All Jackdaw Upgrades and how to Unlock them in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

Learn how to unlock and upgrade the Jackdaw in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Includes the full list of upgrades, the cost of each upgrade, and tips on unlocking hidden weapons.

Whether you’re returning to Black Flag or this is your first time playing it, you should know that a pirate captain is only as good as his ship. Investing in ship upgrades will only add to the fun you have while playing Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.

How to get resources for the Jackdaw

The Jackdaw is the Brig that Edward Kenway acquires during the events of the main story. You get this early on so it doesn’t take too long to start sailing the high seas.

Following the story will also have you upgrade the broadside cannons and hull armor early on, but you’ll want to start upgrading it even more as soon as possible.

When it comes to getting the resources needed to upgrade the Jackdaw, the best way is through piracy! While you’ll start out attacking Cutters and Schooners, eventually you can start raiding Brigs, Frigates, and even Man O’ Wars for even more resources!

When sailing, use the spyglass to look at ships in the distance. The Jackdaw requires reales, metal, wood, and cloth to upgrade. Be sure to incapacitate and board a ship for its resources as just sinking it only gives you a tiny fraction of resources.

As you gather resources, you’re going to acquire notoriety and gain a wanted status. If you want a more peaceful time harvesting resources, select the “Lower Wanted Level” after successfully boarding a ship so you don’t attract pirate hunters.

Upgrade the Harbourmaster

As you’ll learn in the tutorial missions, you can visit any Harbourmaster at a dock to purchase upgrades for the Jackdaw. As you upgrade, you’ll get the notification that you must “Upgrade the Harbourmaster at Great Inagua”.

Towards the end of the mission “This Old Cove”, you’ll gain the ability to unlock and upgrade the Harbourmaster. Talk to this man at the docks and pay him 500 reales to build the Harbourmaster at Great Inagua.

Once rebuilt, you can find this man outside the Harbourmaster where he’ll ask for reales to further upgrade the vendor.

• It costs 2,500 reales to upgrade the Harbourmaster to level II
• It costs 5,000 reales to upgrade the Harbourmaster to level III

This can be pricey early game, so upgrade the Harbourmaster when you’ve already acquired the previous upgrades. At level III, you’ll be able to acquire all upgrades. Though the majority of final upgrades will require you to find plans for the parts. You’ll acquire these by looting treasure chests found throughout the world.

Jackdaw Full List of Upgrades and Perks

The list of upgrades for the Jackdaw are divided into four categories: Weapons, Ship, Storage, and Harpooning. For the sake of brevity, the Harbourmaster’s Level in the following tables will be shortened to “HML”.

The weapons category allows you to increase the damage done by your ship’s weapons. All damage is good damage, so the sooner you incapacitate an enemy ship the better.

Round and Heated Shot

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base			I
II	+30% Damage, 30% Total	900		I
III	+40% Damage, 70% Total	4,000		II
IV	+40% Damage, 110% Total	12,000		III
V	+50% Damage, 160% Total	35,000	Yes	III

Heavy Shot

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Unlocks Access	900		I
II	+53% Damage, 53% Total	6,000		II
III	+67% damage, 120% Total	25,000	Yes	III

Bow Chasers

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base			I
II	+33% Damage, 33% Total	2,500		II
III	+34% Damage, 67% Total	6,000	Yes	III

Barrel Launcher

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base			I
II	+100% Damage, 100% Total	3,000		II
III	+100% Damage, 200% Total	8,000	Yes	III

Mortar

Tier	Effect				HML
I	Unlocks Access	800			I
II	+100% Damage, 100% Total	3,500	200		I
III	+100% Damage, 200% Total	8,000	300		II
IV	+100% Damage, 300% Total	25,000	650	Yes	III

Swivel Guns

Tier	Effect				HML
I	Base				I
II	+50% Damage, 50% Total	700	25		I
III	+50% Damage, 100% Total	5,000	200		II
IV	+50% Damage, 150% Total	15,000	400	Yes	III

Ship

The ship upgrades offer useful features such as the amount of cannons you fire at once, how much armor you take or increase crew capacity. It also provides useful tools such as the ram to increase collision damage and the diving bell to allow deep sea diving.

Broadside Cannons

Tier	Effect				HML
I	Base, Capacity 6				I
II	Capacity 8		70		I
III	Capacity 10	2,000	150		I
IV	Capacity 12	4,000	300		II
V	Capacity 14	8,000	350		II
VI	Capacity 16	12,000	500		III
VIII	Capacity 18	20,000	650	Yes	III

Front Cannons

Tier	Effect				HML
I	Base, Capacity 4				I
II	Capacity 6	3,000	100	60	II

Ram

Tier	Effect				HML
I	Unlocks Access, +600 Damage, 600 Total	500	25		I
II	+600 Damage, 1,200 Total	2,000	75		I
III	+800 Damage, 2,000 Total	5,000	250		II
IV	+2,000 Damage, 4,000 Total	15,000	600	Yes	III

Armored Hull

Tier	Effect					HML
I	Base, 600 Armor					I
II	1,200 Armor	1,000				I
III	2,000 Armor	4,000	200	100		I
IV	3,200 Armor	15,000	500	200		II
V	5,000 Armor	30,000	750	400	Yes	III

Crew Quarters

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base, Capacity 20			I
II	Capacity 30	800	100	II
III	Capacity 40	3,500	450	III

Diving Bell

The diving bell will grant you the ability to make plunges underwater at shipwrecks. This allows you to find long lost treasures underwater so long as you can avoid the sharks and not drown.

