Sea of Thieves Voyages and Treasure
Voyages come from Trading Company representatives, the outpost quest board, and your ship's captain's table, and each company gives a different kind of job. Treasure only pays when you hand it to an NPC at an outpost, and flying an Emissary Flag multiplies gold and reputation up to 150 percent at Grade 5. Two chests actively fight you on the way home: the Chest of Sorrow floods your hull with water and the Chest of Rage sets your deck on fire.
Treasure in Sea of Thieves is cargo, not currency. It sits on your deck taking up space, it can be stolen off your deck, and it converts to gold only at the moment an NPC takes it from your hands.
Where do voyages come from?
Four sources, and they stack.
| Source | What it gives | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Company representative | Voyages from that specific company | Scales with your purchased promotions |
| Quest board | Voyages any crew member can grab | Free, and refreshes at each outpost |
| Captain's table | Where a voyage is proposed and voted on | Everyone must vote to start it |
| Captaincy voyages | Bonus voyages tied to your owned ship | Requires a captained ship |
A voyage does not start when you buy it. Someone has to place it on the captain's table and the crew has to vote. Multiple voyages can be stacked and run at once, which is how experienced crews clear an island in one landing instead of three.
Stack voyages before you sail. Put a Gold Hoarders map, an Order of Souls bounty, and a Merchant cargo run on the same island and you do one trip for three payouts. Checking which islands overlap before voting is worth more than any single high-tier voyage.
What does each company have you doing?
| Company | Voyage type | What you bring back |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Hoarders | Riddle maps, X-marks maps, torn maps | Locked chests and artifacts |
| Order of Souls | Bounty voyages against skeleton captains | Cursed skulls |
| Merchant Alliance | Timed cargo runs, livestock, trade goods | Crates, animals, commodities |
| The Hunter's Call | Hunting and fishing | Cooked fish and meat |
| Reaper's Bones | Raids and secrets | Anything, sold at the Reaper's Hideout |
| Athena's Fortune | Long mixed voyages | Athena's treasure. Pirate Legends only |
| Bilge Rats | Time-limited mercenary voyages | Doubloons and commendations |
| Smugglers' League | Smugglers' Route Runs | Contraband, sold at hidden hideouts |
Riddle maps teach you the world. X-marks maps are faster but you learn nothing, because you are matching a shape rather than reading a landmark. Run riddles until island names mean something to you.
Merchant Alliance runs are on a timer
Cargo runs have delivery windows and the goods degrade. Livestock is worse, because pigs starve, chickens escape their crates when you take damage, and snakes bite you while you carry them. Merchant voyages pay well precisely because they punish detours.
Smugglers' League hideouts are trapped
Six hideouts exist, two each in The Shores of Plenty, The Wilds, and the Ancient Isles. The caves are rigged with barely visible wooden pressure plates that trigger traps when stepped on. Watch the floor, not the NPC.
Contraband includes Black Powder Barrels, which are the riskiest haul in the game because they are exactly as explosive as they sound.
How does treasure sell?
You hand each item to the matching company representative at an outpost. Reaper's Bones takes everything regardless of origin, at the Reaper's Hideout, but the reputation goes to Reaper's rather than the original company.
Sovereigns are the quality-of-life fix for hauling. Captained crews can hand treasure over at the pier where you dock instead of carrying every piece across the outpost to individual NPCs. The gold is the same and the walk is a fraction of the distance.
Treasure tiers, roughly
Gold Hoarders chests run from Castaway's at the bottom through Seafarer's, Marauder's, and Captain's, with Stronghold and Ancient Tribute chests from world events sitting well above all of them. Order of Souls skulls follow the same shape, from Foul up through Villainous and beyond.
Mermaid Gems are the exception worth knowing. Rubies, emeralds, and sapphires sell to any company, so they are pure value with no routing decision attached.
The two chests that fight back
Most treasure sits quietly. Two do not.
Chest of Sorrow cries continuously and fills your ship with water the entire time it is aboard. It will sink an unattended Sloop. Keep it on the top deck where the water drains, or leave someone bailing.
Chest of Rage heats up and sets fire to whatever is around it, including your deck and your crew. It cools if you dunk it in water, which means the standard handling is to drop it in your own flooded bilge and let the two problems cancel out.
Never store a Chest of Sorrow below deck on a Sloop and walk away. It floods faster than most crews expect and there is no hull damage to warn you.
Emissary flags and when to fly one
An Emissary Flag requires rank 15 with that company. Once raised, your ship climbs through five grades as you sell that company's treasure while flying it.
| Grade | Reward bonus |
|---|---|
| Grade 1 | Base |
| Grade 2 | +33% |
| Grade 3 | +67% |
| Grade 4 | +100% |
| Grade 5 | +150% |
The cost is visibility. Your flag shows your company and grade to the world, and Reaper's Bones emissaries at high grade can see every other emissary on the map. Grade 5 is a beacon that says "this ship is full and worth sinking."
When your ship sinks while flying a flag, a Broken Emissary Flag floats up. Your own is worth 1 gold. Somebody else's sells for a great deal, which is the entire economic incentive behind hunting emissaries.
The Emissary Ledger ranks players monthly by emissary value. Reaching Tier 3 or better puts you in the top half and earns company sails, and Tier 2 or better adds a title.
Frequently Asked Questions
What reputation level do you need for an Emissary Flag?
Rank 15 with that Trading Company. Once raised, the flag climbs five grades as you sell that company's treasure, paying plus 33 percent at Grade 2, plus 67 at Grade 3, plus 100 at Grade 4, and plus 150 percent at Grade 5.
What does the Chest of Sorrow do?
It cries continuously and floods your ship with water for as long as it is aboard, with no hull damage to warn you. Keep it on the top deck where water drains away, or leave a crew member bailing. It will sink an unattended Sloop.
How do you stop the Chest of Rage setting your ship on fire?
Dunk it in water. It heats up and ignites the deck and crew around it, and cooling it off stops that. The usual trick is dropping it into your own flooded bilge so the water problem and the fire problem cancel each other out.
Can you sell any treasure to Reaper's Bones?
Yes. Reaper's Bones accepts every treasure type regardless of which company it came from, sold at the Reaper's Hideout rather than an outpost. The gold is the same, but the reputation goes to Reaper's instead of the originating company.
What are Sovereigns in Sea of Thieves?
Sovereigns let captained crews hand treasure over at the pier where the ship docks rather than carrying each item across the outpost to individual company NPCs. The payout is identical and the walk is far shorter.
What to Read Next
- Trading Companies and Reputation. All eight factions, the 100-level track, and promotions.
- World Events and Raids. Where Stronghold chests and Ancient Tributes actually come from.
- Ship Combat and Damage Control. Keeping the hold when another crew wants it.
- Getting Started. The core loop and the new player traps around hoarding loot.
- Pirate Legend and Endgame. Athena's Fortune voyages and what sits past rank 50.