Legendary ships were the pinnacle challenge of the Caribbean in the original, and they return even stronger in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. These boss battles now have more unique gimmicks and phases, and pack a serious punch. But you’ve got a lot more tools of destruction to deal with them, the rewards have changed, and they now respawn so you can fight them again.
Rory Norris
When it comes to the Black Flag remake, the aspect that’s most interesting to me is what’s changed and what’s new. Replaying the game yet again all these years later, this time with a fresh lick of paint, I’m astonished by how much it has surprised me on my path to 100% open world completion. Something I thought I knew like the back of my hand is new again.
Black Flag Resynced legendary ships explained
Just like in the original, there are four legendary ships, located in each of the corners of the map. They’ll be revealed once you destroy the fortresses in their respective regions:
- El Impoluto (Dry Tortuga)
- HMS Fearless & Royal Sovereign (Eleuthera)
- La Dama Negra (Serranilla)
- HMS Prince (Nevassa)
These are extremely tough battles that will require an almost, if not fully, upgraded Jackdaw to take on. I recommend at least having the best armour, broadside cannons, swivel cannons, and ram—check out the Ultimate Ship Plans, some of which are hidden behind treasure maps.
In fact, the legendary ships are even harder in Resynced compared to the original game, having more health and dealing more damage, as well as having clearer phases as you whittle their health down. Your biggest advantage, though are the three new naval officers, who you should recruit before going after the legendary ships:
- Padre, recruited through the A Second Chance quest after Sequence 4: This Old Cove, lets you charge ram for bonus speed and damage.
- Lucy Baldwin, unlocked in A Proper Shipwright after Sequence 4: This Old Cove, allows you to brace at the last second to almost nullify damage taken.
- Tobias ‘Deadman’ Smith, unlocked in No Box Dark Enough after Sequence 11: Everything is Permitted and A World Without Gold, lets you maximise broadside cannon damage and completing his quest also gets you a powerful multi-shot mortar variant.
The major difference in the Resynced remake is the reward. You’ll notice that the old Ram Dash upgrade you got for beating all four legendary ships is now unlocked by recruiting Padre. Given that these are endgame challenges, you can now get and use Ram Dash much earlier—it’s been buffed, too. In its place, legendary ships now reward you with ship cosmetics for the Jackdaw’s figurehead, hull, wheel, and sails.
Legendary ships are also repeatable now—they’ll respawn after a period of time if you fancy a rematch.
Here are all four legendary ships and how to beat them:
El Impoluto
- Location: Dry Tortuga (161,804)
Despite stalking the seas of the starting region, I’d argue El Impoluto is the second-hardest legendary ship. It’s incredibly tanky and deals obscene amounts of damage from its lengthy cannon barrages, which make it hard to perfectly brace and nullify the hits. Plus, while it favours close-range ramming, it’s got very long-range cannons, so you can’t just sail away from it.
Here are some tips for the fight:
The fight begins with El Impoluto ramming you. You could retaliate with a charge ram of your own, but you’ll take a fair amount of damage in return, so I recommend just perfect bracing instead.
It’ll periodically attempt to ram you from here on out, firing heavy shots from its front cannons before it hits you. As soon as you see it charging, place explosive barrels behind you, and fire a mortar in its path. Then brace for its ram attempt before sliding either side of the ship, where you can shoot a volley of broadsides and barrels before turning away.
You can use chain shots against El Impoluto’s sails to disable it, preventing it from attempting to ram you for a short time. This is a great opportunity for mortar strikes and broadside volleys.
In its second phase, it will fire extended volleys of flaming cannonballs, generally starting at close range and sweeping further out. I recommend bracing to reduce as much damage as possible and firing back whenever you have an opening. Your best damage window remains when it’s charging at you.
Once you beat El Impoluto, you’ll earn the following rewards:
- 12,000 Reales
- El Impoluto sails
- El Impoluto wheel
- El Impoluto hull
- El Impoluto figurehead
- El Impoluto ship model
HMS Fearless & Royal Sovereign
- Location: Eleuthera (811,858)
The HMS Fearless & Royal Sovereign legendary ship battle is unique in that it’s actually a two-on-one. Rather unfair, if you ask me, and it’s the one I had the most trouble with. Since you’ll have to contend with two ships at once, they have reduced health compared to the other legendary ships. And once you destroy one of the pair, the other will set itself ablaze and chase you down.
