Best Gear Combinations in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Best Gear Combinations

Edward Kenway's journey through the Golden Age of Piracy demands not only skill but also the right equipment. While outfits primarily offer cosmetic flair, your choice of swords, pistols, and crucial upgrades directly impacts your survivability and combat prowess. This section will guide you through acquiring the best gear, understanding its benefits, and tailoring your loadout to various playstyles and challenges.

Understanding Gear Types & Their Impact

Before diving into specific recommendations, let's break down the core gear categories:

• Swords: Your primary melee weapons. They dictate your damage output, attack speed, and counter-kill effectiveness. Higher-tier swords often have better stats across the board.
• Pistols: Ranged weapons crucial for quick kills, interrupting enemies, or taking down distant targets. Factors include damage, range, and reload speed. Having multiple pistols allows for rapid-fire volleys.
• Outfits: Mostly cosmetic, but some provide minor, situational bonuses (e.g., reduced detection, increased stealth). Choose based on aesthetic preference or specific mission requirements.
• Crafted Upgrades: Essential for increasing Edward's health, carrying capacity for ammunition, darts, and bombs. These are non-negotiable for late-game success.

Top-Tier Weapon Recommendations & Acquisition

Swords:

For maximum combat effectiveness, focus on swords with high damage and decent speed. Here are the top contenders:

• Templar Swords:
  • Stats: Damage: 4/5, Speed: 3/5, Combo: 4/5 (Excellent all-rounder)
  • Acquisition: Unlocked by completing all 16 Templar Hunt missions. These missions are scattered across the Caribbean and involve tracking down and assassinating Templar targets. Start them by finding the initial Templar Hunt contracts in various towns (e.g., Havana, Nassau). Each completed mission rewards you with a key; collect all five keys to unlock the Templar Armor and Swords in the Great Inagua hideout.
  • Why they're good: High damage makes quick work of most enemies, and their balanced stats ensure smooth combat flow.
• Captain Drake's Swords:
  • Stats: Damage: 5/5, Speed: 2/5, Combo: 3/5 (Highest damage, slower speed)
  • Acquisition: Found in a treasure chest on Isla de Providencia (150, 439). You'll need the treasure map, which is acquired from a Kenway's Fleet mission named "The Empty Cellar" (requires a Man O' War and a Frigate).
  • Why they're good: If raw damage is your priority, these are unmatched. Excellent for taking down brutes and high-health targets quickly, though the slower speed requires more precise timing for counters.
• Golden Scimitars:
  • Stats: Damage: 3/5, Speed: 5/5, Combo: 5/5 (Fastest attack speed, great for combos)
  • Acquisition: Available for purchase from general stores after completing Sequence 3, Memory 4.
  • Why they're good: Ideal for players who prefer fast, fluid combat and chaining together long combos. While individual hits do less damage, the rapid attack speed can overwhelm enemies.

Pistols:

Having four pistols is a game-changer, allowing for devastating volleys. Prioritize damage and range.

• Golden Flintlock Pistols:
  • Stats: Damage: 5/5, Range: 4/5, Reload: 3/5 (Top-tier damage and range)
  • Acquisition: Found in a treasure chest on Matanzas (333, 650). The treasure map is obtained from a Kenway's Fleet mission named "Scarlatina" (requires a Man O' War).
  • Why they're good: These are arguably the best pistols in the game. Their high damage can instantly kill most standard enemies and significantly wound tougher foes, making them invaluable for thinning out crowds or taking down specific targets.
• Pistols of the Elite:
  • Stats: Damage: 4/5, Range: 5/5, Reload: 4/5 (Excellent range and good all-around stats)
  • Acquisition: Purchaseable from general stores after completing Sequence 3, Memory 4.
  • Why they're good: A fantastic alternative if you haven't acquired the Golden Flintlocks yet. Their superior range is excellent for sniping targets from a distance, and the faster reload speed is a bonus.

Crafted Upgrades: The Foundation of Survivability and Utility

Beyond weapons, Edward's survivability and utility are heavily reliant on crafted upgrades. These are essential and should be prioritized as soon as materials become available.

How to Craft:

Crafting is done via the Crafting menu, accessible from the pause screen. You'll need specific animal hides and bones, which are acquired through hunting on land or harpooning at sea.

