The Smugglers’ League is attempting to swipe one of Captain Flameheart’s prized paintings for their mysterious client. Unfortunately, Flameheart has locked the painting away, along with the rest of his private collection, inside the heavily guarded Royal Crest Fortress.
To ensure the Smugglers’ League can complete this high-stakes heist for their client, they are offering a generous payout to the first crew that successfully breaks into the fortress, steals the painting, and delivers it to one of their Representatives!
What is The Smugglers' Heist Voyage?
The Smugglers’ Heist is a multi-chapter Competitive Voyage available to all pirates sailing the High Seas. During the Voyage, you’ll challenge other crews in a race to steal a high-value painting from Royal Crest Fortress and deliver it to the Smugglers’ League.
The race for the painting takes place over three distinct Chapters and their respective Quests. During the first Chapter, you will collect the Royal Crest Fortress Key from the Smugglers’ League. Then, during the second Chapter, you will use that key to break into Royal Crest Fortress and search for a particular Collector’s Painting, referred to as the Target Painting. Finally, during the third Chapter, you will fight to deliver the painting to a specific Smugglers’ League Representative.
Unlike other Voyages, where each crew has its own Quests that no one else can see, every crew that starts the Smugglers’ Heist Voyage will share the same Quests and progress the Voyage collectively.
So, if another crew completes the first Chapter by collecting the Royal Crest Fortress Key, you can try to intercept the key or head straight to the fortress and wait for the key to arrive so you can work on completing the second Chapter.
Since The Smugglers’ Heist Voyage occurs on the High Seas, your ship can sink multiple times without you forfeiting the Voyage. You can also encounter other crews not participating in the Voyage that might get in your way.
There is only one piece of treasure, a high-value Collector’s Painting, that the Smugglers’ League requires, so only one crew can deliver the painting and claim victory!
How do you start the Smugglers' Heist Voyage?
You can only start The Smugglers’ Heist Voyage when it becomes active on your server. Like World Events, the Voyage is on a timed schedule, and you’ll need to wait for it to activate.
However, the Voyage is on a different schedule than the World Events, so, for example, a Skeleton Fleet World Event and the Smugglers’ Heist Voyage can be active at the same time.
When the Smugglers’ Heist Voyage becomes active, a note from the Smugglers’ League will appear on your ship’s main mast. The same note will also appear on every other crew’s main mast.
Interact with the note to accept The Smugglers’ Heist Voyage! If you don’t want to participate in the Voyage, you can ignore the note or interact with it to cancel the Voyage. Cancelling the Voyage will remove the note from your ship’s main mast. Nevertheless, even though you canceled the Voyage, it will still occur for everyone else!
The Skull of Siren Song Voyage
As The Skull of Siren Song Voyage is still active, you might see a ghostly note from Captain Briggsy on your main mast instead. However, you can cancel The Skull of Siren Song Voyage by interacting with Captain Briggsy’s Note and then wait for the Smugglers’ Heist Note to appear.
Smugglers' Heist: Step by Step
Step 1: Start the Voyage
To start The Smugglers’ Heist Voyage, interact with the Smugglers’ Heist Note and choose the dialogue option, “Accept Quest.”
Once your crew accepts to start the Voyage, you will receive one Quest, the same Quest as every other crew, that you can open from your Quest Radial.
As you can enter the Voyage at a later Chapter, your Quest could tell you to go straight to Royal Crest Fortress to steal the painting. However, if the Voyage has just started, your Quest will direct you to collect the Royal Crest Fortress Key!
Step 2: Collect the Key
Equip your Quest to find the silhouette of a key and directions to collect that key from a specific Smugglers’ League Representative on their respective island. You will use the Royal Crest Fortress Key to open the fortress and search for the painting.
The directions to the key will be the same for every other crew embarking on the Voyage, so you’ll need to watch out for other crews heading to the island.
If you are the first one to accept the Smugglers’ Heist Voyage, the key will be with a nearby Smugglers’ League Representative. However, if the key is with a Smugglers’ League Representative on the other side of the map, you’ll know someone else is on the Voyage attempting to steal the painting.
All crews on the Voyage will receive a notification when a crew has collected the key. If you see the notification, you can decide to head straight to Royal Crest Fortress and wait for the crew with the key to arrive. Or, you can try to intercept the crew with the key at sea. The key has a unique orange and gray marker on the Map Table that every crew on the Voyage can track.
Every crew will also advance to the second Chapter and receive the second Quest, which contains the name of the Collector’s Painting you are trying to steal.
Step 3: Open the Sea Fort
As you approach Royal Crest Fortress, you’ll need to watch out for incoming Cannonballs just like other active Sea Forts. Dock nearby to stop the barrage of cannon fire and hop off onto the Sea Fort.
