp…
The first area you arrive in is Tia Dalma’s swamp. Within this area are several hidden journals (more on these at the bottom of this guide), but otherwise the area is fairly simple. Sail your ship slowly through any of the channels generally in the direction opposite where you began, and eventually you’ll reach a “dead-end” that is blockaded by a ghostly wall.
At this point, if you exit your ship to the starboard (right) side and follow Greenly-lit torches inland, you’ll find the shipwreck of the Blue Bayou. Search this ship high and low, and you’ll eventually find the Flame of Souls that you need to equip to your lantern.
If you immediately check out Tia Dalma’s shack (to the port/left of your ship if you made it to the ghostly blockade), you’ll discover the resourcefulness of your new ghostly Lantern. Even after a crowd of spirits arrives, you still won’t be done showing off the Flame of Souls from your lantern. If you’ve solved everything, then the blockade will vanish, and you’ll be able to sail the ship on through the Sea of the Damned.
The Spanish Fort…
Sailing on through the sea and following the green lanterns that appear, you’ll arrive at an old colonial Fort and a dock to park your ship at. The fort is locked with a gate, but on the dock is a lantern you can interact with to open the fort and enter it in all its glory.
Once inside the main courtyard, you’ll need to find a way through the metal grate in the center. Once inside, at the bottom of the pool is a skeleton holding a Lock Pick you can snag to use later in the tale. Find the tunnel exit of this area, and use the Lock Pick to return to the courtyard.
A doorway next to a Jack Sparrow Wanted Poster can be opened with the lock pick, and this will allow you to progress around the perimeter of the courtyard in the higher up sections. In this upper area, you’ll need to use a pulley to reach the even higher section, and once there follow around the perimeter of the fort (and across a lengthy jump) to eventually reach the Lighthouse of the Fort.
Light the lighthouse spotlight with your Lantern and then aim the beam at FIVE beacons on rocks in the nearby area. Suddenly, Ghost Pirates will attack the fort, so leave the embankments and return to the beach. Defeat several waves of Phantoms, and eventually the Pirates will be defeated.
The Raid on Isla Tesoro
After leaving the Spanish Fort, you can sail onward through a cave system and eventually you’ll land at Isla Tesoro, just as a malicious Pirate captain gang begins attacking the place.
If you walk on through town, you’ll be lead to a scene around a well, through a Clothing shop, across numerous back alleys, and eventually, across a small bridge to the “Auction” area.
Once across the river, if you continue along the riverbank (following Jack Sparrow’s ghost), eventually he will disappear into a large fort. Use the nearby pulley systems to find your way up the Fort wall and into the Fort.
Once in the Fort, a hallway will lead to a prison cell area down beneath the fort. A ghostly dog holds the key to exiting to the next area, but you’ll need to follow its footprints to locate the needed Key. Up in the rooms above, you’ll use pulleys to hop across to where you need to go, but to find the necessary platforms, make sure to look through the prison bars for things to interact with.
You’ll open into another courtyard with a well, and in this area will need to locate a key to open the door forward. Through the locked door and beyond you’ll eventually find the town under threat of ghostly Pirate Phantoms. Defeat Phantoms as they appear, and then continue to make your way through the town, defeating waves of Phantoms as necessary until returning to your ship with the Ghostly pirates defeated.
The Final Voyage
Take your ship out to the Sea of the Damned one final time, where you’ll encounter scripted story moments before eventually arriving at a Tavern out at Sea. Within the Tavern, listen to the dialogue and you’ll eventually convince Jack Sparrow to join your crew. Now, you can finally set sail on your ship through a portal back from the Sea of the Damned with another Tall Tale completed…
Yarrrr, here, there be Spoilers…
In the sections below, we’ll detail how to solve the several Side Quests of Captains of the Damned, and then at the very bottom of the Guide, detail the locations of all 10 Hidden Journals. If you want to find this content on your own, stop reading here!
