Step 1: Upgrading Your Ship — From Level 6 to 7
The first step in your journey to a level 15 ship is making sure your Snow is upgraded from level 6 to 7. This begins by heading to the Shipwright, your go-to NPC for hull and structural upgrades.
What You'll Need:
• Masterwork Kit: This essential item is used to trigger the upgrade.
• Upgrade Parts: These materials are commonly earned through exploration, combat, and salvaging at sea.
Benefits of Upgrading:
• Increased Hull Health – Survive longer in combat.
• Enhanced Resistances – Better against elemental and explosive damage.
• Boosted Brace Strength – Perfect for mitigating incoming fire.
Each of these improvements significantly enhances your survivability, letting you take on tougher content like World Tier 2 bosses, Grand Fort raids, and intense PvP encounters.
Step 2: Ascending Your Weapons to Reach Level 15
Once your Snow is sitting comfortably at level 7, the real grind begins — getting it all the way to level 15. This next phase revolves around weapon optimization, specifically through the process of Ascension.
How to Ascend Weapons:
1. Visit the Blacksmith.
2. Choose the “Ascend Items” option.
3. Select your preferred weapons based on your playstyle — whether it's explosive bombardments or calculated piercing strikes.
Ascension allows you to customize weapon traits, increasing their damage, applying status effects, and unlocking devastating conditional bonuses. You'll need Ascension Modules and high-tier weapon materials, which can be earned from:
• Plundering Grand Forts
• World Tier 2 Boss Fights
• Salvaging Ascended Weapons found at sea
Step 3: Recommended Ascension Traits
Let's look at the optimal loadout used in the featured build, including detailed weapon enhancements for max damage and utility.
Front Weapon: La Pécure (Level 3)
• Toxic and Piercing Damage
• Swift – Increases projectile speed.
• Precise Patchwork – Deals bonus damage to weak points and restores 193 health.
• Deadly Strike – Increases weak point damage by 38%, with a 10% chance of bonus impact.
Perfect for captains who love to snipe weak spots and inflict constant pressure on enemy hulls.
Side Weapon: Helport
• Phantom Mending – Restores 10% of hull health.
• Piercing Damage +6.2%
• Amplified Burning +29%
The Helport not only looks cool with its distinctive animation but also offers healing utility and consistent burn damage over time. It's excellent for mid-range encounters where you're maintaining pressure while staying tanky.
Side Weapon: Thousand-Year Monsoon
• Flooding and Severe Damage
• Rupturing – Increases flooding effectiveness.
• Amplified Flooding
• Death Blow – Hits have a 12% chance to instantly kill targets below 25% health.
One of the most lethal weapons in the arsenal, the Thousand-Year Monsoon specializes in status stacking and finishing off low-health enemies. Combine with crowd control and brace tactics for devastating results.
Rear Weapon: Dardanelles
• Explosive Damage
• Maxed Out Blast Radius (55 meters)
• 32% Increase to Blast Radius
Ideal for backline engagements or retreating attacks, the Dardanelles turn your escape into a last laugh, blanketing the sea in fire.
Warhammer (Ultimate Damage Dealer)
• Fires 10 Rockets Simultaneously
• Combustion & Burning Effects
• Soul Mending
• Severity – 12% chance to deal an additional 94% as Severe Damage
This weapon speaks for itself. A literal rocket barrage that heals, burns, and decimates foes, the Warhammer is a staple of any late-game build.
Step 4: Choosing the Right Furniture for Your Build
In Skull and Bones, Furniture modules are passive bonuses that stack with your loadout to improve survivability, reload speed, and secondary weapon effectiveness.
Here's what the build uses:
Furniture Setup:
• Breaking Station: Restores health when the hull is below 20%.
• Beam Supports: Boosts both health and armor rating.
• Long Gun Works: Increases long gun secondary damage.
• Spirit's Locker: +15% Brace Strength, +7% Armor Rating.
• Bombard Works: +19% Bombard secondary damage.
• Shell Packing Station: +7% Area of Effect, -7% Reload Time.
This setup is designed to maximize durability, explosive impact, and damage uptime while minimizing reload windows.
Step 5: Equipping the Best Armor – The Black Prince
Armor isn't just about looks in Skull and Bones. The right piece can be the difference between sinking and sailing.
Black Prince Armor:
• Reduces damage significantly when hull health is low.
• At under 33% health, damage taken is reduced by 40%.
It's an elite-tier defensive armor, allowing for a last stand strategy that turns you into a tank when others would sink.
Farming Tips for Ascension Modules & Upgrade Materials
Getting to level 15 requires more than just good gear — you need to farm efficiently. Here are the top recommendations:
1. Plunder the Grand Fort
These heavily defended zones yield the most valuable loot, including Ascension Modules, Upgrade Parts, and rare blueprints. Bring a team or go solo with caution.
2. Defeat World Tier 2 Bosses
These elite enemies often carry ascended weapons that can be salvaged for materials or equipped directly. You can cycle through these bosses for consistent drops.
3. Hunt Random Events at Sea
Ascended weapons sometimes float adrift or are earned by defeating rogue ships. Stay alert while sailing!
Final Thoughts: Building the Ultimate Snow in Skull and Bones
Reaching a level 15 Snow ship in Skull and Bones is no easy feat — it requires dedication, Skull and Bones Silver, resource farming, smart upgrading, and a deep understanding of weapon synergy. But once fully built, your ship transforms into a devastating powerhouse, capable of taking on any challenge the high seas throw at you.
That's it for this guide! If you found it helpful, be sure to support your favorite pirate content creators, and keep sailing, looting, and laughing as you conquer the high seas of Skull and Bones.