Skull and Bones Season 1 Raging Tides has kicked off today, bringing along a new legendary pirate foe, world events, new leaderboard rewards, and quality-of-life improvements. While announcing the start of the new season, Ubisoft revealed the game has set a milestone by having the publisher’s second-highest-ever player engagement.
Skull and Bones Season 1 introduces Pirate Lord Philippe La Peste
The main attraction of Season 1 Raging Tides is the arrival of Plague Lord Phillipe La Peste and his legendary pirate ship, La Potence. A series of increasingly difficult seasonal events pit players against his Fleet of Pestilence to acquire Plaguebringer Captain Heads. The culmination is a World Event showdown at his base of operations, the Blighted Bastion, and a rare item reward. The Peste Control repeatable contract will also reward Silver and White Skull Gin in exchange for a gift of two Plaguebringer Captain heads to Robin Blackwood.
Two new Kingpin Bounties will take place at different points of the month. Between March 5 – 26 there is the Jaws of Retribution with the Sea Monster Zamaharibu hiding in the depths of the ocean. After that, the mysterious Ghost Ship Rode Maangodin will appear in Anguish from the Abyss from March 26 – April 16.
Other new world events introduce Elite Warships from both megacorporations (Opwelling) and local factions (Mizerja). Meanwhile, trade routes in the Indian Ocean are now populated with high-value Merchant Convoys. Finally, a new Smuggler Pass will offer rewards like the Healer Barque, Carronade, La Peste Schematics, and more.
Despite reports of a low player count, Ubisoft has said Skull and Bones has achieved record player engagement as gamers spend an average of four hours sailing the seas per day. Admittedly, Ubisoft didn’t mention how many of these hours were players trying out the free trial that has been available since the game launched.