captainnapalm
Member
You have to say this, though, for the game: the collectibles you do in the present day alone, the various audio files and stuff you get from hacking computers, is almost equal to the side stuff you find in most full games.
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Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag |OT| Not Based on a DisneyLand Ride
- Thread starter dangerbyrnes
- Start date
You have to say this, though, for the game: the collectibles you do in the present day alone, the various audio files and stuff you get from hacking computers, is almost equal to the side stuff you find in most full games.
BoboBrazil
Member
By buried treasure do you mean the underwater shipwrecks? Or something else?
It's the treasure you find using treasure maps
CrichtonKicks
Member
Underwater wrecks have a lot of schematics too.
chickdigger802
Banned
i enjoyed them because they are quick and easy. thats how it should be. And its neat that many of them have unique dialogue. A bit disappointing that you can pretty much sneak there and headshot the dude with a pistol and still get the bonus... but i guess you could just berserk dart them and walk away and get the same result.
doesn't make it a compliment though lol. none of the shit is worth it. And i fucking hate how shit is formatted in these games for text. I have a 27" monitor, don't give me this tiny box to read stuff, and put that tiny slant because fuck.
Inferno313
Banned
Hey, is everyone else on PS4 having the problem that they cannot connect to the Ubisoft server for the single-player and Uplay stuff?
CrichtonKicks
Member
Yeah, I prefer the read the database entries on the companion app on my iPad. They put a lot more text on the screen there.
chickdigger802
Banned
you know what would make combat way more enjoyable? Option to turn off counter prompts.
get me engaged in combat etc.
get me engaged in combat etc.
daemissary
Member
Both underwater shipwrecks and the chests you get from treasure maps.
I found a location that had a man o war guarding it. When I first noticed it wasn't another frigate I was like "oh fuck turn around turn around!" but then I noticed it was already almost destroyed somehow, like it only had about 20% health left so I fired some mortars and a few normal shots and luckily disabled it. Basically got a free man o war added to my fleet 
You know, I was all about Kenway's regular robes while playing through the main story, but this whaler outfit is all I've been using while collecting shit:
Interestingly enough, the games that have had Raphael Lacoste as the art director have also been my favorites in the series.
Turn off SSI in the HUD options.
Interestingly enough, the games that have had Raphael Lacoste as the art director have also been my favorites in the series.
Turn off SSI in the HUD options.
xXxDieselxXx
Member
I can't believe this game has no naval MP.
Imagine 2 teams and 2 ships whatever comes first destroy the other ship or board and start a fight
Imagine 2 teams and 2 ships whatever comes first destroy the other ship or board and start a fight
perineumlick
Member
I was just going to post this same question. I haven't been able to connect since I bought the game, and I can't access Kenway's fleet either.
Neuromancer
Member
What do pieces of art do for you?
RoadHazard
Gold Member
This is pretty much considered the best singleplayer experience at launch on the PS4, right? I was originally just going to get Killzone (plus PS+ and F2P stuff), but now I'm thinking this might be a better choice. Sure, it's always fun to have a next-gen graphics showcase like KZSF for your new console, but I really don't think I would personally get as much out of it. I do play multiplayer, but the SP portion of a game is always the most important to me. (If I do get this as my first retail game I'll still get KZ at some later date, probably sometime during Jan-Feb when the PS4 won't exactly be drowning in new exciting releases.)
ThaddeusMcGee
Member
ACIV's SP is solid. Yes, it does have some of the repetitiveness of previous games, but the naval aspect is more than enough to make up for it, for me. If you've ever wanted a game where you can simply sail around a ginormous map, shoot up a few boats, jump on and swashbuckle your way to victory - this is your game. Plus you can add said boats to a fleet which battles on its own and makes money via missions that work similarly to the Brotherhood Assassin missions. There are random smugglers caves with special chests, buried treasure, guarded warehouses to loot, and tons of upgrades to both your boat and your dude. There are also the large city sections to explore. If you can't tell, I've been enjoying it and I highly recommend.
EDIT: Oh and as a graphical showcase, it runs super smooth at 1080p if you're on PS4, so there's that
Oppo
Member
I would say it's just what you're looking for.
It happened to be the first thing I popped into the PS4 when I got it, and aside from Resogun it's all I've played. I still have Contrast, KZ and Trine 2 waiting for me.
I'm almost scared to play anything else until I finish AC since it's so crazy systems-heavy.
