Database workflow
Use one search box when the clue is incomplete
The database is the fastest way to look across map routes, rewards, locations, mission clues, PC checks, and completion items when you do not yet know the right hub.
Search recipes
What to search first
Use the shortest clue you have, then move to the focused page once the database shows the right route type.
| You know | Search this | Open next |
|---|---|---|
| A map coordinate | The coordinate or nearby place name | Map, Locations, or Treasure Maps |
| A buried reward | Money, elite plan, outfit, or upgrade wording | Treasure Maps or Jackdaw |
| A ship problem | Hull, broadside, mortar, ram, storage, or elite | Jackdaw Upgrades |
| A story blocker | Sequence, memory, objective, or mission area | Walkthrough |
| A region sweep | City, island, fort, shipwreck, or water route | Map and Collectibles |
Checklist use
How to avoid repeated sailing
Search broadly first, then narrow by type or region before committing to a route.
- Search the region name before opening a narrow page.
- Group nearby treasure, collectible, and location checks together.
- Open detail pages when an entry has coordinate, reward, or route context.
- Use PC Specs and Release pages for platform decisions, not route cleanup.
- Confirm important markers and rewards in the current build before closing the route.
Post-update dispatch
Let the clue choose the route owner
A September patch notice is useful only when it changes what you do next. Search the shortest clue, assign it to the page that owns the decision, and verify the result in the current save instead of reopening every category.
| Clue in hand | Route owner | Safe next move |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinate or landmark | Map / Locations | Confirm the marker, then group nearby checks |
| Buried reward or map sketch | Treasure Maps | Match pickup, dig point, and reward before sailing |
| Ship blocker or elite plan | Jackdaw / Naval | Change one upgrade lane before retrying |
| Memory or optional objective | Walkthrough | Read the objective before replaying |
| Store, platform, or PC issue | Game Info / PC Specs | Use the first-party listing for changing facts |
Clue normalization
How to search when you remember only half a clue
The fastest database search starts with the most stable word you remember, then narrows to a place or route owner. Try the clue in a few useful forms before opening a long list of unrelated results.
- Start with one noun or coordinate; adding every remembered word can hide the useful match.
- When the result exposes a place, switch to Map or Locations so nearby work is grouped by travel.
- When the result exposes a reward, switch to Treasure Maps or Jackdaw before sailing.
- When two entries look similar, use the current save and landmark to choose rather than guessing from the title.
| What you remember | Try first | Leave with |
|---|---|---|
| Two numbers from a map | 630 167 or 630,167 | Map marker and nearby location |
| An island or city name | Havana, Nassau, Great Inagua | Location hub and regional sweep |
| A buried reward | treasure, chest, elite, money | Treasure Maps route |
| A story label | Sequence 02, Mister Walpole, memory | Walkthrough objective check |
| A ship problem | hull, broadside, mortar, ram | Jackdaw upgrade lane |
| A collectible family | shanty, fragment, key, stela | Collectibles filter and counter |
Expert clue routing
Translate a clue into the game system that owns it
A useful database result is not just a title. It should tell you whether the next action belongs to navigation, a Harbourmaster, the Captain's Cabin, Kenway's Fleet, underwater exploration, or a ground mission. That distinction prevents a search for a ship problem from ending on a collectible list.
| Clue you remember | System owner | Why that owner matters |
|---|---|---|
| A highlighted route across the sea | Pathfinder / Follow Sea | The issue is navigation, not a missing location marker |
| Buy an upgrade or restock weapons | Local Harbourmaster | Captain's Cabin handles appearance, outfit, pet, and fleet management; purchases moved to port |
| A captured ship and a mission slot | Kenway's Fleet | Fleet ships generate missions and resources, but class matching and repairs still matter |
| A chest below an island or beside a ship | Dive Anywhere / Diving Bell | Free diving handles shallow access; the bell is required for deeper, rarer loot |
| A guard, objective, or clue behind cover | Observe / stealth | Scan and tag the route before choosing crouch, darts, smoke, or a social-stealth approach |
| A disabled ship after combat | Boarding decision | Boarding yields more loot than sinking and opens repair, wanted-level, fleet, or lockbox choices |
Search-to-action worksheet
Know when the database has done its job
The database should reduce uncertainty, not become another page a player must read from top to bottom. Stop searching when you can name the route owner, the next physical action, and the evidence that will prove success.
- Search a stable noun first: place, reward, memory, ship lane, or collectible family.
- Read the result's parent page before opening a similar-looking record.
- Copy the unresolved clue into the owner page so the next search preserves context.
- If two records conflict, prefer the current save and first-party status over a confident old route.
| Search result gives you | Stop searching when | Open next |
|---|---|---|
| A coordinate and parent place | The marker and landmark agree | Map or Locations |
| A reward or design-plan name | You know the ship lane it fixes | Treasure Maps or Jackdaw Upgrades |
| A sequence or memory | The active objective matches the entry | Walkthrough |
| A collectible family | You have one region and one counter to verify | Collectibles |
| A platform or hardware record | The current store requirement answers the purchase question | Game Info, Platforms, or PC Specs |
Match disambiguation card
Separate similar database results before you commit to a route
A familiar name or coordinate can belong to a chest, treasure clue, viewpoint, plan, mission, or location hub. Compare the result's parent place, activity family, access condition, and expected proof before opening a detail route or setting a long sail.
- Copy the shortest stable clue first—place, coordinate, reward, memory, or ship lane—then add one field that separates its family.
- Keep the parent location beside every saved result; a coordinate without a region can point to the wrong stop.
- Treat a result as a route hint until its marker, access condition, and finish proof agree with the current save.
- When two records remain plausible, open the owner page that can verify the next physical action instead of browsing more similar names.
- After the route closes, save the proof and next handoff so the same clue does not return to the database as an unresolved search.
| Two results look alike because | Compare these fields | Choose the result that | Next handoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| They share a place name | Region, place type, and nearest landmark | Matches the city, island, fort, wreck, or mission area in your save | Locations or Map |
| They share a coordinate | Activity family, reward, and access method | Matches chest, shanty, fragment, plan, contract, or objective wording | Collectibles, Treasure Maps, or Jackdaw |
| They share a reward name | Upgrade lane, prerequisite, and menu state | Explains whether the reward is already owned or still gated | Jackdaw Upgrades or Elite Design Plans |
| They share a memory or character | Sequence, objective text, and current mission area | Matches the active tracker instead of only the title | Walkthrough |
| The current save disagrees | Marker, counter, reward, and installed build | Can be confirmed in-game without inventing a replacement route | Map, Locations, or the owning guide |
Worked lookup
A coordinate and a reward can point to different tasks
Suppose you remember a number pair from a treasure sketch and the word mortar. Search the coordinate first. The number identifies a place; mortar identifies why the trip might matter. Combining both too early can hide a useful match whose reward is not recorded.
- If the coordinate returns nothing, remove punctuation and try the parent island; do not silently substitute another island with a similar name.
- If the reward returns several results, keep the exact upgrade name from the Jackdaw menu beside the clue.
- Stop searching once you have a place plus a task. Use Treasure Maps for access and Jackdaw Upgrades for spending.
| Search step | What a result establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Enter the two coordinate numbers | A candidate map point or nearby place | That Edward has obtained the matching treasure map |
| Compare the island or landmark | Whether the candidate belongs to the intended trip | That a chest can be opened from the current mission state |
| Search mortar separately | A ship lane and possible plan route | That the plan is owned, affordable, or installed |
| Open the focused route | The next access or purchase check | A completion mark in the game itself |