The Skull and Bones Open Beta has landed. If you haven’t tried it out yet and are wondering how to get into it, remember you only have a couple of days on free play until it disappears over the horizon until launch day. Check out all the information you need to maximize your time with the open beta and get downloading.

Skull and Bones is mainly set at sea, therefore you are going to need a ship. As you might imagine you are going to start off with little more than a plank of wood and a bedding sheet for a sail (well not quite, but luxury is some way off).

So let’s have a look at your starting vessel choices (you don’t have any), especially with the Open Beta in mind, and see what kinds of ships you can work your way up to as you increase your Infamy levels and become one of those cool pirates that they make movies about. Ubisoft says we will get 10 craftable ships and launch, and doubtless, there will be additions as the year progresses.

Sailing in a Dhow in Skull and Bones

Every ship in Skull and Bones at launch

This handy table shows you every vessel in the game at launch and cross-references its type with its perk, so you don’t have to!

Ship Classes Description Perk
Extra Small Dhow: A small vessel originally built to hunt wildlife along rivers and coastlines. Hunter: Preserves wildlife materials from hunting
Small Bedar: A small maneuverable ship that can ram targets and cause flooding damage. Lancer: Increases damage from ramming by 25%. Reduces slowing effect of torn sails by 50%. Applies flooded effect to an enemy ship upon ramming.
Hulk: More durable and capable of taking sustained damage, this ship specializes in bracing against incoming fire. Ironclad: Reduces Brace Strength depletion by 20% when hit. Increases Brace Strength by 250% and Brace Strength Recovery by 20%.
Cutter: A ship capable of supporting other ships in the thick of combat. Unburden: Restores severe damage by 1% and hull health by 0.5% per second. Restores hull health of all friendly ships in a 100m radius by 1% per second. Restores 60% more hull health on a friendly ship while using a repair weapon.
Barge: A ship specialized in dealing fire and burning damage, before spreading the chaos to nearby ships. Wildfire: Applying the ablaze effect to a ship will apply the same effect to all enemies in a radius of 125m. Increase weapon damage by 10%. Burning damage increases ablaze charge speed by 50%.
Sloop: With the right weapons equipped, this ship is able to stand toe-to-toe with multiple enemies. Outburst: Explosive hits have a 50% chance of triggering an explosion, which deals 1500 damage within a black radius of 150m. Increases damage to structures by 20%. Increases explosive damage by 15%.
Medium Padewakang: A larger ship capable of taking on multiple enemies when properly equipped. Detonate: Explosive hits have a 70% chance (increases to 100% if the ship is already ablaze) of triggering an explosion, which deals damage within a 125m radius.
Snow: A ship with increased durability and holding its ground in a fight. It specializes in bracing against incoming fire and provides resistance against the elements. Tenacity: Recovers Brace Strength by 4% per second while bracing. Increases Brace Strength by 50% and Brace Strength Recovery by 150%.
Brigantine: A swift ship that is able to ram singular targets and cause flooding damage. Bullhorn: Increases damage from ramming by 45%. Reduces the duration of torn sails effect by 80%. Applies flooded to an enemy ship upon ramming.
Sambuk: A ship specialized in dishing out fire damage and burning its targets. It is also able to target multiple enemies in close proximity. Scorched: Deals 5000 burning damage when you apply the ablaze effect to an enemy ship. Ablaze will be applied to enemies in a radius of 150m. Increases damage to ships that are ablaze by 30%.
Non Playable Ships
Brig
Ghanjah
Corvette
Frigate
Unnamed Ship

Paul McNally

Gaming Editor

Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title published by IDG Media. Having spent time as Head of Communications at a professional sports club and working for high-profile charities such as the National Literacy Trust, he returned as Managing Editor in charge of large US-based technology websites in 2020. Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows. He is obsessed with 3D printing and has worked with several major brands in the past to create content Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm. Reach out on X.