Skull & Bones – Closed Beta Impressions

ign.com:

When I first got my hands on Skull & Bones during its last closed beta in August, I was stunned that this legendarily elusive game actually existed. Now, with a release date in February of next year fast approaching, it would seem any doubt that this seafaring adventure won’t see the light of day is fading. Now I just want to know if it’s going to be good, and after another six hours in the most recent closed beta this past weekend, I find myself more hopeful than ever that this plundering simulator might actually capture the attention of me and my friends. Though the most recent beta included some odd and unexpected changes to the story, my friends and I dove deep into the waters of this ship-based adventure’s RPG mechanics and came away pleasantly surprised.

First off, if you haven’t seen our preview from a few months ago, you should go and check that out, because the vast majority of my praise and cautious optimism still applies. Having a chance to develop my sea legs a few months ago, me and two of my fellow skallywags spent a good chunk of the weekend tinkering with our boats and exploring as much of the map as we could before running into horrifyingly overpowered enemy crafts that turned us into driftwood in one second flat.

Upgrading and customizing your very own piracy vessel remains one of the coolest things Skull & Bones offers, and that’s especially true after the first few hours once I acquired the means to craft class-based ships with specific strengths and weaknesses to suit my playstyle. For my part, I like to prioritize DPS and enjoy getting in close and smashing the enemy craft to pieces, so I built “The Rammer,” a ship that’s great for doing as much damage as possible. Meanwhile, the other members of my