Alright pirates, lend me your ears for a second. Rare just made an important announcement for Sea of Thieves, and yes, it includes some insane and hilarious sums of gold for what appears a dull and menial job: 175,000 gold pieces for stealing a painting. You saw that right- for ONE painting. Almost two hundred thousand gold.
Now, in this case, the Smugglers’ League is offering one hell of a ransom for the steal of a certain painting from Royal Crest Fortress. But you know how Sea of Thieves goes. The same official tweet then warns you that you will not be the only ones stealing art from the sea, which can only mean one thing- PvP ensuing.
The new Smugglers’ Heist is indeed part of the Season 12 content, and the environment is already shifted between those who see it as a really good addition and those who see it as another bad change. So the reception from the community has ranged from indifferent to outright hostile.
To the extreme, the community itself welcomes the big target: Captain GG_R responded with a stereotypical piratey-wooing, “woo 175’000 gold for a painting and really crazy gold. and I will definitely take a lot of pictures with them hehe.” Spirit of the community. Others carry the dirt along. For example, Skillztopaydabi commented, “175k is nothing at this point with how high gold inflation has become and very little to spend it on.”
Well, honestly? They’re not wrong. Quite a few people thought the same. xB0NAx tells Rare, “You should give us more ways to spend our gold.” Whereas DB_P00PER keeps on, “maybe after adding the highest value loot item in the game will you realize people care about cosmetic rewards and not gold.”
It has been a topic of discussion ever since the first mention of the currency economy in Sea of Thieves. The old-school players work hard to accrue millions without knowing where to spend it, while a newcomer may be counting 175K an absolute fortune. It’s an awkward imbalance Rare has yet to resolve.
Much more beyond the conversation of gold, players are just worried about the kind of gameplay that is actually being furnished here. ShaneJa93712444 aka Hes008 admitted to having some thoughts after trying such content: “pretty much, literally just picking up a piece of loot and sailing it across the seas with MAYBE 1 skeleton ship coming after you. They need to make things more difficult, more skelly ships and difficult bosses!”
Another fairly common complaint is that smuggle content feels too easy. On the other hand, Hes008 also claims he got sunk twice by Redmaw + Burning Blade together, which sounds both terrifying and kinda awesome.
There is some lore confusion happening as well. Kaoteek (Docteur Lobo) brought up the random Ocean Crawlers spawning on ships: “Despite everyone telling them for weeks/months that it’s just annoying and makes no sense story/lore-wise.” For a seasoned player, it’s those small details that kill immersion.
Then we have a question of faction loyalty. MutinousMel shares conflicted feelings: “I’m excited for this, though I don’t like having to work against my faction for that trinket.” Pirates in roleplay take their allegiances quite seriously.
The Italian community is particularly upset about that. Jambix75 discussed in Italian just how much the smuggler missions “fanno cagare” (which basically means they suck) and called Season 12 “pessima season” (terrible season). However, here haefillie replied with the classic “Try playing other games? Or…go outside?” burn.
It is interesting that under all the criticism, excitement is still blossoming. Truman Crafts compared it to “capture the flag” which actually sounds really cool when you think about it. And aDreamingNomad has already put a plan together: “Good luck to those sweaty crews… Maybe I’ll have a better chance at Fort of Fortune 😅”
Good thinking- let the try-hard crews fight over the painting while you take on the easier targets.
Captain McGuffin comes up with another brilliant idea: “175,000 gold, would be even better if we could have some kinda emissary associated.” Emissary flags make everything better with a bonus multiplier.
The heist sounds simple enough- grab a painting from a fortress, avoid other players attempting to steal it as well, and cash in big. If only we all believed the publicity, this should be easy. Outside the fortress is going to be a bloodbath of galleons and sloops bowing it out while someone is trying to sneak away with this painting.
What differs according to the players? More meaningful content. There are enough remarks welcoming Arena back, even if it was canned with few little players. They do provide much more challenging PvE than just sailing back and forth to two points.
Another problem is that gold has almost little value for veterans. Jambix75 claims to have “bought almost everything” and still has 50M gold, so when you’ve purchased everything in the game, what’s the point of chasing more?
Still, 175K is not bad for newbies or those that want to complete it all. Let’s be real- endless PvP chaos is what Sea of Thieves is known for. These heists might just be what helps create server moments where entire alliances are formed and broken over a single painting.
The Smugglers’ Heist will come real soon; with all the mixed responses, it could very well be packed in the first week. Because if the vets complain about gold inflation, everybody wants to have something to fight for.
Still, keep in mind- that painting might be worth 175K, but repair costs after cannon fire might eat into your profits. Happy sailing, sailors. Don’t sink each other too severely over a painting.
