Skull and Bones Guide – How to Farm Pieces of Eight

Once you reach the endgame of Skull and Bones, much of your activities will focus on The Helm and Manufactories. You may have purchased some materials to produce Contraband and smuggled it to customers for some Pieces of Eight, the endgame currency, but Manufactories allow for passively earning it.

Effectively farming requires some grinding, especially since Pieces of Eight are needed to purchase blueprints for weapons and hull defense, not to mention cosmetics, from the Black Market. Here’s how to farm them quickly and get rich quickly.

How to Farm Pieces of Eight

Take Over Manufactories in the Same Region

Manufactories are captured through Hostile Takeovers – the color of the zone during the activity indicates PvE (blue) and PvP (red). Once you’ve taken it over, the Manufactory will produce Contraband and passively accrue Pieces of Eight, which must be picked up and deposited back at the Pirate Den. Each Manufactory has a storage limit, so you must pick up the present amount, or they won’t produce any more Pieces.

It’s worth noting that PvP Takeovers provide opportunities to produce more expensive Contraband, which generates more Pieces of Eight hourly. Regardless, take over Manufactories near a Pirate Den. However, you should also seek to capture several in the same region since this provides a bonus to production.

Take Over Linked Manufactories

When capturing a Manufactory, check its linked trade route. By capturing the adjoining Manufactory, you gain a small bonus to production, which stacks with the regional bonus. For example, Fonderie Royale and Guerande are linked together and close to Sainte-Anne, one of the two Pirate Dens. Capture those on priority if an opportunity arises.

Helm Upgrades

Helm Upgrades are also essential since they’ll provide different bonuses, like unlocking the option to produce more valuable Contraband. Other options include reducing the time to secure a Helm Chest by 10 seconds, increasing the base profits of Manufactories run by different factions (which synergizes if you have multiple in the same region) and more. These also cost Pieces of Eight and reset at the end of each season, but add up to more profits in the long run.

Skull and Bones is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC – check out our review here. You can also check out some beginner tips and tricks and how to farm Silver – essential for funding your Manufactories.