Skip to main content

How to join the Skull and Bones open beta

The pirates stand on the bow of a ship in Skull and Bones key art.
Ubisoft

It seems as though the Skull and Bones ship is finally seaworthy and will hit its release on February 16. No one will blame you if you have grown a little weary about the quality of this game after so many years of development and delays. That’s where open betas come in. These tests let you play a slice of the game early to see if it will live up to your expectations before investing any cash. Thankfully, Ubisoft is giving any hopeful pirates a chance to test the waters a few days before launch, and everyone is welcome to give it a shot. If you want to commandeer a spot in the open beta, follow our map to the treasure.

How to join the Skull and Bones beta

Two ships fire cannons at each other other a small island in Skull & Bones.
Ubisoft

The open beta is, as expected, open to anyone who wants to play Skull and Bones. All you need is a console or PC on which the game will run, such as a PS5 or an Xbox Series X/S. The beta will begin at 6 p.m. PT on February 7  and end at 3 p.m. PT on February 11, but you can start preloading it as early as 1 a.m. PT on February 6.

Recommended Videos

If you are playing on a PC, all you need to do to participate is go into your launcher (either Ubisoft Connect or Epic Games) and find the title under the Free Games section.

For console players, search for Skull and Bones on the respective storefronts and choose the Skull and Bones open beta page to download and play.

The beta will feature full cross-progression and crossplay, an infamy cap of tier 6 rank 1, but will also let you carry any progress you make into the full release.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
How long is Atomfall?
An enemy in Atomfall.

With an RPG that claims to be as deep and dynamic as Atomfall, questions about its length are sure to come up. While it isn't a fully open-world game, you will be exploring giant hubs with little direction from the game on what to investigate or when. Structurally, Atomfall shares a lot of DNA with Fallout, but those are some of the longest RPGs on the market. If you're curious how much time you could end up sinking into this title, we'll break down how long it might take you to see the end.
How long is Atomfall?

The trouble with estimating how long Atomfall will take is that it is very much up to you as a player. For example, there is an Achievement in the game for beating it in under 5 hours. Accomplishing that almost necessitates prior knowledge, though, but does demonstrate how quickly you could reach the end if you tried. In our experience, we were able to beat the game in a mostly focused playthrough in about 8 hours. That was us mainly ignoring optional quests and other possible paths to an ending and focusing squarely on one. There is also a high degree of variability based on combat and how quickly you can figure out where to go based on the game's general lack of waypoints guiding you to objectives.

Read more
The best Naoe gear in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
One of the protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Assassin's Creed Shadowsintroduces a few interesting twists on the series' established formula. There are new features like Scouts and a fully upgradable hideout, but the big change is the addition of two distinct protagonists Naoe and Yasuke. Unlike Syndicate, these two characters serve vastly different roles, with Naoe being suited more towards stealth and Yasuke a better fighter. Each one has their own skills to unlock, but just as important is equipping them with the best gear. You will be drowning in loot over your playtime so knowing which is worth keeping and upgrading can be tricky. If Naoe is your preferred character, these are the items you should be using to maximize her potential.
Best Naoe gear

Naoe can hold two weapons, plus armor, headgear, and a trinket. These are the ones we found to be the most powerful for her.
Weapons
For Naoe's katana, the Bloodshade legendary katana has the most powerful bleed abilities in the game. It obviously inflicts bleed, but its special perk is that bleed buildup doesn't drain over time so you don't have to be overly aggressive to get it to proc. You can find this katana on a ship to the west of Osaka on the coast of Amagasaki in Izumi Settsu.

Read more
How to get Knowledge Points and what they do in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
One of the protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

By the time we get to Assassin's Creed Shadows, most of us will be familiar with how the games work. Since transitioning more towards RPGs than stealth games, the titles have not only gotten longer but also embraced skill trees. Naoe and Yasuke each have unique progression paths to work through, but right away you will notice that most of the best abilities are gated off. Like Scouts, Knowledge Points are a new feature that you will need to master if you want to be the best assassin possible. We'll share all our knowledge about Knowledge Points with you.
How Knowledge Points work and how to get them

Knowledge Points are a separate system to XP that allows both Naoe and Yasuke to unlock the better and more powerful skills in all their skill trees. Unlike XP, you can't earn them by performing normal tasks or taking out enemies. Instead, Knowledge Points are rewarded for doing specific non-violent activities in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Read more