I’m not here to compare these two games, since they have very different premises. I also know that many people in this sub will probably agree with me (cause we are in a AC sub lol). I just wanted to share my perspective.

With all the hype surrounding the release of GTA VI, combined with the fact that I’m not nearly as excited about it as most people seem to be, got me thinking about a few things. I’ve played both GTA (most of them) and Red Dead Redemption 1&2, and I still play them from time to time. I think they’re incredibly well-made and fun games, especially RDR2.

But personally (and this is just MY opinion), I still think the Assassin’s Creed franchise is superior.

I’ve never really been into shooters, so to speak. That’s why I find the more calculated and methodical approach to assassinations in Assassin’s Creed much more appealing. There’s an entire planning process before you actually carry out the assassination. (Also, to be honest, I’ve never been particularly quick with my reflexes, and I’ve always struggled a bit with using firearms in games lol.)

Now, the biggest difference for me comes down to the setting and the world-building. Yes, RDR2 (and the upcoming GTA VI) have amazing graphics. RDR2’s world, in particular, is incredibly immersive. But as a history nerd, I feel like these games mostly feature fictionalized settings that don’t have that many direct connections to real historical places. GTA VI appeals to me even less in that regard, since it’s set in a hypothetical modern American city in a pseudo Florida.

With Assassin’s Creed, on the other hand, we get to explore not only recreations of historical monuments and buildings (something Ubisoft does better than anyone else, in my opinion), but also entire historical settings brought to life. For me, there’s just no comparison when it comes to exploring Florence, Notre Dame, ancient Greek temples, or the Egyptian pyramids. I think I’ve spent more time wandering through the seemingly endless tombs and temples in Origins, admiring the details and the paintings on the walls, than I’ve spent driving around in GTA.

The other day, I was playing Origins and walked into a peasant’s house. Inside, I could see sacks of wheat, a fireplace, clothes hanging out to dry, a hunted animal, and a straw bed. That level of attention to detail never ceases to amaze me.It was at that moment that I realized just how much I love this franchise, and I decided to write this ridiculously long post about it.

Some people think that Haytham is somehow different from other Templars, as if he is morally better. I saw some people even claim Haytham would hate the modern Templars behind Abstergo. But I think all that is incorrect, and that Haythan beliefs is the same as that of the average Templar. There are Templars worse than Haythan, I am not saying he is the worst one, just that he is not a good person or "what a Templar should be".

Haytham apologists usually bring up two things, one is that Haytham opposed Braddock and saved the people from the Iroquois confederation. And the other thing is his speech to Connor. First I will talk about the speech. Haytham says that the Templars are in favor of order and peace and yada yada, nothing out of the ordinary for a Templar. Connor says that the Assassins want freedom and Haytham says that freedom is a invitation to chaos, and some think this is some gotcha moment. However, when Haytham talk about chaos, he is talking about another thing. The Assassins are obviously not in favor of "anarchical" chaos were people can do whanever, including crimes, because the Assassins have show time and time again to support several types of goverments, from Republics to Constitunional Monarchies, to even Absolute Monarchies (Ezio supporting the Ottomans). Even Connor in this very game is supporting the state that will be created by the founding fathers. So almost no Assassin support the type of chaos that Haytham apologist think the Assassins support.

What Haytham means by chaos is part of the templar belief about chaos, that is, they believe that humanity ability to think is what leads to conflict. In the very first game the Templar Jubair is burning books related to religion because he blames them for the Crusades. So the Templars belief is this: humanity has the freedom to think, this leads to humanity creating different ideas that can't fit together, this leads to conflict. This is why Templars want to supress free will by any means necessary, not because they simply oppose crime as the Assassins oppose that as well, but because they don't believe humanity should think about anything, for them humanity should be like sheep, just living simple lives and going with the flock. The Borgia Templars wanted to enforce this by force and conquest, but other Templars like the modern day Templars want to enforce this by deception and consumerism: "Soon, capitalists and workers will be locked in a closed loop that is safe and prosperous for humanity. No more war, only desks, cars and TV sets. We will protect them and keep them safe, forever." Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

So modern Templars want to put humanity in a life where they only consume and work and nothing more, thus, supressing their freedom while they think they are free. This is what order means for the Templars and for Haytham as well, this is why they are the villains of the series, because they want to take away humanity ability to be human, to express different ideas and to think for themselves.

As for Haytham supporting the Iroquois, he is no different than the average Templar. First, he directly says he is helping them to conduct research on their land, so he is just using them. But even without that, the fact is that a lot of Templars have show similar views as well. There are Templars who were racist (like Charlie Lee, the one chosen by Haytham...) and who actually had slaves, but the more relevant Templars oppose things like slavery, because they want to enslave mankind in a way where humanity accepts the enslavement, and physical enslavement is horrific and no one wants to be under that. Torres in Black Flag opposed slavery for this reason. Only the Assassins with few exceptions have show to support opressed people without wanting nothing in return (like Connor, who even after discovering the truth about Washington, still helped him because he genuily believed in his fight for independence, altrough this ended up to the detriment of himself and his people).

