Guide to Upgrading Your Ship in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced

Upgrading your ship in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is very deliberate, starting with completing the “Raise the Black Flag” quest to unlock ship upgrades. Then, liberating Great Inagua to build and level up the harbour master stalls that sell ship upgrades. 

Still, you’ll need to stock up on Reales and collect crafting materials needed to buy offense and defense ship upgrades. For more powerful ship upgrades, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced provides you with ultimate plans hidden underwater and in buried treasure maps. 

To ensure your Jackdaw ship is locked and loaded with everything you need to survive the Caribbean islands, follow along the quick guide I have for you below.

Complete “Raise the Black Flag” Quest to Unlock Ship Upgrades

You won’t instantly be able to upgrade your ship when you start the Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced story campaign. You have to complete the “Raise the Black Flag” main story mission in Sequence Three to be able to upgrade your ship.

It’s a pretty straightforward mission, where you learn how to gather resources for upgrading your ship through plundering enemy ships, and then use those resources you acquire to upgrade your ship by talking to the harbour master. 

Liberate Great Inagua to Unlock Your Hideout

The harbour master is the Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced’s NPC vendor who sells you ship upgrades. While at first, you’ll interact with the harbour master at the basic level, soon, you’ll upgrade their tier, allowing you to buy more powerful ship upgrades.

But first, you’ll need to liberate Great Inagua. Only then will Great Inagua become your permanent hideout.

Complete “This Old Cove” Quest to Build and Level Up Your Harbour Master Stall

Right after, you’ll need to upgrade your harbour master tier by completing the “This Old Cove” quest in Sequence Four. Here, you’ll build and level up your harbour master’s stall.

There are three tiers for your harbour master’s stall. Make sure to keep upgrading by re-visiting your hideout, talking to the harbour masters (there are several), and spending in-game Reales to upgrade their tiers. At the max level, you’ll be able to access the best ship upgrades.

Engage in Naval Combat to Farm Reales

Your harbour master will ask three things of you for your ship upgrades: Reales, which are the Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced’s in-game currency, crafting materials like wood, metal, and rum, and ultimate or elite plans for the higher-end, most powerful upgrades. I’ll cover how to collect crafting materials and locate ultimate plans in a bit.

The fastest way to earn Reales is to engage in naval combat. Otherwise, you might strike it big on treasure chests spread across the map. You can raid warehouses for tradeable goods and collect passive income like protection money. 

Plunder Enemy Ships and Navy Vessels to Collect Crafting Materials

Meanwhile, you can collect crafting materials by boarding enemy ships and plundering the resources they have. An alternative way is to go hunting. If you have enough Reales, though, you can always buy the crafting materials from general stores. Remember to upgrade the stores to get more valuable crafting materials in stock.

Prioritize Offense and Defense Ship Upgrades

Now that you have unlocked and collected everything you need to upgrade your ship, it’s time to talk to the harbour master and prioritize what you need. Reales aren’t easy to accumulate at the start. So, it’s important to only buy what’s most important.

Ideally, you’ll want to bolster your ship’s offense and defense before you get to storage. I’ve found the following items most essential in naval combat and exploration.

For offense:

• Mortar – To boost your long-range attacks, you’ll want to equip the Mortar ship upgrades. These come in handy when attacking forts, creating a consistent stream of sustained damage. Alternatively, they help attack enemy ships from far away before closing in for the final push.
• Broadside Cannons – It’s always helpful to have more cannons on your ship, especially when you can distribute them all around. That way, you deal more damage to ships that come up beside you. 
• Round and Heated Shot – If you have more Reales, you can consider the Round and Heated Shot upgrade, which directly increases the damage output of your cannons.
• Ram – My personal favorite way to attack enemy ships is to ram into them. So, I definitely felt inclined to scoop up the Ram upgrades. Combined with the new Ram Dash ability, you’ll ram into enemies much faster, dealing even more damage.

For defense: 

• Armoured Hull – This is the first ship upgrade you’ll have access to. It’s pretty important because it directly increases your ship’s resistance to damage. With additional health points, your ship will last long enough to take down more powerful enemy ships. 

Locate Ultimate Plans in Underwater Shipwrecks and Buried Treasure Maps

You can boost your ship upgrades to their maximum tier using ultimate plans, also called elite plans or blueprints. In total, you’ll find 12 ultimate plans in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced. Half of them are found in underwater shipwrecks, while the other half are found in buried treasure maps. 

For the blueprints found underwater, you’ll need a diving bell, which you’ll unlock by completing the “Diving for Medicines” quest in Sequence Six. The diving bell is important to help you manage oxygen while exploring underwater. 

To locate the ultimate plans in the shortest time possible, I’ve highlighted the specific underwater shipwrecks containing the priority ship upgrades listed above.

• Mortar Ultimate Plan – Antocha shipwreck at coordinates (600, 636) 
• Broadside Cannon Ultimate Plan – The Blue Hole shipwreck at coordinates (440, 145)
• Round Shot Ultimate Plan – Kabah Ruins shipwreck at coordinates (738, 120)
• Ram Ultimate Plan – La Concepción sipwreck at coordinates (150, 271)
• Hull Armor Ultimate Plan – San Ignacio shipwreck at coordinates (348, 745)

For the buried treasure maps, you’ll need to find the treasure map first. Then, go treasure hunting to locate the ultimate plan you need.

• Mortar Ultimate Plan –  The Tortuga treasure map is on the North East of Tortuga beach at coordinates (851,352), while the ultimate plan is buried on Matanzas in Dry Tortuga at coordinates (312, 617)
• Heavy Shot Ultimate Plan – The Cayman Sound treasure map is on the North West of the Cayman Sound island at coordinates (298, 311), while the ultimate plan is buried on Petite Caverne at coordinates (863, 235)