Lifting the Redbeard – How to Appeal a Sea of Thieves Ban

The grounds Rare relies on

Since 24 April 2025, Rare has enforced the rules of Sea of Thieves through a points system that it describes as an evolution of the Xbox points system, as its enforcement policy update (checked on 26 October 2026) explains. Every player starts with zero points and receives a permanent ban at 12. Toxic communication without discriminatory content earns one to three points and a suspension of one to three days per instance, discriminatory language earns seven points and a seven-day suspension, and cheating earns 12 points and a permanent ban at once.

Rare's support policy, updated on 9 April 2026, draws further lines. Third-party tools and the manipulation of game files, e.g. changed settings in the installation directory, breach the Code of Conduct, and ReShade filters count as a bannable offence, whereas graphics control software from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel does not. Crosshair overlays are not a bannable offence as such, yet Rare warns that its anti-cheat may flag an external crosshair tool, so that their use is at the player's own risk. Offences under the Microsoft Terms of Service, such as account trading or real-life threats, form a separate group.

Where the appeal goes

Penalties set in the game are reviewed by Rare's Player Support, which accepts support requests through the Sea of Thieves support site. When Rare introduced its second-chance policy on 16 October 2025, it confirmed that players can request an appeal from Player Support, which investigates the account history, reviews it against Rare's policies and then reverts or upholds the action. The current points and the end of any suspension appear on the player's profile on seaofthieves.com.

The trap lies in the account. Sea of Thieves links to the Microsoft account used to sign in, also on Steam, and enforcement on that account is reviewed by Xbox rather than by Rare. For such cases, the player signs in to the Xbox Enforcement page, selects the action and, if it qualifies, chooses Submit an appeal, as the Xbox case review guide describes. Xbox customer support cannot assist with enforcement actions, and device bans are not eligible for a case review.

What the appeal should contain

An appeal to Rare should state the gamertag, the platform, the date and exact wording of the notice, the points and any suspension shown on the profile, and the session in which the conduct is said to have occurred. Thereafter, it should set out in chronological order what happened and why the conduct does not meet the category the notice names, with screenshots or clips attached where they exist.

In a cheating case, the appeal should name every tool that ran beside the game, since Rare's own policy treats a crosshair overlay or a graphics driver panel differently from file manipulation or ReShade. For an older ban, it shall be noted that Rare acknowledges that some offences may have been miscategorised in the past. However, bans for external cheating tools, datamining, unlicensed copies of the game and breaches of the Microsoft Terms of Service were excluded from the second chance. Rare also states that players with earlier bans who did not qualify remain banned regardless of the points displayed.

After the decision

Rare either reverts or upholds the action after its review and has not published a further instance beyond Player Support; a renewed request, therefore, arguably makes sense only with facts the first one did not contain. For enforcement on the Microsoft account, Xbox reverses an approved appeal together with the related strikes, whereas a denied appeal leaves the action and the strike in place, and Xbox describes all appeal decisions as final.

Returning to the seas with another account during a ban may breach Microsoft's terms and lead to further enforcement. Hence, this guide does not describe ways around a ban.

Current enforcement

Whether Rare or Microsoft is currently running a wider enforcement wave is recorded on the ban-wave monitor, and the Sea of Thieves appeal page sets out the steps in short form.

Frequently asked questions