Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Guide: How to Heal and Upgrade Max Health

Taking a cutlass to the ribs hurts a lot less when you actually know how to stitch yourself back together.

When you take to the high seas and start pillaging the Bahamas, you're going to catch a few stray blades. Edward Kenway is tough, but taking too many hits in hand-to-hand combat will quickly put you six feet under. Your health naturally regenerates when you aren't actively swinging a sword, but the process is painfully slow. You absolutely can't rely on it to keep you alive during back-to-back fights or massive boarding actions. Before you waste hours constantly dying and reloading your save, you need to understand how the healing economy actually works in this remake.

Mastering Remedies

Your primary method of surviving heavy combat is tied directly to a consumable item called a Remedy.

Using and Finding Remedies

When your health bar drops into the danger zone, press Up on the controller D-pad or Z on your keyboard to instantly consume a Remedy. You only start the game with the ability to hold three of these items at a time, and they don't automatically replenish when you use them.

Since these are strictly finite, you have to constantly restock. The most reliable way to fill your pockets is to loot the bodies of defeated enemies. When you see a sparkle on a downed guard, press Triangle or Y to search their pockets. You'll usually pull out Reales or ammunition, but they occasionally drop a Remedy. You can also spot these vials sitting out in the open world on crates, tables, or in restock piles within populated areas.

If you're completely desperate and can't find any lying around, you can visit a general goods store. Vendors sell them for 100 Reales each. It's a cheap transaction, but you really shouldn't need to buy them often if you explore your surroundings. Keep your wallet safe and use the extra cash to prepare your ship before taking on the brutal AC Black Flag Resynced fort locations.

Environmental Healing

Sometimes you run out of Remedies right in the middle of a hostile zone. When that happens, you need to use your environment.

Scavenging for Food and Drink

If you're sneaking through an enemy camp or a heavily guarded town, turn on your eagle vision. This highlights interactable food and drinks scattered around the area. You can find bowls of soup or bottles of booze sitting on barrels and tables. I guess pirates don't believe in cleaning up after themselves, but walking up and interacting with these leftovers instantly restores a small chunk of your health bar.

When you're out in the wild, look for foliage. You can eat berries straight from bushes to get your health back up. Shoving handfuls of raw berries into your mouth is incredibly useful during tense stealth sections in the jungle when you don't want to risk a loud confrontation just to loot a guard for a Remedy.

Permanent Health Upgrades

Relying entirely on scavenged berries and three measly Remedies will only get you so far. You need to permanently increase your health pool to survive the late-game encounters.

Crafting More Health

You can't directly upgrade the amount of Remedies you hold, but you can upgrade your maximum health capacity so you take more hits before dying. Open your Inventory menu and navigate to the Crafting section, which is marked by a small iron ingot icon. Look for the little healing potion icon on the second row. This menu allows you to exchange animal skins and parts for massive health boosts.

I highly recommend getting the first upgrade out of the way the second you reach Abaco Island. Hunt down a couple of Iguanas to collect their leather. Spending that Iguana Leather on the first crafting node instantly increases your maximum health by 25 percent. It's a massive survivability boost that requires almost zero effort.