Skull and Bones: How to Use and Read Treasure Maps to Find Treasure

Skull and Bones would be a failure as a pirate game if you couldn’t find and read a bunch of treasure maps to get loot!

You’ll get treasure maps constantly from Contracts and even from just wrecking random enemy ships. No two maps are the exact same, but they do all follow a certain structure you should learn to read them.

In this short guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know to read any treasure maps you find.

How to Use and Read Treasure Maps to Find Treasure

You can read any treasure maps you have by accessing your ship’s Cargo from the Logbook. You can open it even while on foot! Just press the I key (PC), Circle (PlayStation), or B (Xbox).

Once you have the Cargo menu open, just highlight the treasure map you wish to read and select “Read Treasure Map.”

Now, treasure maps are somewhat randomized in this game, even the ones from Contracts like the “Relics of the Past” map. However, they all follow the same formula.

You can find an image of a landmass in the very center of the map, which we surrounded with a green circle in the image above. The landmass will resemble what you can see on your in-game Map.

This landmass view is pointing you toward an Outpost, you just have to find the Outpost which matches the image. Compare the treasure map and the normal Map to figure out where to go.

Also, make sure to read the text shown on the map, if any. It can clue you in on the Outpost’s location.

Then, on the top right, you can see a landmark with a red X. We encircled it in red in the image above. This is what you have to look for when you reach the Outpost!

Conveniently, you will be notified that there’s a treasure nearby whenever you anchor at an Outpost shown on your treasure map.

Another convenient feature is that you will see an orange glow in front of the treasure map landmarks. Just approach the glow to get the prompt to dig up your well-deserved treasure.

That’s everything you need to know to use and read treasure maps! Every single one follows the same formula, so figuring them out will become second nature after a while.