Before we start, it’s worth noting that whilst I’m a freshly minted Pirate Legend in Sea of Thieves, I’ve been playing since day one. Significant breaks in between periods of play, of course. But all told, my time played is about 180 hours and that has mostly been working towards Pirate Legend (approx 80% of the time?).
2024 is a much better time to try and become a Pirate Legend. With Emissary flags, Sovereigns to take all your loot, fast travel, tight-rope walking etc. It’s much more efficient in getting you there than its ever been.
That isn’t to say there’s not a lot of grind, but it’s certainly not as rough as it used to be.
It’s done, so here are the questions I think we should answer.
- How do you hit Pirate Legend?
- What do you get for it?
- Is it worth it?
180 hours is nothing to sniff at. Considering my playthroughs of both Elden Ring and Tears of the Kingdom site at around the 90 hour mark. Two of my favourite all-timer games, took half the time to actually finish and get a sense of accomplishment.
Getting to Pirate Legend
To become a Pirate Legend, you’ll need to reach rank 50 with three different Trading Companies. Each company has its own unique way of earning reputation:
- Gold Hoarders: Discover treasure chests, artifacts, and vault keys.
- Order of Souls: Hunt down and capture bounty skulls.
- Merchant Alliance: Trade a variety of goods, including resources, cargo crates, and animals.
- Reaper’s Bones: Engage in PvP, steal flags from other players, and complete Reaper-specific quests.
- Hunter’s Call: Fish, cook, and turn in seafood to increase your Hunter’s Call reputation.
Sounds easy enough! And yeah, it is. Pirate Legend is more a mark of being seasoned enough in the game to take on end-game content. Doing these 3 factions (any of your choosing) is a lot of work, but it’s not hard work. Certainly Pirate Legend is a grind, but you can do it at your own pace.
You’re always working toward progressing something, so focusing a little is ideal. I think the requirement in priciple is absolutely fine. 50 levels could be done super-quick these days if you had the time for marathon sessions and emmissary flag use.
180 hours of my time, might actually be more like 80 of yours. Particularly if you focus and don’t go off just exploring or playing with friends. I don’t think it’s too much to ask, but it’s definitely a significant amount of in-game work.
Tips for Faster Progression:
- Emissary Flags: Raise your company’s flag to earn bonus reputation. However, be prepared for other players to target you!
- Voyages and Quests: Complete voyages to earn reputation and acquire valuable loot.
- Skeleton Forts and Fleets: These challenging encounters offer substantial rewards, including reputation and rare items.
- Trading Posts: Sell your loot at trading posts for a quick reputation boost.
Pirate Legend – The Rewards
Once you reach Pirate Legend, you’ll unlock a more content, but if we’re being honest, so far as I can tell, it isn’t a lot.
There’s a cool element to it, whereby you get to learn a new song to play, and that opens a secret door at any tavern in the game world. This takes you to a secret hideout. I love this, I think the reveal is great, the concept is great and it feels like a proper reward.
Beyond that, it’s more voyages and things to do, which are largely made up of the same tasks you’ve just been grinding out. Pirate Legend, yes. But you’re still a pirate and one that needs loot and gold.
You get the Pirate Legend title, which is great. And judging by the Xbox and Steam acheivement lists, you become a part of a small portion of the community, which is nice.
Now you can work to new commendations, too. Which, like the hideout are largely access to new cosmetics, titles and data tracking your pirate life.
Worth the grind?
Erm…..not really.
I do love the secret hideout reveal and the idea that I’m part of a small proportion of the player-base to have achieved this.
Beyond that, though. I don’t know if it feels special.
Sure you now have access to new cosmetics, but the prices are so high to push you to go back out on the grind. The game is fun, and I’m happy to play and keep earning etc. But is it enough “end game” content? Does it justify grinding-up to it in the first place? I don’t feel like I have a wealth of cool new, exclusive stuff to do.
The accolade is great, and I’m pleased it’s done. But it doesn’t feel like there’s enough real benefit to doing it.
It is however a great way to properly learn the ropes of the game, and it’s arguably the most comprehensive on-boarding into a game, ever.
If you enjoy the game, you get to enjoy it more. So it’s not, not worth the effort. I’d just say keep your expectations low once you hit Pirate Legend.
What now?
Now I can finally play the game! Of course I jest.
The world of Sea of Thieves means that there’s always stuff to do. The gameplay and the world are ripe for the picking of fun things to do.
I love the game now, it’s come a massive way on since initial release. That’s nothing to do with being a Pirate Legend, though. So don’t sweat it. It’s a nice to have at best, I think.
Now, I get to forget forcing myself to do Merchant Alliance quests and just do the stuff I want to do. Which, honestly it everything that doesn’t involve getting good delivered in certain condition, meeting certain timescales. But even that was such a small part of the grind.