Here are some tips:
HMS Fearless & Royal Sovereign will try to surround you, filling the Jackdaw with volleys of cannonfire from both sides. Even performing a perfect brace to reduce the damage, it’s absolutely devastating. The best way to counter this is to avoid sailing between them, instead sailing side-on past either one of them. This gives you an opportunity to drop barrels behind you, shoot your broadsides, and fire your mortar.
To even the odds, fire chain shots from your front cannons to disable one of the ships. This leaves them exposed to ramming, broadsides, and especially mortars.
In phase two (once you destroy the first third of either ship’s health), the ships will occasionally drop explosive barrels behind them, which you need to avoid. However, you can also shoot the barrels with your swivel guns immediately after the ships place them to do some extra damage.
If you defeat one of the ships, the other will set itself on fire and become more aggressive, attempting to ram you. You can either try to take them out at the same time or focus on one, at the cost of making it stronger. I prefer the former method.
Once you beat this legendary ship battle, you’ll earn the following rewards:
- 12,000 Reales
- HMS Fearless sails
- HMS Fearless wheel
- HMS Fearless hull
- HMS Fearless figurehead
- Brothers in Arms ship model
La Dama Negra
- Location: Serranilla (241,73)
La Dama Negra is armed to the teeth and, in fact, the only ship with armour, too. Metal plates of the hull reduce damage you deal to the sides of the ship and prevent swivel gun critical hits. Your positioning is very important here.
Here are my tips:
Given that La Dama Negra is armoured from the side, you’ll want to focus on dealing damage to the front and back of the ship, where it’s vulnerable to critical damage. You’ll still deal damage to the sides, so don’t ignore or actively avoid any opportunities to deal damage, but focus on where it hurts. It helps that this ship is relatively slow compared to the other legendary ships.
Use chain shots and shrapnel barrels to disable its movement, making it easier to attack from the front and back.
This ship has a fast, incendiary mortar. Look out for orange glowing patches on the sea to know where it’s targeting, and prepare to brace moments later.
In phase two, La Dama Negra’s mortar strike is longer, and it will start throwing explosive barrels behind it, making it harder to approach from behind. Watch out for these, and shoot them with your swivel guns for a chance at dealing damage to La Dama Negra if you’re quick enough.
In its final phase, La Dama Negra gets even more trigger-happy, firing flaming cannonballs and long mortar barrages more often. Your approach should be the same; try to get within medium range, bracing for mortar strikes, while returning broadside fire against its front and rear.
Once you beat the ghost ship, you’ll earn the following rewards:
- 12,000 Reales
- La Dama Negra sails
- La Dama Negra wheel
- La Dama Negra hull
- La Dama Negra figurehead
- La Dama Negra ship model
HMS Prince
- Location: Navassa (854,55)
Described as the ghost ship, HMS Prince is arguably the easiest of the legendary ships to fight, though it certainly drags on once you reach its second phase and it starts hiding in the fog.
Here are some tips to take it out:
HMS Prince begins as a fairly standard ship battle. It’s got lots of broadside cannons, and will occasionally drop mines and fire mortars. I recommend staying in medium range to reduce the threat of either, and using chain shots to disable its movement. Keep this tit-for-tat going between each of its fog gimmick phases.
In the second phase, HMS Prince will speed off into the fog and begin to rain mortar strikes down on you. You’ll need to sail towards (not directly at it or you’ll never catch up) the ship to cut it off, while bracing to avoid the damage of the mortar strikes. Once you’re close enough, the fight will return to normal, only this time they’ll shoot stronger, flaming cannonballs.
In the third phase, HMS Price will once again disappear into the fog—this time it feels like they’re much faster and further away. Same as last time, you need to sail towards them, avoiding mortars as you go. Get close enough, and you’ll return to standard ship fighting for the final stretch.
Once you beat the ghost ship, you’ll earn the following rewards:
- 12,000 Reales
- HMS Prince sails
- HMS Prince wheel
- HMS Prince hull
- HMS Prince figurehead
- HMS Prince ship model
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