Crafting unlocks after you complete the Sequence 3 memory “This Tyro Captain.” Once it’s active, open your inventory, select the Anvil icon, and craft any upgrade for which you already hold the required materials.
Crafting is one of the fastest ways to push Edward Kenway past his starting kit. Every meaningful upgrade to his health, pistols, darts, and smoke bombs runs through the same system, and each recipe asks for a specific set of animal materials gathered by hunting or harpooning across the Caribbean. Knowing what each upgrade needs before you set sail saves a lot of aimless exploring.
When Does Crafting Unlock in AC Black Flag Resynced?
The Anvil doesn’t appear in your inventory during the opening hours of the game.
Crafting turns on once you finish “This Tyro Captain” in Sequence 3, the same quest that introduces the Rope Dart. From that point, you can open the Anvil icon in the inventory menu and craft any upgrade whenever you’re carrying the right materials. Two recipes sit further out on the timeline. The Sleep Dart and Berserk Dart upgrades don’t become available until you reach Tulum in Sequence 4, during the mission “Overrun and Outnumbered.” If those recipes aren’t showing up in your list yet, that’s why. Everything else opens as soon as the Anvil is active.
Pistol Holster and Ammo Pouch Recipes in AC Black Flag Resynced
These are the earliest crafts you’ll run into, and they raise how many pistols and bullets Edward can carry.
| Recipe | Materials | Where to Find |
|---|---|---|
| Pistol Holster I | 2x Ocelot Pelt | Abaco Island (582, 808) |
| Pistol Holster II | 2x Rabbit Pelt | Nassau (590, 762) |
| Pistol Holster III | 4x Bull Shark Skin | Gibara Seas (516, 599), (726, 487); Dry Tortuga (190, 669), (317, 713) |
| Pistol Ammo Pouch | 2x Wild Pig Hide | Nassau (586, 764); Great Inagua (818, 436); Cape Bonavista (152, 588) |
| Pistol Ammo Pouch I | 2x Capuchin Monkey Pelt | New Bone (402, 89) |
Three holster upgrades let Edward carry four pistols total, which matters when you’re surrounded and need to fire off quick shots without reloading.
All Health Upgrade Recipes and Materials
Each health tier adds to Edward’s base health, so surviving tougher fights means working through all four.
| Recipe | Materials | Where to Find |
|---|---|---|
| Health Upgrade | 2x Iguana Leather | Abaco Island (580, 811) |
| Health Upgrade I | 4x Hammerhead Shark Bone | Gibara Seas (651, 587); Eleuthera (776, 735) |
| Health Upgrade II | 4x Jaguar Pelt | Cape Bonavista (161, 592) |
| Health Upgrade III | 4x Great White Shark Bone | Cruz Seas (495, 299) |
The later tiers lean on sea creatures, and those are harder to hunt down without upgraded ship gear, so expect to spend more time on the water for Health Upgrade III.
Sleep Dart, Berserk Dart, and Dart Pouch Recipes
These recipes extend how long each dart effect lasts and raise how many darts Edward can hold at once.
| Recipe | Materials | Where to Find |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep Dart | 2x Crocodile Leather | Matanzas (300, 618); Nassau (583, 758) |
| Sleep Dart I | 4x Killer Whale Skin | Conttoyor Seas (37, 557); Cruz Seas (423, 423) |
| Berserk Dart | 2x Deer Hide | Salt Lagoon (723, 602); Kingston (625, 180) |
| Berserk Dart I | 4x Humpback Whale Skin | Castillo de Jagua Seas (226, 378), (311, 395) |
| Dart Pouch | 2x Howler Monkey Skin | Cape Bonavista (155, 591); Cat Island (710, 663) |
| Dart Pouch II | 2x Red Howler Monkey Skin | Isla Providencia (487, 23) |
Remember that Sleep Dart and Berserk Dart both stay locked until you reach Tulum in Sequence 4, so don’t worry if you have the materials but the recipes aren’t showing up yet.
Smoke Bomb Pouch Recipes and Where to Farm Them
Each smoke bomb tier adds one more bomb to Edward’s carry limit.
| Recipe | Materials | Where to Find |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke Bomb Pouch | 2x Iguana Leather | Abaco Island (580, 811); Great Inagua (809, 433) |
| Smoke Bomb Pouch I | 2x Hutia Hide | Cayman Sound (301, 306) |
Iguana Leather also feeds the base Health Upgrade recipe, so hunting a batch of iguanas on Abaco Island covers two crafts at once.
Which Crafting Upgrades Should You Get First?
Focus on survival before cosmetics if your materials are limited.
Prioritize Health Upgrade and Pistol Ammo Pouch early, since both make combat and stealth sections noticeably easier. Pistol Holster upgrades come next, since firing four shots in a row helps when you’re outnumbered. Dart-related recipes can wait until you actually reach Tulum, since two of them stay locked until then anyway.
How to Farm Crafting Materials Faster in AC Black Flag Resynced
Most recipes call for animal skins, and a single hunting trip rarely gives you enough of one material.
Switching your fast travel destination and coming back to the same island refreshes the animal count there, and the ship-to-island transition happens instantly with no wait. When a location still won’t repopulate on the first try, farm a couple of unrelated spots in the meantime and check back afterward, since that seems to trigger the reset. Larger hubs like Nassau, Havana, Great Inagua, Tulum, and Kingston are worth prioritizing, since several different species cluster in the same area.
You can also buy hides instead of hunting for them. A general store trades bones for pelts, usually around 3 to 5 bones per pelt depending on rarity, though the full stock only unlocks once you upgrade the store in Great Inagua to level 3. Purchasing the Tavern and Harbormaster after unlocking Great Inagua in Sequence 4 makes hunting large sea creatures, including Great White Sharks, considerably easier. Upgrading the Fisherman’s Wharf there doubles the skins you pull from sea animals, cutting down the grind significantly. If Reales aren’t a problem, the Treasure Dealer sells the exact animal parts you need outright.
Resist the urge to spend bones on Edward’s personal gear. That resource is reserved for high-tier ship upgrades, and the skeletal crew armor alone eats up a full 100 of them, so hunting land animals for pelts and saving every bone for the ship pays off later. Play Now!
Frequently Asked Questions
When does crafting unlock in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced?
Crafting becomes available after completing the Sequence 3 memory “This Tyro Captain.”
What are the rarest crafting materials?
Great White Shark Bone, Bull Shark Skin, and Humpback Whale Skin are among the harder materials to collect, since they require hunting large sea creatures with a harpoon.
Why aren’t my Sleep Dart and Berserk Dart recipes showing up?
Those two recipes stay locked until you reach Tulum in Sequence 4 during the mission “Overrun and Outnumbered,” even if the Anvil is already active.
What should I craft first?
Prioritize Health Upgrade and Pistol Ammo Pouch, since both improve survivability in combat and stealth encounters right away.
