Skull and Bones leak suggests you can’t avoid PvP

It's no longer optional.

A pirate ship ramming another ship in Skull and Bones
Image via Ubisoft

Skull and Bones is finally set to release on Feb. 16, 2024. For those wondering what the game will be like, fresh leaks on Dec. 10 shed a bit of light on the way too long-awaited pirate adventure.

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In a Reddit thread on Dec. 10, poster Shaolinfantastic864 claimed to reveal information from the Skull and Bones inside test, including multiple details regarding the current state of the game, its content and activities. According to the player, one of the major red flags currently in the game is that “a lot of PVE needed equipment comes from pvp only events.”

They added that the best cannons are locked behind PvP, making it mandatory for every player who wants to progress. This could be a massive turn-off for players looking for a relaxing PvE experience, as you may inevitably find yourself foced into PvP to get the best loot. And those who don’t enjoy PvP, well… better luck next time.

Pirate ships chasing each other in the open sea
PvP can be fun, but when it’s forced. Image via Ubisoft

The poster also claims PvP is unavoidable in the endgame. According to this leak, part of the endgame content is taking control of ports in the map’s regions to generate currency and resources. While there are PvE and PvP options, unfortunately, the PvE option apparently unlocks significantly fewer ports than the PvP one. “If you are anti pvp, you are limited in unlocking the rest,” the insider concluded, saying that you could technically avoid the PvP option, but then you’ll have three ports unlocked while others will have 22.

On the positive side, some of this seemingly forced PvP might change prior to the game’s release. According to the leaker, the crafting recipe for the best cannons says it can be obtained from the endgame ports discussed above. And since ports have PvE options, players could still get the best loot without playing PvP. Keep in mind this is not confirmed, and we’ll have to wait until release of the game or later playtests to see how PvE and PvP work in Skull and Bones.

So far, Skull and Bones sounds lackluster. Although the player who shared the leaks highlighted there are genuinely fun things in the game, like the bosses in the endgame content, they claim the content itself is repetitive, and there are far too many issues. With only months left until the game is supposed to launch it’s unlikely there will be any major changes. 

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Edward Strazd
Freelance News and SEO Writer for Dot Esports, covering everything from live service games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite to new releases. Writing about games since 2021. When he's not writing, he's probably grinding for loot in Destiny 2.