Skull and Bones: Everything You Need to Know About the December Closed Beta and 2024 Launch

Skull and Bones launches on February 16, 2024, bringing open-sea exploration and naval fight to Xbox Collection X|S gamers. For these keen to set sail throughout the huge Indian Ocean and get a style of the pirate life, you possibly can register now for a chance to play in the closed beta from December 15-18, 2023.

Your objective in Skull and Bones is to grow to be a pirate kingpin, amassing riches, a fearsome fleet of ships, and an notorious popularity alongside the means. Doing so, nevertheless, is less complicated mentioned than achieved. When the sport kicks off, you’ll be caught on the unsuitable facet of a devastating sea battle. Shipwrecked, you’ll collect what assets you possibly can to make your means to the pirate den of Sainte-Anne, the place your rags-to-riches story begins in earnest.

The very first thing you want to perceive about Skull and Bones is Infamy. Infamy is a measure of your development, and a pirate’s most necessary useful resource in Skull and Bones. It determines what contracts can be found to you, what ships you possibly can construct, what assets you possibly can harvest, what weapons you possibly can craft, and a lot extra. Doing absolutely anything in Skull and Bones will grant you Infamy, from searching crocodiles and smuggling rum to monitoring down bounties and unearthing hidden treasures.

Get to Know Sainte-Anne

If you would like to rule the seas, the first step is getting comfy on land. The pirate den of Sainte-Anne is the place you’ll purchase contracts, construct new ships, and purchase and promote your items. It’s additionally the place you’ll craft the weapons, attachments, and furnishings you’ll want to outfit your ships. You’ll additionally give you the option to get your pirate’s look simply the means you prefer it, handle your cargo to maximize revenue, restore your ships, and customise them with the proper instruments for the job at hand. Sainte-Anne can be the place you’ll meet John Scurlock, a pirate kingpin who will set you on missions to pursue the golden path of Skull and Bones (which is able to internet you the finest rewards and the most Infamy).

Seize some contracts and any accessible missions, pack in a couple of restore kits, and set sail! Your journeys will deliver you again to the pirate haven quickly sufficient, hopefully with extra cargo than once you left and not too many holes in your hull. Your actions on the open ocean will usually internet you invaluable loot, however in addition they come at the value of assets that you simply’ll want to replenish, like ammunition and restore kits. Upon your return to port, full your contracts, money in your loot, craft an improve, stash additional provides for later, tackle extra contracts, high off your survival assets, and head again out. That is Skull and Bones’ early gameplay loop, and it’s the way you’ll begin to construct Infamy and a reputation for your self.

Construct Your Fleet

After all, a pirate is nothing with out a ship, and your first correct vessel, the Bedar, will allow you to discover the Pink Isle, the space round Sainte-Anne the place hazard and alternative await. Earlier than you set sail, you’ll want to get your Bedar prepared to interact in Skull and Bones’ bread and butter: naval fight.  

All ships in Skull and Bones have weapon slots for the diversified cannons and different artillery you’ll unlock. The Bedar has three slots – one on the left, proper, and entrance of the ship (port, starboard, and bow respectively, for the nautically inclined). Finally you’ll unlock ships which have 4 attachment slots, which is able to enable you to add weapons to all 4 sides of a ship. Lots of your early contracts will give attention to sinking a sure variety of a selected ship kind or plundering settlements, so that you’ll want to be well-armed.

The beginning cannons are equal to the job early on, however quickly sufficient, you’ll need to specialize your armaments. Lengthy weapons are good for hitting targets from a (comparatively) safer distance and pinpointing enemy weak factors, whereas demi-cannons act as ship-mounted shotguns with a large, short-range space of impact. As you develop your fleet, extra unique weapons like bombards, torpedoes, sea hearth, and extra can dramatically alter the means you combat at sea. Equally, the armor plates you select in your ships boast totally different resistances. Metallic armor protects you from piercing injury, whereas wetted hides will defend you from fire-based assaults. When you’re having bother with a very troublesome combat, scout the enemy ships together with your spyglass to reveal what sort of injury they’re dealing and what they’re weak to, then return to the nearest pirate den to change your ship’s loadout to meet the problem.

As you search to improve your weapons, armor, or buff-granting furnishings, you’ll want to attain sure Infamy ranges and discover the correct blueprints, which can very nicely be positioned removed from Sainte-Anne. Fortunately, every vendor will make it clear what degree you want to be, and the place you’ll find the particular blueprint you’re in search of.

Sail With a Cutthroat Crew

Whereas contracts will provide you with devoted targets to full, there’s loads of alternative out on the open sea. Hunt service provider vessels, plunder settlements, commerce items, collect crafting assets, observe down blueprints, and uncover the map to see what else awaits you. You’ll usually encounter different gamers as you discover, and in Skull and Bones, you possibly can work together with them in two methods. The primary is by enjoying collectively in co-op: method their vessel or ship up a flare to name for assist, and you possibly can take part a celebration to tackle more durable challenges for higher loot. Teaming up is essential for harder targets, like timed world occasions. As the title suggests, these occasions expire if not accomplished rapidly. For instance, you could encounter a wealthy service provider convoy carrying uncommon and invaluable items, however their closely armored ships gained’t go down simply – and in case you don’t sink them earlier than they end their route, their rewards will probably be misplaced. Group up with close by gamers or buddies to take them down in a coordinated assault and reap the advantages.

Co-op can be useful for these pirates who hold an ear open for rumors and gossip at Sainte-Anne. Conversations you overhear would possibly lead you to a mysterious ghost ship that solely seems at night time, or a vicious sea monster. These occasions are a few of the hardest challenges Skull and Bones has to provide, however with the assist of a fleet of buddies, anybody can overcome even the supernatural.

When you’re feeling a bit extra cutthroat in your quest for riches, PvP challenges are additionally accessible. All you have got to do is discover a legendary treasure map. These will lead you to some extremely invaluable loot; the solely catch is that it’s going to mark your location for all close by gamers and enable them to assault you. In the event that they get the higher of you, they’ll steal your cargo and declare the legendary map’s treasure for themselves. With nice threat comes nice reward, and it’s up to you to resolve if you would like to chase the treasure, or hunt those that do.

Changing into a Kingpin

As your Infamy grows, so too does the world of Skull and Bones. Extra superior contracts will take you to far-flung corners of the Indian Ocean, and greater ships and higher weapons make sure you’ll give you the option to survive in these corners.

Infamy is available in tiers, and when you attain the Brigand tier, you’ll be a part of The Helm, a secret smuggling community, and unlock your individual pirate liar. At this level, you gained’t be finishing duties for others, however operating your individual operation as you purchase unique supplies and refine them into unlawful items to promote on the black market. Improve The Helm, seize key territories, and develop your operation to keep in enterprise and dominate the seas.  

Play Your Means

Finally, the way you play Skull and Bones is up to you. Will you journey on the on the excessive seas alone in the hunt for treasure? Will you band along with a gaggle of buddies to wage naval warfare and hunt different gamers? Will you chase down each blueprint and hidden secret throughout the Indian Ocean? And maybe most significantly, will you have got a pet lemur or a pet cat on board your ship? There’s no unsuitable means to play Skull and Bones, so prepare to grow to be a pirate Kingpin when the sport launches on February 16, 2024, and you possibly can stand up to three days of early entry by pre-ordering the Premium Edition now on the Microsoft Store for Xbox.