You’ve spent three hours stacking loot. Your hull is heavy with Captain’s Chests, and you’re just one island away from a massive payday. Then, the water turns black. Not Kraken black—inky, boiling, "I’m about to lose everything" black. The screen shakes. A deafening crack echoes across the waves, and suddenly, a molten rock the size of a rowboat is hurtling toward your mast. Welcome to The Roar of the Elders. It’s easily the most stressful corner of the Sea of Thieves map, and honestly, that’s exactly why it’s brilliant.
Most players avoid the Devil’s Roar like the plague. It’s inconvenient. It’s violent. It’s orange. But if you’re looking to actually progress in the game without spending a literal eternity grinding low-level voyages in the Shores of Plenty, you have to learn to love the heat. The Roar of the Elders isn’t just a region; it’s a high-stakes gambling hall where the house usually wins.
The Geography of a Bad Day
The Devil’s Roar was added back in 2018 during the Forsaken Shores update, and it hasn't stopped being a headache since. Unlike the lush greens of the Ancient Isles or the foggy gloom of the Wilds, the Roar is a volcanic wasteland. We're talking about fifteen named islands, ranging from tiny sandbars like Cinder Islet to massive, jagged peaks like Fetcher’s Rest or Morrow’s Peak Outpost.
Morrow’s Peak is actually the only outpost in the region. It’s named after Grace Morrow, the pirate who led the ill-fated Forsaken Shores Alliance. If you read the lore bits scattered around the tavern, you’ll find a pretty grim story about betrayal and a box of wondrous secrets. But you aren't there for the story. You're there because the loot in this region is "Ashen," which means it’s worth double the gold and reputation of standard items. That’s the hook. Rare Ltd. knew players wouldn't touch this place unless the money was stupidly good.
Why The Roar of the Elders Keeps Killing You
It’s the volcanoes. Obviously.
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When a volcano starts smoking, you have a choice: run or pray. There is no middle ground. The "Roar" in the name refers to the sound the earth makes right before it sends a cluster of heat-seeking magma rocks into your face. These rocks don't just hit your ship; they aim for you. If you're standing on the wheel, the game’s physics engine seems to take a personal interest in making sure that rock lands exactly where you're standing.
Then there’s the boiling water. If you’re parked too close to a shore during an eruption, the sea literally starts to cook you. You’ll see the steam rising. Your health bar will tick down. It makes repairing holes in the bottom deck a nightmare because you’re taking damage just by standing in the bilge water. It’s chaotic. It’s loud. It’s frustrating.
Geysers are the other silent killer. You’re digging up a chest, feeling good, and pop—a jet of superheated steam blasts you fifty feet into the air. If the fall doesn't kill you, the volcano that just started erupting because you stayed on the island too long definitely will.
Survival is Actually Possible (Sorta)
If you want to survive The Roar of the Elders, you have to change how you sail. In the rest of the world, you drop anchor and go explore. Do that here, and you’re basically donating your ship to the Flameheart fund.
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- Raise the Sails, Leave the Anchor Up: You need to be able to move the second you hear that low-frequency rumble.
- The Rowboat Strategy: Smart crews park their big ship in "safe" deep water and use a rowboat to ferry loot back and forth. If the volcano goes off, the rowboat might get destroyed, but your ship stays afloat.
- Watch the Ash: If ash is falling like snow, an eruption is imminent. Don't start a vault. Don't start a long fight. Just wait.
The funny thing is, the environment is so hostile that other players rarely go there. This makes it a weirdly "safe" place for solo players who are scared of PvP. Most Reaper ships won't bother chasing you into a volcanic eruption because the risk-to-reward ratio is terrible for them. You’re trading the threat of human players for the threat of a literal mountain.
The Loot: Is the Grind Worth the Burn?
Every chest, skull, and merchant crate in this region has an "Ashen" variant. An Ashen Captain’s Chest is far more valuable than a regular one. If you’re running an Emissary flag—especially Gold Hoarders or Order of Souls—you can hit Grade 5 in about half the time it takes anywhere else.
But the real prize in the Roar of the Elders used to be the Box of Wondrous Secrets. It’s the rarest item in the game, worth 25,000 gold (which was a lot more impressive before the hyper-inflation of the last few seasons). It doesn't spawn in chests. You just find it sitting on the beach, staring at you. Most players with 1,000 hours haven't even seen one. It’s the Bigfoot of Sea of Thieves.
The Devil's Roar also hosts specific Tall Tales. The Revenge of the Morningstar and Heart of Fire take you deep into the magma chambers. If you haven’t done Heart of Fire, you’re missing out on some of the best level design Rare has ever done. It feels like a Goonies movie, just with more fire traps and skeletal remains.
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The Community's Divided Stance
Ask any veteran player about the Roar and they’ll give you a different answer. Some people think it’s a failed experiment. They argue that the RNG (random number generation) of the volcano rocks is too punishing and that it takes the "fun" out of the sandbox.
Others—the "Roar Rats"—won't sail anywhere else. There's a certain pride in mastering the chaos. There is nothing quite like navigating a Brigantine through a field of falling lava while a skeleton ship is firing at you and the water is boiling. It’s the ultimate test of "Ship Management." If you can survive a four-stack of Ashen Vaults, you can survive anything the game throws at you.
Honestly, the region feels a bit neglected lately. Since the introduction of the Sea Forts and the Sunken Kingdom, the Devil’s Roar hasn't seen a massive update in a while. But it remains the most distinct biome in the game. It doesn't care about your feelings. It doesn't care about your streak. It just wants to set your wood on fire.
Moving Forward in the Devil’s Roar
If you’re planning to head east into the red-tinted horizon, stop by an outpost and grab a full crate of wood. You’re going to need it. More than you think.
- Prioritize the "Glow": Always look for the glowing cracks in the ground. If they start getting brighter, the island is about to vent.
- Check the Map: The Roar is relatively small compared to the other regions, so you can learn the island layouts quickly.
- Solo Slooping is Hard Mode: If you’re alone, keep your ship pointed away from the island. If things go south, you just drop sails and pray.
The Roar of the Elders is Sea of Thieves’ way of reminding you that the world is dangerous. It’s not just a backdrop for your pirate dress-up; it’s a living, breathing, angry entity. It might be annoying, and you might lose a ship or two, but the feeling of finally reaching Morrow’s Peak with a deck full of glowing orange loot is a high that the rest of the map just can’t replicate.
To truly master this region, start by taking on a simple Ashen Bounty mission from the Order of Souls. It'll force you to stay on the islands long enough to learn the geyser patterns without risking a massive haul of loot. Once you can predict the ground tremors, move up to the Ashen Vaults. Always keep one person on the ship to act as a lookout for smoke plumes. If you see the sky turn gray, get out. No chest is worth a trip to the Ferry of the Damned.