How to get the Ignoring The Rules Of Engagement achievement in Sea of Thieves

The “Ignoring The Rules Of Engagement” achievement requires you to kill an opponent from behind with a Blunderbuss, which is the game’s version of a single-shot shotgun. Doing so requires you to get in close to a hostile player, a feat that’s difficult to achieve. That said, we’ve outlined the best strategies to get you this achievement as easily as possible.

Equip the Blunderbuss

Before getting a kill with a Blunderbuss, you’re going to have to equip it. To do so, go to your ship and locate the Armoury. The image above exactly shows what it looks like: a brown box on the wall with a crossed gun and sword on the front.

Once you open it, navigate to the Blunderbuss section using Right Bumper and select the weapon. Exit the menu with B and cycle through your weapons with Y to equip the Blunderbuss.

Related: How to get the Smile, you son of a… achievement in Sea of Thieves

Shoot an Enemy in the Back

Now comes the hard part — putting yourself in a position to shoot a hostile player in the back and kill them while at exceptionally close range. You cannot do this on someone in your crew. This makes it a challenge and somewhat random since you can’t control enemy players and how they behave. However, you can maximize your chances and set yourself up for opportunities by implementing these strategies:

• You can use crewmates as distractions while you sneak up on enemies if you play in a Galleon crew. Have your crewmates fire on an enemy ship while you try to swim around to the opposite side and get on board.
• If you’re playing solo, try to spot a ship whose crew is unloading treasure or away on an island. Sneak on board, hide somewhere, and wait till they return, then strike. The Barrel Disguise Emote is useful for hiding if you unlocked that in Season 2.
• For friendly folks, try using voice chat or in-game text chat (at your own risk) to see if a friendlier crew will let you get the achievement on them. Many people are willing to help.
• For deceitful pirates, you could fake being friends with someone who you think wouldn’t let you kill them, then shoot them in the back when they’re turned around.
• Remember, enemy pirates steering the ship and on the cannons are easiest to shoot in the back, if you can manage it. They’ll be occupied and have to back out of what they’re doing to turn around, giving you a better chance.

According to reports, it’s also apparently possible to get this achievement if you form an Alliance with another crew, then shoot one of them in the back and kill them (willingly or otherwise). We haven’t tested this ourselves, but it’s certainly worth a shot if you get the chance. Just don’t expect your Alliance to last.