Skull and Bones – Naval Combat Tips for Dominating the High Seas

After many years of development and countless delays, Skull and Bones has finally arrived, and if you want to rise through the pirate ranks, you’ll need to brush up on your naval combat. Ship battles in Skull and Bones are a bit different compared to earlier Ubisoft games like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but don’t worry, we have some tips that should turn your into a terror of the high seas in no time…

Don't come unprepared

Success in battle begins before you even sail out of port. Before you go looking for a fight, make sure your ship is equipped with your best weapons, you have a good, strong hull, and you have plenty of consumable items with you. Repair kits will heal your ship in the heat of battle and grilled and cooked foods will keep you stamina high and confer various buffs, so it’s good to have a supply of both.

Consider your positioning

Most ships in Skull and Bones can be equipped with weapons on the bow (front), left and right sides, and stern (back) and whatever part of your boat is facing your opponent will automatically determine what weapon you can use. So, for instance, if you have torpedoes equipped to your bow, you’re going to want to be facing toward your opponent if you want to use them.

Of course, it’s also generally a good idea not to leave your broadside open to your opponent for too long, as it leaves you open to attack. Take runs at your opponent, taking shots at them with the weapons on your ship’s bow, pass them, damaging them with your broadside weapons, then hit ‘em with the weapon on your stern as you pass. Always be thinking where you are in relation to your enemy and what weapon you have available to hurt them with.

Change your speed as needed

You initial instinct may be to keep your ship moving at top speed so you can run circles around your opponent, but this isn’t always the best choice. Going fast means you're less maneuverable and able to take sharp turns, so sometimes it’s best to take in some of your sails with the B/Circle button and slow down. In fact, if you’re in a good position to batter your opponent, sometimes it’s best to entirely stop and take advantage of the situation.

Aim for the red to make 'em dead

Not whittling down an opponent’s life bar fast enough? Every ship you face will have certain parts marked in red – aim for these to score some nice bonus damage.

Give your cannons a rest and ram your opponent

As long as you’ve got a decently-strong hull, sometimes your best move it to forget the cannons and just ram your ship into your opponent, which can do quite a bit of damage, usually without hurting you much.

Don't forget to brace yourself

This may seem a bit arcade-y, but Skull and Bones essentially has a “block” button. By pushing the right shoulder button you can “brace” yourself, which reduces the damage you can take. Bracing requires stamina, but you can still use it pretty freely, so go ahead and spam it.

Finish things early by boarding

Are you in the middle of a particularly tough battle that’s really come down to the wire? Well, if you’ve managed to get your opponent’s life bar low enough, you can end things early by boarding them. Just get close to them, waiting for the boarding prompt, then push Y/triangle. Successfully boarding your opponent immediately ends the fight and even nets you some bonus swag, so it’s always worth attempting!

There's no shame in asking for help

You’re not playing alone in Skull and Bones – up to 19 other players are on the server with you doing their own thing at any one time. This might not work so well when just fighting a random ship out on the sea, but if you’re plundering a settlement or engaging in a world event boss, highlight it on your map or identify it with your telescope then request help. This will send out an SOS and maybe somebody will come and give you a hand. It’s not guaranteed, but it doesn’t hurt to ask, now does it?

And there you go, a few tips that should help you send plenty of souls to Davy Jones’ locker.

Skull and Bones can be played on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. You can check out Wccftech’s other Skull and Bones guides here.

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