The Side Quests
There are several side quests to complete while in the Isla Tesoro portion of the Tall Tale.
Fire Back!
Immediately upon arriving at the dock of Isla Tesoro, there is a stairwell up the Fort walls to the cannoneers. There is a Cannonball barrel here, and one cannon that can be helmed by the player, and if you shoot upon the attacking Wicked Wench Ghost Ship, you’ll complete a commendation.
Hidden Treasure
A more involved mystery in the town of Isla Tesoro, first you’ll need to locate the Mercado Key, which is in the area with the scene of the Mayor Carlos being dunked in the well.
Use the Key to open the Mercado building, and upstairs you’ll discover a note that directs on what to do next. Eventually, you’ll embark on a Rowboat ride through the stream in the center of town.
Following this Rowboat path in the wake of a ghostly rowboat, eventually the ghosts will park their boat on an embankment and bury their treasure! Dig it up, and hand it to the skeletons on your very own rowboat to complete this quest.
Rescue the Prisoners
Once you enter the Fort in pursuit of Captain Jack Sparrow, you’ll head down into the prison cells. Their, a familiar dog will lead you to its set of keys, but before you move on through the main door forward, you can backtrack to the ghostly prisoners and unlock their cell to unlock another hidden commendation.
Hidden Journals
The Hidden Journals in Captains of the Damned are split into two categories. The Lost Memories (5) are hidden between the Swamp area and the Spanish Fort. The Forgotten Memories (5) are all hidden throughout the town of Isla Tesoro. Here are the Journal locations:
Lost Memories:
1. Swamp- The Caged Skeleton
After retrieving the Flame of Souls in your lantern, there are 3 lanterns in the Swamp area that will lead you to Journals after being lit. First, on the left side of the Swamp there’s a fallen mast that crosses two large rocks, with two metal cages hanging beneath. Climbing up the rock will reveal the lantern you need to light, and once lit you’ll need to attack the weak rope that holds one of the cages. Once dropped, the cage can be opened and a journal inside can be read.
2. Swamp- The Sunken Rowboat
Following the left side of the Swamp through shallow channels, on a small shack you’ll find a lantern that can be lit. This will trigger numerous torches throughout the area to light, which you can follow from the shack down the stream and out into the channel. Once in deeper water, dive down to find a sunken rowboat where the Journal is waiting to be read.
3. Swamp- The Rocking Chair
More on the Right side of the Swamp, a shack that contains a rocking chair and banjo also contains a lantern that can be lit. Once ignited, the journal will appear next to the chair.
4. Spanish Fort- Down the Pit
Once in the Spanish Fort courtyard and dropped down through the cell floor at the center, a Skeleton has a lantern ready to be lit. This will activate a journal in another Skeleton’s hands down in this pit area.
5. Spanish Fort- In the Cell
In the main courtyard is a jail cell, and the lantern can be lit just outside the cell. Unfortunately the journal then appears inside the cell, but you can drop in to read it from the ceiling after using the lock pick in the area and climbing up onto the upper rooves around the courtyard.
Isla Tesoro Townsfolk Journals:
1. Clothing Shop
Inside the Clothing Shop (full of folded cloths and fabrics) is a journal on a stool
2. Back Alleys
After leaving the Clothing Shop, you’ll progress through linear back alleys where you’ll find one of the journals out in the open
3. Rowboat Ride
While taking the Rowboat on a loop through the tunnels and back into town, you’ll pass by some rowdy ghost Pirates shooting at each other’s gunpowder barrels. On the Left side of the moat is a journal on a barrel
4. Top of the Fort Wall
Before using pulleys to climb the walls of the Fort to find entry, walk around to the stairwell up the other side of the Fort. Up in this area is a journal
5. Drop Down to the Roof
After progressing through the fort prison and up to its rooftop and fighting Phantoms, continue down until you eventually return to the town area from the rooftops. Before dropping down into the town below, read the journal on the stone railing.
