Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced made significant changes to the original's combat, but some iconic mechanics, like the ability to use hidden blades and pick up enemy weapons, were omitted due to lower development priority. Game director Richard Knight addressed these omissions in a recent interview, stating that the team focused on perfecting the core combat experience.
Knight explained that the development team prioritized Edward Kenway's overall power and the suite of tools available to him in the core combat system. Features like throwing weapons or picking up enemy arms were deemed less critical when Edward already possessed numerous offensive capabilities. The process of redeveloping these mechanics for modern systems, including new character models and animations, was considered a significant undertaking that would have diverted resources from the primary combat refinements. "Something like throwing weapons, while it's cool, it's just like 'he already has ten ways to kill somebody'," Knight stated. "So, given the cost to reinvent the feature and rebuild it from the ground up with today's characters, rigs, and animations, there's a lot more that goes into it. It was just lower priority for us."
Despite the current absence of these mechanics, the community has voiced its desire for their return. Knight acknowledged these requests, suggesting that Ubisoft is listening to player feedback. "We can't make any promises [but] we're listening to the community," he said. "We're interested in what people want the most."
The inclusion of a cash shop and weekly challenges in Black Flag Resynced could potentially offer Ubisoft an incentive to expand the game post-launch, possibly including the reintroduction of fan-favorite combat features. However, no definitive plans have been announced, and the focus remains on the core gameplay experience that the developers aimed to perfect.