Assassins Creed Black Flag Resynced jackdaw upgrades Guide

Jackdaw upgrades are naval enhancements purchased at harbourmasters using reales, metal, wood, and cloth alongside salvage plans. Prioritizing hull armor, broadside cannons, and mortars early establishes combat superiority before hunting top-tier plans for endgame encounters.

How Do You Upgrade the Great Inagua Harbourmaster?

The Great Inagua Harbourmaster is the central base vendor responsible for unlocking advanced upgrade tiers for your ship. While you can purchase initial tier I upgrades at any regional port, progressing past early thresholds requires investing directly into your hideout facilities. During the sequence four narrative quest This Old Cove, Edward Kenway secures the island settlement. You speak with the coordinator at the Great Inagua docks and spend 500 reales to establish the local Harbourmaster shop.

Advancing your naval tiers depends on paying specific construction costs to the dock foreman outside the building:

1. Base Construction: 500 reales during This Old Cove to open local vendor access.
2. Level II Upgrade: 2,500 reales to unlock tier II and tier III equipment options across all ship systems.
3. Level III Upgrade: 5,000 reales to clear all vendor restrictions, permitting access to fourth and fifth tier improvements.

Reaching Harbourmaster Level III removes vendor caps, but the final rank of nearly every major component remains locked behind specialized blueprints. These blueprints require exploring shipwrecks via the diving bell or locating buried chests with parchment sketches. You also gather raw supplies by scanning passing vessels with your spyglass. Boarding crippled ships yields the entire cargo manifest, whereas outright sinking them destroys half of their usable metal and wood.

The iconic solo pirate adventure returns. Sail the Caribbean as Edward Kenway during the Golden Age of Piracy in this faithfully enhanced remake featuring stunning visuals, upgraded gameplay, and new content. — the official Steam store page

Which Jackdaw Upgrades Should You Prioritize First?

Core naval survivability is the foundational requirement for prolonged sea skirmishes against heavily armed galleons and forts. Increasing hull plating prevents rapid desynchronization against heavy shot volleys, while upgrading primary broadside cannons multiplies damage per salvo. Firing broadsides without aiming unleashes heavy shot at close range, while aimed broadsides release round shot or heated shot at mid-range.

A balanced progression path begins with purchasing early hull armor levels alongside round and heated shot improvements. Round shot damage upgrades apply directly to heated shot once that alternate firing mode unlocks during story progression. Purchasing additional cannon barrels at the Harbourmaster allows the Jackdaw to fire more projectiles simultaneously, creating a compounding damage multiplier. Repairing your vessel during multi-ship engagements requires initiating boarding actions; enemy vessels pause their attacks while Edward's crew clears hostile decks.

Jackdaw Upgrade Categories and Plan Requirements

Ultimate plans are rare schematics recovered from underwater diving locations and buried treasure chests across the Caribbean. Six plans rest inside deep oceanic wrecks accessible after acquiring the diving bell during the sequence six mission Diving for Medicines. The remaining six blueprints require unearthing buried loot chests using coordinates found on skeletal remains, as documented in Eurogamer's shipwreck analysis.

• Armored Hull: Tier V provides 5,000 armor. The plan lies at the San Ignacio Wreck inside a large underwater chest. Crafting requires 30,000 reales, 750 wood, and 400 metal.
• Broadside Cannons: Tier VII mounts 18 cannons per flank. The plan rests within the Blue Hole cavern. Crafting requires 20,000 reales and 650 metal.
• Round and Heated Shot: Tier V delivers plus 50 percent damage. The plan rests inside the Kabah Ruins submerged temple. Crafting requires 35,000 reales.
• Mortars: Tier IV doubles mortar output. The blueprint rests in the Antocha Wreck. Crafting requires 25,000 reales and 650 metal.
• Swivel Guns: Tier IV increases defensive shot damage by 50 percent. The plan is recovered in Devil's Eye Caverns. Crafting requires 15,000 reales and 400 metal.
• Battering Ram: Tier IV raises collision damage to 4,000 points. The blueprint is inside the La Concepcion Wreck. Crafting requires 15,000 reales and 600 wood.
• Mortar Storage: Tier IV expands capacity to 20 shells. The map on Tortuga points to the dig site behind the Matanzas plantation waterfall. Crafting requires 5,000 reales.
• Heavy Shot Strength: Tier III maximizes damage bonus to 120 percent. The map inside Ambergris Key leads to the buried chest beside the Misteriosa temple pool. Crafting requires 25,000 reales.
• Heavy Shot Storage: Tier IV expands magazine limit to 40 rounds. The map at Cayman Sound leads to Petite Caverne. Crafting requires 4,000 reales.
• Fire Barrel Launcher: Tier III doubles fire barrel destructive output. The map on Santanillas directs you to San Juan cave. Crafting requires 8,000 reales.
• Fire Barrel Storage: Tier IV increases rear barrel capacity to 40. The map inside Petite Caverne reveals a beach dig location at Tulum. Crafting requires 4,000 reales.
• Harpoon Strength: Tier III sets harpoon damage to 30 points. The map on Mariguana Island leads to the Andreas Island sand spit. Crafting requires 4,000 reales.

Gathering these schematics is necessary before challenging the four high-difficulty legendary ships roaming the corners of the maritime world map. Full specifications for every tier are cataloged on Vulkk's Jackdaw upgrade breakdown.

Secondary Fire Weapons and Officer Abilities

Alternate ship armaments are secondary weapons earned through fort captures and late-game story missions. Rather than buying these tools directly through standard shop catalogs, Edward secures them by pacifying hostile sea territories or completing narrative contracts. Capturing regional forts also clears map fog, reveals hunting locations, and establishes logistics routes for Kenway's fleet.

The primary alternate weapons expand your directional tactical choices:

• Double Shot: Storming Fort Dry Tortuga unlocks this front cannon weapon. It fires rapid salvos of heavy solid shot directly ahead, battering hulls at the expense of a longer recharge cycle than chain shot.
• Shrapnel Barrels: Capturing southern Fort Charlotte unlocks this rear-deployed hazard. Releasing four volatile barrels slows pursuing hulls and shreds enemy rigging.
• Deadman's Cohort Mortar: Completing the late-game narrative arc starting with the mission That Bastard Maynard awards this rapid mortar battery. It fires compact clusters of high-impact explosive shells with shorter shell flight times.

Recruiting senior crew mates provides supplemental ship handling traits. Rescuing Lucy Baldwin at Salt Key Bay grants the perfect brace mechanic, allowing you to deflect incoming broadside impacts when timed correctly. Recruiting the Padre at Caracol Island unlocks an aggressive forward ram charge. Later in the campaign, securing Dead Man Smith adds a perk allowing your broadside cannons to discharge a second consecutive volley before incurring standard reload delays. Details on managing these crew assignments appear in the guide for all officers. Technical specifications and installation files for the PC release remain accessible through the Steam store page. Additional details on hidden chests can also be reviewed through ultimate plan locations.