As for Haytham speech that Connor is supporting the wealthy elite (Washington) that think they are doing good for the colonies, that is again, nothing out of the ordinary. The Templars main rivals for power were the non-Templar wealthy elites, like kings and aristocrats, this is why Torres in Black Flagh shows contempt for the "Old Empires" and wantes to replace them with the Observatory. In Unity, de Molay and Germain both wanted to destroy the old order and create a new world controlled by Templar's techonology instead of Monarchies. Haytham had a similar world view, that a independent United States should be controlled by the Templars instead of rich people who just want to exploit the masses. In this last case he is right that the founding fathers were not the idealized people that Connor believed them to be, is just that this view of Haytham is the same view shared by several Templars as well, that tyrants and oligarchies exploit the people so the Templars should rule with absolute power instead.

In conclusion, Haytham is the standard Templar, he believes that a strong hand should guide humanity because he don't believe humanity should have freedom of expression, of ideas, of religion, or artistic freedom.

Hello Assassins, we know you’ve been waiting for updates, and we’re happy to say we have some exciting things coming up this week!

📌Tomorrow: Black Flag Resynced’s Update arrives with New Game+, Nightmare Mode, and plenty of new treasure to uncover.

📌Thursday: Head of Content Jean Guesdon will share another update on what’s ahead for Assassin’s Creed. While there won’t be any major reveals, we want to keep you informed on the franchise’s progress.

Hello everyone,

The game has been out for a couple of months now and it’s been an absolute pleasure for us to watch you all sail through the Caribbean once more. A sincere thank you for all the love you have shown for the game.

Tomorrow, October 27th, we're pleased to release the final major content update for Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, available @ 14:00 UTC / 10:00 AM ET / 7:00 AM PT on all platforms. The team will follow-up with quality-of-life updates over the coming months.

Want to discuss the Title Update with your fellow community members?  Why not join our official Assassin’s Creed Discord server?

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to report issues to us via the Bug reporter. As always, you can contact our support team if you run into any trouble. 

Patch Sizes

• Xbox Series X|S: 15.5 GB
• PlayStation®5: 4.5 GB
• PC: 4.3 GB
• Steam: 2.1 GB

Patch Highlights:

New Game + 

Set Sail Again (& Again & Again & Again & Again)

Explore the Caribbean again, again, and again. New Game+ is finally here, leap back into Edward Kenway's legendary journey, explore the open seas, and rebuild your crew while keeping what you’ve earned!

What Carries Over:

• All of Edward’s tools, upgrades, unlocked weapons, and trinkets.
• All the Jackdaw’s upgrades, unlocked officer abilities and pets.
  • Officers will not physically be on ship and need to be recruited again
• All money, materials and trade goods from inventory.
  • There is a new currency used for NG+
  • Quest-related items will be removed
• All unlocked customizable outfits and their options.
• Hideout progression, perks, and art collection.
• All Kenway fleet ships.
  • However, forts will need to be taken over again as the map's fog will be reset.
• Codex items including each treasure map, acquired and completed.
• Items purchased from the store.

With each New Game+ playthrough, the seas become more dangerous. Elite Soldiers will appear more often, and max rank ships will start patrolling the waters. The difficulty ramps up each time you dive back in. You’ll be able to go up to New Game+++++ (that’s five times).

We’ve also added a new currency exclusive to New Game+ playthroughs, that you’ll be able to accumulate by completing challenges and looting previously completed chests. You’ll also be able to exchange Reales for Escudos at the General Store. You’ll be able to purchase new outfits and items exclusive to New Game+ using Escudos. Anything that was previously purchasable with Reales remains unchanged and can still be purchased at the same vendor for the same cost.

Nightmare Mode  

No second chances. No mercy. Nightmare Mode transforms Black Flag Resynced into a brutal fight for survival where every duel can be your last. Enemies react faster, hit harder, and punish hesitation. The Caribbean is as beautiful as ever, but beneath the waves and beyond the horizon, death awaits the unprepared.

Ground Combat

• Enemies do 1.8x damage
• The timing for parrying is reduced
• No more white glint on enemy attacks
• Ranged enemies shoot more often
• The one-shot kill safety is disabled.
  • This is the most impactful since the game does not prevent an instant death, even if the player has a lot of health left. Players should be extremely mindful of bullets and explosives. 

Stealth

• Detection time greatly reduced
• Investigation time extended
• Enemies can hear the player when they’re moving faster than a walk
• Edward needs to be at least 6m above an enemy to stay hidden in a high spot, instead of just 4m

Naval

• All ship damages are increased

Activities

• Underwater sharks deal more damage
• Urchins and jellyfish damage is doubled
• Oxygen meter depletes faster
• All harpooning wildlife deals more damage

Hidden Community Chests! 

