Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced vs original: All major differences explained

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced isn’t a “remake” akin to games like Resident Evil 4 or the Resident Evil 2 remakes. However, it’s not a one-to-one recreation of the 2013 classic. With Resynced, Ubisoft has taken a few liberties to bring the experience much closer to modern Assassin’s Creed standards.

And these “improvements” and “changes” aren’t limited to the gameplay aspects of Resynced. Instead, there are also a fair few changes made to the progression and story.

Here’s a look at all the major changes between Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced and the 2013 original.

Gameplay changes in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

The biggest change between the original and Resynced is the combat and its pacing. In the original Black Flag, the combat was built primarily around the counterplay options, akin to games like Batman Arkham City. However, with Resynced, Ubisoft is using the hit-box-based system of the recent entries.

That said, the combat in Resynced is significantly faster than some of the recent AC games. Furthermore, since it’s not an RPG, there aren’t any “stats” to keep track of this time around.

Instead, the combat simply revolves around enemy HP and Defense gauges. Parrying an attack or performing a quick attack breaks the enemy’s Defense, opening them for a quick takedown. It’s a simple but very effective system that harkens back to the original AC games.

Additionally, the stealth is also much more pronounced in Resynced. Much like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, light and darkness play a vital role in stealth this time around, especially on Hard difficulty. Speaking of which, there are also difficulty presets in Resynced, which wasn’t a thing in the 2013 original.

Furthermore, the naval combat has also received major upgrades, as you have access to ammunition types for Heavy Shots and Mortars in Resynced. The Flaming Rounds, for instance, are an alternative to Heavy Rounds, which lack in range but make up for that with their DPS.

Additionally, you also get 3 Officers that you can recruit for the Jackdaw. These Officers grant active perks to naval combat, such as perfect blocking (Lucy Baldwin) or additional Heavy Rounds volley (Deadman Smith).

Story changes and additions in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

While Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced keeps the original’s story intact, it does add a few new branching narratives that further flesh out some of the key characters from the story. For instance, once you complete Sequence 8, you get access to the quest, In a World Without Gold. This is a fairly lengthy optional quest revolving around Blackbeard.

Furthermore, this quest not only offers you a good chunk of additional content, but also fleshes out the relationship between Edward, his crew, Anne, and most importantly, Edward Thatch.

In addition to this, there are also quests related to each of the three Officers. These are also side quests, but offer a substantial amount of backstory for Edward and how he eventually opens up to his crew on the Jackdaw. There are also some additional lines added to story quests.

That said, the original story and cutscenes are preserved in Resynced and are now presented with much better lighting and animations.

Miscellaneous changes in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced also features some minor changes, apart from its story and combat overhaul. For instance, in Resynced, there’s a dynamic time-of-day system, and also the ability to change it at any time (outside of story missions).

Additionally, much like the recent Assassin’s Creed games, the entire open world map (apart from Principe Island) is completely seamless. This means that you can travel between land and the Caribbean without having to contend with a loading screen.

Lastly, much like the recent AC games, there are microtransactions in Black Flag Resynced. However, these are mostly cosmetic-only and don’t necessarily affect gameplay.

Also, you can easily unlock a ton of outfits for Edward Kenway by simply playing the game and completing the main story quests.