This has been my first Assassins Creed since AC2 and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I could do with less collecting of Animus fragments (typical Ubisoft) but hell I didn't even mind some of the collecting in this mostly because of the world and how much I enjoyed running around/sailing about in it. In Far Cry 3 it just annoyed me. The best things about it were by far and away the naval combat and the satisfaction of just upgrading your ship and gradually how your ship just destroys more and more ships with ease. By the end of the game, with a fully upgraded ship, you're a powerhouse.
Overall just off the top of my head for me it would be:
Pros:
Treasure Maps
Kenways Fleet
Naval Combat (ship and boarding)
Harpooning
Underwater sections
Assassinations
Templar Hunts
Cons:
I did not care about the modern stuff at all. It annoyed me when it occurred and just took me out of the game. I know that it's a part of the series but I didn't like it in 1 and 2 and I don't like it here either.
Combat's pretty basic. You have a few options but it could really do with more weapons.
It feels a bit rushed/unpolished. I really wish Ubisoft would give the series more of a chance to breathe. It's very unlikely an overhaul will occur anytime soon due to how iterative it seems to be. I would love to see the naval and Kenways Fleet gameplay expanded upon (though it looks like the ios/android Pirates game next week might do that)
Too much collecting. I didn't mind doing it for a few things such as collecting buried treasure and even to an extent the mayan/templar suits (or upgrading in general) but fucking hell Ubisoft I don't need to collect 200 animus fragments.
Reduce the tailing/eavesdropping. I can understand having a few like that but I lost count of how many times I had to do this.
Overall I had a lot of fun with it (got 40hrs of gametime I thoroughly enjoyed) and would probably buy a Black Flag 2 (or another pirate game at least). Apart from that I'll try and play through Brotherhood, Revelations and 3 eventually, already got them all cheap on Steam.
Not tried the multiplayer and probably won't bother tbh.
I got 7 of them in my fleet so far Hoping to unlock all the docks and fill them full of man o wars. A great way of getting diamonds for Kenways fleet is to take over man o wars and then salvage them when you next access Kenways Fleet. You get around 600 - 700 diamonds per salvage.
Overall just off the top of my head for me it would be:
Pros:
Treasure Maps
Kenways Fleet
Naval Combat (ship and boarding)
Harpooning
Underwater sections
Assassinations
Templar Hunts
Cons:
I did not care about the modern stuff at all. It annoyed me when it occurred and just took me out of the game. I know that it's a part of the series but I didn't like it in 1 and 2 and I don't like it here either.
Combat's pretty basic. You have a few options but it could really do with more weapons.
It feels a bit rushed/unpolished. I really wish Ubisoft would give the series more of a chance to breathe. It's very unlikely an overhaul will occur anytime soon due to how iterative it seems to be. I would love to see the naval and Kenways Fleet gameplay expanded upon (though it looks like the ios/android Pirates game next week might do that)
Too much collecting. I didn't mind doing it for a few things such as collecting buried treasure and even to an extent the mayan/templar suits (or upgrading in general) but fucking hell Ubisoft I don't need to collect 200 animus fragments.
Reduce the tailing/eavesdropping. I can understand having a few like that but I lost count of how many times I had to do this.
Overall I had a lot of fun with it (got 40hrs of gametime I thoroughly enjoyed) and would probably buy a Black Flag 2 (or another pirate game at least). Apart from that I'll try and play through Brotherhood, Revelations and 3 eventually, already got them all cheap on Steam.
Not tried the multiplayer and probably won't bother tbh.
I found a location that had a man o war guarding it. When I first noticed it wasn't another frigate I was like "oh fuck turn around turn around!" but then I noticed it was already almost destroyed somehow, like it only had about 20% health left so I fired some mortars and a few normal shots and luckily disabled it. Basically got a free man o war added to my fleet
I got 7 of them in my fleet so far
Hoping to unlock all the docks and fill them full of man o wars. A great way of getting diamonds for Kenways fleet is to take over man o wars and then salvage them when you next access Kenways Fleet. You get around 600 - 700 diamonds per salvage.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Yeah, sounds nice! One thing I wonder, however, is how much of the world you can explore? Like, all those islands you see scattered throughout the sea in screenshots, can you actually explore them or are they mainly just for show?
1080p with smooth framerate is very nice, but it still really looks like the cross-gen game it is from what I've seen. Like a sharper and smoother version of the PS360 game, with some additional effects. There's nothing that really screams "next-gen!" about it.
Sounds good, thanks!
Fleet_of_Foot
Member
Starting to sour on this game just a little bit. I'm 15-16 hours in and only on sequence 6 so maybe I just need to get further but...
My main problem is a lack of income. I was saving up money for a while and the game just made me buy a diving bell, which was $5,000. I was pretty pissed when I saw that.
