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Have you been struggling with the legendary ships in Assassin’s Creed 4 and want to finally defeat them? In our guide, we’ll show you how – ship by ship.
Before you set out on the hunt: Capture forts
For the legendary ships to appear on the map, you must capture the relevant forts (see Regions). This alone will put your ship through its paces. Make sure the Jackdaw is fully upgraded – chain shot, mortars and armour are particularly important here. Otherwise, you won’t stand a chance against the four legendary ships!
Legendary Ship 1: HMS Prince (Navassa Region)
- Like all legendary ships, the HMS Prince is a Level 75 warship. Its particular strength lies in its speed and its exceptionally powerful mortar attacks.
- So be prepared for the HMS Prince to use its speed to keep you at a distance and pepper you with mortar fire. If necessary, evade the yellow-marked hit zones by slamming on the brakes and making quick course changes.
- Simply apply the reverse logic here: stay right on top of her! Ideally, right behind the HMS Prince. That way, the Prince’s attacks will miss their mark. Fire chain shot and ram her with everything your ram has to offer.
- Although the warship will start firing its stern cannons at you towards the end of its lifespan, you should still have enough armour left to emerge victorious from this engagement.
Legendary Ship 2: La Dama Negra (Serranilla region)
- Much like the HMS Prince, the La Dama Negra relies on heavy mortar attacks. The only difference is that the hit zones are not displayed. So change course as often as possible, as the La Dama Negra usually targets the area directly in front of you.
- As the La Dama Negra is so heavily armoured on its flanks that your shots simply bounce off, the same rule applies here: head for the stern!
- Pelt the warship with chain shot and ram attacks; as soon as it slows down, fire your mortars, turn your broadside towards the stern and fire from all guns. Once you’ve repeated this a few times, victory should be yours.
Legendary Ship 3: HMS Fearless / Royal Sovereign (Eleuthera region)
- You’ll be attempting to sink not one, but two legendary warships here. Whilst their armour is somewhat weaker than that of the HMS Prince, for example, dealing with both at once will push you to your limits.
- Crucial for survival: do not let the two ships surround you! Otherwise, you’ll find yourself caught in a storm of broadside fire that you’ll struggle to withstand.
- Instead, try to target one of the two ships directly. Engage it using the familiar stern-to-stern tactic – that is, a combination of chain shot and the ram.
- Once you have damaged one of the ships sufficiently, you can decide: either you sink the damaged ship and engage the remaining one from a distance with mortars, or you turn your attention to the other ship from this point onwards and sink both in quick succession.
- Bear in mind that as soon as one of the ships is sunk, its remaining ‘partner’ will attempt to take ‘revenge’ and launch ramming attacks at high speed. These can inflict immense damage on you.
Legendary Ship 4: El Impoluto (Dry Tortuga region)
- The El Impoluto is likely to present you with the toughest battle. This warship is far more aggressive and can inflict devastating damage with its ram.
- If the El Impoluto charges you head-on to ram, keep your bow facing it and fire your chain shot to slow it down. You can then use your own ram in retaliation.
- If the warship is hot on your heels, drop fire barrels to force it to turn back. If the El Impoluto turns away from you, turn as well and attack using the stern tactic described above.
