What Counts as DPS in Skull and Bones?

Damage per second (DPS) in Skull and Bones isn't as simple as just adding up cannon damage. Instead, it's a mix of multiple elements, including:

Base weapon stats – damage, reload speed, and range.

Ship class modifiers – some ships specialize in heavy weapons, while others favor speed or elemental status effects.

Perks from blueprints – these can add fire, flooding, or explosive multipliers.

Crew and furniture buffs – bonuses that tweak reload time, status chance, or specific damage types.

Because fights are dynamic, DPS can shift depending on range, positioning, and whether damage-over-time (DOT) effects like fire are active. That makes testing buffs in live combat just as important as reading numbers in menus.

The Power of Small Buffs

At face value, a small buff might not look like much. Reducing reload by 5% on a single cannon seems minor – but multiply that across six or eight cannons, and the output starts to snowball. Over a three-minute fight, shaving even one second off reloads means dozens of extra shots fired, which translates into hundreds or even thousands of bonus damage.

Similarly, elemental buffs provide hidden DPS. Fire, flooding, or explosive effects often tick away while you continue to fire normal shots. A 10% higher chance to ignite doesn't show immediate numbers on paper, but in a prolonged battle, it can swing the fight heavily in your favor.

Stacking for Maximum Effect

The real magic happens when buffs are layered together. A single reload speed bonus is helpful. But combine that with crew abilities that boost reload, furniture that increases elemental damage, and perks that extend DOT duration, and you've effectively multiplied your ship's DPS potential.

For example, a mortar-focused ship might combine:

A furniture bonus for explosive damage.

A blueprint perk that increases area-of-effect.

A crew buff that reduces reload.

Each bonus by itself feels modest. But together, the result is devastating barrages that deal more damage per second than an unbuffed ship could ever match.

Testing Buffs in Action

Players who put buffs to the test often report significant DPS increases. Take a medium cannon build:without reload bonuses, shots might fire every 12 seconds. With stacked reload buffs, that drops to around 9–10 seconds. Over time, that's a 20–25% increase in total output – enough to decide whether you sink your enemy or get overwhelmed.

Elemental buffs are equally impactful in practice. Ships built around fire or flooding effects often outperform raw damage builds during extended fights. The DOT ticks continuously, forcing enemies to burn or take water damage while you stay on the offensive.

Do Buffs Always Help?

Not every buff directly improves DPS. Some are situational – like bonuses against structures – and won't help in naval battles. Others focus on survivability, such as reinforced armor, which won't boost damage but does let you stay in combat longer, indirectly raising your effective DPS by keeping your cannons firing.

So, do buffs on ships really change DPS in Skull and Bones? The answer is a resounding yes. But the impact depends on synergy. A random collection of upgrades won't necessarily make a difference, while a buy skull and bones boosting carefully designed build that stacks reload speed, elemental effects, and damage multipliers can transform your ship into a lethal war machine.

Buffs don't just tweak numbers – they reshape how your ship performs. For captains looking to dominate the seas, ignoring them means leaving a huge amount of potential DPS on the table.