The Smugglers’ League is looking for brave pirates to covertly transport their dangerous, fragile, and highly valuable goods along the Smugglers’ Route, one of the most treacherous shipping lanes in the Sea of Thieves!
As you’ll have to contend with other smugglers, overly aggressive Skeleton Ships, and feisty Phantoms looking to snatch your cargo along the way, you can expect a large payout for successful deliveries!
What is the Smugglers' Route Run Voyage?
The Smugglers’ Route Run is a single-chapter Smugglers’ League Voyage that will have you delivering three pieces of high-value treasure between two large islands. However, the two islands are not just any islands; they are on the Smugglers’ Route.
As every crew sailing the sea knows the Smugglers’ Route, you can expect to encounter plenty of other pirates attempting to sell their treasure or steal yours.
You’ll also need to watch out for Skeleton Ships patrolling the route, trying to intercept you for the treasure.
There is no time limit to completing the Voyage, so you can take your time delivering the treasure. You also can only embark on the Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage in the High Seas.
The Smugglers' Route
The Smugglers’ Route is a treacherous, high-visibility pathway between two Smuggler Hideouts in the Sea of Thieves. Unlike the Merchant Alliance Trade Routes, you can always see the Smugglers’ Route on your Map Table by looking for a dashed gold line between two large islands.
Since the Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage will have you delivering cargo on the Smugglers’ Route, the two islands that you must transport treasure between will always be the same for every crew.
The Smugglers’ Route only changes once every Season, so you will quickly remember where the route runs.
How do you start the Smugglers' Route Run Voyage?
To start the Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage, go to your Quest Table, choose Voyages, and then select the Smugglers’ League. Under Smugglers’ Runs, you’ll see Smugglers’ Route Run. You must have completed one of the other Trading Company Tutorial Voyages to start it.
Smugglers' Route Run: Step by Step
Step 1: Start the Voyage
Vote on the Voyage from your Quest Table to start the Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage. You can either Sail or Dive to the Voyage.
Once you’ve voted for and started the Smugglers’ Route Run Voyage, you will receive one Quest. You can open the Quest from your Quest Radial.
Once you have the Quest equipped, you will see the silhouette of a large island, map coordinates, and the name of the Smugglers’ League Representative you meet with. Using the silhouette and map coordinates, you can decipher which island the Quest is directing you to.
Step 2: Collect Smugglers' League treasure
Once you arrive at the island, it’s time to locate the Smugglers’ League Hideout to collect the treasure from the Smugglers’ League Representative. All of the Hideouts are in prominent caves on their respective islands.
You’ll find the Smugglers’ League representatives in their Hideouts at the following locations:
- Lottie in the Southern cave in the middle of Crescent Isle
- Solomon at the back of the cave in the middle of Smugglers’ Bay
- Wei-Lin in the cave to the South of Plunder Valley
- Ix in the Northern cave of Crook’s Hallow
- Kidir in the Southern cave by the beach on Old Faithful Isle
- Leander in the cave below the Southern peak on The Crooked Masts
No matter the island, you’ll need to contend with traps near the entrances of the Hideout as well as Phantoms trying to take the treasure for themselves!
The traps you’ll need to watch for are barely visible wooden pressure plates on the ground. Stepping on any one of them will trigger the traps.
As for the Phantoms, the only real threat they pose is if they destroy any of the treasure. You’ll want to dispatch of any as they show up so they don’t damage your cargo.
Once you make it into the Hideout, you can collect three pieces of treasure from the representative. You can expect to collect a Black Powder Barrel, Refined Painting, and Crate of Dark Remise Rum.
Step 3: Deliver Smugglers' League treasure
Now that you have the treasure, take it to your ship and prepare to sail to the other island on the Smugglers’ Route. Inspecting any one of the pieces of treasure will also inform you of where you need to take the treasure.
As you sail the Smugglers’ Route to the island you must deliver to, you will encounter Skeleton Ships trying to sink you for your loot. You can scuttle them as fast as you can or try to evade them on your way to the island. You’ll want to be mindful of their Cannonballs as they can damage the Crate of Rum and even detonate the Black Powder Barrel.
If you sink a Skeleton Ship along the route, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stop and see what loot it rewards you with. You can expect to find even more Smugglers’ League treasure to turn in.
Once you reach the island, you’ll need to deliver the Smugglers’ League treasures to the Smugglers’ League representative in the Hideout waiting for you. You’ll need to take care of or avoid more Phantoms trying to stop you along the way.
As soon as you sell all three pieces of treasure, you will complete the Voyage.
Completing three Smugglers’ Route Run Voyages will complete the Smugglers’ Route Runner Commendation and unlock the Black Powder Barrel Disguise.
