How to Level up your Merchant (NEW Update) | Sea of Thieves

[@PhuzzyBond]

💜 I Stream 4 Times/week: www.twitch.tv/phuzzybond

[@Zombiemain2]

Will you be testing other companies’ raid voyages with their best voyage? (Ex. Gold hoarder - vault, order of souls - ghost fleet voyage)

[@PhuzzyBond]

@@Zombiemain2 yes , everything is coming 🤗

[@the.scary.alpha99]

i love your tutorials beacuse you go step by step like some youtubers just like do it too fast and dont explain

[@ixCGAMExi]

People really underestimate how OP commodity runs are when at grade 5. They're boring, yes, but the profit margin is insane

[@uria2022]

yeah but what people really underestimate is how useless gold actually is.

[@Mr.LegoGrievous]

They don’t give a ton of rep so I’d really only recommend it if your destination has those commodities sought after.

[@sctbn]

@@uria2022exactly lmao

[@ixCGAMExi]

@@uria2022 I'm a completionist, so gold will always have value for me so long as there are cosmetics to buy. I've got everything except two pieces of the DA ship, and the magpie's fortune shipset. I keep putting that off because after grinding through hourglass to 100 for both factions, I'm not exactly eager to jump back in lol

[@Bittamin]

@@uria2022it’s truly about the journey rather than the destination for the life of a pirate in 2024 🎉

[@mereelfalstom9232]

"Commodities. If you HATE yourself, do them on the side." Yes, I'm a Merchant, so by default I really do hate myself. Not as much as Hunter's Call grinders though. Fantastic video!

[@grimrevan4660]

So, I kind of fish from various ports. The other day a brig pulls in at the sovereign. I walk up while they are yanking loot from the boat with the harpoon and just start turning in a ton of loot and walk back to going fishing. Sometimes it's nice to just chill out and occasionally profit from other's work. I think if you focus on the grind it sucks. I don't.

[@sylwesterwilk4342]

Merchant alliance always felt for me like doing regular job

[@JonezBBQ]

This game in general is tedious like a regular job. The core gameplay loop needs an overhaul in my opinion.

[@altorus127]

@@JonezBBQ What ? Are you comparing, finding treasure while reading maps or completing riddles, or even fighting skelly armies with basic FedEx mission ? What are you on ? xD

[@JonezBBQ]

@@altorus127 I’m talking about how you do the same thing over and over again for hundreds of hours, all just for cosmetics. You spend more time sailing between islands than actually playing the game

[@Whiskers4169]

@@altorus127we gonna ignore the search for the islands plus the time it takes to get there ? Atleast merchant quests give you directions along with some of the nicest (personally) cosmetics in the game

[@HorridCrow]

@@JonezBBQ Sailing is part of the gameplay and appeal? Seems like this isn't your game.

[@zeppy6547]

Most unrealistic thing in this video is your menus loading instantly so you can check commendations 😅

[@PhuzzyBond]

Good catch, it's Edited out 🤣

[@darkjul77]

OMG I didn't play SoT for quite a long time now and this video make me realize that the harpoon put crates directly on the boat now !! Best improvement ever !! I can go back to the game just for that ^^

[@wesleyheath4524]

Don't tell em about the storage crates and treasure chests they will shit themselves

[@iclicklike3397]

In case you didn't see before stopping sot. Sovereign also has a harpoon, and you can harpoon all your treasures next to the hand in npc.

[@gartacusthebold715]

Yeah bro they added a lot of small QoL changes like this. Selling is equally fast - you harpoon it off your boat from the dock!!

[@darkjul77]

I saw the new NPC with the harpoon but we still had to take the crate on the harpoon. Now it should be so fast ! @@iclicklike3397

[@Nimoot]

It's new yeah ...

[@mattevans4377]

You should look at executive cargo runs. Not as much per mission, but they are so fast when diving.

[@odyssey6963]

Do you keep your cargo when you dive or do you dive to the location you pick them up?

[@mattevans4377]

@@odyssey6963 You don't keep the cargo, but the dive sends you straight to the pickup location. Basically halves the journey time from the original, but you can't stack them.

[@PhuzzyBond]

Yes they are great, the goal was to choose a route that goes along with manifests while being maintenance free.

