Skull Guitar
Skull Guitar (formerly the Soul Guitar) is a Mythical gun that you craft in the Third Sea. It counts among the best and most used guns in PvP, mainly as a support weapon, because of its combo potential, stuns and long range, and it fits almost every build.
It is also a decent grinding gun, with multi-target attacks, decent damage and good area coverage. The cost is the climb: it ranks with Dragonstorm as one of the hardest guns to get without outside help, because of its level requirement, a Full Moon puzzle and a long list of materials.
Skull Guitar
Quick questions about Skull Guitar
What moves does Skull Guitar have?
Skull Guitar moves, mastery and Instinct
Plays a riff that releases a swirl of glowing green notes, which explodes on impact and scatters smaller green notes that also deal damage. It hits hard, has a large hitbox, can hit several targets and can damage large objects. It costs 20 energy, which makes the Skull Guitar the only gun whose normal attack uses energy. The projectile is slow.
Summons a skull in front of you that instantly shoots a beam of souls through walls and solid surfaces, and the screen colors invert in red for a single frame. The beam hard stuns, deals high damage and knocks the target away, like the Kabucha X but more instant. It is extremely fast and has great range, yet it can be hard to hit from far away and is sometimes hard to hit up close.
Summons a skull that rises into the sky, explodes into an aerial laser and warps the view of anyone looking at it. The laser deals tick damage in its radius. If you land the first hit, the target is stunned (Rubber users too, although they take no damage), and a soul follows to heal you: about 3% of your max health, plus 10% of the damage the move deals converted into health. It applies Life Leech, as only one other gun move does. Its area is decently large and it hits more than one target.
Plays a riff that releases a swirl of glowing green notes, which explodes on impact and scatters smaller green notes that also deal damage. It hits hard, has a large hitbox, can hit several targets and can damage large objects. It costs 20 energy, which makes the Skull Guitar the only gun whose normal attack uses energy. The projectile is slow.
Summons a skull in front of you that instantly shoots a beam of souls through walls and solid surfaces, and the screen colors invert in red for a single frame. The beam hard stuns, deals high damage and knocks the target away, like the Kabucha X but more instant. It is extremely fast and has great range, yet it can be hard to hit from far away and is sometimes hard to hit up close.
Summons a skull that rises into the sky, explodes into an aerial laser and warps the view of anyone looking at it. The laser deals tick damage in its radius. If you land the first hit, the target is stunned (Rubber users too, although they take no damage), and a soul follows to heal you: about 3% of your max health, plus 10% of the damage the move deals converted into health. It applies Life Leech, as only one other gun move does. Its area is decently large and it hits more than one target.
How do you get the Skull Guitar?
The Skull Guitar is crafted, not bought. You solve the Skull Guitar Puzzle once, then craft the gun with materials you gather at your own pace. The puzzle can be resumed: your progress stays if you stop, hop servers, or play outside a Full Moon. After you pray, you can hop into a private server to do the first step.
Skull Guitar puzzle and crafting steps
Reach Lv. 2300 and go to the Haunted Castle. The puzzle will not start below that level. Find the Gravestone: if candles are lit around it, you can try the puzzle.
Pray at the Gravestone at night during a Full Moon. A Full Moon comes about every 180 minutes, and roughly 54 to 55 minutes after a server is created; the chat says "The light of a full moon peaks through the clouds". Pray: the screen goes black for a second, candles light up and the puzzle begins. Below Lv. 2300 you only hear the dialogue.
Kill six Living Zombies at the same time with the same attack. Gather them within M1 range (Buddha with any sword or fighting-style M1 works well: hit each zombie once, then keep them together), use Instinct because they hit hard, and avoid anything with knockback. Equal damage on all six clears the step fastest, for example with Dragon Talon X or Ice V on a line of zombies.
Read the signs in the graveyard. Go back to the graveyard, where two rows of signs stand. Count the graves in each row (cross-shaped graves count, soil does not) and click the sign so it turns white and points at the row with the most graves.
Talk to the Ghost. Enter the main castle and go into the room on the right side of the stairs. Talking to the Ghost turns the screen black again.
Memorize the trophies. Go to the garden between the main castle and the room where the Soul Reaper spawns. Looking toward the castle, memorize or screenshot the order of the trophies. They are random, so the layout is different each time.
Enter the code at the circuits. Go to the electrical room under the Haunted Castle and turn left to the circuits. Enter a code that matches the trophies: a tree is blank, a trophy whose handle runs left to right is a horizontal line, and a handle that runs back and forth is a vertical line.
Match the floor tiles. In the same room, click the tiles on the floor until their colors match the pipes on the wall and the roof. A tile with no colored pipe stays as it is. When it is right, the unknown entity says "Congratulations."
