Sea of Thieves Achievements: Voyages and Factions
The faction achievement group is the largest and slowest in the game, because it tracks reputation to level 100 across six Trading Companies plus emissary grades, promotions, and selling milestones. Almost all of it fires from commendations, not one-off unlocks, so progress lives in the in-game Reputation menu and never in the Steam list. So. Much. Silver! sits at 0.1 percent global unlock and ties for the rarest band in the game, though it turns out to be a Custom Seas scoring achievement, not a selling grind.
This is the grind group. Nothing here is difficult, and nearly all of it is long.
What this group covers
| Track | What it asks for |
|---|---|
| Reputation milestones | Levels 25, 50, 75, and 100 with each company |
| Promotions | Buying them, not just reaching the level |
| Emissary grades | Reaching Grade 5 and selling while flying |
| Selling milestones | Total treasure handed in per company |
| Voyage completions | Counts per voyage type |
| Pirate Legend | The status itself and everything past it |
| Smugglers' League | Contraband runs and hideout deliveries |
Six companies each run to reputation level 100, raised in patch 2.10.0 with The Hunter's Call following in 3.3.0. Anything describing a level 50 ceiling is out of date.
Nearly all of it fires from commendations, so your live progress sits in the in-game Reputation menu, not in the Steam achievement list. Check there before assuming a milestone has not counted.
The rare one that looks like a grind
So. Much. Silver! sits at 0.1 percent global unlock and reads like a selling milestone, and it is actually a Custom Seas achievement: earn 50,000 silver by any means during a session. Silver is the session-only scoring currency, the Session Owner sets its values, and a host who sets skeleton kills to 5,000 silver and spawns ten skeletons finishes it in minutes. Its rarity measures how new Custom Seas is, not how hard the achievement is. The genuinely slow work in this group is the commendation grind, where thresholds run to hundreds of turn-ins.
How to make this group go faster
Buy every promotion as it unlocks. Voyages from Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls, and Merchant Alliance scale with purchased promotions, not raw reputation. Skipping them means running low-tier voyages at high reputation, which is the slowest possible route through this entire group.
Fly an emissary flag whenever you can defend it. Grade 5 pays plus 150 percent to gold and reputation, which cuts the reputation grind by more than half. Emissary also has its own achievements attached, so it counts twice.
Stack voyages onto one island. A Gold Hoarders map, an Order of Souls bounty, and a Merchant delivery on the same island is one trip and three companies of progress.
Use Sovereigns. Captained crews hand treasure over at the pier instead of walking each item to individual NPCs. Over hundreds of turn-ins that is hours saved.
Do not sell everything to Reaper's. It is tempting because Reaper's takes nearly any loot, but the reputation goes to Reaper's instead of the originating company. That actively works against the other five tracks.
Pick three companies and commit. Spreading turn-ins evenly across six companies means all six sit at low levels for a very long time. Driving three to 50 first gets you Pirate Legend, which unlocks Athena's Fortune and a whole additional track to work on while you finish the others.
Patch 3.8.1 opened up the legacy grinds
A batch of older commendations had become far harder to finish than they were designed to be, and this update added second routes through them. Two of those batches land squarely in this group.
Miles sailed no longer needs a Voyage
Six Commendations ask you to sail 1,000 nautical miles for a company. They used to require an active Voyage from that company the whole way, and now they also progress while you sail with that company's Emissary Flag raised.
| Commendation | Company |
|---|---|
| Sailor of the Gold Horizon | Gold Hoarders |
| Sailor of the Whispering Bones | Order of Souls |
| Sailor of the Merchant Alliance | Merchant Alliance |
| Sailor of Athena's Fortune | Athena's Fortune |
| Hunter of the Wide Sea | The Hunter's Call |
| Sailor of Scorching Seas | Reaper's Bones |
This turns a dedicated grind into something that happens by itself. You were already going to fly the flag for the Grade 5 multiplier, and now those same miles pay twice.