[@Mr.LegoGrievous]

Really enjoyed the stream yesterday, excited for the Athena video. Thanks for helping us mate ❤️

[@TheJonnyjacko]

Thanks Phuzzy mate. Merchants is the last one I need to become legendary. This has helped.

[@wilburwhateley4626]

10:08 So you can't dive onto an active world event with someone there already but the game clearly does not take proximity to a not yet triggered event into account. So you can have other ships randomly appear right near you if you are near an event that has not been triggered. I knew Rare would find some way to screw that up.

[@IAmaHotdog]

Really excited to see whats coming i just really recieved the blessing of athenas fortune and am stepping back into the PVE in the game.I really appreciate all that you do to help us with our grinds.

[@aidanjackson5084]

Good to know that the Merchant Emissary is still just Cargo Runs. I'm guessing it's the new Cargo Loot, but it's still a Cargo Run. Honestly a shame how neglecter Merchant seems to be loot wise, but oh well

[@pigxstix]

I did a merchant skeleton fleet solo today and it was one sloop, and then the boss galleon. Now I swear that gally was tougher than usual but it was still only two ships. And all they drop is a couple tea crates, the diamonds, and the scroll so its a quick and easy collect too.

[@meganrushworth8321]

1st attempt: Supplies wouldn’t spawn in 2nd attempt: Thought I got lucky with supplies already on the outpost, but dived onto a reaper 5 3rd attempt : Storm and no captain key, but was able to get the manifest 4th : Completed in full, but only made a quarter of a level Great vid but with my luck im sticking to other ways get the level up😂

[@macewindow149]

They're likely wasn't not a key, you probably just missed it

[@dexiek1470]

Fastest rep is skelliefleet from beginning, grade 5 after 2 and no repair for skellies. Use 1 firebomb for the gally if solo. At least a lvl at grade 5. If u start sailing towards port Merrick while still doing the skelliefleet quest u save sailing time. I got from 52 to 61 in a litle less than hour of time

[@ricksdm]

was waiting for your video to drop !!!

[@trunkmunky5763]

also, wreck birds are more dense and they fly in a circle, where supply are sparse and are more "random" in flight pattern

[@meljohnson7097]

A quick tip i can add phuzzy tested it today and got my merchant distinction today... instead of doing the ashen winds event they can just do a skelly fort it gives you twice the amount of rep than the ashen winds event if you are lvl 5 emissary

[@Secretdawg925]

Yeah I been doing forts at 5 as well just sell and re dive

[@ICoDaI]

forts also take longer to do

[@TheSpirez]

Wouldn’t it be better to do flameheart for the better tier scroll?

[@meljohnson7097]

@@TheSpirez tbh its too long to do and can be hard as a solo and you can easily get the fort done

[@meljohnson7097]

@@TheSpirez middle tier scroll isnt better than the high tier scroll but its only like has a bit less than a quarter higher rep than the middle tier

[@neonix5803]

hey phuzzy, what is now the best way to make doubloons?

[@lelandfranklin3487]

I'm sure you've heard it before....but glad you're safe.

[@DustyCrashes]

That Hull is awesome Phuzzy, what one is that?

[@I.K.E.L.O.S]

Can you do gold hoarders next? Specifically the most efficient/fastest voyages to get to grade 5 as solo

[@Je-Razor]

The best for leveling merchant is probably just the ashen cargo run voyage once you hit level 5 emissary grade. You have to park at Roaring Traders. Then vote for the ashen cargo voyage for 4 cargo. Collect cargo and put it on the ship with the plants in the water. Then cancel voyage. Then you have to vote for that same voyage and cancel it again 6 times in a row. Every 7th voyage will be at Roaring Traders. Keep repeating this until you feel you have enough cargo on your ship. The delivery place will always be on Fetcher's Rest. As a solo I got from level 97 to level 105 (level 5 distinction 1) in like 1½-2 hours. I probably had like 50-60 cargo crates. With a bigger crew it can be optimized to be faster.

