The Vaulting Point: Sanctuaries of the Banished Unlocked

Sea of Thieves Season 18 activates The Devil’s Roar with the introduction of the Sanctuaries of the Banished. These are new, raid-like, high-value vaults hidden beneath certain islands in the volatile region. Designed as a significant reward for PVE crews, the Sanctuaries create a new, fixed loop of risk, challenge, and immense profit in the game’s most dangerous area.

Key factual elements of the Sanctuaries:

  • Key-Gated Access: The Sanctuaries are not immediately accessible. Players must first undertake a multi-stage process, typically involving activating a Sarcophagus or special voyage, which summons the elite Eternal Guard. Defeating this powerful enemy yields the Sanctuary Key.
  • Massive Loot Payday: Inside the Sanctuaries, players find a substantial haul of high-value treasure, including Chests of Banished Tribute and Banished Ancient Rune Tablets. The total gold value is designed to be comparable to high-tier Forts or Fleet engagements, making it one of the most profitable PVE activities in the game.
  • Environmental Hazard: The vaults are located in The Devil’s Roar, meaning crews must contend with the constant threat of volcanic eruptions, geysers, and earthquakes while fighting for the key and while extracting the loot, adding an involuntary PVP element to the PVE encounter.
  • Temporary Safe Zone: While inside the vault, the vault itself provides a temporary respite from the elements, but the moment the key is used and the vault is opened, the clock begins for the high-risk extraction phase.

The developers’ intent is to establish a clear, repeatable, and highly desirable PVE objective within The Devil’s Roar, drawing in Emissaries and encouraging emergent PVP over the highly valuable, centralized loot.

Community Reaction: PVE Thrill and Extraction Anxiety

The community response is driven by the excitement of a new, high-reward PVE loop, but also the inevitable anxiety surrounding the loot extraction phase.

  • PVE Loop Success: PVE-focused crews are thrilled with the content. The multi-stage requirement (Sarcophagus > Eternal Guard > Key > Sanctuary) provides a satisfying sense of progression and challenge that is deemed worthy of the reward. This content is highly praised for being a valuable alternative to the traditional Fort system.
  • Extraction Anxiety: The main concern is the extraction phase. The knowledge that the high-value loot must be carried out of the volcanic, high-risk zone and sailed across the map makes crews extremely paranoid. Many players on Reddit discuss new strategies for quickly loading and escaping the Roar before rival ships can capitalize on the commotion.
  • Emissary Integration: There is immediate enthusiasm for running Emissary Flags (especially Gold Hoarders and Reaper’s Bones) during these runs, as the massive loot multiplier makes the Sanctuaries the fastest way to level up certain Emissary types.

Strategic Impact: Focused PvP and Resource Management

The Sanctuaries fundamentally alter the strategic focus in the game’s high-risk quadrant.

Firstly, the Sanctuaries become fixed PVP targets. Crews seeking to fight other players now have clear points of interest. Seeing another crew fighting the Eternal Guard or exiting a Sanctuary makes that spot the highest priority for aggressive players, creating high-stakes ambush opportunities.

Secondly, the loot encourages specialized resource management. Crews must decide how to spend their limited resources: on surviving the Eternal Guard, repairing constant ship damage from eruptions, or carrying extra supplies to fend off inevitable rival ships attempting to steal the high-value haul.

The Sanctuaries of the Banished are the defining feature of Season 18. By successfully integrating a high-reward, multi-stage PVE activity into the game’s most dangerous region, the developers have ensured that The Devil’s Roar is no longer an area to be avoided, but a chaotic, lucrative, and highly contested pirate frontier.