If pirate crews see a Red Tornado swirling in the sky on the horizon in Sea of Thieves, they have an opportunity to participate in the Ashen Winds World Event and fight one of Captain Flameheart’s four Ashen Lords. World Events in Sea of Thieves‘ Adventure Mode allow pirate crews an opportunity to fight more difficult bosses and receive some of the best loot in the game. In the Ashen Winds Sea of Thieves World Event, pirates will stumble upon Ashen Skeletons performing a summoning ritual. When they approach, the ritual will complete, and they will face one of the four Ashen Lord bosses: Captain Grimm, Red Ruth, Old Horatio, and Warden Chi. Thankfully, all four fight in very similar styles with the same flame-based attacks, making them slightly easier to face.
The Ashen Winds World Event in Sea of Thieves is always announced by a giant, Red Tornado. It cycles with other World Events and usually takes place on Large Islands, including Kraken’s Fall, Shipwreck Bay, Cannon Cove, and Devil’s Ridge. The battle typically takes place in three stages of increasing difficulty and danger. Pirate crews that manage to defeat the Ashen Lord during the Ashen Winds event will be rewarded with Ashen Winds Skull flamethrower weapons, a Chest of Rage, a Ritual Skull, and around fifteen Ashen or Devil’s Roar treasures. Here’s how to defeat the Ashen Lords, the Red Tornado bosses of the Ashen Winds World Event, in Sea of Thieves.
How to Defeat the Ashen Lords in Sea of Thieves
The Ashen Lords in Sea of Thieves are very similar to the Skeleton Lords in Tall Tales and at Skeleton Forts around the map. Players looking to defeat one during the Ashen Winds event will need to know how they tend to fight, understand the structure of the battle, and strategize to get ammo and healing items quickly and keep as much distance as possible.
All four Ashen Lords in Sea of Thieves fight with the same set of attacks and have the same weaknesses. Some of these moves are similar to those of the Skeleton Lords, while others are unique to the Ashen Lords. They include:
- Melee: The Ashen Lord strikes pirates who get too close, dealing damage and knocking them back.
- Fire Breath: The Ashen Lord uses a flamethrower-like attack that deals damage to those in its path and in the area surrounding the Ashen Lord.
- Lunge Attack: The Ashen Lord jumps, closing the distance between the Ashen Lord and player, dealing damage, and knocking them back.
- Boulder Throw: The Ashen Lord either throws a small rock or a large boulder. The large boulder sets the target on fire on hit.
- Summon Skeletons: The Ashen Lord summons a band of armed and unarmed Ashen Skeletons to fight with them. They appear to only summon two waves of these Skeletons.
- Ash Cloud: The Ashen Lord limits sight and sound with a thick cloud of ash.
- Shockwave: The Ashen Lord slams the ground to create an explosion that sets players on fire, deals damage, and sends them flying. Deadlier at closer ranges.
- World’s End: The Ashen Lord summons flaming rocks to rain down on the battlefield, damaging ships and often instantly killing pirates in its path. Surrounding water will boil during this attack.
Pirate crews will need to learn how to counter these attacks, especially Shockwave and World’s End. Both of these attacks will only be available at certain points in the fight, but they will require some coordination to avoid.
Fights with Ashen Lords during the Ashen Winds World Event take place in three phases. These phases correspond to the Ashen Lord’s health levels during the battle. Ashen Lords start with about 8000 HP. The first phase of the fight is always the most basic, taking place until the Ashen Lord’s HP is around 75% and consisting of all the moves listed above except Shockwave and World’s End. In the second phase, the Ashen Lord gains access to Shockwave and becomes even deadlier at close range. The final phase begins when the Ashen Lord reaches around 50% HP. At this point, they gain access to the World’s End attack for the duration of the fight.
Between each phase of the fight, the Ashen Lord will drop to their knees, immobilized for a few seconds. This tells pirate crews where they are in a fight and what attack they can expect next, and offers an opportunity for a few players to attack unhindered. The Ashen Lord cannot attack or move during this time but will still take damage. Players choosing to attack during this period will want to be careful about timing so they can get away before the Shockwave or World’s End attacks are detonated. If they are too close, they will take significant damage.
Before venturing to a Red Tornado in Sea of Thieves to take on an Ashen Lord and the Ashen Winds World Event, players should make sure they stock up on food and ammo for the ship’s cannons They should also immediately find as much ammo as they can when they reach the island before the fight begins to ensure they are best prepared. They should consider choosing a spot for the fight that is near water in case they catch fire from the Ashen Lord’s special attacks and near significant cover to avoid the World’s End projectiles. They will also want to fight some distance away from the ship, as the volcanic eruption from World’s End can do significant damage to ships. However, they don’t want to be too far as to render the cannons useless, as these will be necessary during the fight.
Players should try to fight the Ashen Lord from a distance if possible. Most of their attacks are deadlier at close range, so players can render many of these moves useless by staying as far away as possible. A ship’s cannon fire is especially useful, though fighting too close to the ship is dangerous by the third stage of the battle. Other good weapons to use against Ashen Lords include a Trident of Dark Tides and the Eye of Reach. Players will want to avoid fire-based weaponry, which is largely ineffective, and be careful with Gunpowder Kegs, which usually explode before they can do significant damage to the boss.
Once players successfully defeat the Ashen Lord, the Geysers that appear on the island during World’s End will produce treasures. Pirate crews should be careful when loading treasure onto their ship. It is possible other Skeletons and Skeleton Captains could spawn on the island, and a Kraken often spawns and attacks somewhere in the seas between two World Events appearing. Pirates should be ready for another fight to get their treasures back to a safe port.
Sea of Thieves is available for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
