Hello everyone!
We know you’ve been anticipating Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and we’re delighted to share more information on key gameplay topics through a series of deep dive articles over the next several weeks, starting with the evolution of Edward’s ground gameplay.
We’re joined by Paul Fu, Creative Director and veteran developer of the original Black Flag, to provide additional insights.
Parkour, Stealth, and Combat in Resynced have all been rebuilt from the ground up using the latest advancements across the franchise, including some of the Anvil engine technology developed for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
“Our goal was to honor the foundations of the original game while enhancing the experience for an action-adventure game,” says Paul.
So, let’s step out of the Jackdaw for now, and look at how our famous Pirate-Assassin, Edward James Kenway, moves and engages on the ground in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.
Please note that all footage is from a work-in-progress build. Make sure to watch in 4K for the best quality. HUD settings may vary depending on the capture to showcase examples of customizable options. And in case you’re wondering, all HUD elements can be individually hidden as desired using the Interface customization menu. You can even play with nothing activated, if you dare...
Parkour & Core movement
Parkour remains at the heart of what it means to be an Assassin, and even a pirate like Edward is no exception to that.
Core Movements
Our intention was to keep Edward’s responsive movement from the original and make it snappier and more deliberate. Whether you’re jumping across the colorful rooftops of Havana, the wild and untamed jungles, or the raw scaffolds of Nassau, parkour has been tuned to prioritize responsiveness and player choice.
“One thing that we worked on a lot and iterated with feedback we received early on from community members during playtests was to nail the responsiveness and pace of Edward.” says Paul.
A variety of steps were taken to make it work:
Throughout development, the landing animations were refined, so that Edward recovers more quickly from a drop. This removes any sense of stumbling or heaviness and keeps movement feeling smooth and continuous. Jumping from one spot to the other is also more responsive; we know keeping a sense of flow is what makes a parkour run most rewarding.
We also made subtle changes to heighten this sense of fluidity; for example, when mantling after a wall run, Edward will have a short speed boost that allows him to keep the pace of his run despite slightly recovering. You can also roll upon hitting the ground to maintain a sprinting pace – which ends up being very useful during chase missions.
Of course, that smoothness is supported by the depth of design and the tools available for you to leverage.
In cities, familiar features like the corner swing and lifts return. We’ve also included brand new Ziplines scattered across the cities that Edward will visit, connecting you from high to low ground over a longer distance, and at a much faster pace.
The Caribbean landscape that Edward has to contend with is very different to that of his predecessors, and the wild untamed jungles encountered while island hopping will be full of flora to climb and parkour.
Advanced Parkour Returns
The Advanced Parkour options available in the original Black Flag are back, but with all the modern tech of the latest updates to the Anvil engine which reintroduced them in a recent major update for AC Shadows.
Advanced Parkour untethers Edward’s full traversal skillset and enables a deeper deal of control, making side ejects and back ejects possible from virtually any height - including non-targeted jumps into the void. With this system active, you can use parkour down to trigger more precise side-eject behavior , while parkour up continues to prioritize height gains and upward momentum.
These tools give experienced players finer control of their traversal lines across Havana’s rooftops, Kingston’s balconies, and Nassau’s rigging networks. However, you can disable it if you prefer a more guided approach.
And yes, we also have a manual jump that reinforces control and decision-making – something we know is heavily discussed amongst players. Manual jump offers more direct control over traversal, allowing you to take shortcuts and increase velocity while parkouring for a smoother flow of movement.
Stealth
Introducing the Observe Feature
Classic Assassin’s Creed Eagle Vision returns for Edward, allowing him to highlight enemies hidden behind walls and objects, as well as isolating any relevant sounds they make.
Now, this skill is enhanced by the Observe feature – first introduced in Assassin’s Creed Shadows – which adds the ability to observe your surroundings to find your quest objectives, clues, and tag enemies. Bringing the camera in closer during Observe mode creates a more cinematic and immersive experience as Edward surveys his surroundings.
Edward can Crouch Anytime
To expand Edward’s stealth options, he can now crouch at any time, and will remain hidden from view anywhere on rooftops, in any suitable vegetation, behind walls or buildings, or behind objects like crates scattered throughout the Caribbean.
Edward is also even less visible at night when crouching, and enemies will take longer to spot him in the dark; however, he will not be fully hidden, so you’ll still need to watch your surroundings and stay out of sight.
“Crouching modifies Edward’s visibility meter, affecting enemy visibility at medium to long range. This is especially useful while stalking through bushes and rooftops. It also reduces movement stimuli, making it easier for Edward to perform stealth kills,” says Paul.
Edward’s Tools
Edward has a full arsenal of tools at his disposal to increase his stealth capabilities:
Blowpipe (Berserk and Sleep Dart)
Edward’s blowpipe returns, loaded with two distinct dart types. Using a Berserk dart will cause an enemy to start attacking his own, creating windows of chaos ideal for slipping past guards undetected (or, if you like to go in guns blazing, Edward can join in the carnage).
Meanwhile, the Sleep dart neutralizes targets silently, making it useful for clearing lightly guarded entrances or setting up diversionary tactics.
Smoke Bomb
The Smoke Bomb returns, allowing Edward to assassinate basic enemies while shrouded in smoke, making it a lethal offensive tool as well as a defensive one. And for players needing a fast escape, the smoke bomb is a great quick-use option.
Rope Dart
Edward’s Rope Dart tool has also returned, which will allow him to strike targets from short to medium ranges, pulling them in closer for an attack, as well as giving him the ability to suspend enemies from beams, both killing them and serving as a distraction to others. And to make the Rope Dart a much more strategic item for Edward, he will be able to get his hands on it much earlier (sequence 3 in Resynced vs. sequence 11 in the original).
