Lucy Baldwin is one of the earliest optional officers you can bring aboard the Jackdaw in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Recruiting her fills the Shipwright role and unlocks Perfect Brace, a timing-based defensive skill that can wipe out almost all incoming damage when you brace at the right moment.
Quick answer: Finish the Sequence 4 story mission This Old Cove, then start A Proper Shipwright from the Officers tab, sail to Salt Key Bank in the Dry Tortuga region, clear the prison ship to free Lucy, and sink the three British ships that ambush you. She joins as Shipwright, and Perfect Brace unlocks immediately.
Unlock requirement: Complete This Old Cove first
Officer Quests stay hidden until you clear This Old Cove, the main story mission in Sequence 4 where Edward claims Great Inagua as his hideout. During that quest, Adéwalé asks for help finding officers to run the Jackdaw’s crew and points to Lucy Baldwin, a shipwright being held prisoner near Salt Key Bank.
Once the mission ends, open the world map and check the Officers tab in the Map menu. Two questlines appear right away: A Proper Shipwright for Lucy and A Second Chance for the Padre. Track A Proper Shipwright in your Quest Log so the marker stays visible while you sail.
A Proper Shipwright walkthrough: Free Lucy at Salt Key Bank
This is the recruitment quest, and it is the only part you must finish to bring Lucy aboard. There are no cannon fights on the way in, so approach the prison ship quietly and deal with the escort fleet afterward.
Confirming the recruitment and Perfect Brace
The moment the fleet goes down, Lucy joins the crew as Shipwright and Perfect Brace becomes active. You do not need to complete her full storyline to keep the ability, since finishing the initial recruitment quest is enough to bring her aboard and switch it on.
Perfect Brace works on timing. Brace at the exact instant enemy fire lands and it nullifies almost all of the damage. The window is tight, so practice against weaker schooners before leaning on it during fort assaults or Legendary Ship fights. Because it scales with your reactions rather than ship upgrades, it stays useful from Sequence 4 all the way through the endgame.
The rest of Lucy’s questline and its rewards
The three follow-up quests are optional story content that flesh out Lucy’s background and hand over an extra weapon. If you only care about the Shipwright ability, you can stop after A Proper Shipwright.
| Quest | What happens |
|---|---|
| The One With the Gun | Meet Lucy at the Great Inagua tavern, carry a crate of plantain to the manor, then plot a course for Black Island. Boarding the Jackdaw triggers the Perfect Brace tutorial. Defeat three schooners to test the skill, recover the Barrister’s Letter and the Last Will and Testament in the manor, then rush to the barn for a cutscene. |
| Plantain! | A short quest starting at the Great Inagua tavern with an optional race to the manor. You do not have to win. Afterward, Lucy gifts you her grandfather’s golden pistols, decent early sidearms you can equip from the inventory menu. |
| Big Wig | Travel to Havana and follow Lucy to her grandfather’s old cabin. Clear the enemies near the overturned rowboat, then dig up the buried treasure by facing the sea from the rowboat, turning right, and heading up the sandy path. A final cutscene completes her story. |
Baldwin’s Golden Pistols outperform your starting pair but fall short of the Deluxe Edition weapons and the sidearms you find later in the campaign. Finishing Big Wig closes out the questline and locks in Lucy as a permanent member of the Jackdaw crew, giving you both a talented Shipwright and one of the strongest survival tools in the remake’s naval combat.