- It takes SO LONG to earn decent money in this game. And there doesn't seem to be any mechanic to earn money from investments (properties) like in previous AC games. Am I missing that? I'm running my fleet on missions, and looting every chest I can find. It's not helping much.
- I feel like I'm pouring all my money and resources into my ship and it doesn't feel like it's getting that much more powerful. And the next level of upgrades are really damn expensive. I feel like I just need to set aside 5-8 hours to hunt other ships, build resources, and upgrade my ship fully but that gets boring and takes forever.
- I feel like in a fight, I go down way too easily. And I can't upgrade my health any further, because I can't find the animals I need, which I assume are to the south where I can't comfortably get to. And while I spent good money on good swords, they still don't seem that great. And the next swords are 14,000 which is a HUGE chunk of change right now. I feel like if I get surrounded by more than 3-4 dudes, I'm done. That wasn't the case in previous games. It seemed like in the AC2 games, I could upgrade my health a lot further so that it stretched across the screen. I feel so much weaker in this game.
My main problem is a lack of income. I was saving up money for a while and the game just made me buy a diving bell, which was $5,000. I was pretty pissed when I saw that.
Thankfully for the crafting you can just buy the animal parts you need. Next time you visit a shop to outfit Kenway as well as Sell Hunting Gear you can Buy Hunting Gear. Here you can buy every single thing you need for crafting. I couldn't be arsed with the hunting so bought them all.
Also just concentrate on upgrading your ship for a while too. I honestly never felt it was a grind to earn money but then I never got bored blowing ships up so your mileage may vary (plus I collected lots of money via chests etc). You WILL get to a point where you are blowing things out of the sea with no problems. It takes a while to get there but that's what makes it more satisfying
I guess it helps in my case I did most side stuff before doing a lot of the story (as much as it would allow as I needed to wait for certain locations to unlock storywise to get access)
chickdigger802
Banned
oh os thats what ssi is... weird they just throwing acronyms
Psychoward
Banned
I used Kenway's fleet twice and haven't used it again, I'm not missing out right?
BigJonsson
Member
chickdigger802
Banned
wish you can mess with the fleet in the main menu and not just on the ship. i guess you can do something on ipads
dancingphlower
Member
I think, now, after spending about 20 hours with the game, I can comfortably say that this is the best game in the series. Revelations still has the best free running, but the overall atmosphere and openness of this game pushes it over the top for me. The small improvements from AC3 such as better weapons switching, naval combat, and mission design help the overall experience as well.
BigJonsson
Member
Off-Kilter
Banned
I know they're supposed to be "bad" but does anyone else enjoy sea storms and wish they were more frequent? Something about the rain, combined with the large rolling waves, and the splashes of water as your ship makes contact with them really sells the presentation. It's quite atmospheric.
foxdvd
Member
Love the game. How do you know how many hours you put in? Is there a place that shows that?
The game is at its best when you are in the open world and doing what you want. I love the naval combat, the legendary ships, all of it.
What I hate so far (on session 10) is the tailing missions. I know it has been said over and over in this thread but the need to stop with these. What makes them almost unforgivable is when they put you in one and then give you an optional objective to stealth kill 10 howler monkeys which are all over the map while you have to keep the tail in sight, all while guards run around in the same pattern. I hate the idea that this is an open world do what you want game, but then every single mission wants you to play a certain way. I know I don't have to to do the optional objectives, but the desire to do everything is so strong I can't help myself, and I think at times it is because of this I find myself not having as much fun as I should.
I really wish they would only put optional objectives in from time to time so that some of the missions I can just sit back and play how I want. (I know there are a few that don't have objectives, but these are usually short missions without a lot in them.
The game is at its best when you are in the open world and doing what you want. I love the naval combat, the legendary ships, all of it.
What I hate so far (on session 10) is the tailing missions. I know it has been said over and over in this thread but the need to stop with these. What makes them almost unforgivable is when they put you in one and then give you an optional objective to stealth kill 10 howler monkeys which are all over the map while you have to keep the tail in sight, all while guards run around in the same pattern. I hate the idea that this is an open world do what you want game, but then every single mission wants you to play a certain way. I know I don't have to to do the optional objectives, but the desire to do everything is so strong I can't help myself, and I think at times it is because of this I find myself not having as much fun as I should.
I really wish they would only put optional objectives in from time to time so that some of the missions I can just sit back and play how I want. (I know there are a few that don't have objectives, but these are usually short missions without a lot in them.
Yup.
Last time I was in a storm I overcorrected for a rogue wave. "Oh, shit..." and then WHAM.