You will find several Obsidian Skeletons that you’ll want to get rid of on your way to the main door. Defeating all of the Obsidian Skeletons outside the fortress will cause the Storeroom Keeper to appear. Upon defeat, the Storeroom Keeper will drop the Storeroom Key that you can use to open up the Storeroom on top of the Sea Fort.
While the painting is not inside the Storeroom, you will find a Horn of Fair Winds, an Obsidian Ashen Winds Skull, Bone Callers, Firebombs, and a Cannon of Rage that you can use later for your escape!
Once you unlock and open the main door to the Royal Crest Fortress, head inside to start looking for the painting. However, you won’t get very far as you will quickly encounter locked doors blocking most of your access to the fortress.
Step 4: Steal the Painting
While you can find a couple of paintings in the immediately opened areas of the Sea Fort, you will likely need to unlock each of the doors and search the areas behind them to find the Target Painting.
To start unlocking the doors, you must defeat the crew of Obsidian Skeletons and the Stronghold Keeper inside the Sea Fort. The Stronghold Keeper is an Obsidian Skeleton Captain, identified by a nameplate above its head. More importantly, defeating a Stronghold Keeper will drop a Stronghold Key that you can use to open any one of the several locked doors inside the fortress.
Each time you unlock and open a door, another crew of Obsidian Skeletons and a Stronghold Keeper will emerge, allowing you to acquire another Stronghold Key to open another door.
You could get lucky and discover the Target Painting in the first area you unlock. Or, you might need to unlock every door to find it.
The areas you can unlock are the dining area, the basement, the Fortress Treasury, and the Prison Cell. You’ll want to search the ground and walls in each space for the Target Painting.
If the Quest says you need to collect the Collector’s ‘Scourge of the Seas,’ you must find and collect the painting with that name. The interaction prompt that appears when you get close enough to a painting reveals its name.
Approach each painting to read its name and discover if it is the one you are looking for.
You can always equip your Quest again to read the name of the Collector’s Painting if you forget during your search.
Servant's Journal
If you can find a moment of peace between the mad blitz to steal the panting, you will want to read the Servant’s Journal on the third floor of the Sea Fort. You can find it by a small shrine dedicated to Captain Flameheart. Reading the journal will complete the Reaper’s Revelations Commendation.
Target Painting
Once you’ve found the specific painting, you can remove it from the wall and begin to make your getaway. You will start the third Chapter and receive another Quest telling you which island and Smugglers’ League Representative you must sell the painting to. You cannot sell it to any Representative. It must be the one mentioned on the Quest.
You can find each Smugglers’ League Representative on the following islands:
- Sea-Cloak Solomon on Smugglers’ Bay
- Low-Tide Lottie on Crescent Isle
- Starbright Ix on Crook’s Hollow
- Wily Wei-Lin on Plunder Valley
- Bloodwake Kidir on Old Faithful Isle
- Little Lord Leander on The Crooked Masts
Keep in mind that as soon as you pick up the painting, everyone taking part in the Voyage will receive a notification that you found it. Every crew will also start the third Chapter and receive the same Quest, which includes directions to the Smugglers’ League Representative, providing an opportunity for an ambush.
Not only will everyone know where you are trying to take the painting, but they can also track the painting on the Map Table!
The Target Painting has a unique marker on the Map Table for everyone taking part in the Voyage to follow. However, unlike most items with markers on the Map Table, the Target Painting’s marker is hidden when someone holds it or it is on a ship.
As long as you hold it or have it aboard your ship, you can conceal the marker, preventing other crews from easily discovering who escaped with the painting. However, if you are swimming away with the painting and need to stop to eat some food, you could give away your position to pirates keeping a keen eye on their Map Table.
Step 5: Deliver the Painting
Now that you have the painting, it’s time to make your escape and deliver it to the Smugglers’ League Representative mentioned in the Quest. Remember, everyone knows where you are heading, so be on the lookout for anyone trying to intercept you!
If you can spare the time, you’ll also want to grab another Collector’s Painting to sell. Selling one of the other pieces from Flameheart’s collection will complete a Deed needed to unlock the Royal Crest Fortress Blueprints Trinket.
If your ship has sunk and you don’t want to swim for it, you could take a Reaper Rowboat from the basement for a swift getaway.
While sailing away with the painting on your ship, you’ll have to repel the waves of boarding Ocean Crawlers, making your trip even more perilous. The Sunken Kingdom also wants to get its hands on this painting!
While on a pirate’s ship, the Target Painting will cause hostile Ocean Crawlers to appear. The number of Ocean Crawlers you’ll need to contend with depends on your crew size.
Defeat any Ocean Crawlers or pirates who board your ship and sail toward the island with the Smugglers’ League Representative.
As soon as you deliver the painting to the Smuggler’s League, you will complete the Voyage and end it for everyone else taking part. You’ll also receive a grand 175,000 Gold for selling the Target Painting and a hefty amount of Guild Reputation. If another crew sells the painting, you will still receive credit for participating and complete the related Deed for Act 2.
