Season 11 changes to Merchant Contracts

[Garbl]

With the new changes to finding voyages no longer appearing in barrels on an outpost but more so in the random bottles found floating in the ocean or found on a beach (and the small pink books resting randomly on islands) I've noticed that it's far less likely to get the voyages where we deliver Fruit Crates, Cannonball Crates, Planks and Kegs.

Obviously they aren't there for making gold like the new voyages are but for those of us that are completionists it is a bit annoying to no longer be able to progress on the Merchant Alliance commendations as reliably as before, speaking specifically about:

Merchant Forager
Merchant Shipwright
Cast Iron Merchant
Black Powder Merchant

Could it be that I'm just unlucky even though I collect every bottle (and book) in sight or has others also experienced this?

[Keyrala]

I think you have to ask for the delivery mission from the table and cancel it until you get the one you want.

[Garbl]

That only gives you delivering crates (cloth/bottles/plants) but not the contracts. Even in previous seasons the voyages I'm talking about where from randomly finding them in barrels, bottles and books. My issue if that they've become ridiculously rare now, at least for me.

[Maluno]

They could only be gotten from scrolls inside barrels or messages in a bottle (floating or on shorelines). The 'griding method' consisted of checking all barrels in an outpost, and voting to scuttle+change seas, ad nauseum, until you found the ones you needed.

Assuming the rates of shoreline bottles appearing hasn't been increased, it's fair to assume it's much rarer now. I did find 2 on the same day in a multi-hours gold hoarder medley, having told every one on the galleon to look for those bottles, but I can't determine if it was just RNGesus smiling upon me that day or what.

The new way of farming I suppose would be to scout the shorelines of islands that have long or mutliple ones (like say sharkbait cove), then scuttle+change if you find nothing.