After many years of development and countless delays, Skull and Bones has finally arrived. While exploring in Skull and Bones is usually fairly laid back, things will get less chill if your hostility with the game’s various factions gets raised too high. This may result in you being attacked on sight, which really puts a crimp in your resource collection and delivery missions. So, how does hostility work and how can you lower it? Scroll on to find out…
How Hostility Works
There are currently six factions the game – four regional local factions, and a pair of European “megacorporations.” You get in trouble with a faction by attacking their ships while in view of other ships of that faction – in particular, pillaging settlements belonging to a faction will really boost your hostility.
There are four hostility levels, with the aggrieved faction calling in reinforcements when you get in a scrap with them on higher levels. On lower levels, ships from a faction hostile with you will have a yellow/orange marker over them, which will eventually turn to red if you hang around them too long. Of course, red means they’re aggressive and will attack you. At higher hostility levels, ships from that faction will immediately be hostile and attack you.
How to Reduce Hostility
How do you get a hostile faction off your back? There’s no simple fix like pulling down wanted posters in Assassin’s Creed. Instead, you just have to stay out of sight of any ships from that faction for long enough. Do that, and you’ll see the hostility meter for that faction in the upper-left corner of the screen flash, and then reduce a level. Eventually, you’ll return to being neutral with that faction.
So, how do you steer clear of a faction? Well, most of them are regional – so, for instance, the Ungwana hang around the Coast of Africa, while the French Companie Royale largely patrol the seas south of the Red Isle. So, if you were to get in trouble with either of those factions, leave those waters. Try to break the line of sight of any ships from an aggressive faction, make your way to an outpost, then use the fast-travel system to zip to the other side of the map and do some exploring over there. Head into port and do some shopping. Jump aboard your dhow and do some fishing. Just occupy yourself with something for a while until the heat dies down (it doesn’t take too long).
Wait, I get along with everybody! Why’d that guy attack me?
In addition to the main factions, there are also rogue ships that will attack you on sight. These can be recognized from a distance by their red and black color pattern. Even if you’re the nicest pirate on the seas, stay away from these guys if you don’t want a fight.
And there you go, a few tips for getting along with your fellow pirates (or not, if you prefer).
Skull and Bones can be played on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. You can check out Wccftech’s other Skull and Bones guides here.
