Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag came out eight years ago and still stands as one of the series' most beloved games. In this time, many have attempted the challenge of beating Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag full synchronization without taking damage, and finally one player has completed the ordeal.
Believe it or not, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag was the first game in the series to land on the PS4 and Xbox One way back in 2013. It took the timeless battle between Assassins and Templars to the Caribbean Sea where players controlled Edward Kenway, a pirate-turned-Assassin, allowing players to sail the open seas and explore the islands that litter them. The game hails from the earlier Assassin's Creed formula unlike Assassin's Creed Valhalla, having minimal RPG mechanics, and combat centered on parries and counters than damage output. Many see Black Flag as one of best pirate video games ever made, as well as one of the strongest Assassin's Creed games too.
An unprecedented achievement, YouTuber Hayete Bahadori has completed the world's first full synchronization Assassin's Creed: Black Flag no-damge run. Full synchronization refers to 100% completion of individual mission objectives, with the cavieat being Bahadori could not restart in order to try a sequence again—desynchronization or taking damage meant a full restart. Bahadori did not have to pursue Black Flag's collectibles, mini-games, or other miscellaneous content to achieve full synchronization, though they had to constantly manage their currency for certain upgrades. The run was performed on the PC version of the game on December 10 and took over nine hours to finish.
As with many no-damage runs done within narrative-driven games, there are going to be some places where damage is excused because it is unavoidable. There are three such instances in Black Flag, two of which occurring in Sequence 1 at the start of the game, and one in Sequence 10. A larger holistic exception is also made for damage received during naval combat, as Bahadori explains, "Damage taken during ship encounters to the ship itself does not count since this would be impossible to avoid in almost every instance." One of Black Flag's largest praises was its sea combat, with players having many weapons and options at their disposal to defeat their enemies.
A run of this scale must have been incredibly daunting and taxing. Bahadori admits in the video description that it took them roughly 250 hours from the first time they played Black Flag, to the time they finally completed the challenge. One can only imagine all of the failed runs, where after hours of playing, a single hit or missed jump ends the whole thing. Hopefully Bahadori gives themselves a break before tackling whatever challenge they're thinking about next, because they've certainly earned it.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.