Let’s be honest. Assassin's Creed Unity is a beautiful, buggy, chaotic masterpiece. But if you’re trying to hit that 100% synchronization mark, there is one specific thing that probably makes you want to throw your controller across the room: the cockades. There are 128 of these little floating ribbons scattered across 1780s Paris. Finding every single AC Unity cockade location isn't just a test of your parkour skills; it’s a test of your actual sanity.
Most people think they can just run around the map and stumble upon them. You can't. Well, you can, but it’ll take you eighty hours and a lot of unnecessary stress. Paris in Unity is dense. It’s vertical. A cockade might look like it’s on a rooftop when it’s actually hovering inside a broken window on the third floor of a nameless tenement building.
The Mapping Nightmare: Why Your Mini-map is Lying
In most Ubisoft games, you sync a viewpoint and—boom—everything appears. Not here. The AC Unity cockade locations don't just pop up because you sat on a wooden beam near a haystack. You have to physically get close to them for the icon to stick to your map permanently. It's frustrating. You'll swear you've cleared an area, only to realize there’s a lone white icon mocking you from an alleyway you missed by ten feet.
The map is categorized by districts, and this is where you need to focus. Paris is split into several major zones like La Bièvre, Île de la Cité, and Le Louvre. Each zone has sub-districts. For example, Ventre de Paris contains the Halles and Saint-Eustache. If you aren't tracking these by sub-district, you're going to lose your mind. I've spent hours circling the Palais de Justice because I thought I was missing a cockade in the Cité, only to realize it was technically categorized under a neighboring block.
Buying the Shortcuts (The "Easy" Way)
If you have some leftover Helix Credits, you can actually buy a "Time Saver" map from the in-game store. It reveals all AC Unity cockade locations on your map instantly. Is it cheating? Sorta. Does it save you twenty hours of aimless wandering? Absolutely. Most purists hate this, but considering how many collectibles are shoved into this game, nobody is going to judge you for taking the shortcut. If you're playing the "Dead Kings" DLC in Franciade, there are even more of these things to find, though thankfully the count there is much lower.
Navigating the Verticality of the French Revolution
Unity changed the way parkour worked in the series. The "Parkour Down" mechanic was revolutionary at the time, but it makes grabbing cockades tricky. Some are positioned specifically so you have to jump from a chimney to a specific rope. If you miss the grab, Arno might just decide to dive headfirst into the street.
Take the district of Le Louvre. It’s wide open compared to the cramped slums of the Marais. Here, the cockades are often high up on the facades of massive government buildings. You'll find yourself shimmying along ledges for five minutes just to reach a single ribbon. Contrast that with the Bièvre district. It’s filthy, crowded, and the cockades are often tucked away in interior courtyards or hanging over narrow canals.
Common Spots You’ll Definitely Miss
- Inside Buildings: Unlike previous games, Unity has a lot of "open" interiors. Many cockades are floating right in the middle of a living room. If you’re just running on the roofs, you’ll never see them.
- Under Bridges: Specifically along the Seine. People forget to check the underside of the stone arches.
- The Extremes: Check the very edges of the map. There’s always one cockade sitting in a field or on a lone fence post near the city walls that feels like it shouldn't be there.
Why Bother? The Reward vs. The Effort
Is there a point to this? Honestly, besides the "Tricolore" achievement/trophy and a sense of completion, the rewards are purely cosmetic. Collecting cockades unlocks different color palettes for Arno’s gear. If you want that specific shade of "Bourbon Blue" or "Revolutionary Red," you’re going to have to hunt.
It’s worth mentioning that some fans, like those on the AC subreddit or the dedicated Discord servers, have mapped these out with surgical precision. They’ve noted that the cockade placement often highlights the game’s level design. They aren't just random; they’re placed to guide you through "parkour runs"—sequences of jumps and climbs that flow perfectly if you hit them at the right angle. When you find a line of them, follow the path. The developers were basically leaving a breadcrumb trail for the most efficient way to cross the city.
