Becoming a rich and successful pirate in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced requires more than just a good ship and a crew. You must know how to prepare for missions, select your targets, and use your assassin skills to conquer the seas. Additionally, as Black Flag Resynced isn’t a 1 to 1 remake, even veterans of the series will need a refresher.
We listed 10 tips to help both veterans and beginners succeed in their missions in the remake of this classic Assassin’s Creed game.
Do a quick prep run before missions
As an assassin, all you need is your faithful hidden blade to finish off a target. Even so, it’s not a bad idea to be prepared for all kinds of situations. Since you can’t stock consumable items like remedies and mortar ammunition, you will want to guarantee that you have enough before battle. Sure, you can collect them from the enemies you kill or the chests you loot, but there’s always a chance of not finding any. To avoid relying too much on random drops, be sure to visit the General Store and Harbourmaster in your hideout or any other major city in the game to buy the items you need before leaving for a new mission.
Ignore forts for a while
There are several forts that you can invade around the map. Behind their fortified doors lies the promise of large amounts of reales and materials. Even so, you should probably ignore them until a main quest leads you to fight your first fort. Breaking down a fort’s defenses is not an easy feat, especially if you haven’t spent a good time upgrading the Jackdaw. Forts have mortars, multiple cannons, and they can even call for reinforcements. As a green pirate, you should leave these locations for later in the game.
Always use the swivel guns before boarding a ship
Whenever you board a ship, you must eliminate the enemy shipmen to reduce their morale and finally take over command. Edward is a skillful fighter, but he can’t do much if surrounded by multiple enemies. That’s why you want to reduce enemy numbers before jumping onto the ship by using the swivel gun. By default, you can fire it five times before running out of ammo (you can increase this number by upgrading the swivel gun in a Harbourmaster). Focus on using each shot to hit multiple targets or the powder barrels on deck.
Repairing your ship is a top priority
After conquering an enemy ship, you usually have a few options regarding what to do with it. You can either add the vessel to your fleet, release the prisoners to reduce your wanted level, or use its materials to repair your ship. Unless you’re in need of that ship for your fleet, or your ship hasn’t been damaged during the fight, you should choose to repair your ship. There’s always a chance of another battle starting as soon as you are back on the sea, and if the Jackdaw hasn’t been fixed, you will probably lose it. So, to ensure that you will live long enough to make it back to your hideout or anywhere else, your ship must be in good condition.
Ram into ships you can’t board
More often than not, you will be fighting a few enemies at the same time. Whenever this happens, you should try to take the weakest ones out of the battle first so you can focus on the main target. However, this also means that you won’t have time to board the small boats and take the materials they have, but there’s a way to quickly gather their loot. You can ram into them or shoot them. Both work, but the former is the cheaper, more practical way of doing it. In either case, you will sink the boat and take some loot. You receive considerably fewer materials than you would if you boarded the ship, but hey, a win is a win, right?
Parrying will quickly end a fight
You will be fighting a lot in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. From when you board a ship to invading a prison, you can’t completely avoid having to draw your swords and jump into action. A fight can, however, quickly end if you practice parrying. You can only parry attacks that are indicated by a blue glow, and by doing so, you’ll completely deplete a regular enemy of their defenses. Even when facing a boss, it’s possible to create a window to land multiple hits after parrying a single attack from them. By far, parrying is one of Edward’s strongest weapons.
Abuse the rope dart during battles
When dealing with multiple enemies at the same time, the rope dart can make your life easier. By using the quickfire option, you can throw the rope at the closest enemy and pull them toward you. This is a great way of breaking their defenses and killing them with a heavy strike. Besides incorporating it into your fighting style, you can use the rope dart as a defensive mechanism. Use the rope dart at an enemy who is aiming at you with their rifle to prevent them from shooting. If you do the same to an enemy preparing to throw a grenade, they will drop it and be hit by the explosion.
Enemy cannons also have cooldowns
In the course of a fight at sea, you can’t repair your ship. Because of that, you want to manage the amount of damage you take versus the amount you cause. A good way of knowing when it’s safe to approach the enemy ship is to pay attention to when they fire their last shots. Enemy cannons have cooldowns, which means that it takes some time before they can fire another cannon barrage. Use this time frame to pull alongside and fire all your cannons, then reduce your speed by striking the sails and escape without taking (too much) damage.
Use smoke bombs even when spotted
While the fantasy in any Assassin’s Creed game is to approach a target unseen and then strike them with a hidden blade, not every situation allows for a stylish hit kill. On many occasions, there are multiple enemies around your target, and handling all of them would be too risky. If you try to make a move and miss the target, do not lose hope. Pop a smoke bomb, and you might have the chance to perform an assassination even if the target spotted you. Just approach them and see if the command prompt appears. Once you’ve taken them down, leave the area. This won’t work with specific targets, but in most cases, you can get out of the crime scene after a clean hit.
Throw harpoons even when you can’t see the target
The harpoon minigame involves throwing harpoons at your target and depleting their life bar. Sharks and killer whales are nasty targets that move fast in the water. While you have a clear vision of them in the brief moments when they come out of the water, you won’t have enough time to land multiple hits. That’s why you should aim to hit them while they are underwater. They usually zigzag after you land the first hit, making it easier to predict their location and shoot the harpoon into the water. Most of the time, you won’t be seeing the target, but your prey will still take the damage. This strategy makes fishing for these large animals less demanding.
