Today, Ubisoft announced that ‘Ascent into Chaos,’ the first season of Skull and Bones’ second year of content, is now available. In this new season, players are thrust into a high-stakes arms race as two powerful megacorporations in the Indian Ocean teeter on the brink of open war. From April 17 – 20, Skull and Bones will run a Free Weekend, providing access to the entire game: progress through the main storyline, explore Year 2 Season 1 content, and take on new challenges with friends.

“Ascent Into Chaos“ is now available, bringing multiple new features and improvements to the Indian Ocean:

• The new Item Ascension feature allows players to upgrade their gear in powerful new ways—boosting base damage and adding unique modifications that impact gameplay. By spending materials and silver at local vendors, players can further enhance Ascended Items, fine-tuning each weapon and loadout to suit their preferred playstyle and specific combat scenarios at sea.
• World Tiers are optional levels of difficulty for different challenges in the world, starting with World Tier 2 in Season 1. Higher tiered worlds drop better rewards, including more powerful Ascended weapons.
• The Helm endgame experience is also getting a revamp. Players will now be able to produce crafting materials at their own manufactories, providing the essential items needed to grow in strength. The new Helm Upgrade Tree will provide players with the flexibility to shape their Empire as they see fit, with new perks and upgrades. This will also be the last season that manufactory levels and Pieces of Eight will be reset.
• Death Tides, a brand-new PvP team-based mode, will arrive mid-season. Here, players can use their own customized loadout, or choose from one of preset ships, each with their own strengths, including the Pyroclast, the Stormwall, and the Paladin. Unique abilities will also be available, like firing off devastating La Peste Mortars or summoning the fearsome Kuharibu, to help achieve victory. Death Tides matches take place in one of four unique maps, Brimstone, Sanctuary, Sunken Ruins, and Mukiti Falls, and all rewards and XP earned will carry over to the main game and Smuggler Pass.
• Quality of Life improvements such as:
  • Hide equipped armor on ships
  • Fund all manufactories with the push of a button
  • Revamped map and markers
  • New minimap
  • Improved weakpoint visibility
  • New first time user experience

The rest of Year 2 will see this Faction War progress with new narrative elements, features and improvements:

• Season 2: Oaths of War will introduce the Frigate, Skull and Bones’ first ever playable large ship. It will offer additional weapon ports, allowing players to deal more devastating firepower. Following the events of Season 1, the DMC will have successfully taken over a Compagnie Royale Megafort, escalating the ongoing war in the Indian Ocean. Players will have to pick a side, with each side offering unique benefits at the cost of making a powerful new enemy. Collective player actions and alliances will determine which faction emerges victorious at the end of the season.
• Season 3: Guts and Glory introduces a new threat as the war rages on. The Rogue Warlord takes advantage of the ongoing conflict, trafficking weapons and holding skilled Officers prisoner. Players will be able to assign any Officer they rescue to their ship, each bringing unique buffs like repair perks, increased damage, and faster sailing. This season will also introduce another long-awaited feature to Skull and Bones: land combat. More about this will be revealed as the new season approaches.
• Season 4: Eye of the Beast will close out with a legendary beast rising from the depths. Frustrated by the effects of the war, the Sea People will abandon neutrality and summon a ferocious Kraken to purge the waters. To help combat the Kraken, players can unlock the Corvette, a new playable large ship. Eye of the Beast will also introduce the Hunter’s Guild, which will grant players the ability to become a master hunter of sea creatures.

From April 18 (1AM AEST) to April 20 (10PM AEST) 2025, Skull and Bones will run a Free Weekend, providing access to the entire game: progress through the main storyline, explore Year 2 Season 1 content, and take on new challenges with friends.

Developed by Ubisoft Singapore in collaboration with other Ubisoft studios*, Skull and Bones is a naval online action RPG where you play by your own rules to become the most infamous pirate kingpin and build your smuggling empire in a perilous world.  Skull and Bones is available with cross-play and cross-progression on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X | S, Amazon Luna, GeForce Now as well as Windows PC through Ubisoft Connect, Steam and Epic Games Store.

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