Black Flag Memory Reset · Side Quests#

Side Quests

Table of Contents#

#	Section	Content
1	Side quest system	How many types there are
2	Contracts	Assassin and naval contracts
3	Hunts	Templars and target ships
4	Strongholds	Fortresses, warehouses, and shipwrecks
5	Lifestyle	Taverns, hunting, and the fleet
6	New quest lines	Officers, pirates, and Rifts
7	How to plan	Batching without backtracking

The Side Quest System#

This game has plenty of side content, but the types are concentrated — five categories cover nearly everything. Their rewards point in different directions, so batching by type is the most efficient way to plan.

Type	Examples	Main rewards
Contracts	Assassin contracts, naval contracts	Reales, materials, stronghold leads
Hunts	Templar targets, legendary animals	Equipment, rare materials
Strongholds	Fortresses, warehouses, underwater shipwrecks	Plans, rare materials, sea area unlocks
Lifestyle	Taverns, hunting, whaling, the fleet	Materials, crew, steady income
Quest lines	Officers, Blackbeard, Bonnet, Rifts	Jackdaw abilities, story, supplies

Contracts#

Assassin Contracts#

Issued by the contact at the Assassin stronghold, usually carried out on land against specific people or locations. This is also the prerequisite for obtaining the Templar keys: leads are only handed over after you complete several contracts assigned by the stronghold.

Key point	Notes
Issued at	Assassin strongholds such as Tulum
Format	Infiltration, assassination, escort, and more
Rewards	Reales, equipment, and leads on the Templar keys
Caution	Contract targets are mostly inside towns; avoid getting tangled up with patrols

Naval Contracts#

Naval contracts are dispatched by the stronghold against specific enemy ships. In the remake the issuers appear in person instead of showing up only in letters.

Key point	Notes
Format	Sink or capture the designated ship
Difficulty	Later targets are mostly frigates and above; upgrade your ship first
Rewards	Reales and rare materials
Planning	Targets are scattered across sea areas; after accepting, line up one route for all of them

Hunts#

Templar Targets#

Templar targets are a series-tradition side activity; here you must gather leads before you can locate each target.

Stage	Method
Gather intel	Obtain leads from strongholds or missions
Locate	Travel to the indicated area following the clues
Execute	Approach in stealth and assassinate; avoid open confrontation where possible
Rewards	Equipment and database entries

Legendary Animals#

Legendary animals deepen the hunting line; their materials go into the top tiers of Edward’s personal gear.

Key point	Notes
Difficulty	Clearly above ordinary animals; not recommended early on
Method	Wear them down with ranged weapons first, then finish in melee
Rewards	Top-tier crafting materials

Strongholds#

Target	Method	Rewards
Fortress	Approach from the side or underwater; clear the gun batteries and watchtowers first	Sea area unlock, second fire mode, elite upgrade plans
Warehouse	Find rooftop routes or back doors; avoid frontal assaults	Rare materials and reales
Underwater shipwreck	Dive in and open chests one by one; watch your oxygen and the sharks	Strings of chests and materials

The remake adds dedicated puzzles and infiltration routes to many strongholds; the original’s fixed kill-the-captain-take-the-key-open-the-door routine has been reworked.

Lifestyle#

Activity	Notes
Tavern brawls	Win before you can use that tavern’s functions
Gambling minigames	Small amounts of reales
Hunting	Land materials, ingredients for personal gear
Whaling and shark hunting	Sea materials, large yields per trip
Fleet routes	Idle-style income that keeps running offline

New Quest Lines#

The Three Officer Quest Lines#

Officer	Unlock	Output of the quest line
Lucy Baldwin	After completing “This Old Cove”	Perfect parry ability
The Friar (Abel Garvan)	Same as above	Ramming charge ability
Tobias “Deadman” Smith	After completing Sequence 11	Double broadside fire

Each quest line grants a Jackdaw bonus partway through; the full ability only unlocks at the very end, so do not stop halfway.

Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet#

Quest line	Unlock	Content
Blackbeard’s Treasure	Sequence 8	A treasure-hunting line with story ties to Edward’s daughter Jenny
Stede Bonnet	Sequence 9	Expands an ending the original covered in a single line of dialogue into a full conclusion; widely rated the best new content

The Rifts#

Four optional short stories that replace the original’s modern office segments, each carrying money and trade good rewards. They unlock after completing Sequence 4, 8, 11, and the epilogue respectively.

How to Plan#

Principle	Notes
Batch by sea area	Clear every target in one stretch of sea at once; do not crisscross the map
Pair contracts with strongholds	Hit fortresses and warehouses on the way back from contracts — the routes overlap the most
Clear officer lines first	Officers grant Jackdaw abilities, worth more than most contracts
Leave hunts for the mid game	Legendary animals and high-level target ships are unwinnable early
Save before tough fights	Manually save before high-difficulty targets so a failure costs no re-run
Do not miss optional objectives	Optional objectives in main and side quests cannot be replayed; take care of them as you go

For how side quest rewards fit into your spending plan, see the economy guide; for handling targets at sea, see the naval combat guide.