1. Hunt Animals: Look for animal icons on your map (e.g., deer, jaguars, ocelots, crocodiles). Use your pistol or hidden blades for clean kills to maximize hide quality.
2. Harpoon Sea Creatures: Whales, sharks, and other marine life provide valuable resources. Use your Jackdaw's harpooning boat to hunt them.
3. Collect Resources: Once an animal is killed, approach its carcass to skin it. For sea creatures, harpoon until its health is depleted, then collect the resources.
4. Craft in Menu: Open the pause menu, navigate to "Crafting," and select the upgrade you wish to create.

Essential Crafting Priorities:

• Health Upgrades:
  • Why: Increases Edward's maximum health, allowing him to withstand more damage in combat. Absolutely crucial for tougher encounters.
  • Materials: Requires various animal hides (e.g., Deer Hide, Jaguar Hide, Ocelot Hide). The higher tiers require rarer hides.
  • Actionable Tip: Prioritize these immediately. Hunt every animal you encounter until all health upgrades are maxed out.
• Pouch Upgrades (Ammunition, Darts, Bombs):
  • Why: Increases the carrying capacity for your essential consumables. More pistol bullets, sleep darts, berserk darts, and smoke bombs mean more options in combat and stealth.
  • Materials: Typically requires common hides like Deer Hide, but later upgrades might need tougher animal skins.
  • Actionable Tip: Max out your pistol ammunition pouch first, followed by sleep/berserk darts. Smoke bomb capacity is also very useful for escapes or crowd control.
• Blowpipe Upgrades:
  • Why: Increases the range and effectiveness of your blowpipe, making stealth takedowns and crowd control easier.
  • Materials: Various animal bones and hides.
  • Actionable Tip: While not as critical as health or ammo, these are highly beneficial for stealth-focused players.

Gear Combinations for Different Playstyles

1. The Aggressive Brawler (Direct Combat Focus):

• Swords: Captain Drake's Swords (for raw damage) or Templar Swords (for balanced power).
• Pistols: Golden Flintlock Pistols (for quick, high-damage volleys).
• Outfit: Hunter Outfit (minor defense bonus, but largely cosmetic).
• Crafted Upgrades: Max out ALL Health Upgrades, Pistol Ammunition Pouch.
• Strategy: Engage enemies head-on. Use pistol volleys to thin out groups or take down brutes quickly. Rely on counters and environmental kills. Smoke bombs are excellent for disorienting large groups.

2. The Silent Assassin (Stealth Focus):

• Swords: Golden Scimitars (for quick, silent takedowns if stealth fails) or Templar Swords.
• Pistols: Pistols of the Elite (for long-range silent kills if needed) or Golden Flintlocks.
• Outfit: Stealth Outfit (reduces detection, though the effect is minor).
• Crafted Upgrades: Max out ALL Blowpipe Darts (Sleep & Berserk), Smoke Bomb Pouch, and Health Upgrades.
• Strategy: Prioritize stealth takedowns, air assassinations, and hidden blade kills. Use sleep darts to incapacitate guards and berserk darts to turn enemies against each other. Smoke bombs are your best friend for escaping detection or creating opportunities for multiple assassinations.

3. The Balanced Pirate (Versatile Approach):

• Swords: Templar Swords (excellent all-rounder).
• Pistols: Golden Flintlock Pistols (versatile for both direct combat and ranged stealth).
• Outfit: Any preferred cosmetic outfit.
• Crafted Upgrades: Max out ALL Health Upgrades, Pistol Ammunition, and a good balance of Sleep/Berserk Darts.
• Strategy: Adapt to the situation. Use stealth when possible, but be prepared to switch to direct combat if detected. This loadout provides the flexibility to handle almost any encounter effectively.

Common Pitfalls and Missables

• Ignoring Crafting: Many players overlook crafting early on. This is a huge mistake. Prioritize health and ammo upgrades as soon as you have the resources.
• Missing Treasure Maps: The best weapons (Captain Drake's Swords, Golden Flintlock Pistols) are locked behind treasure maps found in Kenway's Fleet missions. Actively send your fleet out to acquire these maps.
• Not Hunting Enough: Animal hides are crucial. Don't just hunt when a mission requires it; actively seek out hunting grounds to stock up on materials.
• Underestimating Darts and Bombs: Sleep darts, berserk darts, and smoke bombs are incredibly powerful tools. Don't hoard them; use them strategically to make difficult encounters trivial.

By following these recommendations and understanding the synergy between different gear pieces and upgrades, Edward Kenway will be well-equipped to face any challenge the Caribbean throws his way, whether it's a bustling fort full of guards or a desperate naval battle.

While Assassin's Creed Brotherhood emphasized defensive armor sets to boost health, Black Flag prioritizes offensive weapon pairings and naval upgrades to dominate both land and sea.