Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: Beginner’s Guide#

Table of Contents#

#	Chapter	What it covers
1	Getting Started	Platforms and editions, accounts, language, graphics settings
2	Difficulty Settings	How to pick among the four independent difficulty types
3	Basic Controls	Four control sets: on foot, combat, stealth, and sailing
4	Prologue Walkthrough	From shipwreck survivor to your first captured ship
5	Early-Game Route	What to do in your first ten hours
6	Beginner Mistakes	The six biggest time-wasters

Getting Started#

Platforms and Editions#

Platform	Notes
PS5 / PS5 Pro	60 fps mode supported; a more stable image on the Pro
Xbox Series X\|S	60 fps mode; Quick Resume supported
PC	Three storefronts: Ubisoft Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store; Steam Deck verified
Cloud	GeForce Now and Blacknut

The extras that come with the Deluxe and Collector’s Editions — the Assassin Master character pack and the sailing pack — are gear and cosmetics only: no exclusive story content, and no impact on trophies.

Language and Audio#

Simplified Chinese comes with full voice-over and text, while Traditional Chinese, Korean, Russian, Polish, and Arabic are text-only. If you want to hear Chinese voice acting in the story, pick Simplified Chinese; interface language and voice-over language can be set separately in the options.

Graphics Settings Trade-offs#

Setting	Recommendation	Why
Resolution	Native; drop to 1440p if frame rates dip	Water and vegetation are the heaviest hitters
Ray tracing	Medium-high	Mostly shows in water reflections and overall lighting
Water quality	High or above	Naval combat is the centerpiece, and water differences are the most visible
Dynamic weather	On	It affects ship handling; turning it off removes a layer of tactical information
Frame rate cap	Match your monitor’s refresh rate	Combat hinges on parry timing — stability beats peak numbers
V-Sync	Off; use G-Sync or FreeSync instead	Reduces input lag

Compare your rig against the four official preset tiers in the table on the homepage; all four tiers require 16 GB of dual-channel memory and 65 GB of SSD storage.

Difficulty Settings#

This game splits difficulty into four categories, each independent and changeable at any time:

Category	What it affects	Recommendation
Combat	Enemy damage, parry windows, execution triggers	Start on Original; once parrying feels natural, move up to Hardcore if you like
Naval	Enemy ship firepower and boarding pressure	Temporarily lowering it while tackling legendary ships won’t affect trophies
Stealth	Detection speed and visibility checks	Switch to Forgiving if tailing missions get on your nerves
Activities	Hunting, gambling, Kenway’s Fleet, and more	Unrelated to the main story — set to taste

Original is the default and feels closest to the 2013 original; Forgiving lowers the entry bar for both stealth and naval combat.

Basic Controls#

On Land and Parkour#

Action	Controls
Move	Directional keys or left stick
Sprint	Hold the sprint key
Crouch	A dedicated crouch key — you can crouch on any surface
Climb and free-run	Push toward any climbable surface
Free jump	Press jump while free-running to leap in any direction
Observation Mode	Marks enemies and interactable objects while active
Quick day/night switch	Skip time while out of combat

Combat#

Action	Notes
Light attack	Fast chains that flow into dual swords or the Hidden Blade
Heavy attack	Breaks guards and interrupts; effective against enemies with a guard bar
Block	Hold to enter a defensive stance; a well-timed block counts as a perfect parry
Unblockable attacks	When the prompt appears, dodge — trying to block them breaks your guard
Chained executions	Follow a perfect parry or a guard break with an execution; up to four in a row
Tools	Pistols, smoke bombs, rope darts, and more can be woven into combos
Rope dart	Pull distant enemies toward you, or hang them from beams and masts

Stealth#

Action	Notes
Crouch-walking	Cuts noise and silhouette; far harder to spot at mid-to-long range
Bushes and cover	Still the safest hiding spots
Eagle Vision-style scanning	Marks patrol routes and sightlines
Assassination	Get close and take enemies out from behind or above
Sleep darts	Use the blowpipe to put sentries to sleep — ideal for missions that need live targets

Sailing#

Action	Notes
Take the helm	Walk up to the wheel and take over
Sail speed	Three settings — furled, half sail, full sail — that affect maneuverability and turning
Broadside cannons	Your main damage on either side of the hull; line up side-on to fire
Mortar	Arcing shots for long-range and stationary targets
Swivel gun	Automatically sweeps enemy decks at close range — clear the crew before boarding
Heavy shot	Pierces armor and causes flooding; effective against thick-armored targets
Chain shot	Shreds masts to slow enemy ships down
Block	In naval combat every type of damage can be blocked, including mortars and rams
Secondary fire	A second firing mode per side of the hull; unlocks after taking a fortress

Prologue Walkthrough#

The prologue is long — essentially four tutorial segments stacked on top of each other. Take them in order and you won’t get lost.

Stage	Goal	Key points
1. Attack at sea	Survive among the wreckage and reefs, then swim ashore	Just follow the on-screen prompts; don’t rush off to explore
2. First fight	Deal with your pursuers using blades and a pistol	This is the perfect place to practice blocking and execution chains
3. Blending into port	Assume a target’s identity and enter Havana	Once you’ve changed into the outfit, don’t start fights in the street
4. First ship	Capture a brig and pave the way for the Jackdaw	Your first boarding tutorial — remember that dismantling enemy ships yields wood and metal

After the prologue, Sequence 1 rolls into Sequence 2. At that point the world is nearly fully open, but enemy ships in most regions far outlevel the Jackdaw.

Early-Game Route#

Order	Task	Why
1	Synchronize every viewpoint in your starting region	Nearby collectibles and fast travel points only show up after synchronizing
2	Take down the first two fortresses	Instantly unlocks the Jackdaw’s second firing mode — naval combat gets visibly easier
3	Upgrade hull and broadside cannons two tiers each	Materials come from dismantling after boarding; don’t just sink everything
4	Hunt batches of animals for ammo pouches	A higher ammo cap dramatically raises your margin for error in naval combat
5	After finishing “This Old Cove”, pick up the officer missions	Two of the three officers open up at this step
6	Collect a batch of sea shanties	Shanties grant real bonuses while sailing — they’re not just collectibles
7	Capture the remaining fortresses and warehouses	Fortresses unlock regions; warehouses provide rare materials
8	Then circle back to the story from Sequence 3 onward	The rope dart opens up in Sequence 3, a clear boost to stealth efficiency

Beginner Mistakes#

Mistake	Consequence	Fix
Charging into high-level waters at full sail	One salvo from a man o’ war can sink you	Check enemy ship levels; if you can’t win, run first
Sinking every enemy ship	You lose out on wood and metal	Board whenever you can — dismantling pays the most
Brawling without learning to block	Packs of enemies in the mid and late game will interrupt your combos	Perfect parries are the gateway to execution chains
Treating treasure maps as collectibles	The Jackdaw’s ultimate upgrades stall on blueprints	Only treasure maps and fortresses provide blueprints
Ignoring Observation Mode	Getting spotted over and over in stealth missions	Open with Observation Mode and note the patrol routes
Tackling legendary ships too early	Official advice: go in fully upgraded; a straight fight means a restart	Max out your ship and recruit all the officers first

Next, check the story walkthrough to pace the main quest, or jump straight into the naval combat system guide to catch up.