Assassin's Creed Odyssey Ship and Crew Guide

This guide will help you learn how the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Ship gameplay works, how to get your crew, how to upgrade different features, how Ship Battles work and, of course, all the other basics!

This article does NOT contain any story spoilers from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey!

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey expands on the ship mechanic from Origins by adding a number of improvements. The naval gameplay is a lot more involved, you can upgrade various parts of your ship, recruit your own crew, board enemy ships, loot whatever is left on the battlefield and more! Let’s start from the beginning!

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How to get your Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Ship

You receive your own ship and crew right after you finish the first area (Kephallonia), which also serves as a rough tutorial for the game. As you leave for Megaris, you will also have your first naval combat experience. If you have played Origins, you will not find it very difficult to grasp the mechanics as the basics are the same here too.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey Naval Combat Basic Commands

You take control of your ship and leave it with the same shortcut button. It’s E by default on PC. I believe it’s Y on Xbox One controller. You can leave the command of your ship and dive to look for treasures at any given time. Barnabas (your… let’s call him assistant) will give an immediate order to the crew to stop and wait for you in that exact spot. You can also dock the ship at ports and harbors.

Here are the Basic Ship Movements Commands in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey:

You can press forward (W on PC) to get up to full speed for a short amount of time. This is useful for ramming enemy ships and is one of the most damaging attacks in your arsenal.
Pressing the backwards button (S on PC) will slow the ship. You can even move the ship backwards, but I do not recommend you do that. At least not often.
You can turn to the left and right by pressing the A and S on PC or the corresponding keys on your controller.
Hit the Travel Speed key (Space on PC – the button at the bottom left on the screen) to bring the sail down and move faster towards your next target or destination. This is usually the way to travel when you are not in combat.

One step up – combat abilities:

Shoot arrows at enemy ships
Shoot javelins at enemy ships (closer range)
Ram the enemy ship – press forward to gain full speed and hit the enemy vessel from the side for maximum damage
Shield – order your soldiers to put their shields up, protects the ship and your crew from incoming arrows from enemy vessels.
When the enemy ship is at low (critical) health, an anchor icon will appear on top of it letting you know you can board it (default key on PC is E). Then you and your crew can kill the soldiers, loot the chest and don’t forget to dive in and look for more chests after the battle.

Your ship is more maneuverable and faster than the enemy ships you will fight against in Assassin’s Creed Odysse’s Naval Combat gameplay. You can use that to your advantage – to avoid being rammed and ram your opponents instead. More on that later on when we get to the tactics section.

If your ship is lacking upgrades, you will often find yourself struggling in a fight against more than one enemy vessel. In situations like these it might be best to focus one of their boats, take it down, then run away from the battle to restore your health and return to finish it.

AC Odyssey Ship Menu Screen Overview

Assassin's Creed Odyssey Ship and Crew Guide Menu Overvire

After you get your ship, the Ship menu will become available. In the featured video at the top of this guide you can see all of the components of your Ship.

At the top you see the same bar with the information about your crafting materials that you see on every other screen of the menu. Below it are the slots which you can control and upgrade.

On the left side you have the Arsenal, Weapons Damage and Ship and Crew Endurance upgrades. On the right side are the Lieutenants and Cosmetics, which I explain in a separate section of the guide. Below you can find more info on what each one of the perks on the left side does and why is it important to upgrade them:

Arsenal – in this category are the three upgrades that increase your ship’s attacks:

Arrow Volleys – Upgrades the Archers attack. You have level 1 unlocked by default, which allows you to shoot one arrow volley. Upgrading this will cost you crafting materials and currency, but will also allow you to shoot more arrow volleys one after another and will lower the reload time.
Javelin Throws – Upgrades the Javelin Throw attack. Same as the previous one, upgrading this skill allows you to shoot more Javelin Throws one after another and will decrease the reload time.
Fire Braziers – This is an ability you have to unlock first. It allows you to set your Arrows and Javelins on fire for more damage. Upgrading it grants you Fire Power segments and increases your Fire buildup

Weapons Damage – The following three skills improve your soldiers’ performance in naval combat:

Arrows – Upgrade to stronger arrows for increased damage and to create Weak Points in the enemy ships faster. Each level gives you increased performance.
Ram – The more upgraded your Ram is, the more damage you will deal when going at high-speed against an enemy ship. Upgrading this perk also increases the chance to create Weak Points in the enemy ships.
Javelins – Upgrade to stronger Javelins for increased damage and to create Weak Points faster. Each level gives you increased performance.

Ship and Crew Endurance – the next three perks increase your ship’s survivability.

Hull – Upgrading this perk will increase your ship’s Health and Armor as well as grant you additional slots for Lieutenants (more about them later).
Rower Stamina – Rower endurance can be improved to boost for a longer duration (allowing you for better maneuvering and ramming tactics) and more often. While boosting, turning the ship will result in drifting. Leveling up this perk will granr you more Rower Stamina and will increase its refill rate.
Crew Armor – Your crew becomes more effective at bracing (Q key on PC to make them put up their shields for protection against enemy arrows, for example). Leveling up this perk grants more damage reduction when bracing as well as less incoming fire damage from flaming arrows and javelins.

