Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Naval Upgrade Tier List: Best Investments

Charting Your Course: The Ultimate Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Naval Upgrade Tier List

There’s a special kind of magic that happens when you first set sail on the Adrestia. The sun glints off the Aegean Sea, the rhythmic splash of oars sets a calming tempo, and Barnabas’s enthusiastic storytelling provides the perfect soundtrack for your odyssey. But this tranquility can shatter in an instant when the dreaded cry of “Enemy ship!” rings out. Suddenly, your beautiful vessel becomes a battlefield, and the upgrades you’ve invested in make all the difference between a glorious victory and a watery grave.

Navigating the extensive Assassin’s Creed Odyssey ship upgrade system can be as daunting as facing a full Athenian fleet. With limited resources like wood, drachmae, and precious ancient tablets, you need to know which enhancements give you the biggest bang for your buck. This guide is your trusted first mate, providing a detailed tier list for the best naval upgrades to ensure your drachmae and resources are invested wisely. We’ll break down every major category—from hull strength to javelin damage—and rank them based on their impact on combat effectiveness, survivability, and overall gameplay experience. Our goal is to help you create the most formidable warship build for the Adrestia without wasting a single piece of lumber.

Understanding the Upgrade Tiers

To make our rankings clear, we’ll use a simple tier system:

S-Tier (Essential): The absolute best naval upgrades in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. These should be your top priority as they provide massive power spikes or survivability. Ignoring these will make naval combat significantly harder.
A-Tier (High Priority): Excellent upgrades that greatly enhance your capabilities. Invest in these after securing your S-Tier foundations.
B-Tier (Situational): Good upgrades, but their value depends on your playstyle. They are solid investments but not essential for victory.
C-Tier (Low Priority): Niche or minimally impactful upgrades. Save these for last when you have resources to spare.

Hull Armor Upgrade Tier List

Your hull is your lifeline. Letting it get destroyed is an instant game over, making these upgrades crucial for surviving prolonged engagements, especially when you’re outnumbered.

Tier: S Why: This is non-negotiable. Each level of hull armor significantly increases your ship’s health pool. In the early game, it allows you to make mistakes and learn mechanics without being sunk in two volleys. In the late game, it’s the difference between weathering a Legendary Ship’s assault and watching your crew abandon ship. Maximizing your hull armor should always be your primary defensive goal. It directly enables a more aggressive playstyle by giving you the buffer to close the distance on enemy archers.
Upgrade Path: Focus on reaching Level 3 as soon as you gather enough wood and drachmae. The cost is well worth the survivability.

Crew & Ram Tier List

This category governs your boarding actions and your most powerful initial attack—the ram.

Lieutenant Capacity (Javelin/Warrior/Archer): Tier A Why: While not directly affecting ship stats, this is a fantastic quality of life and passive damage upgrade. Unlocking all four lieutenant slots allows you to equip legendary lieutenants, who provide powerful passive bonuses like +% fire damage, +% health on cleave, or +% ramming damage. This is a key part of any optimal Adrestia warship build. Furthermore, having a full roster of legendary lieutenants makes boarding actions quicker and more cinematic.
Crew Attack & Defense: Tier B Why: These stats only come into play during boarding actions. While boarding is a reliable way to get health and resources, a well-upgraded ship can often destroy enemies without ever needing to board. It’s a good upgrade, but it falls behind more critical combat stats. Invest in this once your core combat upgrades are handled.
Ram Damage: Tier S Why: The ram is your single most powerful attack. A fully upgraded ram can one-shot most ships of your own level and below. It’s an incredible tool for initiating combat, quickly eliminating a key target in a group, or finishing off a heavily damaged enemy. The ram damage upgrade is arguably the most important offensive investment you can make. It synergizes perfectly with a hit-and-run tactic: charge in, obliterate one ship, and create an opening to disengage and reposition.
Bracing: Tier C Why: Bracing (holding the assigned button) reduces incoming damage for a short time. It’s a useful mechanic, but upgrading it is a low priority. A skilled player can use the base brace effectively to negate big hits. The resources are far better spent on increasing your raw hull armor, which is always active, rather than improving a temporary damage reduction that requires precise timing.

