What is the Red Sea in Sea of Thieves?

The Devil’s Shroud, also known as the Red Sea, is an ominous mist surrounding the Sea of Thieves, ensuring this pirate haven stays hidden from the outside world.

That’s the lore description at least, but when it comes to game mechanics, the Red Sea plays a far more important role than just being scary in season 11 and beyond. Here’s what the Red Sea is in the Sea of Thieves.

What is the Devil’s Shroud/Red Sea in Sea of Thieves

The Red Sea is the end of the Sea of Thieves map and is a way to ensure you don’t try to sail out of bounds. Once you leave the charted area of the map into the grey shroud, the sea will turn red, and ominous music will encourage you to turn around. Otherwise, the ship will quickly start breaking, causing it to eventually sink. You can try and out-repair the Red Sea, but after sailing for some time, you’ll be teleported back to the islands of Sea of Thieves regardless.

Devil’s Shroud is also a way for developers to explain the game from the lore perspective. According to descriptions, the Shroud constantly moves, opening up new areas and expanding the map (that’s how the Devil’s Roar region was added). It’s also the reason why the biggest ship on the seas is the Galleon, as anything bigger won’t be able to survive when trying to enter the Sea of Thieves.

How to survive the Red Sea in Sea of Thieves

When traveling outside of the map, there’s no way to survive apart from constantly fixing the ship until it teleports you back. The only Red Sea you can safely travel through is the one protecting the Shores of Gold in the top right corner of the map. It’s a charted area, but you probably noticed that it’s covered in the same grey fog as the edges of the map.

To sail there, you need to complete The Shores of Gold series of Tall Tales. In the very last quest, your ship will be equipped with the Shroudbreaker, a tool to travel through that corner of the Red Sea. Keep in mind, it takes quite some time to complete all the Tall Tales, considering all the puzzles featured in them.

Since Tall Tales can be picked up and replayed multiple times, you can fast travel to the final quest and get the Shroudbreaker at any time. It’s a handy thing to have when you need to escape from an enemy ship, as other players won’t be able to follow you into the Shores of Gold (unless they also have the Shroudbreaker).