"Skull & Bones" officially opened the first season of the second year, and this Ubisoft pirate game may finally be able to sail to the high seas. In any case, the game will usher in a large number of new features, including content that pirate fans have been looking forward to from the beginning.

In a newly released video, the development team discussed the update plan for the second year of "Skull & Bones" and announced a detailed list of changes for the first season.

The first season will introduce the equipment promotion (or "Elevating") system, which allows players to customize their equipment by adding various entries. You need to reach the 9th level of infamy to unlock this feature. Each "promoted" weapon will have 2 to 4 "transformation" slots, which need to be unlocked through consumable materials and modules (obtained through challenges, or purchased in limited quantities from two merchants each week). Modules are divided into three levels: basic, advanced and special.

Ubisoft has also designed a recast system that allows the current entry to be replaced with a random upgrade. It's not completely random: each weapon type has its own attribute pool, and the order in which the attributes are modified will affect subsequent effects. To maintain balance, each piece of equipment is limited to 60 reforging attempts.

In addition to the above content, "Skull & Bones" Year 2 Season 1 also includes:

• A new, more difficult second-level world level ("Cutthroat Ties" can be accessed from the main menu) and more lucrative loot
• New ship type (schooner)
• Pet system
• Seasonal currency and equipment
• A large number of gameplay adjustments (including correcting the counter-intuitive design of the ship upgrade mechanism)
• Points leaderboard (season ranking will be linked to the infamy value)

The full list of updates can be found in Steam announcement .

Most of the new features are in response to player feedback. The developers explained the design considerations of the equipment transformation system in detail in the update notes: for example, the introduction of a random reforging mechanism not only ensures the scarcity of high-level equipment, but also avoids the frustration of players caused by too low a drop rate.

In the video, Ubisoft confirmed the content of the next three seasons, including:

• Land battles
• Giant frigates
• Fortress siege
• Kraken (and hunting mechanism changes)

This is undoubtedly good news for players who have not yet abandoned the game or are willing to return. Many players have already abandoned the game and expected that the game would stop updating after the more popular "Unruly Alliance". But Ubisoft has made it clear that it will continue to support "Skull & Bones" in the next few years. Although verbal promises are not reliable (refer to the case of "Unruly Alliance"), the detailed change descriptions and system optimizations at least show that the French publisher has not given up on the project.

The second year update of "Skull & Bones" will be launched at 11 pm Pacific Time on April 15 (2 pm Beijing Time on April 16) after the maintenance is completed, and the server is expected to reopen 3 hours later. It is worth mentioning that as of April 21, the game will be half price on Steam to ￥99 for a limited time.