Get 1 Dark Fragment and 5,000 Fragments. The Dark Fragment is a sure Darkbeard drop, and Fragments come from Raids and bosses.
Craft it at the Weird Machine. It sits in the basement of the Haunted Castle, near the machine opposite the entrance to the downstairs, and you can see it only after the puzzle. Craft the Skull Guitar with the four materials.
Reach Lv. 2300 and go to the Haunted Castle. The puzzle will not start below that level. Find the Gravestone: if candles are lit around it, you can try the puzzle.
Pray at the Gravestone at night during a Full Moon. A Full Moon comes about every 180 minutes, and roughly 54 to 55 minutes after a server is created; the chat says "The light of a full moon peaks through the clouds". Pray: the screen goes black for a second, candles light up and the puzzle begins. Below Lv. 2300 you only hear the dialogue.
Kill six Living Zombies at the same time with the same attack. Gather them within M1 range (Buddha with any sword or fighting-style M1 works well: hit each zombie once, then keep them together), use Instinct because they hit hard, and avoid anything with knockback. Equal damage on all six clears the step fastest, for example with Dragon Talon X or Ice V on a line of zombies.
Read the signs in the graveyard. Go back to the graveyard, where two rows of signs stand. Count the graves in each row (cross-shaped graves count, soil does not) and click the sign so it turns white and points at the row with the most graves.
Talk to the Ghost. Enter the main castle and go into the room on the right side of the stairs. Talking to the Ghost turns the screen black again.
Memorize the trophies. Go to the garden between the main castle and the room where the Soul Reaper spawns. Looking toward the castle, memorize or screenshot the order of the trophies. They are random, so the layout is different each time.
Enter the code at the circuits. Go to the electrical room under the Haunted Castle and turn left to the circuits. Enter a code that matches the trophies: a tree is blank, a trophy whose handle runs left to right is a horizontal line, and a handle that runs back and forth is a vertical line.
Match the floor tiles. In the same room, click the tiles on the floor until their colors match the pipes on the wall and the roof. A tile with no colored pipe stays as it is. When it is right, the unknown entity says "Congratulations."
Get 1 Dark Fragment and 5,000 Fragments. The Dark Fragment is a sure Darkbeard drop, and Fragments come from Raids and bosses.
Craft it at the Weird Machine. It sits in the basement of the Haunted Castle, near the machine opposite the entrance to the downstairs, and you can see it only after the puzzle. Craft the Skull Guitar with the four materials.
500 Bones
250 Ectoplasm
1 Dark Fragment
5,000 Fragments
Where to get the materials: Bones drop at the Haunted Castle from Reborn Skeletons (1 to 3, 33% chance), Living Zombies (2 to 4, 33%), Demonic Souls (3 to 5, 33%), Possessed Mummies (4 to 7, 33%), the Soul Reaper (41 to 43, every time), Haunted Crew Members (4 to 6) and Ghost Sharks (4 to 6). The Possessed Mummies are a fast farm, and choosing "Try Your Luck" at the Gravestone at night can give 20 Bones.
Ectoplasm drops 1 at a time from Ship Deckhands, Ship Engineers, Ship Stewards and Ship Officers, 4 to 5 from Haunted Crew Members and Ghost Sharks, and 10 every time from the Cursed Captain. Ship Officers are the best Ectoplasm grind, and an awakened Quake V inside the Cursed Ship hits every enemy at once.
The Dark Fragment always drops from Darkbeard in the Second Sea, who needs a Fist of Darkness to spawn. Fragments are paid by Raids: in the Third Sea you get 1,000 for finishing one with more than 2:36 minutes left.
How do you upgrade the Skull Guitar, and what does it give?
Bring the materials to a Blacksmith (see the Upgrading guide).
Skull Guitar upgrade cost
Upgrade: +6% damage.
Where to get them: the Dark Fragment comes from Darkbeard (see the crafting materials above), so a Skull Guitar with its upgrade needs two Dark Fragments in total. Dragon Scales drop in the Third Sea from the Dragon Crew Warriors and Archers on Hydra Island; they are one of the most annoying materials, because those enemies attack from far away and drop them rarely. Magma Ore drops from Military Soldiers, Military Spies, Magma General (formerly Magma Admiral), Magma Ninjas and Lava Pirates; the First Sea Military Soldiers have the least health, so they are the quickest to farm.
What are the best Skull Guitar combos?
These chains are rated Very Easy to Medium by players. The Skull Guitar adds its stuns between the hits of other swords, fighting styles and fruits.
Very easy: Dough and Godhuman
Easy: Lightning, Gravity Blade and Godhuman
- Keys: Lightning X > Skull Guitar X > Gravity Blade Z > Cyborg race skill > Godhuman X > Godhuman Z > Godhuman C > Skull Guitar Z (if needed)
- Needs: Lightning, Gravity Blade, Godhuman, the Cyborg race; gun stats.
