Be a Pirate Progression Guide: Milestone Order After the First Session

Quick answer

After the tutorial, captain progression in Be a Pirate runs on one engine: loot islands for chests, open them at the Treasure Broker, and reinvest every coin at the Shipwright — into the next ship and into your hull's speed, health and cannons. Cross the seas in order as your power grows, and set your sights on the Ironclad at the top of the 24-ship ladder.

• Coins are what move you between milestones: chests and sunken enemy boats are the earners.
• Claim Daily Rewards every day you play — the Week 1 streak climbs from $1,600 on Day 1 to a $7,800 jackpot on Day 7.
• In a starter ship, avoid the kraken's waters and never shoot the sharks.
• The first session's chain — first ship, first chest, first purchase, first sink — is the template you repeat at full scale.

Where the first session leaves you

The tutorial is a straight line of objectives, and every step hands you a tool the later milestones run on:

1. Swim to shore and talk to Old Finn on Starter Island. The RAFT UNLOCKED! banner fires, a LEVEL UP! grants +4 Health and +2% Strength at Lv 2, and the next objective becomes SAIL TO THE SMALL ISLAND.
2. Take the helm — Sail, Brake / Reverse, Steer, Leave the helm — and follow the destination marker to the Small Island.
3. Pick up the chest under CARRY IT TO YOUR RAFT and board to stow it (the hold shows Stored in Hold: 1/2), then sail back under RETURN TO STARTER PORT.
4. Open the chest at the Treasure Broker, the shop next to the WELCOME TO STARTER PORT sign. Goldtooth Gus opens it and pays coins plus a starter weapon; payouts vary from run to run — one playthrough showed a $279 balance after a second chest, another paid coins plus a pocket pistol.
5. Buy the Dinghy at the Shipwright. The banner reads DINGHY UNLOCKED! Faster, sturdier and more cargo space! — then pass the FITTING A SWIVEL GUN exercise by destroying 3 targets with Q Fire Left and E Fire right.
6. Sink your first pirate. A Pirate Rowboat - Lv1 appears under SINK THE PIRATE BOAT! and it shoots back; sinking it rewards loot and a level-up.

From here the game stops handing you objectives and hands you the loop instead.

The loop that moves every milestone

The chest loop

1. 01

   Sail to an island

   Short trips first: close islands and smaller targets are the safe starting picks until your hull grows.

2. 02

   Dig up a chest

   Shovel spots hide wooden and pirate chests; chests that belong to other players cannot be taken.

3. 03

   Carry and stow it

   Haul the chest aboard your boat and let the hold store it.

4. 04

   Open it at the Treasure Broker

   Back at Starter Port, Goldtooth Gus opens the chest for coins — payouts vary by chest.

5. 05

   Reinvest every coin

   Put it all back to work at the Shipwright: the next ship unlock, or speed, health and cannon upgrades on your current hull.

A better ship carries more chests per run and handles rougher water, so the loop scales with it — sail, dig, sell, reinvest, repeat.

That loop is the whole economy: sail out, dig up chests, haul them back, open them at the broker — that is how money gets made in Be a Pirate. Two extras pad the same trip: clams can be collected and sold, and when the hold fills up the cargo hold guide covers what to do. For dig spots and payouts, the treasure locations and selling guide pages go deeper.

Where the coins go: the ship ladder

The long-term arc runs across eight seas and 24 ships — blast enemy ships, survive the Kraken, defeat epic bosses, dig up legendary treasure — and the way you climb it is reinvestment: keep putting every coin into the next ship unlock, and upgrade your current ship's speed, health and cannons between purchases.

The Shipwright's catalog shows where the ladder tops out. The Ironclad is called "the most overpowered boat in the game," and its sheet backs the talk up:

Your Dinghy is nowhere close — and does not need to be. It is the first rung, not the last. The how to get ships guide covers where and what to buy, and the ship upgrades guide covers what each upgrade improves.

Which seas and fights to take, in order

Move through the seas in order so each new area matches your current power level, and pick fights by the same logic: weaker enemy ships first, building strength safely before challenging larger targets. Sinking other players' boats yields their loot, so every win funds the next one — and the tutorial's Lv 1 rowboat already showed the catch: targets shoot back.

Save the sea monsters for later. Kraken and boss events are later goals to prepare for by upgrading defenses and bringing enough health. In a starter ship, two hazards can end a run on the spot:

• When a giant black tentacle rises near your route, the objective switches to HEAD BACK TO PORT — follow it out of there.
• Do not shoot the sharks; shooting them can completely destroy your boat.

The combat guide covers ship fights in detail, the kraken guide covers spotting and escaping the tentacle, and the sailing guide refreshes helm handling before a longer voyage.

Free coins between sessions

Two claims fund the ladder without sailing. The DAILY REWARDS panel — "Sail in every day - the loot grows with your streak!" — pays the Week 1 streak in seven daily claims:

Data table

Day

Day 1

Reward

$1,600 + 10 planks

Day

Day 2

Reward

$2,200 + a Common Map

Day

Day 3

Reward

$2,800

Day

Day 4

Reward

$3,400

Day

Day 5

Reward

$4,000

Day

Day 6

Reward

$4,400

Day

Day 7

Reward

$7,800 jackpot

Data table

Day	Reward
Day 1	$1,600 + 10 planks
Day 2	$2,200 + a Common Map
Day 3	$2,800
Day 4	$3,400
Day 5	$4,000
Day 6	$4,400
Day 7	$7,800 jackpot

Claiming requires logging in each day: the claim button counts down between claims (shown as NEXT IN 19h 59m). Claim the free pirate-pass rewards on the same visit, and glance at the codes page — any active codes feed the same pot.

Level-ups ride along too: the tutorial already paid +4 Health and +2% Strength at Lv 2, and sinking boats grants more level-ups on the way up. The experience guide breaks down EXP, and the companions guide covers recruiting crew — worth a look once ships with 36-crew capacity like the Ironclad come into view. If you want this ladder compressed into a fastest-route plan, pair it with how to progress fast.