Upgrading your Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Ship

While the ships don’t earn XP and level up, they can (and must) be upgraded to be able to face the more serious challenges and opponents. Each upgrade costs money (drachmae) and crafting resources: Wood, Leather, Iron Metal, and Ancient Tablets. These same resources are also used for upgrading your character’s armor and weapons.

Upgrading the ship gets more and more expensive with each upgrade. You have to make your strategy based on your goals and affordability.

Alpha Ships are serious challenge and you cannot just face them with your Adrestia’s basic gear. There are Alpha ships available early on as well. They can be found in many different places in the world of Ancient Greece. You do not need to wait to face them when you reach the end-game, but you better be prepared. Ship Upgrades are among the most important factors after player experience and maneuverability.

What are Lieutenants for and how to recruit them

On the top right side of the Ship Menu screen you have four slots for the Special Lieutenants. At first only one slot is unlocked. When you do the first mission with your ship, you will recruit the first one – the archer Phemios. Each Lieutenant has a special skill. You can have up to four assigned. To unlock more slots, level up the Hull perk of the ship from the bottom left side of the Ship menu.

Elite Lieutenants are hard to come by and you will have to roam the open seas in the world of Ancient Greece looking for the best ones. Most are available for recruitment via side missions.

If you use your combat abilities wisely, you can knock down or stun your opponents right before you kill them. This will open up an additional dialogue with the option to recruit them. If you choose to do so, open the Ship Menu screen and check the perk that this new Lieutenant has and decide if you want to actually hire them (place them on an empty slot).

An easy and quick example of how to find and recruit Lieutenants is in the video I have embedded above this paragraph. This strong guy is available right at the shores of Megaris. All you have to do is approach and knock him out. Then go to the Ship Menu screen and recruit him.

AC Odyssey Ship and Crew Cosmetics

Assassin's Creed Odyssey Ship and Crew Beginners Guide - Cosmetics Tabs

In the bottom right of the Ship menu screen you’ve got a few cosmetics to choose from (if you have the cosmetic items, of course :P). The three tabs here are just for appearances. They will not have an effect on your ship and crew’s performance:

Ship Skin – changes the appearance of your ship.
Figurehead – places a figurehead at the front of your ship.
Crew Skins – changes the appearance of your crew.

Cosmetics are available both through gameplay and from the Ubisoft’s store. You can find cosmetics in chests as well as rewards from missions. One cool example is an underwater chest in the northern side of Octopus Bay (Hermit’s Dive Place of Interest). You will also earn cosmetics through missions. One such example is (mini spoiler alert!) the reward from the Olympic games after you win the final match.

My personal Figurehead cosmetic item is the Minotaur’s head. To get it you have to kill the legendary Minotaur beast.

The Epic Ships, available through the Live Events feature will reward you with a new skin for you to try on your ship. Epic Ships are tough challenges that happen on weekly basis and can happen anywhere on the map.

Your Ship and Crew Stats

At the bottom of the Ship menu you see the primary stats for your Ship:

Ship Health – Total amount of damage your ship can take before it is sunk. This value is based on your current level as well as the Hull perk upgrade.
Arrow Damage – Average amount of damage inflicted when all arrows hit the target. This value is also based on your current level plus the Arrow upgrades and Lieutenant perks.
Ramming Damage – Average amount of damage inflicted by ramming at full speed. The value is based on your current level plus the Ram upgrades and Lieutenant perks.
Javelin Damage – Average amount of damage inflicted when all Javelins hit the targeted ship. This value is modified by your character’s level and the Javelin upgrades.
Ship Armor – Amount of protection from damage received. This value is modified by your current level, the Hull upgrades and the Lieutenants perks.

What are the Best Upgrades for your Ship and Crew?

I would advise you to invest crafting materials and money into the Arrows and Fire upgrades first. The Arrows are a great long-range tool that, if aimed properly, does a significant amount of damage to the enemy ships. Being able to shoot arrows and/or javelins twice in a row gives you a decent advantage over pretty much any ship in the beginning of the game (and not only).

When you are surrounded by multiple ships, and especially on higher difficulties, it may become harder to see and predict where the attacks will come from (especially for beginner players). Upgrading your Crew’s Armor for the Brace perk is very useful in situations like these.

Upgrading the Hull is a given, of course. This is the perk that allows you to assign more Lieutenants, plus it also increases your ship’s armor and health, allowing you to last longer in combat.

Be careful when upgrading your ship. As I mentioned previously in this guide, the Naval gameplay is a lot more integrated into Assassin’s Creed Odyssey than it was in Origins, but it’s still more or less a side-activity for the most part. Always leave yourself enough crafting materials and money for the character upgrades, engravings and other things.

Naval Combat Gameplay

Here is a short clip, demonstrating the naval combat gameplay in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey with a low level ship and crew. The clip also features boarding the enemy ship right before sinking it.

Have any questions? Don’t hesitate to ask! Any feedback is also welcome. If you have extensive knowledge about the Naval combat and gameplay in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and want to share it with the world, leave a comment and enhance the experience of the beginner player, who has arrived to this guide to learn something new! :)

If you feel eager to learn some more about Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s features, why not check out these other Beginner friendly guides I have for you:

That’s all for now. If or when needed, I will update this AC Odyssey Ship and Crew guide with more useful information. For more Assassin’s Creed Odyssey content, check the NEWS and GUIDES sections here on VULKK.com!