Taking Edward’s Hood On or Off
Sail, fight, or sneak how you wish with the hood on/off toggle. With a quick press of a button, Edward can throw his hood on or off, allowing you to take full advantage of those stylish Assassin robes when adventuring across the Caribbean.
Edward’s Social Stealth Mechanics in Urban Centers
Edward can exploit the dense urban environments of the Caribbean's Golden Age of Piracy to outmaneuver and evade enemies through a refined set of social stealth tools.
Improved Tailing and Eavesdropping Missions
“One thing that we really wanted to improve from the original when it comes to stealth was how you would desync from tailing and eavesdropping missions when you were out of range, and that this could be super punishing. We’ve removed this, so that if you get sidetracked and lose a target while trailing or eavesdropping, you’ll still be able to complete the mission,” says Paul.
Hiring NPCs
The Hiring Dancers feature returns from the original game. Edward can recruit a group of dancers who accompany him through the streets, providing natural cover in busy areas. Edward can use them to blend in passively or direct them to distract nearby guards while he plunders loot or retreats after an assassination.
Crowd Blending
Crowd blending also makes a comeback, but with an update: Edward can now blend into any groups of three civilians or more to remain unseen. Benches, walls, haystacks, and closets are also classic returning hiding spots within a busy city.
Throwing Money
And for those who like creating chaos, throwing money remains an option to lure guards and citizens to a location. Edward will have to be selective when using this as it will cost 10 Reales per use, with a very short cooldown window to make you don’t empty your pockets too fast.
Combat
Our combat system is designed to capture the full experience of being a pirate: charismatic, swashbuckling, dual‑wielding swordplay mixed with stylish gunplay.
“At its core, Resynced is an action-adventure game, and combat is designed to be systematic and deliberate; every move is designed to have an advantage, a disadvantage, and a specific role to play,” says Paul.
Takedowns: The Core Combat Loop
The foundation of Resynced’s combat revolves around triggering takedowns – a state where enemies are vulnerable to a deadly finisher. There are many ways to trigger a takedown, each suited to different situations:
- Hidden Blade Takedown: Breaking an enemy’s defense with multiple attacks will trigger a Hidden Blade takedown
- Perfect Parry Takedowns: Triggered by timing a Perfect Parry, Edward can chain his takedowns to up to four nearby enemies, depending on the sword he carries.
- Wall Takedown: Kick an enemy into a wall to initiate a fatal takedown.
- Ground Takedown: Grounded enemies (from an explosion or Sweep move) can be killed by a Ground Takedown
“Unlocking the Hidden Blade in the story will increase the visual variety of Takedowns in general, as Edward will then use the Hidden Blade as part of his Takedown animation variations, including Chain Takedowns” says Paul.
Environmental Combat
Environments can have a big effect on fights: ledges allow fatal kicks, tight corridors are ideal spaces for Chain Takedowns, powder kegs can be blown up, to drop enemies for a Ground Takedown, walls are killing surfaces which allow Edward to perform Wall Takedowns after a well-placed kick. As Paul puts it, “We wanted each fight situation to feel different without introducing RPG stats.”
Advanced Attacks
Edward also has a new Dodge Attack, which causes additional damage if executed with precise timing – as a Perfect Dodge attack.
The Heavy Attack is another new advanced move to add to his combat kit, performed by holding the attack button. The Heavy Attack provides the highest damage, suitable against advanced foes, but takes a moment to wind up before landing. For maximum punish damage, perform a Heavy Strike at the end of Edward’s basic combo.
Heavy Attacks also vary in function depending on which type of weapon Edward is carrying:
Rapier: Heavy Strikes are more damaging and can pierce through foes.
Cutlass: Heavy Strikers cover a wide area, hitting multiple enemies.
Pistol-Sword: Two damaging shots are fired, allowing Edward to focus fire on one enemy or spread the damage on two.
Adaptive Enemies
Combat in Resynced is more demanding than before, and enemies can react to repetitive behavior, so players will need to vary their playstyle.
“For example, wait around too much for a Parry, and enemies will react by performing Unstoppable Attacks that cannot be parried. Abuse a Kick too much, and enemies will quickly dodge them. The trick is to alternate between offense and defense. Varying your combos helps. Rotate between Kicks, Sweeps, Rope Darts, Pistols and Heavy Strikes at the end of your attack combos to confuse enemies.” Paul explains.
Advanced Enemy Archetypes and How to Deal with Them
Soldiers coordinate attacks against Edward, which requires him to parry twice in quick succession before performing a Double Takedown.
Not all enemies are made equal, and each requires different tools, tactics, and skills to ensure Edward not only survives an encounter but comes out on top.
Advanced archetypes such as the Brute, Captain, and the new Demolitionist pack a punch and are harder to take down than your average soldier. They will deny Chain Takedowns if they have defense, so Edward will need to use his Flintlock to break defense between Chain Takedowns. This maneuver was inspired by fan-made combat videos from the original Black Flag. Not only this, but these archetypes also have high defense and will more often employ unblockable attacks, making parry opportunities rarer and forcing you to find other strategies like dodges and combos to deal with them.
Edward has several tools and abilities to help him against enemies who have adapted to more predictable combat patterns.
The Rope Dart’s most common utility is drawing an opponent in for a combo, or a direct Sweep into a Ground Takedown. As mentioned, it’s also a ranged attack counter.
A quick shot from the pistol instantly breaks the guard of any advanced archetype, opening them up for attacks they would otherwise deny.
The iconic Gun Kata also returns, allowing Edward to kill multiple nearby enemies in quick succession when you have progressed enough in the game.
And that’s what we had for today!
We hope you enjoyed this look at the ground gameplay of Black Flag Resynced. Stay tuned for our next deep dive article looking at Naval gameplay!