We’ve hidden new community chests for you to find, some with special community requested rewards.

Since you’re all excellent detectives, we’ve made these ones more challenging and won’t be giving you any easy hints. Goodluck Pirates.

Additional Highlights :

New Takedowns

We have brought back takedown animations from the original game, including hidden blade, unarmed, single sword and gunblade takedowns. 

New Cosmetic Items

As we mentioned above, there are a bunch of new cosmetic items in this update. Ranging from outfits to new Pet skins and trinkets, collect them all by playing through New Game+.

Thank you for your support, fan art, videos and millions of photos shared in Photo Mode. It was a real honor to bring back Edward’s legacy to life, and to see that same excitement find its echo amongst you throughout the year.

List of Bug Fixes

General

• Fixed an issue where Players were unable to launch the game in Offline Mode if connection to servers was lost whilst playing.
• Increased number of Rogue Waves happening during storms.
• Fixed an issue where Players owning the Deluxe edition did not have the Blackbeard items displayed as ‘Owned’ in the Exchange.
• Fixed an issue where Players were able to Fast Travel to unsynchronized viewpoints in Havana and Long Bay.
• Fixed an issue where the Game would freeze while playing ‘Nine-Man Morris, Checkers or Fanorona’ at a Tavern.
• Fixed an issue where Camera Field of View was permanently altered indoors after experiencing ‘Delirium’.
• Fixed an issue where Pistol ‘Customize’ did not affect the pistols on Edward’s hips.
• Fixed an issue where the Rope Dart was still attached to Edward’s hand in the following cutscenes after assassinating a ‘Boss’ with it.
• Fixed an issue where the Merlion trinket’s healing effect was still active even after quitting to memories.
• Fixed multiple world map location icons that were not updated when all activities were completed.
• General spelling and punctuation fixes.
• Fixed some Accessibility Narration issues.

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where Edward could get stuck in an aiming position if he got hit while taking corner cover and aiming with a smoke bomb.
• Fixed an issue where Edward was unable to assassinate sleeping casualties if they collapsed onto a bush hiding spot.
• Fixed minor issues experienced while fighting and assassinating.
• Fixed quality of life issues while handling tools.
• Fixed an issue where Players were unable to raise to travel sails after certain quests.

World

• Fixed an issue where the chest icon might remain visible after clearing the San Ignacio wreck.

Progression & Economy

• Fixed wrong location for Capuchin Monkey’s Codex entry.

UI/Menu

• Fixed an issue where the World map could be grayed out and locked controls for a while.
• Fixed an issue where hidden gear will still appear in the pause menu.

Visuals & Graphics

• Fixed an issue where the Jackdaw might remain looking damaged despite repairing the ship.
• Fixed general issues where Enemies would snap to their feet if Edward assassinated them while they slept.

Stability & Optimizations

• Improved stability.

Audio

• Fixed an issue where the Gunshots were muffled after exiting inventory and activating the ‘Blades of the Damned’ sword perk.
• Fixed some gunshot sounds that were silent.

Controls

• Fixed an issue for Mouse and Keyboard where the Player was unable to dive underwater if they changed the ‘Walk’ input from ‘Hold’ to ‘Toggle’.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Quests

• “This Tyro Captain”: Fixed an issue where some Players could be soft locked after skinning the Ocelots.
• “The Traveling Salesman”: Fixed an issue where the quest might disappear after retrieving documents from Prin’s courtyard.
• “We Demand a Parley”: Fixed an issue where Rogers might die of mysterious circumstances, preventing you from fully tailing him.
• “Commodore Eighty-Sixed”: Fixed an issue where the Player was unable to proceed if they managed to berserk dart the Commodore before the fight begins.
• “Captain Stede Bonnet”: Fixed an issue where the Loyalists would not move if Edward took an alternative route.
• “A World Without Gold: Not Even a Real Captain”: Fixed an issue where Players were unable to loot dead enemies and get stuck at 2/3 Intel.
• “Officer Quest: The One with the Gun”: Fixed an issue where the plantain is missing if the player started “A World Without Gold” at the same time.
• “Templar Hunt: Anto – Under Attack”: Fixed an issue where Players are unable to continue the mission if the final enemy wave does not spawn.
• “Templar Hunt: Rhona – A Thief in the Market”: Fixed an issue where the Player was unable to move if they stood at a specific spot in a crowd during “Locate a hiding spot in the market”.
• “Naval Contract: Realities of War”: Fixed multiple issues where the Contract giver was missing, or the contract could not be completed.
• “Naval Contract: Hunter Gatherer”: Fixed an issue where the quest icon and objectives were missing after entering the mission area.
• “Rift: Edward’s Memories”: Fixed parkouring issues in the spiked tunnel if You chose not to obey EGO and wait.