Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Guide | Best Early Ship Upgrades

Here’s a guide to getting the best Early Upgrades for your Jackdaw in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

Game Guide by Ragib Rawnak on Jul 12, 2026

Upgrading the Jackdaw changes the way you experience ocean travel in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. While the vessel does well when you first get it, buying specific Ship Upgrades from the get-go makes battles a lot easier.

Essential Tips for Ship Progression

You can’t unlock higher Gear Tiers right away. You need to upgrade your Home Island facilities on Great Inagua to unlock advanced levels at the Harbourmaster shop. If you need money, focus on upgrading local buildings to generate a Passive Income stream.

When fighting other captains, board their vessels and crack open the Captain’s Lockbox inside the main cabin to secure large amounts of Gold Coins in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.

You can also unlock two early crew companions for free defense boosts after finishing the story mission, This Old Cove. Talk to Lucy Baldwin to unlock the Perfect Brace ability for your hull defense.

Complete the side quest for Padre to learn the Focused Ram maneuver to hit enemy hulls for high damage. While you must visit a dock shop to install parts, you can track current crafting prices at any time by opening the Ship Menu and looking at the upgrades screen.

Long-Range Mortars and Storage

Your first priority after the initial forced tutorial level should be purchasing the long-range Mortars and extra Mortar Storage. This weapon system allows you to strike enemy targets from extreme distances and deals massive damage.

Because ammunition supplies are strictly limited, buying extra storage space is vital before you try to capture any Naval Fort. Keep in mind that long-range shots take longer to fly through the air, giving moving targets time to turn away in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

Aim your targeting reticle at where the target is going to be rather than where they stand when you fire.

Broadside Weapons and Cannons

Your main damage comes from your broadside volleys, which combine your standard Round Shot and Heated Shot attacks.

Upgrading these systems requires balancing two different tracks. If you choose to upgrade the Round and Heated Shot node under the weapon menu, you increase the base damage dealt by every single cannonball.

If you choose to upgrade your Broadside Cannons node under the ship category, you add more physical barrels to your ship to increase the total number of cannonballs you fire at one time.

Focus on upgrading your base damage output first since it only costs 900 coins, then save up 70 units of metal to add more physical guns to your port and starboard sides in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

Bow Chasers and Chain Shot

Once your broadside firepower is stable, turn your attention to your front-facing Bow Chasers and expand your front cannon capacity.

Using the specialized Chain Shot directly against enemy sails damages their rigging and slows down their speed once you fill up the target anchor icon completely. This maneuver is a great way to start an engagement or stop a fast vessel from outflanking you.

It is much cheaper to upgrade the base damage node first, as adding more physical front cannons requires collecting a lot of extra wood and metal supplies from targets you scan with your Spyglass.

Armored Hull and Health Pools

Your Armored Hull represents your overall ship health pool. Because you can completely restore your ship's health mid-fight by boarding disabled vessels, you can survive long encounters as long as you do not get destroyed before reaching the next deck.

High weapon damage means nothing if the enemy shreds your hull during the very first volley of cannon fire. Focus on upgrading your armor defense through the first few tiers before the material prices jump in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.

While keeping your hull strong is the single most important part of naval survival, it costs significantly more than buying weapons, so you should build up your basic guns first to help you farm the necessary resources safely.

Also, check our Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Review and other guides below: