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How to get Lost Ark Pirate Coins and which ship to upgrade

Enough loot to swash all your buckles

You’ll need plenty of Lost Ark Pirate Coins once you hit the high seas in Smilegate’s MMO.

The swashbuckling currency replaces gold and silver with the island merchants, and you can also use it to upgrade your ships. Saving gold there means more of it to spend at the auction house, and upgraded ships get you where you need to go much faster than your starter ship.

How do you get more Pirate Coins in Lost Ark?

Lost Ark gives out Pirate Coins for completing special activities and regular quests around the islands. These include Marine Events – activities found under the Voyage tab that spawn at set times around the ocean – and Procyron’s Compass quests.

These Compass quests spawn randomly as limited time events, so it’s not the most reliable method of getting Pirate Coins. You have a chance of encountering Ghost Ships during Marine Events, and defeating them earns you bonus Pirate Coins. If you’re after a whole hoard, Marine Events are one of the best ways to get them.

Fishing may bring up a batch of Pirate Coins as well, though the chances of obtaining them are much lower.

More certain methods of getting Pirate Coins in Lost Ark include completing Una’s Tasks, Lost Ark’s dailies and weeklies in other words, and trading other currency to the Tea and Libra Guild Vessel.

What are Pirate Coins for in Lost Ark?

Pirate Coins have two main uses: using as currency with merchants and upgrading your ship. On the sea and the islands, merchants accept Pirate Coins in lieu of gold and silver, which means you can spend more of it back on land or at the Auction House. That’s good, since the Auction House is your best bet of obtaining high-ranking gear or accessories with stats beneficial to Engravings.

Lost Ark ship upgrades

A ship in Lost Ark, sailing towards the horizon.

You’ll unlock roughly half a dozen ships just by completing quests and raising your reputation around the islands. Each ship has a set of resistances to sea hazards. For example, White Wind is built to withstand sandstorms at sea, while Brahms has exceptionally high resistance to Siren Song.

You can spend Pirate Coins to upgrade your ship, though given the cost of materials, it’s usually best to just stick with one ship and upgrade it. The base one, Estoque, can carry you through the game, so focus your crew hiring and Timber buying on that one. You can spend Pirate Coins at the Tea and Libra Guild merchants to purchase materials if you run out.

If you're thinking about picking a new class in Lost Ark, our class tier list has the best ones to roll with. Check out our essential tips list as well so you don't have to make the same mistakes we did.

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Josh Broadwell

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