[@ArtieMcDonald]

The Brian's Bazzar -> Roaring Traders, or Morrows Peak -> Ashen Reach routes are better. They stay 100% in the roar (aka safer seas), shorter (easy keys), with very predictable shipwreck spawns. Some of these routes only come up in the medley voyage, so try different options to get the better routes. Plus quick jog to morrow's for your sells. Plus when running medely's often the cargo pickups are along the trade route... ez grade/rep you can double dip.

[@forrestlanhart7474]

I just did one of these and the captains key worked but once the door opened… there was literally nothing inside it 😢

[@joeytatulli1454]

Emissary quest is good to do unless you get far islands because the crates have a “special delivery” label that you don’t get from regular cargo voyages and they are worth way more than normal cargo crate quests

[@Alex-hy9cw]

Instead of enjoying the new voyages it just seems that finding emergent skeleton captains, skeleton ships & wrecks is way better. I found like 4 tier S chests in one wreck yesterday & skeleton ships now seem to have as much as a fort at times. I used to do like an 8 trajectory between 2 islands & do ashen guardians, now instead of doing this for emergent skeletons seems alot better.

[@DaveSwart]

11:41 do these always drop when you dive to him?? I did one day one of this season and was like, this is all he drops??? I searched everywhere - sky canon’d to see glints. Nothing.

[@yellow9w8e53]

Appreciate your suffering for the sake of guide Love your vids Great stuff

[@Cooldog129]

I finish this quest but when u open the captains shipwreck at the end I don’t get anything in the door

[@fnordywings1344]

Been waiting for this 🙌

[@AlternateFropile]

Another difference between shipwrecks and barrels in the water is the amount of seagulls flying above. Lots of them for a wreck, a few for barrels.

[@jesseoppelaar9199]

It’s the opposite… Atleast when doing the voyage. There are a lot of seagulls above clues and barrels but a little amount above a shipwreck. By little I mean very little

[@AlternateFropile]

@@jesseoppelaar9199 I could believe that, I'm referring to my experience in regular high seas sailing. I'll have to keep that in mind for when i start doing actual voyages

[@thomasb6434]

​@@jesseoppelaar9199during shipwreck voyages there are a lot of seagulls above the first clue, everything else is small There is an exception : if you encounter a large one at the last one, you are unlucky, it's a bugged shipwreck that didn't spawn with only the manifest floating at the surface.

[@xxDAMRONxx]

The fastest way to level Merchant is Still FOTD stacks if you have a crew that can keep all the stronghold barrels. It is so much faster than any of this honestly. But it’s harder and requires a really good crew.

[@ChaosEnsuing]

My merchant lady has a bug where I can’t pick up my purchased supplies, any way to fix it Phuzzy?

[@mohithmohith]

do i have to do ashen winds, like is it the best way? i am too paranoid so i prefer to do skelly forts or phantom forts, because for me ashen winds take alot of time (solo captained sloop)

[@beni0827]

whats the name of the hull you were using during the voyages?

[@PhuzzyBond]

Shining Pegasus from the Pirate Emporium

[@morphe42]

great videos for all of the factions!

[@DaveSwart]

9:30 does this work for 2 on a sloop or will he hit the sloop and not the brig for some reason?

[@Championclips15]

It can work but it would be a lot harder to manage, it’s just better to do it with 3 on a brig because it kills him faster locking him in his hurt animation, and it allows for 1 person to repair and 2 to keep firing if he does hit the ship.

[@Franck_Lee]

Gave it a try but totally forgot to grab the crates from the merchant at first. So didn't get grade 5 after my lost shipment run. Came back to outpost for it but needed only 2 out of 4 crates to reach my level 5. So If you are short on money, just get the 2 cheapest crates, you will reach level 5 emissary.

[@SilentlyFalling]

Phuzzy looks really good in a hoodie!

[@BarelyThere703]

Hey just a heads up. I’ve run two from morrows peak to plunder outpost, and both times the ship glitched out and wasn’t there. Only the manifest was floating in the water. I can’t guarantee it will happen so you should prolly just go with it anyway since you can’t dive again right after surfacing

[@BarelyThere703]

Remember you can sell the key. And also, I learned that if your in the middle of filling a barrel with a storage crate while the diving starting, it will automatically put everything in the barrel

[@georgemedintu693]

What skin is on that boat ?