- Tip: Lightning X is the opening stun, and any other stun move can replace it.
Easy: Lightning and Sanguine Art
- Keys: Lightning X > Skull Guitar X > Cyborg race skill > Sanguine Art C > Sanguine Art Z > Sanguine Art X
- Needs: Lightning, Sanguine Art, the Cyborg race; gun stats.
- Tip: A short chain: stun with Lightning X, land El Diablo, then finish with Sanguine Art.
Easy: Portal and Pole (2nd Form)
- Keys: Portal X (optional) > Portal Z > Skull Guitar X > Skull Guitar M1 > Pole (2nd Form) X (jump twice, look down) > Pole (2nd Form) Z > Skull Guitar Z > Skull Guitar M1 > Skull Guitar M1 > Portal V (optional)
- Needs: Portal, Pole (2nd Form); gun stats.
- Tip: This is a gun-main chain. Jump twice and look down before Pole X. Portal X and Portal V are optional.
Medium: Shark Anchor and Godhuman
- Keys: Skull Guitar X > Shark Anchor Z (hold until the target is grabbed, aimed at you) > Skull Guitar Z (aimed where the Shark Anchor Z went) > Godhuman Z (aim up, then move your camera down) > Godhuman X > Godhuman C > Shark Anchor X > Skull Guitar M1
- Needs: Shark Anchor, Godhuman; gun stats.
- Tip: It cannot be escaped or Instinct-tricked, and you can repeat it with Portal V. A Cyborg may interrupt it.
Skull Guitar strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
General
- High damage, and an overwhelming range that hits people from far away.
- Acts greatly as a combo starter.
- All moves, including M1, can damage Sea Events enemies.
Undead Notes (M1)
- Breaks Instinct, with a better hitbox than other guns and great range.
- Easy to hit, hits several targets and can damage large objects.
Soul Shaker (Z)
- Extremely fast, with great range and a good stun.
- Can line up your aim for ranged swords or fruits with small hitboxes.
El Diablo (X)
- Breaks Instinct, with an excellent combo-starter stun and a decently large area.
- Heals you a little, and stuns Rubber users even though it cannot damage them.
Weaknesses
General
- A high level requirement and a lot of materials.
- Rubber users are immune to its damage; El Diablo stuns them but does not break their Instinct.
- The puzzle has eight steps and starts only during a Full Moon.
Undead Notes (M1)
- The projectile is slow, and a target can dodge it by switching Instinct on in the middle of the move (Instinct tricking).
- It costs 20 energy, although energy regenerates quickly when you have a lot of it.
Soul Shaker (Z)
- Hard to hit from far away and sometimes at close range.
- Usually dodged with Instinct.
El Diablo (X)
- Easy to avoid, and the edge of the explosion can be dodged.
- Its medium stun on the user makes it ineffective for PvP in the air, and only some swords can be used during the move.
- The huge visual effects can block your own view as well as the enemy, which makes follow-ups harder without Instinct.
Verdict
Get the Skull Guitar if you have the level and the patience for the puzzle, and you want a long-range stun gun that starts combos in PvP and works with almost any build. Skip it if you want a gun you can buy today, or if you mostly fight in the air.
Skull Guitar tips and tricks
- Turn screen shake off: disabling it in the settings removes the disorientation from Soul Shaker and El Diablo, which makes the gun one of the best stun weapons in the game.
- Do not press M1 and a move together: doing so cancels the move.
- Aim Soul Shaker carefully: it breaks Instinct only when aimed properly, so line it up first.
- Farm with El Diablo: hitting a group can summon several healing souls, which is a very efficient way to heal when farming or fighting teamers.
- Use Undead Notes as a light: its M1 can light up Mirage Island to help find the Blue Gear, and it can hit the pressure points on Prehistoric Island.
- Plan for two Dark Fragments: one goes into the craft and one into the +6% damage upgrade.
Skull Guitar showcase video
Skull Guitar showcase video
Video by VarietyJay on YouTube: the full showcase of the reworked Skull Guitar, recorded in November 2024, before the Update 29.6 hitbox change.
What changed in the Skull Guitar updates?
The Skull Guitar arrived as the Soul Guitar in Update 17.3, was renamed in Update 24 and was rebalanced in Update 29.6, so older guides still use the old name.
- The Skull Guitar was rebalanced. Movement bug abuse was mitigated, and the hitbox size of X (El Diablo) decreased by 15%.
- The Soul Guitar got a redesigned model and was renamed Skull Guitar. The hitbox of its X move was also reduced.
- The Soul Guitar can no longer heal from ships.
- Added to the game.
