Sea of Thieves has a fun new event to put your pirate skills to the test. You get to compete with several other players to be the first one to steal a valuable treasure and turn it in for gold. Participating in this event is worth it, as the end rewards are quite valuable. This guide will detail how to complete the Smuggler’s Heist event in Sea of Thieves.
How to Start the Smuggler’s Heist in Sea of Thieves
The Smuggler’s Heist acts like every other World Event; you need to wait for it to randomly appear. Once the event is active, you will receive a note from the Smuggler’s League. Check your main mast to find the note pinned to it. Interact with the note to either accept the challenge or cancel it. Ignoring it will also stop the event from taking place for you.
This note will appear on every active crew ship, which immediately starts the race to complete the event objectives. It is possible for two different events to occur at the same time. If you have received a different note for a different event, interact with it to cancel it and wait for the Smuggler’s Heist note to appear.
How to Complete the Smuggler’s Heist in Sea of Thieves
There are five objectives that you need to complete as part of the Smuggler’s Heist, and the objectives given to you are:
- Collect the Royal Fortress Key
- Unlock the Royal Crest Fortress
- Defeat a Storeroom Keeper
- Steal the Target Painting
- Sell the Painting
You don’t have to clear all five objectives in a single run, as you can always come back to the next objective anytime the event is active. The crew that gets to the end of all event objectives will be declared the winner.
How to Collect the Royal Fortress Key
After collecting the Smuggler’s note, check your quest radial to read it to locate the Royal Fortress Key. This will give you directions to visit a particular smuggler’s hideout across the various islands. Once you get to the island, find the representative and speak to them to receive the Royal Fortress Key. The Smuggler Representatives are found in the locations below.
- Smugglers’ Bay – Sea-Cloak Solomon
- Crescent Isle – Low-Tide Lottie
- Plunder Valley – Wily Wei-Lin
- Crook’s Hollow – Starbright Ix
- Old Faithful Isle – Bloodwake Kidir
- The Crooked Masts – Little Lord Leander
This quest location is the same for all players who accepted the event request at the same time. Be careful, though, you might have to fight other crew members to get to the location first. If you were unlucky enough not to get the key, you could try to intercept the enemy crew to get it, or wait for them at the Fortress and ambush them.
How to Unlock the Royal Crest Fortress
After the key has been collected, either by you or others, you will find a new marker on the World Map to find the Royal Crest Fortress. This marker will be visible to all participants, so make your way over there to use the key on the fortress doors. If you don’t have the key, then this is the spot to wait and ambush the crew that has the key.
As you approach the fortress, you will be greeted with volleys of cannonballs trying to sink your ship. These attacks will stop once you dock and deboard. Head up the main stairs and use the Fortress Key on the large door to gain access.
How to Find the Storeroom Keeper
The island is home to several skeletal enemies, and as you keep defeating them, you will encounter the Storeroom Keeper. Defeat this particular enemy to get the Stronghold Key. The Stronghold Key is a vital item, as it helps unlock all the doors within the fortress in your search for the painting.
As you unlock more doors, you might find more skeletal enemies, including more Storeroom Keepers. This allows you to gain multiple Stronghold keys, which helps unlock more doors.
How to Steal The Target Painting
While exploring the fortress, keep an eye out for the particular target painting mentioned in your quest log. To know the name of the painting you are looking at, once you spot a painting, get close to it. You will get a notification on the painting’s name. If you haven’t found any paintings yet, there are a few choice locations to search for them:
- The dining area
- The basement
- Fortress treasury
- Prison cell
As mentioned above, you will require a Stronghold Key to unlock each of these doors. Once inside the room, check the floors and walls to find the required painting, then interact with it to steal it. You could also steal any other painting to sell.
Where to Sell the Painting
After making your escape from the island, check your quest log again to find out which representative you need to hand over the painting to. Unfortunately, every other crew member will get a notification that the painting has been taken, and they will also receive a marker identifying the representative. Plus, everyone gets to track your current location, as the painting will also have a unique marker when checking the map.
The only way to conceal the painting’s current location is to either hold it in your hand or keep it in your ship. As soon as you let go of it, either by dropping it in the water or anywhere on land, the painting’s location will be visible on the map again. Along the way, you will meet several enemies, either as crew members or as Ocean Crawlers.
Smuggler’s Heist Rewards
Once the painting has been handed over, the event will end for everyone, and the rewards will be handed out. The winning crew will receive the Royal Crest Fortress Blueprint, along with $175,000 and a random amount of guild reputation. Participants will also receive some rewards, in the form of credits and the Royal Crest Fortress Plans trinket.
If you are having a hard time trying to chase after evading players, then check out our Sea of Thieves guide on chasing down runners to know more.