[@unthinkingscript3697]

Good luck have fun playing sea of thieves in the future Phuzz

[@Choom89]

Any chance we can get the locations for both routes so it's easy to head straight to sunken ship?

[@GamingBGTB]

commodity runs are Bae :P high Gold and medium exp for faction, but if u sail those and in between pick of all the wrecks u come across its insane ;P

[@SnakeLordProductions]

Wait so you can't get the rare ashen voyage where you go back and forth with the two seaposts, so is the achievement for all the trading roots impossible now???

[@macewindow149]

No? He's doing the ashen one

[@SnakeLordProductions]

@@macewindow149 no no the certain one with the two seaposts

[@macewindow149]

@@SnakeLordProductions I know what one you're talking about, but you can likely just get that one by doing the regular one

[@jimbodee4043]

Great guide / experiment and to see results.

[@Araknidu92]

Hey, Just discover you (thanks youtube recommandations), and i was wondering why do i only get half (a little bit more, but not that much) a level with ashen lords despite same loots an lower level (lvl 60 ATM) Is it because of "Happy Hours"? Thought it was only for gold

[@piotr78]

Make sure you level up your emmisary flag to level 5 first

[@Araknidu92]

@@piotr78 yup, it was level 5

[@fredcatcheur2]

Eh, to get to Grade 5, i'll stick to my regular Treasury + regular Lost Shipment combo, it gets you there just as fast, it gets you more gold & rep, and it often avoids the numerous glitches LS can incur when they finish in the Wilds. And if you take commodities with you, it's pretty lucrative.

[@user-nu3xs9st8j]

so i know this comment is unrelated with the video but Scroll of Uncharted Waters ? diving mechanics , new cosmetic art style (i know there's a new team working on them but still) , i am starting to believe that there is a map expansion coming

[@Viam691]

Might be late but : I did the "ashen lost shipment" 3 times and each time the captain's cabin was empty (using the key on the good ship and found the book on the shipwreck)... Does anyone have this bug ?

[@KAM_illi]

Yes, this happened to me more than once, I think it is a problem with the game.

[@iHateGenZweebs]

Honestly as a solo I aggro the ashen lord on land, then swim to my ship. He just bugs out and stops attacking so I can just cannonball him to death lol. If he ever does that meteor thing it never even reaches me anyways so it's not a big deal.

[@byron7583]

Can you level up Merchants without an emissary? I hate being a target to others, especially if there's reapers around

[@tagra_]

in this video, he explains that Galleon's Grave to Morrow's Peak has the shipwreck at U16. does anyone have the shipwreck spawn locations for each of the other three ashen lost shipment routes?

[@elevate313]

How do u find the key? Where did you get the clue? There is a lot of info that as a new player I need in order to do this.

[@elevate313]

Honestly lost and can't find the location of the key anywhere on the route.

[@borgthepig]

While traveling on the route of a lost shipment voyage you need to look for birds. That’s where the first clue is. Then just follow the clues until you find the key

[@Gamer010001]

I wouldnt recommend doing lost voyages iv had so many be bugged, sunken ship not spawning,manifest floating rabdomly in the water, captains key not spawning etc

[@TherealofficialSPIROT]

Love this. Although it is kinda lame that it’s still a grind. And I’m over here at level 80 guardians of fortune thinkin this was EASY ;-;

[@kendrafreeborn6900]

I can never find the shipwreck just the logbook. And I’ve done several of these!

[@eugeneliedel2901]

I did ashen lost shipment 3 times in a row yesterday and each time the crates weren't in the room. Am I doing something wrong? It was plunder to morrow too

[@infinitespiral4151]

Ashen lost shipments are glitched best to just do the regular ones

[@fredrikdiegelmann1548]

I love youre tips puzzy bond i am grinding merchant so thanks for the tip

[@ianbelletti6241]

I tried a raid yesterday as gold hoarder and you only get about half value for diving on the raids. Its not worth doing the raids because the loot doesn't add to the kingly loot achievement. I would have rather had the loot stay the same for the raid. 17k for diving vs 34k for sailing to a sea fort means diving is not worth it unless you're in the Roar.

