If you're mainly following the story during the first half of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, you'll experience plenty of naval combat, but nowhere near as much as the game has to offer through exploration and side activities. Out of everything you can do with the Jackdaw, ship battles are easily some of the most enjoyable.
Once you unlock the Fleet system, you'll need to start building a fleet of your own to send on missions. Here's how to recruit more ships and make the most of the feature.
How to Add More Ships to Your Fleet
Image via GameRant | Sources: Ubisoft
Image via GameRant | Sources: Ubisoft
Once you get comfortable sailing the Jackdaw, you'll be able to take on enemy ships of all sizes across the Caribbean. Every naval encounter begins the same way. Damage an enemy ship until its health bar is completely depleted, then sail close enough to board it. After defeating the crew and lowering the ship's morale, control of the vessel becomes yours, and you'll be presented with several options.
One of these options is Lower Wanted Level, which is only really worth choosing if your notoriety has climbed high enough for Hunter ships to start tracking you down. Another option is Restore Health, which repairs the Jackdaw and is extremely useful during a difficult naval battle.
Occasionally, you'll also get the option to Loot the Captain's Lockbox, rewarding you with extra money and resources. This is usually the best reward available whenever it appears, but there is one more option you'll almost always have, which is to send the Ship to Your Fleet.
This is the option you'll want to choose if you're trying to expand your Fleet. Early in the game, however, you won't have many available Fleet slots, meaning they'll fill up fairly quickly after capturing just a handful of ships.
Once you've started building your Fleet, the next step is putting those ships to work. You can access the Fleet map by interacting with the table inside the Captain's Cabin, located just below the Jackdaw's wheel. Here you'll find missions spread across different regions of the Caribbean, though they only become available after you've captured the corresponding fort.
Completing Fleet missions rewards you with money, lowers the risk level in each region, reveals Warehouse locations, and unlocks several other useful bonuses. Since missions require different ships, it's a good idea to keep a healthy mix of different ship types in your Fleet.
If your Fleet becomes full, you can always salvage ships you no longer need. For example, if you're already sitting on two Brigs, it may be worth scrapping one to make room for a stronger Frigate or even a Man o' War.
Keep in mind that ships returning from Fleet missions often come back damaged. Before sending them out again, you'll need to repair them using money and resources, so it's worth keeping a healthy stockpile on hand.
Finally, don't rush into battles against larger ships until you've invested in the Jackdaw's upgrades. Encounters involving multiple Frigates or Man o' Wars can quickly overwhelm an underpowered ship, especially if you're taking cannon fire from several directions at once.
Improving your Hull Armor, cannons, and other ship upgrades will make capturing stronger ships much easier, allowing you to steadily build a Fleet capable of handling every mission the game throws at you.
- Released
- July 9, 2026
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence / In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Franchise
- Assassin's Creed
