For any newcomers just starting their pirating career in the open-world naval warfare game Skull and Bones, the early game can seem both exciting yet daunting. With enemy ships of all sizes patrolling the busy trade routes of the West Indies, where does an ambitious but inexperienced captain even begin? What vessel should greenhorns choose to help them establish a foothold in this treacherous yet lucrative digital Caribbean?
The Sentinel – One of the First and Best Ships to Get Early in Skull and Bones
When starting your adventure in the pirating simulation game Skull and Bones, one of the first and most important decisions you will make is which ship to choose. Having the right ship early on can make a huge difference in your ability to take on challenges, find valuable loot and resources, and progress your infamy rank. The one of the best ships available early is the Sentinel support ship.
The Sentinel has a relatively low requirement to unlock, only needing you to reach the Rover infamy rank. It can then be purchased from the Lanitra outpost northwest of Sainte-Anne for 1,080 pieces of silver. With a base level of 9, the Sentinel provides a decent starting point for players just getting their feet wet in the open waters. But what really makes it stand out is its powerful Unburden perk.
The Unburden perk passively restores 0.5% of any severe damage taken and restores hull health at the same rate over time. This constant regeneration of health is extremely beneficial not just in long combat encounters, but for sustaining damage from storms, rocks, or accidents during exploration. Having this reliable source of healing allows new players more freedom to take on greater risks as they learn the ropes of naval combat and navigation. It provides a safety net for mistakes as skills are developed.
Perhaps most importantly, the Unburden perk also applies its healing during battle. So as cannonballs and flintlocks wear away at the Sentinel’s sturdiness, its health pool will gradually replenish, allowing for extended engagements against tougher enemies. More durable ships means more opportunies for plundering valuable goods like spices, furs, silk or of course the ever valuable 2,000 pieces of silver. With the extra sustain from Unburden, a Sentinel captain has a better chance of coming out on top in conflicts against ships that would normally overpower their level 9 vessel.
The materials required to build a Sentinel – just 6 bronze ingots, 6 pieces of iroko plank, and 12 fine jute fabrics – are also very reasonable to acquire for new players. Bronze can be looted from ocean ruins or purchased from most shipwright NPCs, planks are a common crafting material readily found during shipboarding or salvaging, and jute fabric is one of the starting trade goods players can purchase in bulk. With a cost of under 2,000 pieces of Skull and Bones silver and available components, the Sentinel represents an affordable investment.
Of course no ship, no matter how durable, can go it alone for long in the cutthroat world of Skull and Bones. The next step after a starting Sentinel should be upgrading to a damage-focused vessel. Fortunately two excellent options become available with just a small bump in infamy rank and modest resource investment. Both the Blaster and Bombardier ships specialize in explosive destruction and synergize well with a supporting Sentinel in tandem.
The Blaster: An Explosive Damage Dealer to Pair With Your Starting Sentinel
While the Sentinel excels at keeping crews alive through its healing, players will eventually want a ship that can dish out real hurt. Stepping up from the supportive Sentinel, we recommend the Blaster as an early damage-focused upgrade. Boasting a base level of 12, the Blaster provides a decent jump in both offense and defense capabilities.
To acquire the Blaster blueprint, Captains need only reach the Buccaneer infamy rank. They can then purchase the plans from the Sunken Goldmine in the Coast of Africa region for 4,950 pieces of silver. With requirements just a slight step above the Sentinel, the Blaster opens the door to the next phase of raiding and piracy.
Where the Sentinel specializes in sustain through its Unburden perk, the Blaster really packs an explosive punch. Its signature Enkindle perk grants a 20% boost to damage dealt by any weapon that deals explosive damage. Grenado launchers, flaming cannons, howitzer missiles – anything that goes boom sees its devastation amplified while mounted on a Blaster.
With this kind of firepower enhancement, Blaster crews are able smash through enemy defenses that might have proven tough nuts to crack with normal armaments. Fortresses, grand company navies, heavily armored galleons – all fall more easily before an Enkindle-empowered Blaster broadside or cluster bomb volley. More enemies sunk translates to richer plunder and a faster rising notoriety, pushing caps closer to new rank milestones.
The materials cost of the Blaster is also reasonable given its enhanced destruction potential – just 6 bronze ingots, 6 oak planks, and 12 canvas fabric. bronze, oak, and canvas are all trivial for crews of even low infamy to get their hands on. And at under 5,000 pieces of silver, the investment remains very sensible for players taking their first steps on the high seas.
With the healing support of a Sentinel and raw striking power of a Blaster, fledgling pirates have a strong early fleet composition. The Sentinel can keep crews in fighting form longer while the Blaster blows enemy vessels out of the water. Working in coordination, such a duo has potential to flourish even against far more experienced marauders. And as skills sharpen, there is still more tools of devastation to acquire.
The Bombardier: Final Piece of the Early Game Puzzle
Rising another small step higher on the infamy ladder unlocks yet one more standout ship for beginners – the Bombardier. Requiring a mere Brigand rank to obtain, the Bombardier plans can be found at the Shipwright in Telok Penjarah for 5,280 pieces of silver. Like the Sentinel and Blaster before, it enters at a reasonable level of 14 while filling a valuable combat niche.
Where the Blaster specializes in boosting explosive weapons, the Bombardier takes things a step further. Its Detonate perk causes all explosive attacks to deal 20% bonus damage in an area of effect. So not only does the Bombardier’s arsenal hit like a truck against direct targets, but splash damage expands annihilation across nearby vessels too.
With this perk amplifying explosive salvos into veritable demolition balls, the Bombardier lays waste to clustered enemy fleets like nothing else. Accompanied by a tanky Sentinel soaking aggro and a hard-hitting Blaster coring ships, a Bombardier flattens flankers and support craft with ease. Nothing survives a coordinate alpha strike from such a balanced early game squadron.
Naturally the materials to craft the Bombardier follow the now established pattern – 6 bronze ingots, 6 lime wood planks, 12 canvas once more. With infamy progression and trade, crews will have no issue getting hands on these common building blocks. And at under 6,000 SAB silver, the price remains very affordable even for new pirates stretching their financial sea legs.
Stepping stone by stepping stone, players are able to build a dominant force to be reckoned with from their very first days pillaging the waves. The reliable healing and damage amplification of the Sentinel, Blaster, and Bombardier gives underdogs a serious edge up against otherwise unfavorable odds. Used in harmony, this beginning trio forms the foundation for all greater ships and fleets to come later. Any commander rising through the ranks with such a core fleet laid the groundwork for future successes.
From These Humble Beginnings, Legends Are Made
Of course no captain stays among the rookie ranks forever. But having the right starting equipment makes all the difference in kickstarting a promising career of pillaging profitable trade routes, undermining imperial navies, and accruing infamy through audacious exploits. The ships recommended early – the Sentinel, Blaster, and Bombardier – provide exactly that for newcomers to Skull and Bones.
Though simply level 9, 12, and 14 vessels, their powerful synergistic perks endow crews with more combat prowess than mere stats suggest. Surviving battles translates directly to valuable experience, loot, and notoriety gains – accelerating the climb to higher and deadlier ships. With these steady stepping stones lifting pirates just a few notches further with each upgrade, any lowly Rover can develop into the dread Pirate King within but a few in-game years.
From these best beginning boats, legends can be forged on the waves. Countless real players no doubt got their legendary starts in precisely such early ships as these recommended today. By specializing roles yet enhancing one another’s strengths, even the humblest pirates stand a chance chopping the mighty fleets of others down to size through teamwork.