[@Mossy_Wx]

Personally idk how the heck rare decided that skelly fleets are easier than ghost fleets.

[@neixgd]

not easier but less time consuming. you can finish a skelly fleet much faster and its not even that hard

[@Mr.LegoGrievous]

A skelly fleet solo or duo is insanely easy. Ghost fleets are only easier if you’re on the larger ships in my opinion. Rare always considers smaller crews first.

[@roberthill6738]

​@Mr.Guybrush from my experience they're both super easy on a sloop. Ghost fleets you just gotta be a little more careful with because they can light you up if you position terribly.

[@proteuswest1084]

Clocks are not a difficulty indicator.

[@Mossy_Wx]

@@proteuswest1084 SoT states that the ghost fleet was a harder world event, and as a result it gives the best Scroll (merchant exclusive treasure)

[@michaelhoward1739]

When I do the lost shipment no loot spawns in the captains quarters

[@Nimoot]

Should you really be selling to the Sovereign if they take 15%? ... or do they only give you less Gold but you get the same Reputation as if you got the full amount from the different groups' vendor?

[@PhuzzyBond]

I'm not aware of sovereigns taking 15%. But the reputation you get is the same . The only difference is Hunters Call, sovereigns give you less Gold but still same reputation for selling fish.

[@BayconAddict]

i tried this so many times but whenever i open the door to the captain's quarters, there's no loot in there

[@moffettRL2727]

I still feel like spamming forts is the fastest to level

[@leuchtroboter745]

Can you make the same type of video for Athena?

[@awilchesss4538]

Just do veils man

[@PhuzzyBond]

Thursday

[@ILozzGallo]

what if you are not level 15 yet? I find that you can only activate one mission at a time for merchant alliance it is soo slow!

[@bradlujan6537]

Honestly? Probably be best to do other companies first, buy supplies and then sell them before you get off. It’ll give you rep as well as any other crates you might find in your endeavors, while also earning you gold because you are doing the other companies and passively getting merchants to 15 and then you can do the emmisary. Side note once per month you can buy a letter of recommendation from Larinna outside of taverns for doubloons that will earn you 1 rank up

[@DaveSwart]

7:55 - this is “new” right?? I haven’t grinded in years.

[@piotr78]

I certainly don't remember it being like that

[@John-Salad]

Lost shipment is the best way to lvl up merchant but since season 11. they nerf it somehow. usually 1 voyage is enough to get you to grade 5 (you need to visit every clue to get all the loots) Now, they barely get you to grade 3 or 4. My advice is to dive for skelly fort to get the scroll and get you to 3-ish THEN do lost shipment

[@dogborf7909]

Fort????? Fleet is 200 times faster and gives a scroll just as good

[@John-Salad]

@@dogborf7909 that's true, but I played mostly solo and not good with the game so fort is more managable to me

[@calebvelez2057]

Emissary grade increases were nerfed in general you used to be able to get grade 5 much faster

[@JoshMcB]

Buy the 5 different resource crates from the merchant for free emissary 2-and-a-bit before diving for the quest, should reach 5 easily in that case.

[@byfrax2371]

Imagine working full-time as delivery service then hop on sea of thieves to do the same 😂

[@mikehunt9884]

dont you need to be high level already in merchant just to do this kind of voyage? Im trying to rep up im like level 20 or something

[@PhuzzyBond]

Yes level 25

[@mikehunt9884]

@@PhuzzyBond damn i just made it to 25 gonna give this a try now

[@Boston599]

Can you do a video covering how to level Athena’s in the new season?

[@PhuzzyBond]

Thursday 🤗

[@zonal_hop1379]

how did u get that with hull

[@unifores]

Is reputation the same in solo mode?

[@mr.snawley]

Not even close. You can’t even get certain commendations in that mode. Not worth doing.

