Driftwood Walkthrough – Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Naval Contract

Driftwood is Naval Contract #9 in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Like Silk on the Waves, this is a resource-gathering contract rather than a combat mission. Instead of hunting a specific ship, you need to collect 60 Wood from ships around Andreas Island and return it to the contract giver. This guide covers where to find the contract, the fastest way to gather the wood, and how to complete it efficiently.

• TL;DR
• Driftwood is Naval Contract #9, unlocked at Andreas Island in the Eleuthera region.
• The goal is to collect 60 Wood — any wood already in your cargo does not count toward the total.
• Use the spyglass to identify ships carrying wood before attacking them.
• Board ships rather than sinking them to get the full cargo haul instead of half.
• No bonus objective on this contract. It pays a flat reward on completion.

How to Unlock Driftwood in AC Black Flag Resynced

Driftwood is accepted from the man at the docks on Andreas Island, located in the Eleuthera region. The contract giver stands near the Harbourmaster on the island’s dock.

Naval Contracts unlock after completing the main quest This Old Cove in Sequence 4. Once that’s done, head to Great Inagua, speak to Milo at the docks to begin A Spanish Plague, and work through the contract chain in order. Driftwood sits at position nine in the sequence, so you will need to have cleared the earlier contracts before it appears. Make sure you have also synchronised the Andreas Island viewpoint so the contract icon shows up on your map.

Nothing in the Naval Contract chain is missable. You can complete Driftwood any time, including after finishing the main story.

Driftwood Objectives

• Main Objective: Collect 60 Wood by sinking or boarding ships, then return to the contract giver at Andreas Island.
• Bonus Objective: None. Driftwood has no secondary challenge and pays a flat reward for completing the main objective.

One important rule: any wood already in your cargo when you accept the contract does not count. The counter resets to zero the moment you take the job. All 60 wood must be gathered after accepting.

How to Complete Driftwood

Step 1 – Accept the Contract at Andreas Island

Sail to Andreas Island and speak to the man at the docks near the Harbourmaster. Accepting the contract activates the wood counter in your objective tracker. From this point, every piece of wood you loot from ships counts toward your total.

Step 2 – Use the Spyglass to Find Wood-Carrying Ships

Leave Andreas Island and sail into the surrounding waters. Pull out your spyglass and scan nearby ships before engaging them. The spyglass displays each ship’s cargo, so you can see exactly what they are carrying before committing to a fight.

Look specifically for ships with Wood listed in their cargo. Only attack ships that are confirmed to be carrying wood. Attacking ships with no useful cargo wastes time, damages the Jackdaw, and makes the contract take much longer than it needs to.

Step 3 – Board Ships to Get Full Cargo

When you find a ship carrying wood, damage it until it is incapacitated, then board it rather than sinking it. This is the single most important tip for this contract.

• Boarding gives you the full cargo amount.
• Sinking without boarding only gives you half the cargo.

Since you need 60 wood, boarding makes a significant difference. A ship carrying 15 wood gives you all 15 if you board it, but only 7 or 8 if you sink it. Boarding consistently cuts the number of ships you need to fight. Keep the Jackdaw in good condition for repeated boarding by checking our ship upgrade guide and our dedicated guide on farming metal and wood to keep your repair stock topped up.

Step 4 – Work the Surrounding Waters Systematically

There is no set encounter or marked target for Driftwood — you are simply hunting the open sea for wood-carrying ships near Andreas Island. The waters around this part of the Caribbean have a good mix of merchant and transport vessels, so you should not need to sail far to find enough targets.

Scan a ship, confirm it has wood, close in, incapacitate, board, collect the cargo, then move on to the next. Repeat until the counter hits 60. A well-upgraded Jackdaw with strong cannons can incapacitate ships quickly and make this feel like a smooth farming loop rather than a grinding chore. See our Great Inagua upgrades guide for the best Jackdaw investments at this stage of the game.

Step 5 – Return to Andreas Island

Once the wood counter reaches 60, sail back to Andreas Island and speak to the contract giver at the docks. He accepts the shipment and pays out your reward. The contract is complete.

Driftwood Reward

• Contract Reward: Reales (standard payout for completing the contract)
• Bonus Reward: None — Driftwood has no secondary objective or extra payout.

Tips for Driftwood

• Scan before attacking. Every fight that does not yield wood is wasted effort. Check cargo with the spyglass before engaging any ship.
• Always board, never just sink. Boarding doubles your wood income per ship compared to sinking. This is especially important when you need 60 units — a number twice as large as the 30 cloth needed for Silk on the Waves.
• Stay close to Andreas Island. The surrounding waters have enough traffic to fill the quota without needing to sail to the other side of the map. Be patient and scan thoroughly before moving on.
• Keep repair materials stocked. Boarding multiple ships in a row can wear down your hull. See our metal and wood farming guide to keep repairs available.
• Upgrade your cannons first. Stronger cannons incapacitate ships faster without destroying them, which keeps the boarding option open. The final ship upgrade locations guide covers the most powerful plans available.

How Driftwood Compares to Silk on the Waves

Both Driftwood and Silk on the Waves are resource-gathering Naval Contracts with the same basic structure: scan ships, board them, collect the material, return to the dock. The key difference is the quantity. Silk on the Waves asks for 30 Cloth. Driftwood doubles that with 60 Wood.

Everything that works for Silk on the Waves works here too, just on a larger scale. The spyglass-first approach and the boarding priority are both even more important when the quota is twice as high. If you completed Silk on the Waves comfortably, Driftwood is the same loop with more patience required. If Silk on the Waves took longer than expected, upgrading the Jackdaw before starting Driftwood will make a noticeable difference.

Other Naval Contracts in the Chain

Here is where Driftwood fits among the other Naval Contracts and what comes before and after it:

• Silk on the Waves – Naval Contract #8, unlocked at Salt Key Bank. Gather 30 Cloth.
• The Law of the Ocean – Naval Contract #7, unlocked at Havana. Ambush and board the Hercules brig.
• A Personal Matter – Naval Contract #6, unlocked at Crooked Island. Sink or board the HMS Defiance.
• Blind Justice – Naval Contract #3, unlocked at Great Inagua. Board a British Man O’ War.
• Papers, Please – Naval Contract #4, unlocked at Great Inagua. Sink or board the HMS Courage.
• Eye For An Eye – Naval Contract #2, unlocked at Great Inagua. Board the San Lorenzo frigate.
• The Final Contract – The last Naval Contract, unlocked only after all 14 others are done. Rewards Legendary Sails and Rare Crew Attire.

For the full list of all 15, see our complete Naval Contracts locations guide.

More AC Black Flag Resynced Guides

Here are more guides to help you across the Caribbean:

• How to Beat All 6 Legendary Ships
• All Assassin Contracts Locations Guide
• All Mayan Stelae Locations
• Kenway’s Fleet Guide
• All Treasure Map Locations
• Andreas Island Treasure Map Guide
• Legendary Ships Mortar Trick
• Crafting Guide
• All Underwater Shipwrecks Locations
• Beginner’s Tips
• What to Do After the Main Story

AC Black Flag Resynced is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Epic Games Store.

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