Ancient bones/Strategies (2024)

This article is a strategy guide for Ancient bones. Information on mechanics, setups, and tactics is on this page.

For information on how to reach this stage in your own player-owned port, see Player-owned port/Strategies.

Due to their high price compared to other ports resources, a ports setup to only farm ancient bones is one of the best ways make money from your player-owned port. To farm ancient bones effectively, it is recommended to be at or near the end of player-owned port progress: all regions and upgrades unlocked, level 10 crew members and captains of the strongest type. Ideally, the Quin and Eastern Curiosities trio story missions are not completed.

Mechanics[edit | edit source]

Some mechanics exist for getting bone voyages:

• Standard 8 bone voyages appear as often as voyages for 8 other trade goods (40 for spices). However, if you have a standard bone voyage sent out or have one in another slot, you cannot get reroll another until you collect it. This does not affect adventurers.
• Rarely, a 6 bone voyage might appear as a standard voyage. This is not affected by having an 8 bone standard voyage sent out or in another slot.
• Only The Missionary and The Biologist adventurers can offer bone voyages. However, they can offer regular resource voyages instead. If a combination partner is in port (Occultist and Architect for Missionary, Chef and Whaler for Biologist) they will always offer a combination voyage and not a bone voyage. However, if the combination partner has a clue voyage to offer, they can be sent on the clue voyage and a bone voyage might appear.
• An adventurer can only appear in port if they are not busy with another voyage.
• Sending a Terracotta Merchant (or Jade Merchant or Merchant) changes the yield from 8 to 10 bones. This is equal to having a 25% higher success chance, which is more than any other crew member offers. Adding more than one merchant, however, does nothing.

Ports setup[edit | edit source]

To make optimal use of these mechanics, set up your port the following way:

• Have 4 jade statues built on the totem hotspots as well as an Ostentatious bar.
• Have 2 voyages permanently sent on story missions for Quin and Eastern Curiosities, without ever checking them. This improves the chance that The Biologist and Missionary are the visiting adventurers and blocks all 4 of the combined voyages. If either The Missionary or Biologist is in ports at the same time as a potential combination partner, they will always combine and no bone voyages are available.
• If the above is impossible, 2 voyages sent on combined voyages for the combination of The Exile and The Whaler, and the combination of The Occultist and The Memory. This improves the chance that The Biologist and Missionary are the visiting adventurers and blocks 2 of the 4 of the combined voyages.
• Have two icons hotspots for The Biologist (Mammoth head) and one icon for the Missionary (Saradominist symbol). The chance of the bone voyage from The Biologist succeeding is slightly higher than the chance of The Missionary's bone voyage succeeding.
• Have 2 captains with combat as their primary stat and 1 captain with morale as their primary stat, all level 10. Each captain has +4% on their primary stat by having 4 tactician or leader traits (if a captain has undesired traits, use the final clue voyage of The Memory).
• Have at least 3 Kharidian Exile, 4 Gu Bodyguard, 2 Stargazer, 2 Terracotta Merchant and 2 Zhonghu Player crew members of level 10, or 4 exiles, 3 stargazers and 3 merchants if you do not send adventurers out to block their missions. This allows you to have the highest possible success chance and number of bones.
• Have 2 voyage slots rerolled into 8 plate, chi, scales or pearls voyages permanently. This blocks those voyages from appearing in the third slot.

Daily routine[edit | edit source]

• At the start of the day, make sure to collect your bone voyages and reroll your third standard voyage until you get a bone voyage. You cannot roll into a standard bone voyage with a standard bone voyage still uncollected.
• If The Missionary or The Biologist is in port and they have a bone voyage, send it. If they have an azure, story or xp voyage do not send it.
  • The Biologist's ideal crew setup is a morale captain, 2 exiles, a stargazer, a zhonghu player and a merchant. Depending on traits, this should be between 77 and 82 success percentage.
  • The Missionary's ideal crew setup is a combat captain, 2 gu bodyguards, an exile, a stargazer and a merchant. Depending on traits, this should be between 73 and 78 success percentage.
• If both are present with a bone voyage, send both but do not send a standard bone voyage (unless you have a third ship available).
• Send your standard voyage, with the same setup as The Missionary's mission.
• If you have ships and adventurers that are not The Missionary or Biologist, send them on a voyage.
• At the end of the day before reset, collect your Missionary or Biologist voyage, as a busy adventurer cannot appear the next day in port. Do not collect voyages from other adventurers until you need a ship.
• Collecting the standard voyage only matters if you have rerolls available or the third voyage slot is empty (bone voyage was your last reroll): if you have them available, collect the standard voyage and reroll for another bone voyage.

With this setup, you should average around 10 bones every 2 days.

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