How to form an alliance in Sea of Thieves
Create an alliance with another crew in Sea of Thieves to fight together and earn more money.
The honor system goes a long way, but sometimes players want something a little more tangible to hold onto, which is why Sea of Thieves now has an alliance system. Forming an alliance in Sea of Thieves is an exceptionally useful tool, and anyone can do it by simply raising the appropriate pennant.
How to Form an Alliance
Added in with the Cursed Sails campaign is the ability for players to raise a pennant, displaying to other players the intent to form an alliance. There are only a few steps necessary to form an alliance, but it’s important that both crews are agreeable to the new venture.
- Climb the crow’s nest and interact with the flag box
- Navigate to the next tab to find the alliance flags
- Select the “Offer Alliance” pennant
- Approach another ship that has the “Offer Alliance” pennant raised
- Change the pennant to “Join Alliance”
- An alliance between the two ships will be formed
More than two ships can be in an alliance at any point, all that’s needed is for the new ship to request to join the alliance using the pennants.
Players who are in an alliance can also see where the other ships in the alliance are by looking at the map on the ship. Players in an alliance will appear as another vessel (sloop, brigantine, or galleon) with a small alliance pennant.
Just because you’ve formed an alliance with another crew doesn’t mean you can’t hurt one another – cannonballs, gunshots, and cutlass hits will still deal damage to another crew, so be careful.
How Alliances Share Gold
When in an alliance with another crew, players will receive a portion of all the treasure that is turned in, without subtracting from the amount the other crew receives. This means that if you are in an alliance, you will receive 100% of the value of the treasure you turn in and the crews in the alliance will receive 50% of the value.
For instance, if you sell a treasure chest to the Gold Hoarders for 1,000 gold, you will receive the full 1,000 whether you are in an alliance or not. Meanwhile, the other players in the alliance will earn 500 gold. Being in an alliance does not mean you will be earning less, in fact, it means you will be earning more.
This is an important distinction to make, as some players feared that being in an alliance would mean they receive less from all treasure they turn in – this is not the case. It’s also worth noting that distance is no issue when in an alliance. Whether you’re right beside the other ship or on the other side of the map, whenever they turn in their treasure, you will receive gold.
When the time comes to end the alliance, this can be done by scaling the mast and choosing the “Leave Alliance” pennant. An on-screen message will appear stating that the alliance has been dissolved.
Forming or joining an alliance in Sea of Thieves is one of the most powerful mechanics in the game at the moment, especially for players looking to rank up fast. At the moment, alliances are useful when trying to kill the skeleton ships that have been threatening the outposts. Sail by the Shacknews Sea of Thieves guide and walkthrough for more helpful articles!
