One of the most fun aspects of "Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag" is the high seas battles you will take on. There are many ways you can take down a ship, but once you're looking at fleets of them, things will get a little more complicated.
If you've just started playing AC4, you'll need to know the basics. First, lets start with the types of ships you will face:
1. Gunboat: The smallest ship you will encounter that only carries ammunition. You can't board these ships, but sink them if you're running low on ammo to collect their loot.
2. Schooner: These ships mostly carry rum and sugar. They're good to fight when you need goods to sell for Reales or a quickie ship repair as you only need to take down 5 crew members to win.
3. Brig: Once you start encountering these ships, you're in for a fight. There are not many resources on the ship, but there's no avoiding them sometimes. You'll need to take down 10 men to pirate a Brig.
4. Frigate: In order to take down this ship you'll need to make sure you've kept up with your Jackdaw upgrades. You'll have to defeat 15 soldiers and secondary objectives, including cutting down the enemy ship's flag, taking out gunpowder barrels or defeating the captain to get to the plunder screen.
5. Man o' War: This is the second largest ship you will face, just under the Legendary ships. They're big, they're powerful, and if you're outnumbered, they will sink you easily. (Tip: avoid these until you're at least mid way through your Jackdaw upgrades. Even then, they're still pretty tough to sink)
There are many battle tactics you can implement in AC4, but for this beginner Wiki we'll keep it simple. Check out IGN's steps to take down a ship (in order) below:
Stun the ship with Chase Cannons (Chain Shot): You should start the battle this way to give yourself time to maneuver into attack position. Keep in mind that with the largest vessels (especially Legendary Ships) the stunning effect caused by the chain shot will still be minimal, adding only a few seconds here and there to your window of attack.
Maneuver the Jackdaw behind the enemy ship: Directly perpendicular, or ideally somewhere near 45 degree angle to its rear, with your broadside cannons facing its rear and hitting a a large amount of lower hull.
Fire: Stay there, carefully speeding up and slowing down and rotating and firing Heavy Shot at its rear and rear sides, but staying out of the firing angle of its cannons. Aim low as possible and fire your Heavy Shot at it repeatedly, firing the Swivel Guns while your Broadside Cannons recharge.
Repeat: You can repeat this process if the enemy ship outmaneuvers you, just speed away and come about, firing your Chase Cannons to stun the ship and start anew.
Need help with a specific mission? Have an easier way to take down ships? Leave a comment below to share your gamer tips. You can also email directly at z.serrano@hngn.com. Be sure to check out the related article section for more AC4 Wikis below.