You’ll be able to purchase this during the main story mission “Diving for Medicines”. It costs 5,000 reales to purchase, but there are other means of acquiring it.

Storage

The Storage category expands the amount of ammo for certain weapons. Your Round and Heated Shots, Front Cannons, and Swivel Guns have unlimited ammo. You’ll need to acquire more ammunition from enemy ships or Harbourmasters to resupply.

Heavy Shot Storage

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base, Max Ammo 15			I
II	Max Ammo 20	500		I
III	Max Ammo 25	1,500		II
IV	Max Ammo 40	4,000	Yes	III

Barrel Storage

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base, Max Ammo 10			I
II	Max Ammo 15	500		I
III	Max Ammo 25	1,500		II
IV	Max Ammo 40	4,000	Yes	III

Mortar Storage

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base, Max Ammo 5			I
II	Max Ammo 10	800		I
III	Max Ammo 15	2,000		II
IV	Max Ammo 20	5,000	Yes	III

Harpooning

The Harpooning category will increase your harpoon fishing capabilities. The various sharks and whales tend to fight back, so being able to protect yourself from them and take them down quickly is important for gathering resources to upgrade Edward’s personal gear.

Rowboat Armor

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base, Armor 100			I
II	Armor 200	600	50	II
III	Armor 300	1,800	200	III

Harpoon

Tier	Effect			HML
I	Base, Damage 10			I
II	Damage 20	1,000		II
III	Damage 30	4,000	Yes	III

Harpoon Storage

Tier	Effect		HML
I	Base, Max Ammo 15		I
II	Max Ammo 20	500	II
III	Max Ammo 30	1,500	III

Weapons

Find the Three Hidden Weapons

You may notice that on your ship menu, there are some locked icons beneath your ship’s weapons. While you can unlock and purchase the Heated Shot and Heavy Shot, the other three cannot be purchased from the Harbourmaster.

These three alternate weapons will require you to fight them out in the world. One of these you can get very early on while the other two you’re going to get late game.

Double Shot

To unlock the Double Shot, you need to storm Fort Dry Tortuga in the northwest corner of the map. It’s one of the easier forts to take over as it has three defensive positions you’ll need to destroy. The mortar will make short work of them, allowing you to raid the fort on foot.

The Double Shot is a Front Cannon alternate weapon that rapidly fires a lot of round shots to a target in front of you. It has a low target arc yet has a surprisingly good range.

While the Chain Shot is better for hitting the sails and mast of a ship, the Double Shot is great for attacking an enemy’s hull. It’s main disadvantage when compared to the Chain Shot is its longer cooldown.

Shrapnel Barrels

The Shrapnel Barrels are unlocked by capturing Fort Charlotte in the bottom middle of the map. This is a Hard area, so you’ll need a good amount of upgrades before even attempting this fort.

It’s surrounded by mines that you’ll need to remove before getting too close. Take down its five defenses, capture it, and you’ll unlock the Shrapnel Barrels. These launch four barrels at a time to create more hazards, but have a longer cooldown than the Fire Barrel.

Deadman’s Cohort Mortar

This is a weapon that was not included in the original game. The Deadman’s Cohort Mortar is a weapon unique to the Resynced edition of Black Flag. It’s a mortar variant that fires a lot more shorter mortars that have a reduced area of effect, but much faster travel time.

This is better for high intensity combat scenarios and is great for picking apart Frigates and Man O’ Wars. Like the other weapon variants, it has a longer cooldown. As the multiple shots fire, you can make a trail of mortars whereas the standard mortar only gathers in one spot.

To acquire this weapon, you’ll need to complete the late game story arc, A World Without Gold. The first mission of this arc is “That Bastard Maynard” you get after completing the main story mission “…Everything is Permitted”.

This is an entirely new story arc that was not in the original and will also get you a third officer that adds a second volley of shots to your broadside cannons. It’s worth playing for the story, perk, and new mortar.

Sail with Swagger

Pillaging ships and plantations with the best cannons money can buy is one thing, looking good while doing it is another. The Harbourmaster can not only upgrade ships, but can customize the Jackdaw as well!

You can purchase more and rarer customizations when you upgrade the Harbourmaster. You can also find them from treasure chests or in some cases, purchasing the Deluxe Edition of Black Flag Resynced.

Essential Upgrades to Unlock First

With so many options to choose from, it can be hard to choose which upgrades to focus on first. We recommend you to focus on Round and Heated Shot, Broadside Cannons, and Armored Hull. But there are several others you would greatly benefit from.

What are the Essential Jackdaw Upgrades to Get First