Merchant crate Commendations accept Trade Route commodities
Four Merchant Alliance Commendations that wanted specific Resource Crates now also accept new Commodities carried on Merchant Trade Routes, on top of their original requirements.
| Commendation | What now counts |
|---|---|
| Merchant Forager | Fruit Crates or Crates of Unprepared Ingredients |
| Merchant Shipwright | Wood Crates or Crates of Crude Repair Materials |
| Cast Iron Merchant | Cannonball Crates or Crates of Unwrought Munitions |
| Black Powder Merchant | Gunpowder Barrels or Crates of Unprocessed Gunpowder |
Rare's stated aim was a more predictable route through them, and that is the practical effect. Waiting for the right crate to appear was the bottleneck, and a Trade Route commodity is something you can go and get.
Two other fixes worth noting if you stalled on them: patch 3.7.1 made the Grade III Commendations for An Oath Fulfilled and My Cup Runneth Over unlock as intended, and patch 3.6.2 fixed the Provisions Sold to The Hunter's Call Milestone so it counts banished items sold to a Hunter's Call representative.
Pirate Legend achievements
Reaching Pirate Legend requires reputation level 50 in three companies, the level 50 Promotion purchased from each, and a visit to the Mysterious Stranger. The promotions are the checked requirement, not the levels.
Past that, Athena's Fortune runs its own 100-level track with its own achievements, and Athena's voyages are long mixed chains that feed several company tracks at once.
None of this group can be completed in Safer Seas. Every company caps at rank 25 there, and Athena's Fortune and Reaper's Bones are locked out entirely, which closes both their achievement tracks.
Smugglers' League
The Smugglers' League has no reputation track at all, so its achievements attach to contraband deliveries instead of levels. Eight hideouts exist, spread across the map's regions, The Devil's Roar included.
The hideout caves are trapped with wooden pressure plates set almost flush with the floor. Triggering one mid-delivery while carrying a Black Powder Barrel is exactly as bad as it sounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the rarest Trading Company achievement in Sea of Thieves?
So. Much. Silver! at 0.1 percent ties for the rarest band on Steam, but despite its name it is a Custom Seas achievement, needing 50,000 session silver that a host can configure and finish in minutes. Within the actual company tracks, the slow entries are the level 100 reputation milestones and the selling commendations, which are volume grinds with thresholds in the hundreds.
Do you need to buy promotions for faction achievements?
Yes, and skipping them is the single biggest time waster in this group. Voyages from Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls, and Merchant Alliance scale with purchased promotions, not raw reputation, so an unpromoted level 40 player is still running level 5 voyages.
Can you earn faction achievements in Safer Seas?
Only partially, and never completely. Safer Seas caps every Trading Company at rank 25 and locks out Athena's Fortune and Reaper's Bones entirely, which closes both of those achievement tracks and makes Pirate Legend unreachable.
Does flying an emissary flag help with achievements?
Substantially. Grade 5 pays plus 150 percent gold and reputation, roughly halving the reputation grind, and the emissary system carries its own achievements on top. The cost is being visible to Grade 5 Reaper's Bones emissaries, who can see every emissary ship on the map and hunt flags for a living.
Should you sell everything to Reaper's Bones?
No, not while working through this group. Reaper's accepts any treasure but takes the reputation for itself, so selling there actively slows progress on the other five company tracks you also need for Pirate Legend.
Do the miles sailed Commendations still need an active Voyage?
No, not since patch 3.8.1. All six now also progress while you sail with that company's Emissary Flag raised, which means the miles you already cover chasing the Grade 5 multiplier count toward the 1,000 nautical mile requirement at the same time.
What counts toward the Merchant crate Commendations now?
Four of them accept new Merchant Trade Route commodities alongside their original requirements. Merchant Forager takes Crates of Unprepared Ingredients, Merchant Shipwright takes Crates of Crude Repair Materials, Cast Iron Merchant takes Crates of Unwrought Munitions, and Black Powder Merchant takes Crates of Unprocessed Gunpowder.
What to Read Next
- Trading Companies and Reputation. The full faction breakdown, promotion cycle, and emissary grade table.
- Voyages and Treasure. Voyage types per company and the treasure that feeds each track.
- Pirate Legend and Endgame. The Legend requirements and the Athena's track beyond them.
- Achievements Overview. The full 293-achievement picture and the rarest list.
- Safer Seas and High Seas. Why this group needs High Seas.