Sea of Thieves currently removes gold from the economy only through cosmetics, supplies, and ship purchases - none of which scale with player wealth. As a result, long‑term players accumulate vast amounts of gold with no meaningful sinks, leading to ultra‑rich pirates and a devalued currency. To address this, the game needs natural, repeatable, and immersive ways for gold to leave the economy. A salvage system tied to ship value provides a gold sink that scales automatically with player wealth while leaving new players untouched.
⚓ Proposal: Wealth‑Scaled Ship Salvage System
Introduce a salvage mechanic that allows crews to recover their sunken ship at a cost proportional to the ship’s total value. This creates a progressive gold sink that grows with cosmetic investment and player experience.
⚓ Ship Salvage Options
After sinking, the Captain choose how to respawn:
a. Free Respawn at a random island | Default ship | Default supplies | No cost
b. Salvage to at random island | Cosmetic damage | Default supplies | Lowest salvage cost
b. Salvage to Nearest Seapost | Cosmetic damage | 50% of supplies recovered (no cursed items) | Low salvage cost
c. Salvage to K9 Sea Dog's Tavern or Reaper’s Hideout | Cosmetic damage | Default supplies | Requires Legendary or Reaper's Level 100 for Reaper’s Hideout | Higher salvage cost
d. Salvage to Nearest Outpost | Cosmetic damage | Default supplies | Convenient resupply location | Highest salvage cost
⚓ Salvage Cost Formula
When a ship sinks, the captain may choose to salvage it rather than accept the free respawn.
Salvaging restores the ship’s cosmetics, trinkets, and identity at a cost that scales with its total value.
Salvaging does not restore damage.
The salvage cost is calculated from:
- 80% of the base ship value (sloop, brigantine, galleon)
- 50% of the value of applied cosmetics (hull, sails, wheel, cannons, capstan, figurehead, etc.)
- 5% of the value of placed trinkets and cabin decorations
Respawn location premiums:
- 10,000 — Island
- 20,000 — Seapost
- 50,000 — K9 or Reaper’s Hideout
- 100,000 — Outpost
This creates a progressive, wealth‑scaled gold sink: the more valuable the ship loadout, the more expensive it is to recover.
⚓ Ship Status After Sinking
If a crew does not pay for salvage:
- The ship remains sunken and cannot be sailed until salvaged (via a Shipwright or the Captained Ships menu).
- All cosmetics applied to that ship become locked to the sunken vessel.
- These cosmetics cannot be applied to another ship until the original ship is salvaged.
The free respawn option still exists, but without access to the captained ship.
This preserves the current gameplay loop for new players while giving veteran captains meaningful economic decisions.
Low gold players can salvage their sunk captained ship by accumulating gold sailing a chartered ship.
⚓ Salvage Experience & World Interaction
Until the captain salvages the ship, the crew respawns on the nearest island with a rowboat.
They may row back into the action or mermaid to their ship when it is available.
Salvaged ships rise from the water near the Shipwright or Seapost, not docked.
Sails are raised and the ship is anchored.
A horn sounds in the area to signal that a salvage is occurring, giving nearby crews time to clear out, make friends, or contest the recovery.
⚓ Impact
Creates a repeatable, meaningful gold sink that scales with player wealth.
Adds strategic decision‑making after sinking, especially in PvP or emissary play.
Makes ship loss matter in new ways without punishing new players.
High‑level players naturally burn gold during PvP‑heavy sessions.
Cosmetic inflation becomes self‑balancing as salvage costs rise with cosmetic value.
⚓ Lore‑Friendly Justification
Shipwrights charge more to recover and restore ships built with rare materials, ornate decorations, and premium craftsmanship.
A fancy ship costs more to salvage.
This system functions similarly to insurance in Elite Dangerous: The more valuable your ship loadout, the more expensive it is to recover.
