• Guide

How to find Ancient Skeletons in Sea of Thieves

Hunt down and kill Ancient Skeletons to earn some Ancient Coins, Sea of Thieves' newest currency.

Sam Chandler

September 12, 2019 8:45 PM

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Ancient Skeletons are a new enemy type in Sea of Thieves. This unique skeleton doesn’t just break into a pile of bones when killed, it actually drops Ancient Coins. For players who don’t want to spend real-world money, finding and killing Ancient Skeletons is one way to amass a collection of this new premium currency.

How to find Ancient Skeletons

Ancient Skeletons are emergent events in Sea of Thieves, that is to say they are entirely random. Because they are random, there’s no guaranteed way to find one. The only way to improve your chances of finding an Ancient Skeleton is to play more. There’s no marker on the map like with Reaper Chests, no special cloud in the sky like with skeleton forts – it’s just down to luck. But finding them is worth the effort, as it is one way to get more Ancient Coins to spend in the Pirate Emporium.

First and foremost, you will want to know what an Ancient Skeleton looks like. These new skeleton types are gold and blue in appearance, sharing the same colors of the Ancient Coins they carry in a giant sack on their back. Aside from said sack, they have no other accessories.

While they are random, there are things you can do to ensure you’re in the best possible position for one to spawn. Firstly, Ancient Skeletons only appear on islands. If you’re spending most of your time sailing around between locations, you won’t find one as they’re not going to spawn in the water.

When you do get to an island, you will want to pay close attention to your surroundings. The Ancient Skeletons make a unique noise when they spawn and are accompanied by a special song. If you aren’t listening for these things, they can be easy to miss.

The Ancient Skeletons also flee from you after they crawl out of the ground. They will run in search of another place to burrow below the earth, and if you don’t kill them before they do, you will miss out on your reward.

In the event you do kill an Ancient Skeleton, you and your crewmates will receive a small amount of Ancient Coins. Some players are reporting earning as much as 500 Ancient Coins, which is enough to buy a pet!

Though this isn’t a guaranteed way to earn Ancient Coins, it’s at least a little bonus for those players that spend a lot of time playing Sea of Thieves. Now that you know how to find Ancient Skeletons, check out our Sea of Thieves guide and walkthrough for even more helpful content.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler