Sea Of Thieves: 13 Best Things To Spend Gold On (2024)

In Sea of Thieves, gold is the lifeblood of any pirate who wants to progress in the game, as it's the source of income for cosmetics, better voyages, and ranks within the Trading Companies. It's not always easy to earn and takes tenacity to build, so there are standout expenditures that players may want to prioritize over other more frivolous purchases.

Some gold purchases are purely functional and serve to secure more gold. Others are about progressing and earning better titles or simply showing off a pirate's wealth, riches, and status. Sea of Thieves contains huge choices of what to spend gold on, especially with even more customization options and ways to play from the updates. Therefore, it's worth keeping an eye out for the shiniest and most profitable golden purchases and rewards.

Updated June 4, 2024 by Gemma Johnson:Sea of Thieves is bursting with opportunities for players to earn gold, from completing voyages to stumbling across buried treasure and beyond. However, often the trickiest part is knowing what to spend gold on in Sea of Thieves. The game is jam-packed with numerous cosmetics for players to spend money on, so knowing what to buy can sometimes feel overwhelming. Fortunately, some things could be considered better than others when considering factors like reputation or other status markers in Rare's pirate adventure game.

Although every pirate likely has their preferences, having a good eye for the best items to spend gold on in Sea of Thieves is crucial to avoid spending hard-earned money on frivolous purchases. It's also about knowing where to look when searching for things to buy, especially the most recent changes to the game's menu systems.

1 Trading Company Shop Cosmetics

Proudly Display Reputation And Allegiance To Sea Of Thieves' Trading Companies

Players can unlock and buy special Trading Company Cosmetics within each Company's shop as they level up their reputation with each Sea of Thieves Trading Company. Just speak to the Company Representative at any outpost to open their shop, or with the Reaper at the Reaper's Hideout. Each shop is bursting with cosmetic skins or special items to buy, such as bucket skins, spyglasses, instrument skins, and more. The designs of these special cosmetics represent the unique colors and styles of each Company, such as purple for the Order of Souls.

As players raise their ranking with Trading Companies, there are even other kinds of special cosmetics to unlock and spend gold on, such as ship plushies and hooded outfits.

2 Buy Unique Commendation Cosmetic Rewards

Showcase In-Game Achievements With Special Cosmetic Skins

Once players unlock certain Sea of Thieves Commendations, there is sometimes another type of in-game reward to go with it. However, these rewards aren't free most of the time and must be bought using in-game gold or doubloons. For example, the Jacket of the Ashen Dragon costs 13,500 to purchase from any Clothing Shop once players unlock it by achieving the Tome of Curses II commendation.

It's worth remembering to unlock and purchase these rewards as many have unique designs that showcase a player's achievements and hard work to others. This is especially true when many take significant time or effort to complete, often through undertaking challenging activities. It's also cool to buy cosmetics that many other players are unlikely to have as another way of standing out on the waves.

3 Buy Bait For Better Fishing

Catch More Varieties Of Fish

Fishing in Sea of Thieves can be one of the most relaxing things to do for those who fancy something different that also makes money. While bait isn't necessary to fish, certain types are essential to catch specific species in Sea of Thieves' best fishing spots.

Bait crates aren't overly new, but are a helpful quality-life feature that enables players to buy a box of 50 grubs, leeches, and earthworms rather than dig them up. A crate costs 5000 gold from an Outpost Merchant or Hunters Call Seapost representative, or 3,500 gold from a Captain's voyage shop for a bait supply. Even common fish are worth around 800 gold, with the value increasing to over 10,000 gold and beyond for rarer varieties, especially when cooked.

4 Merchant Commodities To Farm Emissary Grade Points

A Small Cost For Bigger Rewards

Buying Merchant commodities is sometimes overlooked, but they can help pave the way to more gold and help increase Emissary points. At any Sea of Thieves Outpost or Port Merrick, players can spend gold on boxes of unrefined tea, broken stone, unclassified gems, and more in the resources and commodities option.

Costing between 160-360 gold each, boxes of commodities are loose change in Sea of Thieves that players can cash into the Reapers first to help raise their Emissary grade and net more profits. Alternatively, players can deliver them to other Outposts via the Merchant Alliance Inventories book for a decent return on initial investment.

5 Buy And Captain A Ship

Become The Proud Captain Of A Ship In High Seas

Season 7 enabled players to captain and name a ship in Sea of Thieves for the first time, and players can choose to buy a Sloop, Brigantine, or Galleon if they have enough gold. If players want to secure a fleet of 15 ships, they'll need to accumulate a lot of gold, but the Sloop is the most affordable at 250,000 gold coins.

Becoming the captain of a ship is awesome and choosing a name is part of the fun, with many funny and brilliant names in circulation. It's also possible to get the 'A Fleeting Fancy' achievement when players own 15 captained ships, which is an impressive feat. Owning a ship also opens the door to Captain's voyages and other captaincy-exclusive options like ship customization.

6 Complete Specific Commendations To Obtain Title Rewards

A Great Way To Unlock Company-Specific Cosmetics

While players used to have to spend gold to get new titles in Sea of Thieves, these are since free to claim within individual Trading Company shop menus. This means that players no longer need to spend money on promotions with Trading Companies like the Order of Souls. However, it's worth taking the time to look at the requirements for individual commendation rewards, as some of these could require spending a bit of gold to complete. For instance, when buying and delivering commodities for players seeking commendation titles with the Merchant Alliance.

Each Trading Company has its own set of titles, which is also a handy way to unlock more company-specific cosmetics, such as the Reaper's Bones Costume, often considered one of the best outfits in Sea of Thieves.

7 Buy A Cool Outfit

Show Off Sea Of Thieves Achievements And Progression

There may be many cool outfits to purchase in the Pirate Emporium using Sea Of Thieves' Ancient Coins. However, there are tonnes more choices available to buy using gold at outposts. Outfits are a great way of standing out and showing off a player's individuality. They can also showcase players' progression in the game, such as the sought-after clothing and costumes with jaw-dropping prices in the Athena's Fortune Shop accessible to Pirate Legends.

For Pirate Legends, the Athena's Fortune Costume is one of the best outfits in the game, with its dazzling green glow and an easy way to impress other pirates while sailing the seas.

8 Invest In Storage Crates And Supplies

Never Get Caught Unprepared And Increase The Chance Of Success

Spending gold on crates is essential to increase the chances of succeeding on voyages, against other players, and in World Events. Players can buy wood, fruit, and cannonballs from the Merchant Alliance representative on any Outpost, and Captained Ships now have easy access to throwables, meat supplies, and other supplies in the handy Shipwright Supply Shop.

One of the best quality-of-life updates in Sea of Thieves is the ability to purchase an empty storage crate. Although this might seem expensive at 17,500 gold, it makes barrel-looting easy pickings.

9 Buy Trinkets And Trophies For Captained Ships

Show Off Renowned And Hard-Earned Customization Options

Season 7 also gave players the ability to customize their ship interior with purchasable trinkets and trophies using gold, from bonsai trees, skulls, and more. Some trinkets can be brought outright, but others need to be unlocked before purchase by progressing through certain voyages and obtaining Milestones for Captained Ships.

Adding trinkets onto shelves and hanging paintings on walls is a fun way for players to show off their individuality and style to other players. It also showcases a visual history of their epic adventures and stories, such as the portrait of the beloved Merrick, which was awarded to players who completed the 'A Hunter's Cry' Adventure.

10 Ship Decorations

Enhance Ship Interiors To Impress Fellow Crewmates And Other Players

Ship decorations are another awesome thing to spend gold on for captained ships, and players can choose from various options to personalize their captained ships to their delight. This is especially true of Galleons, where players can change the captain's chair, chandeliers, and large drapes. A coordinated set of ship decorations looks impressive, especially when trinkets and trophies are added.

Players can also customize Sloops and Brigantines with options like curtains and rugs, and it's worth spending any extra gold to make the ship's interior look just as good as the ship set itself.

11 Funky Equipment And Weapon Skins

Showcase Unique Equipment And Weapon Designs

There are numerous equipment and weapon skins to spend gold on in the Weaponsmith and Athena's Fortune Shops in Sea of Thieves to go with the best and coolest outfits in the game. It's worth spending any extra gold on matching equipment and weapon skins, so pirates can look the part, especially when combined with an epic ship set.

Whether it's to strike fear into the heart of enemies or show off a crew's wealth and status, coordinating equipment and weapons or mix-and-matching sets can add to the vibe that each crew wants to create, including cosmetic skins to buy for Sea of Thieves' best weapons.

12 Invest In Better Pirate Appearance Cosmetics

Show Off Pirate Individuality And Dedication To Sea Of Thieves

Other types of cosmetics to spend gold on are hairstyles, beards, face paint, tattoos, make-up, and even hair dye options to customize the facial appearance of players' characters. The General Clothing and Athena's Fortune Shops both stock some super cool hairstyle options, like the Dark Adventurers Stately Beard and dual hair dye combinations. These all help players to make their pirates look unique and give them better cosmetic customization options than some of the more readily available choices.

Although cosmetics in Sea of Thieves aren't functional, there are many impressive varieties worth saving up gold for and are another idea of what to buy in Sea of Thieves for players with some extra coins spare.

13 Awesome Ship Sails Or Sets

Proudly Display The First Thing That Other Players See With Rare, Unique, Or High-Value Ship Designs

One of the best things to spend gold on in Sea of Thieves is a ship set or set of sails and there are many impressive varieties stocked in the Shipwright Shop. The ship is often the first thing players see of other players on the horizon through the spyglass, so it's worth earning gold to get a set that players love.

The Trading Companies have some great sets, such as the Sea of Thieves' Order of Souls Ship Set, and there are many fantastic designs for players to have fun with, such as shark ship figureheads, Kraken sails, and even carrot-shaped cannons. Once players reach Pirate Legend, they can also buy rare, desirable, and often, more expensive ship customization options with gold from the Athena's Fortune Hideout, including sails, hulls, figureheads, and more, such as the Ghost Hull and Legendary Sails.

Sea of Thieves

Platform(s)

Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , PC

Released

March 20, 2018

Developer(s)

Rare

Genre(s)

Adventure