8. Double Rewards Week
From February 20-27, the Sea of Thieves held its first-ever "Double Rewards Week." During the first five days of this eight-day event, players received double the money and double the reputation for a different faction every day. The event ended with a three-day "Gold & Glory Weekend" in which pirates received bonuses for all factions.
We have had Gold & Glory weekends in the past, but this was the first time bonus days have lasted for an entire week, and it was the first time there were days devoted to individual factions.
Thankfully, I had this particular week (mostly) off, so I was able to play each day and compare how things went. I kept a diary of Jimi's achievements and observations each day of the event, and I will record them below. Read on. Perhaps you can find some hints for how to spend your next bonus day on the Seas!
Day 1. Gold Hoarders 💰
Jimi's crew completed a total of six vaults for 1.5 million gold. We did not encounter any other players. It was a quiet and productive day... a pleasant break from the Season 8 "Sea of Bones" PVP chaos!
Hint: With the double gold bonus and the Rank 5 emissary flag, one vault quest was worth about 250k gold.
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| The Gold Hoarders are the most profitable faction in the Sea of Thieves. If you want to make money during bonus days, you should fly their emissary flag and do vault quests! ...Alternatively you might fly a Reaper emissary flag and hunt down Gold Hoarders. 😏 |
Day 2. Order of Souls 👻
In the morning, Jimi sailed with a galleon. They stacked treasure from four sunken treasuries and one sunken shrine. According to the legendary pirate Phuzzy Bond's research, these underwater treasuries are more lucrative than the quests offered by the Order of Souls. We sold the treasure during gold rush, but it only amounted to 500k... Not bad but not quite as profitable as the Gold Hoarder vaults!
It didn't feel right not doing any Order of Souls quests on their special day, so in the evening Jimi sailed with a brigantine crew and completed five ghost fleets. He was disappointed to receive only 250k gold for his heroics!
It was fun to revisit the Order of Souls, but it was much less profitable than Gold Hoarders. Jimi had only 750k gold to show for his efforts... Compared to Day 1, it was twice the work and half the money!
Hint: With the double gold bonus and the Rank 5 emissary flag, one ghost fleet quest was worth about 50k gold... That's one-fifth of what we could get from a Gold Hoarder vault!
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| Not very lucrative, the Order of Souls is in need of an update. However, their quests can be a lot of fun. Flying the Order of Souls emissary is a great opportunity to battle ghost fleets and underwater shrines and treasuries... some of my favorite PVE activities in the game! |
Jimi's crew completed four sunken ship quests and one underwater shrine for a Breath of the Wild. They received 500k gold for their efforts.
Most of the day was spent battling with other Merchant ships. We found it difficult to complete quests. We were constantly running into other Merchants and things never ended peacefully!
Even at the end of the session, after surviving some long and intense battles and finally selling at Galleon's Grave, a merchant brig and sloop appeared on the scene out of nowhere and a three-way battle ensued.
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Don't be fooled by the Merchants. They may look like harmless traders at first glance, but during the Double Rewards Week, we found them to be by far the most aggressive and bloodthirsty faction. |
Day 4. Hunter's Call 🐟
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For 19 Sea of Thieves days (about 7.5 hours in our world), Jimi captained a fishing galleon in the Ancient Isles. The crew membership changed several times. We had a lot of laughs and caught some very rare fish, including a Trophy Snow Wrecker and three little Snow Wreckers! |
Day 5. Guardians / Servants (Season 8 PVP factions) 💥
I got 10 levels up in the Servants faction today. I am now 62/100 on the road to the skeleton curse! 💀
TLDR; We sank a galleon with by singing a song on the speaker...! 😶
Day 6. Gold & Glory (Athena)
Hint: With the double gold bonus and the Rank 5 emissary flag, one Athena Lost Veil quest was worth about 250k gold... That's about the same as the Gold Hoarder vaults! But I think the vaults are faster and they don't attract quite as much attention. Stacking Gold Hoarder vaults might be the fastest and safest way to earn money on Sea of Thieves bonus days!
Day 7. Gold & Glory (Servant of Flame)
I worked hard on the Servants faction today. Thanks to the Gold & Glory bonus, I was able to earn 18 levels. I am now at 90/100. Only 10 levels to go!
Between dives, my sloop duo crew stumbled across a Rank 5 Reaper's Bones Emissary sailing toward Reapers from Ancient Gold Fortress in the southwest. Strangely, they were carrying a Reaper's Chest and a Reaper's Bounty. We decided to investigate and met them at Reaper's Hideout. It was a brigantine with a very experienced captain.
At the Hideout, a second sloop appeared at the scene. They allied with us, and after a fierce battle marked more by melee than naval combat, we were able to finally sink the brigantine. As we divvied up the loot, it became apparent that the brigantine had completed a Fort of the Damned, one of the more lucrative world events in the game, among other things.
In true pirate fashion, betrayal ensued, but our side survived, winning all of the treasure... It was worth ONE MILLION GOLD! This was one of the most exciting adventures yet, and it all happened thanks to Season 8 hourglass server-hopping. Check out my guide on how to enjoy Season 8, so you can also experience exciting adventures like this one!
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| Will Jimi receive the skeleton curse? Check back next week to find out! |
Final Thoughts
In the past, some players have complained that they are busy during Community Day or Gold & Glory weekend. Extending the bonuses over a week allows more people to take part in the event.
Also, I thought Double Rewards Week was an excellent idea because it encouraged players to revisit factions that they may have been ignoring. I've been wanting to revisit Order of Souls quests and Siren Shrines for a while, and I've also been dreaming of organizing a grand fishing expedition on my galleon. Double Rewards Week Day was the push I needed to make this happen.
I was glad to be able to participate every day, but as shown above, I found that the factions are quite unequal. Athena's Fortune and Gold Hoarders are the only factions that generate a lot of income. I think it would benefit the game if quests for the other factions would generate more income.
Overall, though, Jimi had a very productive week on the Sea of Thieves! He completed many commendations, brought my Servants PVP faction level from 62 to 90 (and probably to 100 on the final bonus day tomorrow!), and earned more than five million gold! I'm looking forward to the next Gold & Glory weekend... You will probably find Jimi with a stack of vault keys! 😁
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