It’s a hard fact of life, nothing lasts forever. As much as we want the pirate life to never end, there comes a day when your arms won’t pull you up the rigging and your knees are too weak to handle the slippery deck shifting beneath your feet. But fret not maties! When father time calls your name and you walk off your beloved old ship for the last time, hopefully you will be walking into a well-deserved life of retirement and leisure. Well that’s of course, if your days of plundering and adventure were prosperous for you. As all pirates look to fall back on their buried treasure come old age, if you have a couple dozen chests buried in your mother’s backyard next to the tomato plants like I do, then you might be all set! But if your days at sea are less than prosperous, don’t worry! There is still plenty of time to make up for it.
With new updates being added regularly, the Sea of Thieves is an ever-changing world full of possibilities; possibilities that for the right-minded pirate, can spell riches galore! And with the new Season Rewards system, pirates will be given gold and reputation for just about anything! (Seriously, anything, even just sailing on the ocean will give you gold per nautical mile). Meaning there are plenty of ways you can hoard gold, but are there some that work better? Of course!
Be ye brand new to the seas or a mere day away from retirement, there are always opportunities for you to make money. But there are some ways that just far surpass the others, and I’ve got 5 of them for you! So without further adieu: Here are the top 5 ways to make money in Sea of Thieves!
5. Sea Dog’s Arena
Tips and tricks for pvp here:
Sink ships, steal chests and earn gold!
Located in the main menu or through their tavern in the middle of the map, you can always enter the Sea Dog’s Arena for some fast paced action and earn some coin! This is a completely different game mode from the usual open-world adventure you seen in Sea of Thieves, so if you have not stepped foot in the arena yet, here’s how it works:
- You are placed into a match with other players and crews, each crew getting their own ship. You are given a 15 minute timer to score as many points as possible.
- Points can be scored in many ways: hitting shots in combat, sinking other ships, digging up and selling chests, doing damage to other ships etc.
- The crew with the most points at the end of the timer receives a reward of Sea Dog’s rep and a sum of gold. You will still receive some rewards for finishing second/third etc.
Now I will admit, 6,000 gold is not a huge reward speaking in terms of Sea of Thieves, as there are certainly other ways to earn coins rather than getting in the arena. However, this is actually one of the most consistent ways to farm gold, as the 15 minute timer keeps each match quick and there will not be any PVE enemies spawning in to disrupt your gameplay, unlike the regular adventure mode. While it only gives you 6,000 gold for a win, winning a few matches in a row will get you a nice amount, and the timer is a huge help as it keeps the gameplay short, unlike adventure mode where anything can go wrong and turn a simple 30 minute mission into a three hour war. Plus earning commendations and leveling up your Sea Dog Trading Company reputation will add to your gold stock as well as unlocking exclusive items!
4. Encounters/World Events
Learn all types of events here:
Look to the skies and follow those clouds!
Spawned in at an outpost with nothing to do? Just look up! Sea of Thieves has an ever shifting array of world events that could be happening at any time like:
- Skull forts/Fort of Fortune
- Skeleton fleets/Ghost fleets
- Ashen Lords
- Kraken/Megalodon
- Solo Skeleton ships
Very easy to see, players just need to look to the sky and follow the event to its location. Red tornadoes, Flameheart, a skull or ship in the clouds and more can lead you to these encounters, then it’s on you to finish them! These enemies are not pushovers however, some like the Ashen Lords or the active skull forts can take quite a long time for you to defeat. Be very wary too! You are not the only one who can see these events as other crews may be lurking and waiting for you to finish before they attack.
These events yield basically the same rewards every time you complete them, so doing these in the early game or late game does not make a difference, though experienced pirates may have some sneaky tricks in order to finish these sooner. The events spawn in one at a time, and once a crew or player completes an event it will disappear, the Kraken will be on the hunt! And once the Kraken is spawned out or defeated another event will show up in the skies. Be sure to know what you are getting into! Fighting against a Megalodon or solo ship is one thing, but a Fort of Fortune or an Ashen Lord is a commitment for sure. All these encounters will reward you with plenty of loot, of course the more difficult the encounter the more loot there will be!
