Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced · Collectibles Guide#
Contents#
| # | Section | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collectible overview | everything there is to collect |
| 2 | Data items | fragments and manuscripts |
| 3 | Audio items | sea shanty scores |
| 4 | Narrative items | messages in bottles and manuscripts |
| 5 | Treasure items | treasure maps, buried treasure, and chests |
| 6 | Puzzle items | Maya Stelae and Templar keys |
| 7 | Collection tips | the efficiency-first approach |
| 8 | 100% Sync | how completion is actually judged |
Collectible Overview#
| Collectible | Main locations | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Animus fragments | High spots and hard-to-reach places, spread across the whole map | Unlock cheat codes once you bank enough of them |
| Sea shanty scores | On the ground in towns and outposts | Adds shanties your crew can sing, with real gameplay bonuses |
| Messages in a bottle | Beaches and reef shorelines | Fills out the narrative and threads a standalone story line |
| Manuscripts | Inside restricted zones, guarded | Database entries covering history and event background |
| Treasure maps | Looted from bodies | Dig at the marked coordinates; may yield Jackdaw upgrade plans |
| Chests | Towns, ruins, uncharted islands, and underwater | Reales and materials |
| Maya Stelae | Jungle and ruins | Solve the puzzle to earn a Maya stone |
| Templar keys | Guided by Assassin outpost quests | Collect them all to unlock the Templar Armor |
| Paintings and art collection | Outposts and the manor | Manor decorations and collection achievements |
| Ship models | Dropped by sunk Legendary Ships | Display pieces for the Great Inagua manor |
A note on counts: versions and patches may slightly tweak individual items. Anything marked below with “original version figures” is a verifiable original number; for the rest, defer to the in-game completion panel. If you are also chasing the trophy list, our achievements guide breaks down which collectible counts actually matter.
Data Items#
Animus Fragments#
Fragments mostly hang from high spots, tower tips, and building ledges — they are the most numerous collectible type. The original version had 200; collecting them all unlocks the “Deceased Crew” cheat code.
| Point | Notes |
|---|---|
| Locating | They show on the minimap once you sync the local Viewpoint |
| Getting them | The vast majority require climbing or parkour to reach |
| Priority | Can wait until late game; the payoff is mainly the one-time cheat code and completion progress |
Manuscripts#
Manuscripts always sit inside guarded restricted zones, usually requiring you to deal with patrols first or slip in from a side angle. They provide database text — they count toward completion but have no effect on combat power.
Audio Items#
Sea shanty scores are the most unusual type: the page moves, and once you get close you have to chase it down on foot.
| Point | Notes |
|---|---|
| Form | A glowing sheet-music page that drifts away after it lands |
| Chasing it | Read the terrain ahead of time, and don’t chase yourself into a dead end |
| Payoff | More shanties your crew can perform, with real bonuses while sailing |
| Distribution | Found in towns, outposts, and on some uncharted islands |
Narrative Items#
Messages in a bottle cluster on beaches and reefs close to the water, and their contents form a continuous set of sea logs. Collecting them feels more like reading a side story — grab them in passing; there is no need for a dedicated sweep.
Treasure Items#
| Type | How to get it | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Treasure maps | Looted from bodies, with coordinates and hand-drawn marks | Dig up the treasure at the marked spot |
| Buried treasure | Dug up at the treasure map’s coordinates | Reales or Jackdaw upgrade plans |
| Chests | Both on the surface and underwater | Reales and materials; underwater shipwrecks hold the most value |
Treasure maps and buried treasure are the best-value collectibles in the game: the plans directly determine whether the Jackdaw can reach its full upgrade tier, and chests are the easiest supplementary source of materials.
Puzzle Items#
Maya Stelae#
Climb to the top of the stela, switch to Eagle Vision, and adjust the ground pattern until it lines up with the three surrounding landmarks. Each solved stela grants one Maya stone, and all 16 together can be exchanged for the Maya Outfit, which deflects metal projectiles.
| Point | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total | 16 stelae (all are puzzle stelae) |
| Trigger | Stand on top of the stela and interact, then use Eagle Vision to adjust the pattern |
| Reward | Maya Outfit |
Templar Keys#
The keys are not found as pickups — they are guided by the Assassin outposts. Each outpost hands out clues only after you complete a number of its contract missions, and all 5 keys together can be exchanged for the Templar Armor, which raises your resistance to attacks.
| Point | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total | 5 keys |
| Getting them | Earn clues by completing the contract missions each Assassin outpost assigns |
| Reward | Templar Armor |
The two armor unlocks are independent of each other; work on both around the mid-to-late game so that no outpost slips through the cracks.
Collection Tips#
| Tip | Notes |
|---|---|
| Sync Viewpoints first | Syncing is the master switch for the entire collection system — without it, markers don’t appear |
| Clear region by region | Sweeping one region in a single pass saves about half the time compared to crisscrossing the map |
| Chain underwater pickups | The remake relaxed diving requirements — you can dive from any body of water, and chests often appear in underwater clusters |
| Prioritize shanty scores | They grant real bonuses; the earlier you collect them, the longer you benefit |
| Don’t sit on treasure maps | The plans are a hard gate on the Jackdaw’s full upgrade |
| Fold forts into the route | Capturing a fort clears collectibles and unlocks the secondary fire mode at the same time |
100% Sync#
Completion is determined by several dimensions together — clearing collectibles alone will not max out the progress panel.
| Dimension | Notes |
|---|---|
| Collectibles | Fragments, shanty scores, bottles, manuscripts, chests, and puzzle items |
| Activities | Contracts, forts, warehouses, underwater shipwrecks |
| Combat | Naval challenges such as the Legendary Ships |
| Story | Ratings and optional objectives across each main Sequence |
One caution: the remake removed mission replay, so an optional objective missed in the main story can only be recovered by restarting the game or loading an old save — one of the remake’s most criticized points. Handling optional objectives as you go through the story is by far the least painful approach.
Related pages: armor and outfit unlock conditions are covered in the Outfits & Gear guide, and the manor’s decoration rewards in the Economy guide.
Explore more in our Assassin’s Creed Black Flag hub.