Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: Do This Classic Side Activity Early
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced brings back one of the most “classic” side activities from the 2013 original, and it’s the kind of content that’s just as valuable in the remake as it was back then. If you’ve just started Ubisoft’s latest take on Edward Kenway’s pirate adventures, it’s smart to knock out these activities early—before the game formally explains them. In fact, it’s easy to be ahead of the tutorial on purpose.
Even with all the improvements Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced makes over the original, some of those changes are only slight. And when something already works, there’s no real need to “fix” it. That mindset is exactly why the in-game forts are such a central part of the experience.
Ubisoft is also leaning hard into the game’s hype with a large promotional event: a treasure hunt tied to the launch window that carries a total prize pool of $500,000.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s Forts Provide Early Power and Ongoing Rewards
Once you have full access to the Jackdaw and the opening map of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, you should start upgrading your ship immediately before pushing deeper into the main story. On the upper areas of the map, you’ll find three “Easy” forts. Clearing these forts improves fast travel, provides materials you can use for upgrades, and pays out generous amounts of Spanish Reales, the in-game currency you’ll need to keep investing in your Jackdaw and other options.
The forts are especially useful early on because they help you build up the first wave of Jackdaw upgrades using both coin and crafting materials. They also reward you with fast travel points while you explore, which makes it easier to keep moving through the world as you progress.
As you work through these fort objectives, you’ll also unlock and expand Kenway’s Fleet. This is a smaller, passive income route that lets you earn additional money without actively stopping your play session—an easy way to reinforce Edward Kenway’s “core pirate fantasy” while still keeping the main momentum going.
One funny twist: the game doesn’t teach you how forts work until Sequence 5, during a mission called The Forts. The recommended move is to do it earlier anyway. When you reach Sequence 4’s story mission Nothing is True…, you’re given enough freedom to start making early improvements to the Jackdaw before you head to the meeting point.
When you begin those earliest ship upgrades, Mortars should be your first target. They go a long way toward clearing the forts efficiently. Improving your Mortars doesn’t just make fort assaults easier—it also boosts how well the Jackdaw performs in ship combat in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. And beyond the practical gains, the forts themselves are just entertaining: you destroy a military fort, then turn around and fight it on land. That loop is satisfying enough that it works as a reward on its own.
There are additional forts in the middle and lower parts of the map as well. As you head toward those stronger locations, keep your upgrades current. The game also includes Ultimate Plans—finding them and completing them as soon as you can will help you tackle the harder forts earlier, rather than waiting until later.
These advantages don’t fade away either. The benefits you gain from fort progress carry through the full runtime, making endgame tasks less punishing and more manageable.
Beyond the forts, there are still plenty of other side activities and places to visit in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, so it’s completely understandable to spend time elsewhere. Even so, few activities match both the fun factor and the necessity of fort runs. If you want the smoothest experience, keep forts in your plans and don’t let them slip too far down the priority list.
