Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: Top Early Priorities for Better Stealth

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced throws you back into the Caribbean with a familiar sandbox structure: you’re encouraged to roam across seas and islands at your own pace shortly after meeting protagonist Edward Kenway. If you want the smoothest early ramp-up—better stealth, stronger ship power, and more ways to earn resources—these are the first priorities worth tackling.

7 Things to Do First in AC Black Flag

1. Synchronize Viewpoints
2. Get Hidden Blades & Your First Pistol
3. Gather Materials for Jackdaw Upgrades
4. Upgrade the Hideout Harbourmaster
5. Craft More Pistol Holsters
6. Recruit Officers
7. Capture Early Forts

Synchronize Viewpoints

Following classic Assassin’s Creed design, the world is packed with viewpoints you can reach by climbing. They’re shown with eagle-style markers on your map, and once you synchronize them, each viewpoint also becomes a fast-travel option.

Synchronization is more than convenience, though. It also exposes additional map markers, including animal areas, chest locations, treasure map drops, collectibles, and other useful points of interest.

Your earliest big target is Havana, Cuba. The city includes nine viewpoints, so it’s worth synchronizing as many of them as you can. Not only does it help you uncover what the town holds, it also makes later backtracking far less annoying as you push deeper into the story.

Get Hidden Blades & Your First Pistol

Keep progressing through the main narrative until you reach the mission “Mr. Walpole, I Presume.” That’s the point where you finally obtain the hidden blades along with a firearm, expanding your combat and stealth options immediately.

With the hidden blades and your gun, you unlock access to double assassinations, aerial assassinations, and long-range attacks. In practice, these tools make both sneaking and open engagements easier to manage, because you can switch tactics depending on how the fight develops.

Gather Materials for Jackdaw Upgrades

Jackdaw upgrades start unlocking during the “This Tyro Captain” quest in Sequence 3. Upgrades require a combination of reales, cloth, wood, and metal. The most direct method to collect these materials is to attack other ships at sea.

Once you have a bit more freedom, spend time sailing in search of enemy vessels—especially in the least risky areas at first. The goal is simple: stockpile as many upgrade materials as possible so you’re ready to strengthen the Jackdaw when new options become available through the Great Inagua Harbourmaster.

Ship upgrades aren’t limited to combat loot, either. You can also find materials by picking up barrels and crates floating around the open ocean, and you can use Kenway’s Fleet to gain resources passively over time.

Upgrade the Hideout Harbourmaster

The Great Inagua hideout becomes available during the “This Old Cove” quest in Sequence 4. Upgrading the Great Inagua Harbourmaster unlocks new upgrade tiers for the Jackdaw. There are three Harbourmaster levels total, and reaching the third level unlocks all Jackdaw upgrades—meaning you can buy everything you want as long as you have the required materials.

This upgrade path should be treated as a priority, particularly if you plan to take on naval combat involving higher-level or legendary ships. A stronger Jackdaw doesn’t just help you survive—it also increases how much valuable loot and treasure you can pull from dangerous vessels.

Craft More Pistol Holsters

To start crafting, complete the “This Tyro Captain” quest in Sequence 3 first. Crafting allows you to add three extra pistol holsters, raising Edward’s maximum to four pistols. Importantly, you can craft these early—well before the end of Sequence 4.

Here are the upgrades you need and the materials required:

Dry Tortuga (190, 669), (317, 713)

Recruit Officers

Officer recruitment becomes available after you fully unlock the Great Inagua home base during “This Old Cove” in Sequence 4. From there, you can pick up officer-specific quests to bring new crew members aboard. To begin, open the map, then press Square/X to access the quest menu and choose Officer Quests.

Two officers can be recruited early, before the end of Sequence 4: Lucy Baldwin (Shipwright) and the Padre (Master-at-Arms). Lucy’s talent focuses on reducing ship damage if you brace right before getting hit, while the Padre improves the Jackdaw’s ram attack so it deals more damage.

Capture Early Forts

To unlock Kenway’s Fleet, capture the red forts visible on the map across the northern major zones. Once a zone is opened, you can dispatch ships from the Great Inagua hideout to earn materials and reales passively.

For early progress, focus on forts in the easiest zones: Gibara, Eluthera, and Dry Tortuga. Upgrade the Jackdaw as much as possible, then use your best weapons to break through fort defenses from the sea while dealing with hostile ships nearby.

You can also board nearby enemy ships to repair the Jackdaw while continuing to attack the forts—as long as you don’t wander too far away. If you leave the fort’s area, the fort repairs itself over time, so positioning matters.

Why these early steps matter

• Synchronizing viewpoints quickly turns the map into a usable fast-travel network while revealing more than just travel points.
• Getting the hidden blades and pistol early expands both stealth and ranged pressure, which changes how every later encounter feels.
• Stockpiling upgrade materials early makes Jackdaw improvements happen sooner, which directly affects both survivability and loot.
• Harbourmaster progression and officer recruitment work together: stronger ship tiers plus crew skills make naval fights and fleet income more efficient.
• Capturing forts in safer zones helps you start Kenway’s Fleet sooner, giving you passive returns while you continue exploring.

Up Next: Tips and Tricks

Top Guide Sections

• Things to Do First
• Tips and Tricks
• Walkthrough
• Side Quests

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