The path to a fearsome captain (and 100%) runs through the Jackdaw and smart hunting. Here's the efficient route — what to upgrade, what to hunt, and how to make the collectathon painless.
Upgrade priorities
⛵ Hull & cannons first
Max Hull Armour and Broadside Cannons before anything Edward wears — the ship wins fights.
🐋 Hunt for materials
Harpoon whales and sharks and hunt on land to craft bigger pouches, health and ammo.
🗡️ The best gear sets
Finish the Templar Hunts (Templar Armor) and Mayan Stelae (Mayan Armour + Yax Tun pendant).
100% tips
- Synchronise every viewpoint so most collectibles show on your map.
- Capture all 11 forts to reveal region collectibles and reduce hunter-ship spawns.
- Send captured ships to Kenway's Fleet for passive income and unique rewards.
- Sing the Sea Shanties as you sail — they're the most painless collectible to grab.
Efficient cleanup order
- Storm each region's fort first — it unlocks the local viewpoints and collectible markers.
- Then sweep that region for chests, shanties, fragments and treasure in one sailing loop.
- Bank treasure maps and dig their sites when you pass nearby rather than backtracking.
- Save the Legendary Ships and hardest hunts for a fully upgraded Jackdaw.
Best early upgrades
- Hull Armour and Broadside Cannons first — they unlock tougher, richer targets.
- Round Shot Strength and the Ram make convoy clears fast for material income.
- Craft Edward's health and pouch upgrades from an early hunting run.
- Diving-bell wreck blueprints unlock the elite Jackdaw upgrades — prioritise them mid-game.
Fort & hunting specifics
- Eleven regions each have a fort; only Punta Guarico is locked to the story, so the other ten can be captured whenever you have a ship able to take the beating.
- Harpooning opens up in Sequence 3 — Bull Sharks are the safe starting target, and Great Whites, Killer Whales and Humpback Whales are worth leaving until your rowboat, harpoon damage and ammo capacity are upgraded.
- Health upgrades, a bigger smoke bomb pouch and an improved pistol holster all run on the pelts, skins and bones that hunting produces, so a dedicated early hunting run pays for itself fast.
Cross-checked
Cross-checked on 5 September 2026 and re-checked on 26 September 2026 against the guides of PowerPyx, KeenGamer, TheGamer, Consolepulse, EliteGuias and Vandal. What is still unverified is the only thing reading cannot settle — nobody here has played it.