Combat & Naval Challenges

How to earn it

Long Bay (498, 226) opens after Sequence 10, Memory 3. Three hanged bodies are strung up there, and you shoot each one down with a pistol. Get close and aim for the head; from long range the shot often misses.

1. Body 1 — at the top of the northern viewpoint. Climb it and look for the rope.
2. Bodies 2 & 3 — hanging from the tree roots above the beach path that runs from that viewpoint down to the beached ship.

Tip

Carry a full set of loaded pistols so you don't have to reload between shots. Long Bay is on the Cartographer list too.

How to earn it

This chains three tools together. The berserk dart unlocks in Sequence 4, Memory 4. Do it while boarding a Brig: the deck is small and the railings are always close.

1. Hit an enemy with a Berserk dart so he turns on his own crew.
2. Throw a smoke bomb on him.
3. While he's both berserk and inside the smoke, kick him toward the railing and finish with the takedown that sends him overboard.

Tip

Stand between him and the railing before you throw the smoke, so the kick already points toward the water. If he ends up in the middle of the deck, let the smoke clear and start again on another crewman.

How to earn it

You need 10 rope-dart hangings in total. They carry over, so there's no need to do them in one go. Perch on a branch or wooden beam above a patrol route, wait for a guard to walk underneath, and use the hang prompt.

Tip

Plantations are the best places, with lots of trees over the guards' routes: Tortuga (848, 350), Cat Island (707, 666) and the Kingston warehouse (605, 156). Stay hidden between hangs so the others don't raise the alarm.

How to earn it

Get five or more enemies inside a single smoke-bomb cloud. Select the smoke bomb with L2 + Down and throw it with L2 + R2. The easiest place is a boarded ship: the crew bunches up on deck, so let them surround you and drop the bomb at your feet.

Tip

On land, start a fight in a narrow alley and back away until the whole group is packed in front of you, then throw.

How to earn it

You need four loaded pistols, which means crafting the Pistol Holster to level 4:

• Level 3 — 2 Rabbit Pelts.
• Level 4 — 4 Bull Shark Skins (harpoon them; see Perfect Predator).

Then get four pistol kills within five seconds. Weaken a group first, or pick low-level enemies who die to one shot, then fire all four pistols in a row.

Tip

Boardings work well because weak deckhands go down to a single shot. If the timer runs out, reload all four pistols and try again on the next group.

How to earn it

Equip a sword with 4 Maximum Takedowns (it's listed on the weapon's stats). The Officer's Rapiers have it, sold at the Great Inagua General Store once you've upgraded it to level 2. Then parry a blue attack and chain four takedowns before the combo ends.

Tip

Fight a crowd so there's always another enemy next to you for the next takedown. A packed ship deck is ideal.

How to earn it

Fight next to a wall. Kick an enemy into it (R2 + Square) so he's pinned, then hit the takedown (Triangle) while he's against the wall to get the wall-kill animation.

Tip

Restricted areas in Havana and Kingston are full of alleys and walls, and you'll probably get this in your first fight there.

How to earn it

Ocelots roam Abaco Island (583, 807). Get close enough to provoke one and parry (L1) its lunge. It attacks again almost immediately; parry that one too. Two parries in a row pops it.

Tip

Keep your weapons away and wait for the attack; don't go for the kill. The Friend To All turtle is on the same beach.

How to earn it

Warehouses have alarm bells. Filter the map to show warehouses, for example Matanzas (304, 620), then get spotted on purpose. A guard runs to the bell, and while he's ringing it you headshot him with a pistol.

Tip

Have a pistol aimed before you trip the alarm. The guard only counts while he's actually ringing the bell. Raiding the warehouse also gets you one of the 9 paintings for Dilettante.

How to earn it

Street fights are random events marked with a chain-link icon. They pop up most often in Havana, Nassau and Kingston. Kill the guards and free the captive pirates without any pirate dying.

Tip

Kill the guards fast. A smoke bomb on the group near the pirates takes the pressure off them. If one of the pirates dies, leave and find another event.

How to earn it

Burning ships are random events at sea, marked with a white icon. You don't set the fire. Sail to one, board it, find a chair on deck and sit in it before the ship sinks.

The problem is that only about one burning ship in twenty has a chair. The quickest way to farm it:

1. Save at Great Inagua.
2. Fast-travel to The Black Trench (184, 425) and look around for a burning-ship icon.
3. No burning ship, or no chair on it? Reload and try again.

Tip

Every time you see a burning ship during the story, stop and check it for a chair. Doing that from the start can save a long farm at the end. The ship sinks quickly, so head straight for the deck.

How to earn it

First recruit the Padre to unlock Ram-Dash: A Second Chance at Caracol (918, 340), then Loyalty, Discipline, and Courage at Cumberland Bay (648, 348). Then start a fight with a Brig. When it turns and charges to ram you, hit Ram-Dash (L1 + R1) and hit it head-on.

Tip

It has to be a Brig that is ramming you at that moment. An ordinary ram, or a Ram-Dash against a ship that isn't charging, doesn't count. Leave one Brig alive in a fight and wait for its charge.

How to earn it

Recruit Lucy Baldwin to unlock the perfect brace (A Proper Shipwright at Salt Key Bank (446, 620), then The One With the Gun at Great Inagua (818, 445)). In any naval fight, press brace (Square) just before an enemy volley lands. Do it three times; they don't have to be in the same fight.

Tip

Watch the enemy ship's cannons light up, then brace. A perfect brace is timed later than a normal one. Picking a fight with a big group of Schooners gives you lots of attempts.

How to earn it

Naval convoys show up as white “Naval Convoy” icons. Go after the convoy's lead ship, wear down its health until you can board, then board it and complete the boarding objective.

Tip

Take out the escorts first, or they'll pound you while you're on the lead ship's deck. The lead ship also pays out well for Ship This.

How to earn it

Let a rogue wave hit the Jackdaw from the side and survive it. Hold Square to brace and cut the damage. It's practically guaranteed during the storm in Sequence 2, Memory 6 (The Treasure Fleet), so most people get it there.

Tip

If you somehow miss it, any later storm with rogue waves will do. Turn your side to the wave instead of pointing the bow into it.

How to earn it

Attack ships until your Wanted level reaches 4 (the maximum). Pirate Hunter ships then come after you. Defeat one while you're still at level 4.

Tip

Upgrade the Jackdaw first, because level-4 hunters come in groups. Pirate Hunters also drop pieces of the Tattered Map, so you can get Zero Waste at the same time.