Weapon Systems Tier List

Here’s where your playstyle truly comes into focus. The Adrestia’s arsenal consists of three main weapons, and your upgrade path here is critical for maximizing your naval combat effectiveness in AC Odyssey.

Fire Javelins (Port & Starboard): Tier S Why: For many players, this is the best overall weapon upgrade. Javelins have a long range, fast travel time, and high damage. They are excellent for sniping enemy oars to slow them down, targeting archers before they can get in range, and systematically dismantling ships from a distance. The fire javelin upgrade adds a devastating Damage-Over-Time (DoT) effect, which is incredibly powerful against both regular ships and the formidable Mythical Creatures like the Sphinx and Medusa (in their naval phases). They offer a perfect blend of safety, precision, and raw power.
Arrow Volley (Front): Tier A Why: Your most spammable weapon. Arrows have a shorter range but a much faster rate of fire than javelins. They are perfect for applying constant pressure, setting ships on fire with fire arrows, and whittling down enemy health as you close in for a ram. Upgrading this is essential for a balanced approach and is particularly effective when combined with fire lieutenants. It’s the workhorse of your arsenal.
Spear Throw (Front): Tier B Why: Spears sit in a strange middle ground. They have less range than javelins and a slower rate of fire than arrows. Their primary advantage is very high single-hit damage, but they are harder to aim consistently. For most players, focusing on javelins and arrows is a more reliable strategy. However, if you enjoy getting up close and personal, spears can be a satisfying complement to your ramming tactics.

Putting It All Together: A Phased Upgrade Strategy

Now that we have our tier list, let’s create a practical guide to ship upgrades in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey with a step-by-step investment plan.

Phase 1: The Foundation (Early Game) Your goal here is to survive your first major naval encounters.

Hull Armor (Level 1 & 2): Your absolute first priority. This gives you the health to learn and make mistakes.
Ram Damage (Level 1): Unlock your one-shot potential against weaker ships for easy clears and resource gathering.
Fire Javelins (Level 1): Acquire your first fire-based weapon. The DoT is a game-changer early on.
Lieutenant Capacity (Unlock all 4 slots): Start recruiting and utilizing lieutenants for their passive bonuses.

Phase 2: Dominance (Mid Game) You’re engaging larger fleets and mercenary ships. It’s time to specialize.

Max out Ram Damage: Turn your ram into a true ship-deleter.
Max out Fire Javelins: Become a long-range threat that can cripple enemies before they even get close.
Max out Hull Armor: Achieve maximum tankiness. You should now feel confident taking on multiple enemies at once.
Upgrade Arrow Volley: Increase your sustained DPS for those intense, close-quarters battles.

Phase 3: Perfection (Late Game & Endgame) You’re hunting legendary ships and conquering the entire Aegean.

Max out Arrow Volley: Complete your primary weapon trifecta.
Upgrade Crew Stats: With your core build complete, you can now invest in making boarding actions faster and more rewarding.
Upgrade Spear Throw & Bracing: These are your final "completionist" upgrades for when you have an abundance of resources.

Advanced Tips for Naval Supremacy

Beyond the upgrades themselves, mastering a few techniques will make you an unstoppable force.

Resource Farming for Upgrades: The best way to gather wood is not just by looting shores, but by cleaving ships. After you damage a ship, sail close to it and press the cleave button. This destroys it instantly and grants a large amount of wood and other resources. It’s the most efficient strategy for upgrading the Adrestia.
The Hit-and-Run: Use your superior javelin range to soften up a target. Once their health is low, unleash a full arrow volley as you sail in for a killing ram or a cleave. This minimizes the time you spend in their effective range.
Lieutenant Synergy: Actively hunt for legendary lieutenants. Look for ones that boost your preferred weapons (e.g., +% Javelin Damage) or add fire buildup to your rams. A lieutenant with the "Restores Health on Cleave" perk is incredibly valuable for sustaining during long voyages and battles.

By following this tier list and strategy, your Adrestia will transform from a simple transport into a legendary warship that strikes fear into the hearts of Athenians and Spartans alike. So set your course, Captain, and may the winds favor your fully upgraded vessel as you carve your legend into the history of Ancient Greece. Happy sailing