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These Assassin's Creed Odyssey tips will improve your combat skills
Master Assassin's Creed Odyssey's combat system with this tips guide.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, much like Assassin’s Creed Origins, features a far more in-depth combat system than earlier games in the series. With the emphasis placed on dodges, parries, and ripostes, the game is a lot less about sneaking in the shadows and picking off your enemies quietly. Because of this, it can be hard to get your head around the combat in the early hours of the game.
We’ve put together a useful guide to get you up to speed with all you need to know. It includes a look at useful abilities, weapon loadouts, and tips to master the art of combat.
1. How to dodge
Time your dodges at the last moment.
© Ubisoft
One ability that you should learn early on is how to dodge. There are two different dodges in the game. One is a light sidestep that you can activate by pressing X on the Xbox One controller or Square on the PS4 gamepad. The other is a more exaggerated leap, which you can perform by holding down the two buttons instead.
When an enemy comes at you with a light attack, you will want to use the smaller sidestep to quickly move around them and out of range of their attack. If they flash red and go for a heavy attack, you need to leap to jump out of the way. Try to time your dodges at the last possible moment. If you perform one at exactly the right moment, it will temporarily slow down time, giving you an opportunity to respond with some attacks of your own.
2. How to parry like a pro
You can parry light attacks but don't parry strong ones
© Ubisoft
Parries are also incredibly useful to learn. You can parry your enemy’s light attacks by pressing both the front left and right bumpers on your controller at the correct time. There is a small visual indicator to help you with this, which comes in the form of a few white stress marks that appear around your opponent. Whenever you see this, hold down the two buttons and you will thrust your opponent back. Just don’t try to parry stronger attacks, as it will only end up in tragedy.
3. Find the right weapon for you
Which weapon will you choose?
© Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey features a number of different weapons to choose from, including swords, scythes, staffs, and spears. These weapons all require slightly different approaches. Swords are balanced, while other weapons are more specialised and need a little extra time to be mastered fully. For example, axes in the game are much slower to control and are probably best saved for one-on-one encounters due to their long windup animation, whereas staffs are great for chaining together damage on multiple enemies at the same time.
It is recommended that you spend some time early on getting acquainted with each weapon type and see what’s the best fit for you. All options are viable, but it really depends on personal preference on how you want to play.
4. Upgrade your gear and enhance items
Visit the blacksmith regularly to upgrade your weapons
© Ubisoft
If you’re finding a mission particularly difficult, you can also visit a blacksmith to upgrade your gear. Blacksmiths will let you buy and sell items, raise its level, and enhance your gear with special perks like additional damage and health. You will want to make a point of visiting blacksmiths after every few missions to ensure your gear is at a similar level to where you’re at in the game and that you have all your best weapons enhanced with the latest perks.
5. Key abilities to grab
The Second Wind skill enables you to heal in battle
© Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has a ton of useful abilities, but there are a few that you will want to unlock before others. One of these is the ability Second Wind, which will allow you to heal in battle. This ability can be upgraded three times, with each level improving the amount of health you can restore.
Another useful ability that you should grab is Shield Breaker. This ability is rather self-explanatory. It lets you grab an enemy’s shield and break it, meaning you don’t have to spend as much time getting into the correct position to stun an enemy or attack them behind their shield.
Then, finally, there’s the Spartan Kick. This allows you to perform a forceful kick that will knock enemies back and incapacitate them for a couple of seconds. It is great for when you’re fighting on high platforms or when you are up against a group and want to momentarily reduce their numbers.
6. Use your environment
Always pay attention to your surroundings – can you hide in the bushes?
© Ubisoft
Your environment can also be another great weapon, so make use of it. You can draw enemies to higher ground and push them off platforms or cliffs to inflict fall damage. Set fire to oil pots to light up a stream of enemies – or free lions and bears and unleash them on bandits or guards.
When taking on an obstacle, pay attention to your surroundings and try to take notice of things that you can use to your advantage. This includes anything like alarms that you can sabotage, bushes to hide in, or cracks in the wall to allow you to slip away unnoticed from a botched assassination attempt. Using your environment will also help you take on some of the harder enemies in the game, including bounty hunters, captains, and mercenaries.
7. Scout ahead
Scout enemy camps using your bird
© Ubisoft
Just like in Origins, players will have a bird companion that they can send ahead to scout bandit camps and other points of interest.
Before heading into battle, take a moment to look ahead and plan in advance with Ikaros. Make sure to mark any key items like chests and any bandits that you can see, too. This will prevent any nasty surprises once you’re inside, as it gives you the ability to keep track of the patrolling guards. You can also use this information, if you want to, to take on enemies when they’re separated from one another. This will make fighting much easier, as you won’t have to control a crowd with your attacks.
