The player will encounter jungles, forts, ruins, and small villages and the world is built to allow players much more freedom, such as allowing players to engage, board, and capture passing ships and swimming to nearby beaches in a seamless fashion.
The world opens up sooner in the game, as opposed to Assassin's Creed III, which had very scripted missions and did not give players freedom to explore until the game was well into its first act. Assassin's Creed IV has a more open world feel, with missions similar to those found in Assassin's Creed, as well as fewer restrictions for the player. The game also features 50 other individual locations-including atolls, sea forts, Mayan ruins, sugar plantations and underwater shipwrecks-to explore, with a 60/40 balance between land and naval exploration. The game features three main cities Havana, Kingston, and Nassau, which reside under Spanish, British, and pirate influence, respectively.
