Skull and Bones Season 4: Shadows of the Deep Out Today

Skull and Bones Season 4: Shadows of the Deep is out now, bringing new threats to the Indian Ocean in the form of a deadly new pirate lord with a ghostly fleet. To counter this new threat, you can earn a new ship, weapons, and more. Here's everything you need to know:

A Piercing Ship and New Gear

The Garuda is a sharpshooter that deals optimal damage at long range and specializes in Piercing weapons. Piercing weapons deal 20% more piercing damage, an effect that increases by 10% per 100m of distance from the target. When the Garuda's hull health dips below 40%, its armor increases by 1,000, and trimming won't cost stamina for 10 seconds. Upgrading the ship will net better navigation stats, more furniture slots, and the Revolver perk, which increases weapon damage by 30% when hitting a target with Shattered Armor debuff. The Garuda can be unlocked through the Smuggler Pass.

With a new ship comes new weapons, armor, and furniture to outfit it with. The Soulshield Springloader, acquirable by defeating the new pirate lord Vikram Rajan in battle, is an auxiliary weapon used to protect yourself and your teammates. When deployed, it creates a dome of soul magic that shields up to 25,000 damage for 30 seconds. For a more offensive approach, the Gatling Gun is a modified sea fire weapon that can be placed on the bow. Purchasable with Sovereigns, the weapon's perks allow it to rapidly fire incendiary bullets at enemy ships, and will add 20% of Piercing damage and 10% of burning damage to successful hits.

To protect your ship, the new Shadow Aegis armor, found in the Smuggler's Pass, negates status effects from enemy weapons when you brace. Additionally, new furniture items include the Reaper's Toll, which consumes crew stamina to heal your ship; Teuling's Guidance, which enhances weakpoint damage, especially for bow weapons; and Strange Elixir, which boosts crew attack range and charge rate, among others.

A Deathly Pirate Lord

The new ship and weapons arrive with a new foe to use them against: Vikram Rajan has invaded the seas on the long-lost Schaduw, bringing with him a horde of spectral terrors that threaten your hold on the Indian Ocean. Vikram is driven by anger, particularly against the Dutch Merchant Company, whose agents kidnapped and murdered his wife. Now, he pursues revenge against Commodore Jonas Vanderkill, aka the Wolf Hunter, and seeks to power a mysterious artifact that will allow him to reunite with his wife by feeding it souls.

Vikram's command over his ghostly forces make him a formidable opponent. In battle, he'll summon special Monolith springloaders, which levitate above the water and slow you down. His Soul Blast attack covers a large area and can only be avoided by sailing out of range or hiding behind an obstacle. If you get hit with Soul Blast, your ship will become Tainted, and acquire damage over time. Also, as someone who deals in soul magic, the barrier created by the Soulshield Springloader won't affect Vikram or his attacks. Similarly, his command over the afterlife means that in battle, don't start shooting off celebratory fireworks when his ship sinks. He'll raise himself and his ship back to life, and then the real fight begins.

Mythic Difficulty and Other New Features

A new game mode has also made its way to the high seas: Ghost Ship Defense. In this new mode, you'll protect your owned manufactories from a ghostly assailant looking to take over your Helm operations. Additionally, Vikram has raised two sea monsters from the dead, the Tylosaurus and the Megalodon, and they are looking to take their revenge.

For a bonus challenge on your path to becoming a kingpin, Skull and Bones Season 4 is implementing a Mythic difficulty tier. While in the Mythic tier, you'll take on seasonal bosses who have modified combat, like increased rate of fire, enhanced damage, increased movement speed, and more. You can opt in as a solo player or in co-op, and players who conquer the challenge will earn an exclusive achievement badge.

Shadows of the Deep will also bring new world events to Skull and Bones. The Azure Solstice limited-time event will see the Azure Fleet invade the Indian Ocean. Defeating them will be tough, but will reward players with a Life-Stealing Long Gun. During the event, players will also be able to give Winter Gifts to various NPCs in return for reward chests. Megalodons will take over the seas during the Enter the Nian event, culminating in an elite boss warship that will require teamwork to take down.

The new seasonal currency in Skull and Bones is Shadow Ivory, which can be acquired by defeating Vikram and Jonas Vanderkill on the high seas, as well as through Helm opportunities, limited-time events, and Smuggler's Pass challenges. Shadow Ivory can be redeemed with William Blackwood for exclusive Shadows of the Deep rewards, including Heal by Ram armor, the Soulshield Springloader, and the Reaper's Toll furniture. If you missed any items in previous seasons, that equipment will be available in Blackwood's shop on a bi-weekly rotation.

Play Skull and Bones today on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Ubisoft Connect, or with a Ubisoft+ Premium subscription. You can pick it up for up to 60% off at the Ubisoft Store during its Black Friday Sale, which runs from November 19 until December 3.