Prison Skull Island Guide: Bosses and Loot (2026)

Short answer: Skull Island is the PvE and PvP zone on Complex Prison (hub.mc-complex.com); it opens 20 days into each season, and /warp skullisland (or /skull) takes you to the cannon that goes there. It has 3 tiers: tier 1 is free with no PvP, tier 2 unlocks at 5,000 tier 1 kills and has PvP beacons, and tier 3 unlocks at 25,000 tier 2 kills and is full PvP. Fight bosses and mobs for gear, gold shards, tokens to upgrade your items, netherite and more, open treasure chests with treasure keys for Angelic items, join hourly events and capture ponds with your gang. Keep inventory is on, but contraband items drop when you die.

What is Skull Island?​

Skull Island is Complex Prison's full PvE and PvP zone: an island full of custom mobs and bosses where you grind for gear and resources you can't get from the mines, with PvP areas for players who want the risk. It's one of the best ways to power up your character between rank-ups.

How to get to Skull Island​

Type /warp skullisland (or /skull) from anywhere on Prison to go to the Skull Island cannon, then hop in. Skull Island opens 20 days into each season. You don't need a rank or prestige to go. If another player kills you in tier 2 or 3, you have to wait 5 minutes before going back into that tier.
Gear up at the Skull Armory first: the Skull Armory NPC at spawn (/skullarmory while standing next to him) sells starter Skull Island armor and swords for tokens: Basic for 400 tokens per piece, Intermediate for 2,000 and Advanced for 4,000. A full Basic set costs 2,000 tokens. He also sells the Skull Backpack for 64 Gold Shards, which boosts your Skull Island drops.

The 3 tiers of Skull Island​

New players can grind safely in tier 1, then move up when their gear is ready for PvP.

What you can get on Skull Island​

• Gold shards: a valuable resource you can trade and spend.
• Tokens: mobs drop tokens in every tier, used to upgrade your items. They only count once you bank them (see below).
• Gear: drops from the mobs and bosses, including netherite gear. See How to Upgrade to Netherite.
• And more: Skull Island keeps getting new content with updates.

Treasure keys and Angelic items​

Treasure keys are rare drops from Skull Island mobs and bosses. Use them to open treasure chests on Skull Island for Angelic items and more. You can only carry one treasure key into Skull Island at a time. Treasure chests spawn every 1 to 2 hours in different spots, and /treasurechest shows when the next one spawns.

Pond events​

Skull Island has two ponds, one in tier 2 and one in tier 3. Your gang captures a pond by catching fish there: 75 fish at the tier 2 pond or 100 at the tier 3 pond. Ponds open for capture every 3 hours, and PvP is on within 30 blocks of a pond while it's unclaimed, so expect a fight. Fishing runes don't work in ponds, so every gang races on equal terms. Type /ponds to see who holds each pond and when it opens next. The gang that holds a pond gets a bonus on mobs in that pond's own tier: the tier 2 pond gives +25% drops and +50% XP on tier 2 mobs, and the tier 3 pond gives +35% drops and +75% XP on tier 3 mobs.
Every capture gives your gang 600 Gang Top points and counts toward Pond Mastery, which pays out as your gang's total captures for the season grow:

Skull Island events​

Every hour at :30, Skull Island runs an event. About 67% of the time it is a Skull Envoy, where loot chests drop in one of the tiers. The other 33% of the time it is Last Man Standing in tier 3, where the last player or gang standing wins a 1.5x Skull Island booster for 1 hour (in gang mode, the prize is a gang booster). On Sundays, bosses also spawn every hour. See the Prison Gang Events and Flash Mines Guide for the other Prison events.

Contraband: what you lose when you die​

Keep inventory is on, so you keep your normal items when you die. Contraband items are the exception: they drop when you die on Skull Island. Hover over an item to check if it's marked as contraband. Gold shards are one example.

Bank your tokens before you die​

Tokens you earn from Skull Island mobs don't go straight into your balance. They build up as Tokens Earned on your scoreboard, and you only keep them once you bank them. If you die or log out before banking, you lose those unbanked tokens.
Your tokens are banked when you:

• Leave through an Exit Portal (not while combat tagged). Your scoreboard shows the direction and distance to the nearest exit.
• Take the tier 1 cannon back to spawn.
• Use a Silver Ticket (256 Gold Shards from the Golden Merchant), which teleports you to spawn and banks your tokens.

You'll see a "Skull Island Earnings" message when your tokens are banked.

Skull Island tips​

• Start in tier 1: grind with no PvP until your gear is ready.
• Gear up first: better armor and weapons mean longer, safer runs.
• Bank often: the longer you stay, the more contraband and unbanked tokens you risk. Leave through an Exit Portal to bank your tokens.
• Fix your scoreboard: a lot of info gets pushed off the scoreboard on Skull Island. Type /scoreboard and turn off the lines you don't need, so Tokens Earned, boss HP and the exit direction stay visible.
• Use the Skull Armory: grab starter armor and a sword for tokens, and a Skull Backpack for 64 Gold Shards, at spawn before your first trip.
• Spend your tokens: put them into upgrades so every trip makes you stronger.
• Mix it with mining: grind Skull Island between rank-ups. See Minecraft Prison Tips: Rank Up Faster.

Skull Island FAQ​

How do I get to Skull Island?​

Do you lose items when you die on Skull Island?​

Do you lose tokens when you die on Skull Island?​

What drops on Skull Island?​

Is there PvP on Skull Island?​

What are treasure keys for?​

Do I need a rank to go to Skull Island?​

When are Skull Island events?​

When do treasure chests spawn on Skull Island?​

What do Skull Island ponds give?​