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10 things to do after beating Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
Plundered every doubloon and shivered your last timber? Here are 10 ways to keep enjoying what Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has to offer after you've completed the main story.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced brings the 2013 fan favourite into the modern day. Running on the Anvil engine, Black Flag Resynced features updated visuals alongside hours of additional content, giving returning players plenty of reasons to revisit Edward Kenway’s adventure. But the end of the main questline is far from the end of your time on the high seas. Here’s what to do once you’ve rolled credits on Black Flag Resynced.
01
Explore the new side missions
No spoilers, but A World Without Gold is worth waiting for
© Ubisoft
One of the main draws of Black Flag Resynced is the raft of new content introduced alongside the original adventure. There are three new Naval Officers, each with their own side quests to recruit them. These Naval Officers each provide unique perks that can make naval combat significantly easier.
If you’ve already completed those on your way through the main quest, the ‘A World Without Gold’ endgame chapter offers eight additional missions that expand Blackbeard’s story. It’s only unlocked at the start of the final sequence of the game, so there’s a good chance you’ve not yet played through it. No spoilers, but it features some of the best ship combat sequences in the game.
02
Conquer every fort and complete fleet missions
Forts are defensive structures that guard various stretches of coastline across the map's many islands. There are 11 to conquer, the first of which, Punta Guarico, is completed during the main questline.
Each fort requires you to fire at its towers to take them down. Once the defences are down, you head inside on foot to defeat the soldiers occupying it and claim the fort for yourself. Forts reward you with money, resources and cosmetics for your ship, while also becoming available as a fast-travel point.
Every fort also unlocks the ability to complete Kenway’s Fleet missions in that region of the map from your manor on Great Inagua. These passive missions send captured ships across trade routes to earn additional money and materials. Matching the right ships to the right missions improves the chances of success, while unsuccessful expeditions can result in ships being lost permanently.
03
Take on the legendary ships
Taking down the legendary ships is a real challenge
© Ubisoft
Looking to put your naval combat skills to the test? The four (technically five) legendary ships that patrol the corners of the map are among the toughest challenges in the game and will arrive once you’ve destroyed all of the forts.
Each legendary ship has its own combat strategy. One favours ramming attacks and burning shot broadsides, while another relies on mortars and hides in the fog. Make sure your Jackdaw is fully upgraded, then hunt them down to unlock legendary cosmetic rewards.
04
Find the four Rifts and experience ‘what if’ scenarios
The new 'Rifts' tell alternate versions of key events
© Ubisoft
Rifts are another piece of new content in Black Flag Resynced and are entirely optional. These are unique quests stored within the Animus that provide additional narrative context through ‘what if’ scenarios for Edward. They’re pretty easy to spot thanks to their glitchy appearance in the world.
Each one is unlocked once you reach a certain point in the story, but you don’t need to do them right away. They offer an alternative perspective on the game’s established narrative, making them worth seeking out for players interested in the wider lore.
05
Go harpoon hunting and explore underwater shipwrecks
Dive deep to upgrade your ship
© Ubisoft
Activities on the high seas aren’t all about unloading your cannons on naval fleets and forts. As you make your way through the game, you’ll have unlocked the ability to upgrade the Jackdaw with Deep Sea Diving equipment and improved harpoon gear.
The harpoon spots dotted across the map require you to throw harpoons at huge aquatic creatures while they try to destroy your boat and escape. Succeeding rewards rare materials to upgrade Edward’s gear. Deep-sea diving allows you to explore underwater wrecks and caves for treasures, all the while avoiding patrolling sharks.
Both activities provide a change of pace from naval combat, and each has trophies/ achievements tied to them. ‘Seven Deadly Seas’, for example, requires you to find all Underwater Shipwreck treasure chests, while ‘Davy Jones’s Locker’ requires you to swim to the lowest point on the map.
06
Complete every Templar hunt to unlock the Templar armour
After reaching the manor on Great Inagua, you may have spotted the Templar armour hanging in the corner of the main office. It remains locked away until Edward collects the four remaining keys from Templar targets scattered across the Caribbean.
Each of the four Templar hunts requires you to meet an assassin and complete a series of side missions, culminating in assassinating the key-holding Templar.
The armour itself is purely cosmetic, but it does come with the Templar Cross Trinket, which reduces all damage taken from melee attacks when equipped.
07
Restore Great Inagua’s village and manor
Restore Great Inagua for a host of benefits
© Ubisoft
Great Inagua becomes a hub for many of your pirate activities in Black Flag Resynced. It’s where you can upgrade different buildings to unlock new upgrades, complete fleet missions for passive rewards and spend your thousands of Reales on restoring the village and manor to their former glory.
Fully restoring all buildings in the village is tied to the ‘Governor’ trophy/achievement, while fully upgrading the manor and filling all of its art collection and equipment slots will net you the ‘Dilettante’ trophy/achievement, one of the most time-intensive in the game.
08
Finish every naval and assassin contract
Take out targets and earn money with assassin contracts
© Ubisoft
Naval and assassin contracts allow you to test your combat skills on land and at sea. Naval contracts task you with taking down a certain ship, with a bonus for defeating it in a certain way. Assassin contracts are similar, but give you a target on land that you must eliminate, again with extra cash for meeting certain requirements.
There are 15 naval contracts and 30 assassin contracts to complete, all of which are scattered across the map. Finishing every contract adds several more hours of gameplay while rewarding money, resources, and valuable upgrades.
09
Collect all 16 Mayan stelae
The Mayan stelae are a rewarding side activity
© Ubisoft
Early in the main quest, Jack Kidd will take you to some Mayan ruins deep within which is a locked door requiring Mayan stelae to unlock.
This requires you to find 16 different Mayan stelae, each of which requires you to complete an alignment mini-puzzle from atop a pillar to reveal where it has been buried. It’s a rewarding side activity that encourages you to venture off the beaten path of the main questline.
Hunt them all down and return to Tulum to open the door. You’ll receive the fancy Mayan outfit, and the Yax Tun pendant. The outfit is just for show, but the pendant protects Edward from incoming gunfire when equipped.
More on Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
10
Earn every remaining trophy and achievement
Working through this list, you’re likely only missing a few trophies/achievements, if that. For completionists, ticking off the remaining challenges offers another reason to continue exploring everything Black Flag Resynced has to offer.
Head to the taverns to win each of the different games, kill a guard ringing a bell, get a perfect harpoon shot on a Great White Shark, and kick a berserk enemy caught in smoke off a ship. These are just a handful of the missable trophies/achievements you can use as an impetus to spend a few more hours on the high seas.
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