Ubisoft has launched Shattered Seas, the opening season of Skull and Bones’ Year 3, introducing one of the game’s most significant overhauls to date with a new progression system, two additional world tiers, a new large ship, and a packed slate of content for players on the Indian Ocean.
Shattered Seas brings the Seasonal Mastery Tree to the game, which is a new progression system featuring over 500 nodes designed to deepen build customization and loadout specialization. Players earn Infamy to level up their Mastery rank, spending Mastery Points to unlock nodes tailored to their playstyle. The tree scales Ship Rank from 13 up to 30 across the season, with Seasonal Mastery and Perks resetting each season.
As players climb Mastery Levels, they unlock Seasonal Perks at levels 10, 30, and 60, each offering high-impact bonuses that can dramatically alter how a build performs in combat. Examples include Reactive Bulwark, which triggers an explosive area blast after bracing, and Deadly Medicine, which converts healing done into bonus damage stored for the next attack.
The new large ship joining the roster is the Galleon, nicknamed The Oppressor. Built for close-range, high-damage output, it carries more gun ports on its broadsides than any other ship in the game. Its signature perk, Iron Thunder, boosts damage within 350 meters and builds toward a damage surge that also rallies nearby allies. The perk can be upgraded to Red Wake, further amplifying close-range damage and adding a burst of speed to chase down targets.
Shattered Seas also introduces two new World Tiers for players looking for a greater challenge. World Tier 3, Rogue Storms, sees enemies gain up to three Seasonal Affixes, introducing new combat mechanics and tougher encounters. World Tier 4, Brutal Tempest, is home to the Kraken, the toughest challenge on the Indian Ocean, where enemies can roll up to five strengthened Seasonal Affixes, and a Mythic World Event difficulty is available exclusively at this tier. To access either tier, players must have reached Kingpin-level Infamy and completed the World Ascension quest.
Alongside the new tiers, Mythic Ascension and Mythic Reforge introduce a new gear progression ceiling, allowing players to push equipment beyond its existing limits through build-defining Mythic Mods. Examples include Wildfire, which spreads burning damage in a 300-metre radius when the Ablaze status is applied, and Voltaic Charge, which deals bonus electric damage when a target triggers the Stormstruck effect.
On the events front, the Faction War continues with Safeguard, a new PvE survival challenge where players defend manufactories against escalating waves of enemy ships, coordinating with allies to secure War Assets and hold Contested Territories. Two returning fan-favourite events also make a comeback: The Honorless runs from May 12 to June 9, tasking players with cutting through enemies to trigger a boss encounter, while Moonshine Larceny returns on June 30, centered on raiding elite convoys to steal moonshine and defeat the Manic Moonshiner.
Mid-season will bring a limited-time ship campaign for the Barque, offering a dedicated challenge track and reward progression that culminates in a ship deed redeemable at the Shipwright. The update also adds a range of new weapons, armor, and furniture, including the Hullcarver Culverin, a rapid-fire weapon built to overwhelm targets with sustained shots; the Blightbearer Long Gun, a precise poison weapon effective against fortified ships; and the Royal Ramming Works, a ramming-focused armament that slows targets and passively weakens nearby enemies.
Looking further ahead, the full Year 3 roadmap, titled Sails of Power, includes two new large ships in the Junk and Fluyt, new Faction War events, mod transfers and equipment sets, new elite bosses, the Abyssal Depths challenge, and a new Trials feature. Ubisoft has also rolled out PC optimization improvements with the update.
Skull and Bones is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Ubisoft Store, Steam, and the Epic Games Store, and is also accessible through a Ubisoft+ subscription. The game is offering a massive 90% discount for a limited-time and also offers a free trial through its Steam page.
Are you looking forward to jumping back into Skull and Bones to try out the new Shattered Seas season? Let us know in the comments section below.