✨ Don't miss: Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach: Why She Is The Heart Of The Game (And What Most People Get Wrong)
District Breakdown: A Quick Reality Check
Don't try to do this all at once. You'll burn out. Pick a district and stay there until it's done.
Île de la Cité is the best place to start. It’s the heart of the game, and the locations are relatively straightforward. The Notre Dame area is iconic, obviously, but look for the cockades tucked away near the hospital and the smaller chapels.
Le Marais is a nightmare. It’s dense. It’s easy to get turned around. Use your Eagle Vision constantly. I cannot stress this enough: pulse Eagle Vision every time you turn a corner. The white glow of a cockade is much easier to spot through a wall than with the naked eye against the brown and gray backdrop of 18th-century masonry.
Les Invalides is a bit more spread out. You'll spend more time running on the ground here than in the Marais. Watch out for the guards; this area is heavily patrolled, and nothing ruins a collectible hunt like getting shot off a fence by a sniper you didn't see.
Technical Glitches and "Ghost" Cockades
We have to talk about the bugs. AC Unity is much more stable now than it was at launch in 2014, but it’s still an Ubisoft game from that era. Sometimes, a cockade simply won't appear. You’ll be standing exactly where the guide says it should be, and there’s nothing but air.
If this happens, don't panic. Usually, a quick fast-travel to another part of the map and back will reset the assets. If that doesn't work, restart the game. There’s also a known issue where a cockade might show as "collected" on your map but not count toward your total in the progress tracker. This is rare now, but if it happens, you might be looking at a corrupted save or a very specific sequence break. Most players who think they have a "ghost" cockade usually just have it filtered out on their map by accident. Check your map legend!
The Dead Kings Expansion
When you finish the main game, you’ll likely head to Franciade. The AC Unity cockade locations here are underground as often as they are above ground. The catacombs are a maze. You’ll need your lantern. Lighting the braziers doesn't just help you see; it often reveals the path to a hidden collectible. The verticality here is different—it’s about climbing down into pits and navigating narrow tunnels rather than scaling cathedrals.
The Completionist's Strategy
Stop treating this like a chore. If you treat it like a chore, you’ll hate the game by the time you're done. Instead, use the hunt as an excuse to appreciate the world-building. Unity’s Paris is still, in my opinion, the most detailed city Ubisoft has ever built. The NPCs are doing weird stuff in the windows. The protests in the streets are dynamic.
👉 See also: Getting Through the Raccoon City Nightmare: A Walkthrough for Resident Evil That Actually Works
- Sync all viewpoints first. This is non-negotiable.
- Clear the ground-level chests. Often, while looking for a chest, you’ll trigger the cockade icon to appear on your map.
- Invest in the "Apprentice" and "Master" locksmith skills. Many cockades are trapped behind locked doors or in houses that require you to pick a window lock. If you don't have the skills, you’ll find yourself backtracking constantly.
- Use a video guide for the "Underground" ones. The 2D map is useless when you’re dealing with three layers of tunnels.
The hunt for every AC Unity cockade location is a rite of passage for series fans. It’s tedious, yes. It’s occasionally infuriating. But standing on top of the spire of Notre Dame with 128/128 cockades collected feels pretty damn good.
If you're stuck on a specific one, especially in the Ventre de Paris, check the rooftops near the markets. There’s one there that sits on a very thin weather vane that is notoriously hard to land on. Take your time. Don't rush the jump.
Next Steps for Your Hunt:
- Open your map and filter for 'Collectibles' only. This removes the clutter of side missions and chests, making the white cockade icons stand out.
- Check your 'Progress Tracker' in the pause menu. This will tell you exactly which district you are missing items in so you don't waste time searching a "completed" zone.
- Focus on the Île de la Cité first to get the hang of the different heights these items can be placed at.