Loving almost everything about this game but I cannot tell you how awful the forced hunting is. The whale hunting in particular makes me feel incredibly horrible. Seeing the gargantuan and gorgeous creatures in their death throes makes my heart hurt so badly. All of the hunting makes me feel the same pain I feel when I listen to "Leviathan Bound" by Shearwater (PS-Don't watch the video; just listen to it):
WheelHoss1
Member
Trying to hang in there on the PS4.
Yes, the first storm battle looked freaking incredible. But then it's back to the standard glitchy free-running, ugly forests, and ok fighting. Now I'm in Havana, and I still am not hooked. Want to get out on the open seas and start being a pirate. Am I close?
It just feels like the same old AC so far with graphics that after playing Knack seem a little dated. But I trust you guys that it gets better!
Yes, the first storm battle looked freaking incredible. But then it's back to the standard glitchy free-running, ugly forests, and ok fighting. Now I'm in Havana, and I still am not hooked. Want to get out on the open seas and start being a pirate. Am I close?
It just feels like the same old AC so far with graphics that after playing Knack seem a little dated. But I trust you guys that it gets better!
I wish Ubi had just gone a bit further with the openness...I'm sad that the bigger cities are still separated by loading screens. Imagine you could track other ships going from harbor to harbor, stuff like that...and I wish sailing was a bit more complex/involved than just "3 speeds".
But I guess basically what I really want is another Sea Dogs with graphics like these.
But I guess basically what I really want is another Sea Dogs with graphics like these.
A Serious Man
Member
Yeah, you're close. After Havana you're pretty much free to do whatever you want.
Running fleet on missions is a great way to get money, but treasure chests don't net you a whole heck of a lot typically. What I did early on was just hunt ships; You end up taking on rum and sugar, which you can usually sell for a couple of thousand reales (or more). I can't say I've had a massive issue with getting cash.
That's odd, I'm about as many hours into the game as you, and I can pretty easily take on 3 or four brigs and a few schooners at once. I can take down a man o' war in under a minute and the only real threat is the legendary ships, which destroy me utterly in a couple of minutes. Typically, I use mortars to soften ships up from long range , ram them at an angle, fire a couple of broadsides as we straighten out and flank each other, and then as we drift apart I drop a pair of fire barrels. That'll take anything except a man o' war out in a single engagement.
Now, whenever I see a gunboat or schooner I just ram them and sink them in one shot, and use square to get half the loot and sell it.
I can sympathize, as you are pretty fragile. Countering is obviously important, but it's also REALLY important to equip a secondary weapon like 2-3 pistols or smoke bombs when engaging a large number of enemies. That way, you can tap triangle 2-3 times to shoot and stun some of them, or drop a smoke bomb to stun them all. Also, make use of the tap to one hit kill and try to chain as many kills together as you can, avoiding officers and burly gunmen (they'll counter and break your flow, so you need to shoot them first).
The combat isn't as refined as something like Batman, but once you understand the system it can be fun.
ThaddeusMcGee
Member
Most of the time they end up having treasure/loot of some sort. The only way to know though is to mess up the nearest fort - that shows you what's on all the nearby islands and is basically the naval version of "synchronizing".
No, you're right - this was not developed with next gen visuals as the target, on the order of Killzone or Ryse. It's a highres last gen game, but personally I think it looks pretty darn good. Also I notice (on PS4 anyway) they upgraded particle FX so the pistols and cannons use these nice sprites that have billowing smoke. It's a small touch that really makes the effect pop.
The solution that worked for me and several other people on the Ubisoft Support forums is to delete friends to go back down below 100 total friends (including pending requests). It seems like Ubisoft forgot to account for the new friend list sizes and having over 100 causes problems with Uplay. Apparently they're working on a patch, but who knows how long until it's ready.
They should have nerfed the Berserk Dart, not to work against
.Assassination targets
.Key NPC's whome you are supposed to kill
Because everything other game breaking stuff just pales in comparison to this overpowered dart tactics.
matrix-cat
Member
Are you countering and chain-killing? AC3 and 4's combat is pretty mindless when you work out the mechanics. Just run in and start hacking at a guy until you see that red counter prompt, hit B then X (or Circle then Square) for a counter kill, and once you've banked that one kill you can just point the analogue stick at the next guy and press X to automatically kill him. Then just repeat until done. Occasionally you'll get attacked during a kill animation, but you can just counter him to keep the chain going, and if you ever lose your streak just do some more X mashing until you either kill a guy or get another counter prompt.
