Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is now out on PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC. And it is a very good remake of one of the best Assassin’s Creed games ever made. But before you hop into this revamped pirate adventure, I’ve got some tips, tricks, and bits of advice to share with you that I picked up from playing over 40 hours of the game ahead of launch.
Heed me words, mateys, and all ye dogs will be doin’ fine. Ignore my warnings, though, and…well, pirates rarely lived long back then.
Don’t get too distracted with side stuff
The seas and islands of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced are filled with all sorts of side activities to find and complete. But I recommend you stick to the main path as much as possible for the first half of the game or so, as you’ll unlock new weapons, gear, and other key pieces of equipment that will prove useful in your pirating experience. Once you unlock the blowdart gun, you can go explore more and not be so laser-focused on the main story.
Take advantage of that new crouch button
In this new remake, Kenway can crouch. So unlike in the original Black Flag, you aren’t forced to walk around areas looking for a sneaky bush to hide in. Use that crouch, as it can help you hide on rooftops and behind short walls, or just make you a bit harder to see from a distance.
Take out contract targets for quick, easy coin
For a good portion of Black Flag Resynced, money is hard to come by. But alas, you need money to upgrade your ship and main character. What’s a pirate to do? Well, keep an eye out for assassination contracts, marked by a white skull icon, and pick some up to score some easy gold. These targets are rarely far away and usually have just a few guards, making them an easy and fast way to make some coin.
Upgrade your holster and health ASAP
The first thing the game makes you upgrade is your holster, letting you hold another pistol. And you should try to upgrade your holsters again and again ASAP, as having four guns is very useful in combat. Meanwhile, upgrade your health, too, as it will let you take more hits, and in the rough-and-tumble world of piracy, that’s important. And if you’re struggling to find iguanas or whatever other animal you might need for that next upgrade…
Use bones collected from hunting to purchase whatever resources you need for upgrades
When you kill and skin animals in Black Flag Resynced, you earn some animal-specific resources as well as some generic bones. These bones can then be used at general stores to buy specific animal parts and items. This can prove very handy if you’re struggling to find a specific creature or only need one more piece of killer whale skin, but don’t want to go whaling again.
Don’t forget you can take out two targets at once
If two enemies are standing next to each other, aim for the center, and you’ll likely see a prompt offering up a double assassination. Do it and take out both guards while also looking cool.
Leave incapacitated ships around during battles for repairs
Naval warfare plays a big part in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. And sometimes, these ship battles can be brutal, as you might have to take on multiple ships at once. To help, whenever you incapacitate a ship, don’t blow it up right away. Instead, focus on other ships and leave that now-harmless vessel as a possible way to repair your own big boat during the rest of the fight. If your ship’s health starts getting low, just whip around to one of those vessels you incapacitated earlier and board it. Enemy ships will stop attacking as you board, and once you’re finished fighting the boarded vessel’s crew, you can repair your own ship before hopping right back into battle.
Before boarding, use the swivel guns to clear the enemy deck
However, before you go boardin’ someone else’s ship, run over to your Jackdaw’s swivel cannons and man one. This will let you take a few shots at the boat, killing enemies and blowing up explosive barrels, too. This will soften up the ship and make it easier to board. Heck, for really small ships, you can sometimes kill enough enemy sailors using the swivel gun to avoid even having to step foot on it.
And when boarding, swing in and assassinate someone
But wait, there’s one more thing to keep in mind before you board an enemy ship. After you use the swivel guns, make sure to swing across using one of your ship’s ropes. Not only is this fun, fast, and cool-looking, but it will let you air-assassinate an enemy when you land. I tend to target captains, bigger brutes, or any other enemy type that is likely to be difficult to kill in a one-on-one sword fight.
Upgrade the mortar and use it often!
The Jackdaw’s mortar is the best and most powerful weapon on Kenway’s ship. It allows you to take out smaller ships from a distance with one hit. And it is very useful when fighting heavily defended forts, as you can take out the base’s defensive walls and towers from a distance. So whenever you can, upgrade the mortar. And then don’t forget to use it; even during ship fights, it can be a devastating tool to use while your cannons are cooling down.
You can fast-travel to forts
The game might tell you this, but I can’t remember. Either way, you can fast-travel to forts after you conquer them in battle. And every fort has a person you can bribe to remove your wanted level after blowing up or robbing a bunch of ships.
Complete officer quests to get some snazzy new ship options
There are three officers to meet and help in Black Flag Resynced. Two of them are available before the end of the game; the other arrives after the main story. These quests are marked with a hat-like icon on the map, and you should do them, not only because they’re new bits of content added to this remake, but also because each of the officers eventually provides you with some useful tech for your ship.
Smoke a group of enemies during a fight to take them out easily
When fighting enemies, feel free to drop a smoke bomb if you have one. This will let you escape, sure, but you can also begin assassinating enemies caught in the smoke, which can help turn a fight around if you’re surrounded and running low on health.
Oh, look for blue boxes for more health-providing rations
In Resynced, you can hold onto a few rations that, when activated, refill your health. These are very useful in large fights or when taking on a big enemy. If you run out, just keep an eye open for small, blue wooden boxes to refill your supply of rations. If you find one of these boxes, have taken some damage, but can’t hold any more rations, pop one, heal, and grab the rations from the box before moving on.
You can use your diving bell to refill your air meter as much as you want
One last tip: When doing underwater dives for treasure, keep in mind that you can refill your oxygen meter using the diving bell that brought you down. If there are chests in the starting area, don’t use the air barrels nearby; instead, use the main bell you were sent down in and save those for later when you might desperately need them after going further out to explore.
Roll to survive incredibly high drops
Kenway is a tough pirate and can survive even super-high falls. All you need to do is roll when you hit the ground. You can also find a charm later on that lets you take no fall damage ever, if you really want to live dangerously.
Schooners and brigs are what you want in your fleet
While Man O’ Wars are big and impressive, the real ships you want to load up on in Kenway’s fleet are brigs and schooners. Schooners let you can make a ton of money by selling trade goods using the map found in your ship’s cabin. Meanwhile, brigs let you take on pirate missions that reward you with bonus trade goods. So you want to have at least two of each of these, assuming you have the space in your fleet.
