Glad to have you aboard for another DevBlog, Captain. In this article, we’ll be giving you an overview of the crafting system, how to locate blueprints, harvest, and refine the resources required, that’ll enable you to craft increasingly powerful upgrades for your ship in your ascent to becoming an infamous pirate captain in Skull and Bones!

Disclaimer: As Skull and Bones is still in development, some of the information may be subject to change.

Crafting Overview

Crafting will be one of the keys to your survival on the high seas. You’ll be able to craft everything you need, from ships, armour, weapons, furniture, and repair kits to become the most fearsome pirate Captain in the Red Isle and beyond.

As you first step foot in Sainte-Anne, you will quickly meet the local crafters and vendors who will help you on your journey. If you need some new weapons, ammunition, or armour, Thomas Raferty, a hardy Blacksmith with a history as dark as the coal fuelling his forge, will gladly offer you his services. In search of a ship upgrade? Visit Fanilo Rhantasoa, a skilled shipwright and craftsman, to craft new ships. If you’re looking for new furniture to optimise your loadout, there’s Zayn Magoro, local Carpenter of Sainte-Anne and friend to all pirates – he’ll be sure to lend a helping hand. And don’t forget about Vera van Wessel, your go-to person for refining goods, and bad jokes.

Of course, there are many more vendors and crafters you have yet to discover and meet in the various pirate dens. Seek them out to fulfil all your crafting needs. With the right blueprints, resources, and plenty of silver, you’ll find their services quite invaluable.

Now that you have a general idea of how to craft, let’s dive deeper into the exact details. By the end of this DevBlog, you’ll be a crafting connoisseur, ready to take on the world of Skull and Bones!

Everything About Blueprints

Even the most skilled crafters require a solid plan to create their masterpieces. Luckily, this is what blueprints are for! In Skull and Bones, you will need to acquire blueprints to craft ships, weapons, ammunition, armour, furniture, tools, and kits. With the proper blueprint and necessary resources, you’ll be able to craft new and more powerful items!

Locating Blueprints

If you're looking for blueprints, be sure to pay your local pirate den a visit. Vendors such as the Blacksmith, Shipwright, and Carpenter offer a variety of blueprints for all your pirate needs, so you may find what you need by browsing their selection or completing the contracts they set for you.  

If you cannot quite find what you need, you may want to look a bit further out. Merchants of the local factions across the map will often offer rare and valuable blueprints - as long as you do not question how they got them - in exchange for the right amount of silver. It will be worth exploring the various outposts and talking to them to see what they have to offer. Try talking to your fellow pirates and, of course, always keep an eye or ear out for tantalising rumours...

Looking for a specific blueprint but don't know where to start? Vendors at pirate dens can offer clues to help you narrow your search. For example, suppose you are seeking a blueprint to build a type of cannon called Culverin. In that case, the Blacksmith will offer a clue to seek out a rogue pirate known to be hanging around a specific region.  

As Captain, you'll also have access to your own codex with all the information you could need. You can look up any item in the game to get details as to its whereabouts and easily locate it using the handy tracking feature; perfect for when you are looking for a specific blueprint! The codex will also come in handy when looking for resources, but we will dive into that later, Captain. 

Of course, not all blueprints will be so easy to locate. As you explore the Indian Ocean, you may encounter or learn about hard-to-find blueprints. These could give you an edge on your journey to becoming an infamous pirate. Time to hoist your sails and seek them out!

Infamy and Blueprints

Everyone knows that knowledge is power, and in a world of survival of the fittest, power does not come cheaply. Vendors and rogue pirates will be hesitant to give up valuable blueprints to a lowly bilge rat – even if they have the silver to buy them. You will need to increase your standing within the community to gain access to more powerful blueprints. As you rise in Infamy and build up trust with your fellow pirates and local vendors, you will obtain access to new blueprints to match your newfound fame. Use these blueprints to create the loadout of your dreams and show everyone what you are made of!

Resource Gathering

To craft any ship, weapon, tool, or item, you'll need to start by collecting the raw materials for crafting and refine the materials for your craft as needed. 

In Skull and Bones, there are many ways to collect these materials. You can be a modest harvester, trade with your silver, or simply take what you need - just like a ruthless pirate!

Locating Resources

Looking for a specific resource for your next craft? The codex is your best friend. 

Within the codex's Knowledge section, you will be able to directly search for information on how to locate a specific raw material, or if you already have the blueprint in hand, you can search for those materials on your map. 

The map will show you where you can find and harvest the raw material in the world. Some materials you can trade for using silver. But money doesn't always talk in the vicious Indian Ocean. You may find yourself needing to liberate resources from other ships using force. And if ships don't have what you need, you can always plunder a settlement or two. 

While sailing, you can use your Spyglass to scout the shoreline for resources and show you any harvestable resources. It will be highlighted on the screen when you get close enough to harvest a resource. You can also use your Spyglass to assess your fellow pirates, merchant ships, and settlements to see what resources they are carrying.

Harvesting

How do you go about gathering all the resources needed to construct the ships and cannons that’ll power your ascent? The most straightforward way to gather resources is to harvest them at sea.

Tools & Resource Types

You will need to use the right tools to harvest different types of resources: 

• Pickaxe: used for harvesting metal ores from deposits, such as bog iron, bog copper, or other metal ores. 

• Saw: used for harvesting wood from trees such as acacia. You'll be able to transform the wood into planks that'll be used for crafting. 

• Sickle: used to harvest fibre crops, such as jute, linen, or cotton. 

• Crowbar: used for breaking into and scavenging shipwrecks. Within those wrecks, you can find various resources. You never know what you might find, so it's always worth having a look! 

You'll get a brief introduction to tools in the tutorial missions. Once you've arrived at Sainte-Anne, the Carpenter will introduce you to higher-tiered tools to meet your needs.

Upgrading Tools

There’s a saying about using the right tool for the right job, and you’ll want to upgrade your tools to better harvest materials. Blueprints for upgraded versions of your tools will become available as you gain Infamy. These upgraded tools will allow you to collect materials faster and with the opportunity for an extra bonus yield!

Trading

For enterprising Captains with an abundance of silver, you can obtain resources without breaking a sweat by trading directly with vendors. This could save you valuable time; we all know time is money. All you need is your compass and enough cargo space. 

Fancy dealing with a fellow player Captain instead? You can initiate a conversation and send a trade request to get what you need.

Plundering

If "Peace is for the weak" is your motto, you can of course liberate anything you need from ships belonging to other factions;

Using your Spyglass to scout settlements and other ships at sea to see the cargo they're carrying could also reveal important resources you're searching for. All that's left to do then is to plunder them and take what you need!

Refining Resources

Some blueprints require refined materials, such as planks, ingots, fine fibres, or leathers. If you have harvested a fresh batch of raw materials, you can refine them by seeking the services of a refiner.

Refiners

Refiners at pirate dens can refine your raw materials into higher-quality refined materials. You will need to hire workers who will use the raw materials you collected to deliver the refined ones you need. The higher your reputation, the more workers will be available to you.

Looking Ahead

We hope you enjoyed this preview of crafting and blueprints as well as a look at resources and harvesting. There are many potential paths that you can pursue to grow your power and Infamy. What are your thoughts on crafting and harvesting, and what would you like to learn about more next?

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