Destiny 2’s Season of Plunder kicked off with a new storyline, bringing back Eramis from her frozen tomb at the end of Beyond Light and putting the Kell of Darkness (and former Shipstealer) as the antagonist for the story. Season of Plunder also brings back Misraaks/Mithrax and his daughter Eido, who appeared during Season of the Splicer in 2021. The Spider also makes a return even after the Tangled Shore was moved to the Destiny Content Vault, putting another Eliksni character in an Eliksni-themed season.
The season-long story takes the form of a quest, Sails of the Shipstealer, which will give players a series of objectives each week. Sails of the Shipstealer requires players to engage in the seasonal loop by diving into Ketchcrash and Expedition missions, as well as completing Pirate Hideouts to take out one of Eramis’ Pirate Lords each week. Like other seasonal quests, Sails of the Shipstealer is expected to last for around seven weeks, telling the seasonal story piece by piece and asking players to engage in seasonal activities to advance the narrative.
Though the quest itself may be fairly simple, the alluring part of it lies in the story developments that will also take place each week for the first seven weeks of a season (based on previous seasons’ timelines).
How to complete Sails of the Shipstealer in Destiny 2
Sails of the Shipstealer has a strong time gate to make sure players get new story developments. This means there’s no way to complete all 62 steps of Sails of the Shipstealer early into Season of Plunder, though all steps will become available as the season progresses. When the game tells you that Mithrax and Eido need time to study the Relic you just gave them, this means you’ll have to wait until the next weekly reset for the quest to progress. You’ll need to start the quest to make the most out of seasonal content, however, so don’t just blow off the mission.
To kick off Sails of the Shipstealer, interact with the Star Chart at the H.E.L.M. The seasonal vendor will give you the Captain’s Atlas and some of the items you’ll need to progress the quest.
Restore a Treasure Map in the Captain’s Atlas
The Captain’s Atlas is a seasonal tool in your quest log. It will allow you to convert Map Fragments and Treasure Coordinates into Treasure Maps, which will grant you seasonal rewards at the end of an Expedition mission.
To restore a Treasure Map in the Captain’s Atlas, you’ll need 50 Treasure Coordinates (available from any activity) and five Map Fragments (which drop from Ketchcrash). Once you have the materials on hand, head to the Captain’s Atlas and make yourself a Basic Treasure Map by scrolling to the empty square and holding your Confirm keybind.
Loot buried treasure in Expedition
After you’ve learned where to find some loot (thanks to the Treasure Map you just restored), you’ll need to do an Expedition activity. Once you’re at the end of an Expedition, look for the green Eliksni symbols, which signal the location of buried treasure. There are three treasures at the end (one for each player), so don’t forget to dig up a chest of your own.
Claim the Successful Expedition seasonal challenge and upgrade the Star Chart
The Successful Expedition seasonal challenge will be available from week one and requires you to loot treasure in Expedition (which you just did). The seasonal challenge is important for the quest because it gives you Repute, the currency needed to upgrade the Star Chart at the H.E.L.M.—which just happens to be the next step in line. Once you’ve used your Repute to buy an upgrade, Sails of the Shipstealer will task you with fighting a weekly boss.
Complete Pirate Hideout: Val’Aug, the Brute
Pirate Hideouts are the third seasonal activity, but don’t expect them to play a huge part in the seasonal loop. Pirate Hideouts will pit you off against a boss in a small area, similarly to a Lost Sector, and will give you a relic at the end of each. Val’Aug isn’t particularly difficult, though she has a few immunity phases that just require you to throw more damage at her and a few adds that can serve as targets for your shiny new Arc subclass. Take advantage of the ammo boxes throughout the area and blast Val’Aug down with your Heavy to make short work of her and her crewmates. Once you’ve gotten the relic, Sails of the Shipstealer will ask you to go back to the Last City.
The Eliksni Quarter
Season of the Splicer players may remember the Eliksni quarter and the thrilling Override: Last City conclusion to the seasonal story. Since the Eliksni play a big role in Sails of the Shipstealer, the area made a return and is once again accessible from the H.E.L.M.
Once you’ve landed, look for the Holoprojector right ahead of you to receive a message from Mithrax’s daughter, Eido. The quest will tell you to head to the Ether Tank to speak to the Spider, which is just a short walk away. Turn your back to the Holoprojector, then make a left and enter the nearby door to hop into the Ether Tank. You can find the Spider at the far end of the bar (it’s not really a large bar). After that, you’ve done all you can for the first week. Head back to the H.E.L.M. and deposit the relic on a table across the Star Chart.
Give Mithrax and Eido time to study the relic
Once Sails of the Shipstealer asks you to give Mithrax and Eido some time, this means you’ll have to wait until the next weekly reset for the quest to progress. This will be a recurring step if you’re keeping up with Sails of the Shipstealer, and you’re not doing anything wrong if the quest doesn’t advance past this: it’s really all about waiting.
Seasonal questlines usually bring back the same few steps each season, and Sails of the Shipstealer doesn’t seem to escape that formula. With Season of the Haunted, players had to do Nightmare Containment and run a new Sever mission, and in Plunder, odds are you’ll follow the same formula. The following weeks will likely require you to do a Ketchcrash activity, then loot treasure in Expedition, then kill a new Pirate Lord, participating in all seasonal activities. That is the core of what the first week of Sails of the Shipstealer did, with the added introduction of both the seasonal story elements and gameplay resources such as the Captain’s Atlas.