[@tjrock3]

Unfortunately, as far as I've seen, the crates of diamonds don't count for the treasure fit for a king. I turned it in and it didn't raise my commendation status

[@MrLOBO-od7lq]

Mmh i'm farming merchant, and i'm doing only skelly event or ghost ship event, that give 1 level and half , for skelly, and 2 level and half , for ghost ships, after each event, this is much more xp and faster then doing ashen shipment , ofc is not easy for everybody to do this on solo sloop but there is some tips for beginners

[@The420Jamaican]

There is never any loot in my lost shipment voyage, I stopped doing them

[@lieblingscesco]

We did the same and the ashen winds loot gives us a half lvl.. so its not worth it.. do a regular fort voyage instead :)

[@AhmedTaha-mm3ok]

whats that ship hull

[@olympusgod1410]

Thank you Phuzzy for your hard work and dedication. I'm sure Rare look at this and buff the progression which I hope doesn't happen. I don't thing we need the game to be easier. Plus with the video of the #1 lost shipment route. It's always been a favorite of mine.

[@Momo_224]

anyone know what ship haul he is using? is it goodboy or insider?

[@TheOneTrueLeo]

Shining Pegasus as far as I know

[@cachedcrusader5118]

Hi phuzzy xD

[@zebdawson3687]

So, I stopped doing lost shipments when they first came out because 70% of the time, the key straight up doesn’t spawn. I did three of them today and on two of them the key didn’t spawn, and on the third the shipwreck (exactly where it should be, as predicted by Phuzzy) was a regular shipwreck and not my lost shipment wreck with no other birds or wrecks anywhere along the path, so the key that DID spawn couldn’t be used. This has been an issue for years now and the sole reason I quit doing these voyages. Glad to see that hasn’t changed. 🙄 (For the record, imo, you’re far better off just doing raids and skipping this tedious bugged nonsense. Raids are WAY more fun and consistently spawn in the loot it’s supposed to have)

[@piotr78]

The key can be underneath the sand or inside a plant etc on islands. I haven't had issues with keys not appearing, the shipwreck not appearing has happened a lot though

[@borgthepig]

@@piotr78the shipwreck might not spawn because of interference like another crew close by, an existing shipwreck in the area, or an island. I hope they fix it but it might be a difficult bug to fix

[@piotr78]

@@borgthepigyea its been in the game for ages so either they don't care or its hard to fix, im gonna go with the latter :)

[@dropdeadfred718]

Since when did levels to above 50?

[@Lizzhm]

does anyone know what ship cosmetics hes using?

[@ReapersOwn]

I sail Solo, So I just use an Ammo crate. Can sit in the water and just shoot him or her!

[@kasetoast1012]

I did comodity with a level 5 Flag and It took me 3 Hours to reach naerly all outposts and I only made 150k Gold I think

[@jimbodee4043]

Sounds long winded and not worth it, but you survived.

[@midnightdoggo19]

I can't wait to try this out

[@chollie_6233]

yes you probably can

[@exile101]

I did ashen lord and got nothing but the skull ??

[@PhuzzyBond]

Items are very scattered around the area where you defeated him.

[@tuanlonghoang6183]

Help me! How to complete the commendation "Seeker of the Sea" :(( It's so hard

[@Kingggmann]

Why am I suppose to buy resource crates?

[@elliottdavid7405]

Can you do the order on next?

[@PhuzzyBond]

Tuesday 🤗

[@timbot87]

Did you already post the Gold hoarders video you mentioned in this video? I absolutely love your guides and they have REALLY helped me improve my Sea of Thieves experience. You and Jackie make some great content and I thank you for the literal hours and days you spent making this content for us! @@PhuzzyBond

[@4Dl3Rh0R5T]

Tried to get some progress on merchant today... it's annoying boring

[@Thomas_Davies128]

Tried doing this, first lost shipment, a brig stole my shipwreck. Second lost shipment a level 5 reaper dived into my server and chased me before I got to the shipwreck. Fuck my life.

[@SlyTown24]

Dam

[@shannonrobertson7527]

Shipwrecks that don’t bug give you level 5

[@kirancox6123]

I'm disappointed the ashen shipment voyages still dont give ashen merchant loot

[@mr.nugget3007]

Nice video but I think your underestimating solo players I did a fleet and completed it in 9 minutes and sold everything in 14 minutes and got a level and some change from it

[@mr.shreddergaming1940]

Dont skele Forts give a whole level and barely take over 10 minutes?

[@MrVictor1227]

Do the fastest way to level Athena🎉

[@PhuzzyBond]

Thursday 🤗