3. Voyages
Vote and sail to victory with this guide:
Found at any trading post, tavern, quest start location or sometimes washed ashore or in a barrel, voyages give players a certain goal they must complete in order to finish and get the full rewards. . Since voyages are specific to the post you get them at, they are usually only going to give rewards for that trading company. This can be very beneficial should you be trying to level up a certain trading company’s reputation, as you won’t have to try and get lucky with random loot; you can simply vote for a voyage with the loot you need waiting at the end of it.
At the beginning of your game, these voyages will not yield the most profitable rewards. However, as you level up and progress, you will be able to unlock more dangerous and rewarding quests like ghost fleets, hidden away vaults and should you make yourself a pirate legend: you will have access to Athena voyages. Athena voyages are similar to regular ones, but these are much longer, give incredibly high rewards and will upgrade your Athena Trading Company reputation.
If there seems to be no world events or you don’t feel like hopping into the arena for some PVP, why not load up a voyage and undertake the mission? These will also reward you with commendations and bonuses while you are completing voyages, adding to your stash of coins! Another positive is save for a few Merchant Alliance voyages, most of these have no time limit. Meaning, should a world event spawn in or you come across a few profitable distractions, you can simply go off and collect whatever extra loot you can before returning to your mission at hand. And, you don’t get penalized for not finishing them or voting the quest off the table early, so you can do as many of these as you like and make your decisions based on time and profitability!
Voyages and quests are a great way for players to earn money, and the trading companies will be more than happy to reward you handsomely for your hard work!
2. Trade Routes
Master the trade deals here:
It’s like the stock market but for pirates!
One of the more newer additions to the game, players who raise a Merchant Alliance Emissary flag are able to conduct trades of raw materials between outposts! Hoard up on items like silks, spices, gemstones and sugar then sell them to other outposts to make a pretty penny!
First, be sure to check for which outpost is in need of a certain commodity, as if you try to sell a crate which an outpost already has a surplus of, then you will be paid less money. You can find an constantly updated guide of what outpost needs what right at the SOT Wiki right here: https://seaofthieves.fandom.com/wiki/Commodities
However, on the other end of things, sell an item to an outpost in need of that raw material and you will be rewarded quite handsomely! Some pirates will simply buy out a whole outpost of their raw materials and goods and sell them all at a separate outpost, only to buy up all of their stock and sell it elsewhere and the cycle goes on and on while profits soar!
An important note is that these goods will fluctuate in need and cost per outpost, meaning you may not get the same exact profit even on the same server; however this is still a very lucrative and accessible way to earn gold. From freshly debuted pirates to the veteran old salts, any player can use these trade routes in order to farm gold and reputation quickly as long as they are able to raise the emissary flag.
Also, since you have to raise the emissary flag to gain access, it might be beneficial to you to level up that flag to level 5, as a higher level flag will yield you more profit and better rewards! This is a great system pirates can take full advantage of, and as long as you are able to raise the emissary flag for the Merchants, you will have access to these commodities. Speaking of emissary flags...
1.The Emissary Flag System
Learn the ropes here:
Hoist the colors!!
Whether ye be hunting on a voyage, working the trading routes, chasing after a world event or simply sailing the seas looking for trouble; if you want to increase your loot then hoist up an trading company’s emissary flag! The emissary flag system works like this:
- Vote to raise a flag for a specific trading company (Order of Souls, Merchant Alliance, Gold Hoarders, Reaper’s Bones or Athena)
- Level up your flag by collecting loot and performing company-specific tasks
- The higher level your flag is (level 5 is the max) the more profit and rep you will receive for any loot sold under that flag! You can also sell the flag itself when you finish with it!
The emissary system is the best way for any pirate to raise their rank and collect more profit than ever before! You can add a max of a 150% bonus to any loot you sell, so should you come across an Ashen Winds skull valued at 10,000 gold, under a level 5 flag that jumps right up to a whopping 25,000 gold! This is a great system players can take advantage of, especially for long-haul gameplay with a trusted crew.
You and your mates can do all the things you would normally want to do, just be sure to raise an emissary flag! Costing you 20,000 gold to purchase, it will for sure be worth it should you want to start a voyage or chase down a world event. Why would you ever want to sell your loot for the normal going rate?? Hoist your chosen emissary flag and start getting major bonuses and rewards!
There is also an emissary ledger system in place, where at the end of each season, the pirates who have done the most for a trading company under their flag will be rewarded even more! You’re gonna need a bigger boat, but not for a shark, for all the storage space you’ll need for your extra valuable loot and plunder!
