Fully upgrading the Jackdaw in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced costs 309,800 Reales, 4,755 Metal, 2,750 Wood, and 550 Cloth. That's a lot of grinding — and spending resources on the wrong upgrade early can set you back hours. This guide lays out the optimal upgrade order, ranked by community consensus and battle-tested logic.
Why Upgrade Order Matters
Unlike the original 2013 game, Resynced rebalanced upgrade costs and introduced new enemy ship behaviors. Frigates and Man o' Wars are more aggressive, and forts hit harder. If you upgrade offensive weapons before survivability, you'll spend more time repairing — or sinking — than actually farming resources.
The priority order below is based on one principle: a sunk ship does zero damage. Survivability → consistent damage output → burst damage → utility.
The Definitive Priority Order
#1 — Armored Hull (Priority: Critical)
Why first: Every point of armor is effectively a multiplier on your entire combat capability. A ship with 1,800 extra armor can stay in a fight 3× longer than a base-hull ship — which means 3× more loot per engagement. The math is simple.
Cost to max: 50,000 Reales, 700 Metal, 1,450 Wood. Ultimate Plan required for level 5 — found at San Ignacio Wreck (348, 744).
When to stop: Get to level 3 (6,000R total) before investing in anything else. Push to level 4 after your first fort capture.
#2 — Broadside Cannons (Priority: Essential)
Why second: More cannons = faster kills = less damage taken. Each additional cannon per broadside is a direct DPS increase. At max level with 24 cannons per side, you can cripple a frigate in two volleys.
Cost to max: 46,000 Reales, 2,020 Metal. Ultimate Plan required for level 7 — found at The Blue Hole (440, 145).
#3 — Round & Heated Shot (Priority: High)
Why third: This is your bread-and-butter damage multiplier. At max level it provides +50% broadside damage — which compounds with the extra cannons from Broadside Cannons.
Cost to max: 51,900 Reales. Ultimate Plan required for level 5 — found at Kabah Ruins (738, 120).
#4 — Mortar (Priority: High)
Why fourth: Mortars let you safely attack forts from outside their cannon range. Without mortars, capturing forts is a slog of close-range brawling. With a maxed mortar, you can soften a fort's defenses before ever entering its range.
Cost to max: 37,300 Reales, 1,150 Metal. Ultimate Plan required for level 4 — found at Antocha Wreck (600, 636).
#5 — Heavy Shot (Priority: Medium-High)
Why fifth: Close-range burst damage. When a ship is weakened and you close in for the boarding, Heavy Shot finishes the job in one volley. No aiming required — just get close and fire.
Cost to max: 31,900 Reales. Ultimate Plan required for level 3 — treasure map at Ambergris Key (28, 160), dig at Misteriosa (271, 178).
#6 — Ram (Priority: Medium-High)
Why sixth: A maxed ram one-shots schooners and brigs, triggering instant boarding. This dramatically speeds up wood and cloth farming. Also essential for the Legendary Ship El Impoluto, which specializes in ramming.
Cost to max: 22,500 Reales, 350 Metal, 950 Wood. Ultimate Plan required for level 4 — found at La Concepción Wreck (150, 272).
#7-12 — Remaining Upgrades
After the top 6, the order becomes more flexible based on your playstyle:
- #7 Swivel Guns — Faster boarding weak point damage
- #8 Bow Chasers — Helps chase fleeing ships for boarding
- #9 Fire Barrels — Rear defense for escaping pursuers
- #10 Crew Quarters — More crew = faster boarding and repairs
- #11 Harpoon — Whale/shark hunting for rare materials
- #12 Ammo Storage — Quality of life, upgrade last
Don't Forget: Harbourmaster and Diving Bell
The Harbourmaster at Great Inagua (8,000 Reales for all 3 levels) and the Diving Bell (5,000 Reales, unlocked Sequence 6) are prerequisites for Ultimate-tier upgrades. Budget these into your plan early.
Pro Tips
- Always board, never sink. Boarding gives 2-3× more resources and free repairs.
- Use the Hunter Chain loop for efficient Metal and Reales farming (see our farming guide).
- Capture easy forts first: Gibara, Eleuthera, and Dry Tortuga are the easiest.
- Save your Reales. Don't buy weapons early — ship upgrades are a better investment.