GatorDeb

I've had my eye on this. They have 4 days of free beta starting today, about to fire it up.

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/skull-and-bones

GatorDeb

Turned it on, 2 minutes, turned it off But this beta was great, I love being able to play the game myself.

Graphics are gorgeous. You command a ship and kill other ships while not being killed, that's about it. They're gonna have free seasons with tons of stuff.

It's just not my kind of game, that's it, great for someone who like shooting stuff and ships. Also it's online only, I won't buy online only games.

K&AJones

I've followed the game since it was announced and has been on my radar for a long time....but several months back many actually thought the game might never come out and become a victim of Games Canceled....Ubisoft did cancel several projects at one point. But a few months back out of the blue a closed beta came out with some more trailers that caught many off guard.....

I saw 5 Friends doing the Beta and last night another one and I...we play Dying Light 2, Warframe, Revant 2 together .....last minute DL'd the Beta and gave it a go.....she really liked it and said she is getting it and I grabbed the Premium Edition as well.....the game is just different from anything else and since they eliminated The Campaign there seems to be more interest. We saw alot of other players...I think each server has around 12 players max (we tried to join each other's game and said Server Full and you can actually see the people on a list playing).

I think the game has a lot to offer...various type of Ship Builds, Goals, missions, Coop and seems to have a lot of places you can visit....it's different from the AC Games for sure and Far Cry. I'll chime in after we do the coop part and see how that pans out.....

nickdawgy

You’ve had your eye on it but you turn it off after two minutes and say it’s not your kind of game

I wish I could say this surprises me.

GatorDeb

It's a shooting don't get shot at game, I wanted to see if you could avoid battle and just work on ships and sail and stuff and get xp and level up your ship so that you could be overpowered before going into battles. It also requiers a lot of aiming and I'm bad at that. I've come to know myself a lot as a gamer this last year and what I like and what I don't.

nickdawgy

Well I’ve heard it’s nowhere near what it was supposed to be. I’m guessing it gets a 5 or 6 out of 10.

K&AJones

One can look all over on forums to videos and it's a mixed bag of pros and cons....two of us have been playing the coop part and like it but like any other game it's not going to be for anyone; especially in this day & age where seems like a lot have far less patience to actually play and wants everything quick, easy, fast to get the best, level up and be OP.......once instance I've seen some complain about the time, boring to actually go out, sail to a place, do a mission, job, bounty, then sail back...they do have fast travel for a price....

I can only comment on the Coop part and there's pros and cons but we can see why...and it's not really a big deal later on...at first it was. Loot is not shared...one picks it up, it's theirs and other player(s) have to find it...so say you get a mission to get resources be it wood or coconuts...player 1 goes next to mainland, gets que to get it, they reap the resources and player 2 didn't, so next bunch comes up player 2 will have to...and that's how we did it...and it's the same when you sink a ship or see goods floating...only one gets it....now on the Bounties, Missions, Jobs...those are shared and when it's turned in, all in the group gets the rewards....

There's a huge plus in coop when it comes to Naval Battles...you can coordinate attacks and the battles so far can be intense. When you attack a ship it's a good chance they'll send up a Distress Flare calling other ships to help out so again coordinating attacks or if one is getting swarmed and needs help, 2-3 players is helpful. And in coop, the enemies get tougher and rewards better....

The Naval Combat and sailing is the best in the game so far...calm seas to really rough to calm weather to changing winds makes sailing a challenge or a smooth silky cruise......but in rough seas, combat is spot on and challenging as your ship at one moment can bet way up and enemy ship way down...it's like two shooting at each other riding a roller coaster all the while you need to change speed and sailing based on winds.....and while not much on changing Sails, one can change hull armor types....to fit what type of damage you might encounter and there's a lot just like all the different types of Ship Weaponry and there's countless combinations; Long, Short, Ballistic, Fire, Shred, Piercing, Flooding and even Repair Bombs to help Teammates....ones for attacking ships to attacking forts....

There's plenty of crafting to do but a lot we haven't really touched...we're only Level 4 but there's a Carpenter, Blacksmith, Shipbuilder, Cooking and one that turns normal items into better be it wood, cloth, animal skins to stones...food is important to feed the crew and replenish stamina which is super important in battle..and there's a lot of different resources all over that you need to craft guns, armor for your ship, etc...

We haven't done a actual attack on a fort yet so can't comment on that but enemy ship will have a Level above them and detail on what they are carrying...which you get a "Spyglass" to look out, highlight the ship and gives you that info...and you can also see when a Ship is looking at you when you see a glass-glare; which means they are looking....we tried a Level 6 Ship...a big one and it was a joke...this thing had all sorts of weapons...like Torpedo's.....that were deadly......and if your ship goes down...your Loot is left at that spot...much like in Fallout when you die you have to come back and get it....you have two choices; pay a certain amount and respawn close by or pay nothing and respawn at the main port....and your ship will lose some health and you'll need a repair kit to get it full again....

The game looks good and plays as well as one would think for a Pirate Game...the Beta Area is pretty darn huge and from all indications, there's going to be a lot of other big areas in the mix....they did a good job on The Seas and Ocean...and weather effects.....a decent amount of clothes one can tailor their Pirate along with lots of Ship cosmetics as well. One are that is cool is the seamless view from First Person to 3rd Person....the first person view during combat is really good...you feel the ship movement and see your crew firing away....we're getting the game and how it does...we'll see

K&AJones

There's been quite ag Skull and Bones to AC: Black Flag....someone has made a few videos comparing both from Naval Combat, Weather, Physics, etc....





this one compares it with AC: Odyssey which the boarding was not only fun but you actually picked your crew based on abilities....it and Black flag have actual Boarding Combat....the fact S&B doesn't is a Baffling Major One of the Worst Decisions in Gaming Mystery out there....

Noonan

$39.99 Best Buy DOTD

Although, I wouldn't really consider this game for $40 being a deal.

K&AJones

For that, it's pretty good and worth it. It has it's moments, looks really good and starting out you have plenty to do, level up getting a better ship each time, sea combat is fun as you do level up...BUT...no doubt the lack of any real Land or boarding combat has an effect especially anyone who played Black Flag (I did not). The end game part centers around establishing "Trade Routes" to get a valuable currency...Pieces of Eight....you use to buy even better stuff and plans thru the Black market. In order to fun ports and places in your routes you need lots of Silver which is the normal currency and get thru sinking ships and other quests. They recently up the costs...a lot...on funding all the ports you grab in your trade routes so your now spending more than what you have coming in unless you work overtime doing more to get silver. I decided to park the game and move to others for the time being. I didn't want to spend hours a night doing a few extra things to gain more silver to just turn around and spend...it's a serious inbalance. But starting out and all, I really enjoyed it, just the end game stuff seems to have hit a wall....