The only thing you really have to watch out for are the big bruisers. Those guys you have to press A at to 'break defense' before you can press X to kill them. The hardest enemy type are the guys wearing hats, because you have to wait for them to attack you. When you counter them Edward will automatically kick them in the crotch, which will let you hack them up. Alternatively, just shoot'em a couple of times with the pistols, yank them to the ground with the rope dart or blowpipe'em. Or drop a smoke bomb and just go nuts; you get free kills on anyone coughing in the smoke.
Once you get the hang of it you'll find that Edward is a walking tank who's almost completely indestructible. It takes minimal effort to single-handedly kill an entire ship or fort full of guys, and those health and sword upgrades really don't come into it. Once you're in a kill-chain every hit is an instant kill, regardless of your weapon. The kill animations are so absurdly long that you really only have to hit a button every four or five seconds. Occasionally you'll get screwed over by the bad camera not letting you see a guy dashing in from off-screen in mid-attack, but that's only really a problem during ship boarding when you have way too many NPCs jittering about in a cramped area.
The animals you need to get the first three health upgrades are all available right when you get the jackdaw. I don't know about the last health upgrade because I haven't tried anything with the whales.
I do have a question though, anyone have general tips when attacking other ships? I am dying a lot (my ship, not my character)...
Wow, this is BS. There's no way I can drag my list down to below 100 at this point...
I do have a question though, anyone have general tips when attacking other ships? I am dying a lot (my ship, not my character)...
Wow, this is BS. There's no way I can drag my list down to below 100 at this point...
ThaddeusMcGee
Member
I feel your pain, but after 100%-ing ACIII I realized that those objectives made the game straight up less fun. I would recommend just playing through and not worrying about them, at least the first time. I ignored those when they first appeared in Brotherhood(?) and also Revelations but for some reason I was determined to get them in III and the campaign took me forever as a result. Imagine spending more than the average playtime with Assassin's Creed III.
In IV I'm not too worried about them anymore. When you consider that all you get is an achievement/trophy, and even if you got something that would help your game - you're done with the story at that point, the only reason left to chase 100% sync is your own personal satisfaction. I'm glad they're there for folks who want to go for the gold, but personally I just don't feel like chasing them down anymore and I usually recommend against it.
matrix-cat
Member
Mortars are extremely useful. They have a range of about 500m (judging by the distance meter you get when you 'mark' a ship), which seems way further than what enemy mortars can manage, and they seem way more powerful than everything but the heavy shot and ram. Their ammo is pretty limited, though, and you don't find much of it out on the ocean so you're best off buying it from Harbourmasters.
Heavy Shot (same as regular broadsides, but you just pull the right trigger without using the left) are essentially your shotguns. You have to be really close, and you can't aim them very well, but they just tear through ships. Alternating between Heavy Shot volleys and hitting those Swivel Gun targets is the best way to keep piling on the damage once you've closed distance. Basically just get a feel for your reload speed and try to be shooting as often as possible. Regular broadsides are your best bet for intermediate ranges (if you hold the aiming trigger down for a while the 'reticle' will tighten up, allowing really accurate shots). I haven't found much use for the chain shot (forward-firing guns) or the fire barrels, but you might as well use them when you have the chance because they come with plenty of ammo.
Steer clear of enemy mortars (big yellow blotches on the ocean that turn red), and always brace when it tells you to because it does lessen the damage significantly. Don't get into a broadside match with a Man o' War, try to pick them off from behind where they're mostly defenseless. And don't neglect your ram, either. It does huge damage, and it's the only way you can collide with another ship without taking any damage of your own. Just make sure you aren't sailing straight into a broadside or anything. Ship upgrades are really useful, but you have to do a lot of ship-to-ship combat to afford them.
This is for everyone that's having issues connecting to the Ubisoft servers on the PS4 version.
There's an issue going on where PSN accounts not being able to connect to Uplay servers. This isn't a guaranteed fix, but a lot of users are reporting that if you reduce the number of people on your friendlist to less than 100, you'll be able to connect to the Ubisoft servers. I just tried it out, restarted my game and was able to connect and have access to my fleet for the first time since launch. Again, it's not a guaranteed fix, but it's worth a shot to see if it works for you guys.
There's an issue going on where PSN accounts not being able to connect to Uplay servers. This isn't a guaranteed fix, but a lot of users are reporting that if you reduce the number of people on your friendlist to less than 100, you'll be able to connect to the Ubisoft servers. I just tried it out, restarted my game and was able to connect and have access to my fleet for the first time since launch. Again, it's not a guaranteed fix, but it's worth a shot to see if it works for you guys.