Basics

With its multitude of features, game types and destinations, the Assassin’s Creed III multiplayer suite may seem a little daunting to a first-time player. In this chapter, we provide a wealth of explanations, insights and techniques that will help you to play at a competitive level from your very first foray into this engrossing play mode.

Game Principles

The most important thing to understand about the Assassin’s Creed III multiplayer mode is that points, not kills, are used to determine winners. While a high kill count is certainly an accomplishment, performing well in each match is a matter of how you execute your assassinations – not your final body count. With special bonuses acknowledging worthy feats, particularly those that involve stealth and subtlety, there is a definite onus on playing the mode in the way its creators intended.

The Assassin’s Creed III multiplayer mode is a very different experience than the single-player adventure. The focus here is on free running, social stealth and assassinations, with a simplified combat engine. Instead of open brawls, you will acquire and use a range of unlockable skills to improve your ability to hunt and kill targets, or to evade aggressors.

Once a multiplayer session has been launched, your character will appear somewhere on the chosen map. You will notice that all citizens around you resemble one of the many playable characters, or “skins”. In most Game Modes, some will look identical to you. All you know at first is that other human players are out there, hiding among the crowds, and you will be assigned a contract to kill one of them.

However, you will regularly find yourself cast in the dual role of hunter and prey. As you walk the streets in search of your contract, other players are likely to be tracking you. Naturally, stealth is of paramount importance. A covert approach can be employed to evade the attention of your victims and potential executors, but you must always be ready to adapt your tactics and flee or hide if a rival assigned to kill you is closing in fast.

The Main Menu

You can cycle through the various tabs of the main menu with / and /.

Progression: Used to check your progression in the game, as well as statistics and ladders. Note that Abstergo Storyline entries are unlocked by leveling up, whereas Erudito entries are unlocked by completing Challenges.

Customization: This is where you can prepare yourself before each game session. Select this menu to edit your Ability Sets, change your character’s appearance and animations, and set up your player profile (emblems, pictures, titles, and so forth).

Home: This is the menu that allows you to play games.

Abstergo Social: This tab covers all of the interactions you may have with Friends. “Ongoing Competition” challenges you and your friends to complete mode-based score objectives that are updated on a regular basis.

News and Data: This provides access to the Animus Database, where you will find information on all manner of topics, from the User Manual to score Bonuses. You can also modify game options and read news updates.

Onscreen Display

Player Data:

• This shows your current rank and score. Victory is handed to the player with the most points at the end of the round.

• The number of red markers indicates how many players are stalking you.

• An Escape sequence begins once your pursuer has been revealed.

Target Data:

• This portrait shows the skin of the character you must kill. Beware of lookalikes and disguises. It will take a little while to become acquainted with all characters, but you’ll soon gain the ability to recognize your target with a brief glance at his or her picture.

• The outline around the portrait turns blue when your target is in your line of sight – but this also means that your victim can see you as well. The background of the portrait becomes blue when you are close to your target.

• The players hunting your target appear as blue markers below the picture. One arrow means that you are the only combatant in direct pursuit of this target.

• The Approach Meter illustrates your level of discretion and directly affects your kill bonus. The more careful the approach, the greater the bonus. Subtle, Low Profile actions (such as walking or hiding) gradually fill up the Approach Meter – from Discreet, to Silent and then Incognito. Conversely, performing High Profile actions (such as running) will cause your Approach Meter to empty to the Reckless level. A Chase sequence will ensue when your Approach Meter is fully depleted.

Compass:

• The primary function of this directional indicator is to show the approximate position of your target. The width of the “fill” arc
• increases as you approach your target, becoming a full blue disc when you are in close proximity. It will turn bright blue whenever your target is in sight.

• Arrows may also appear on the outer edge of the Compass, indicating secondary targets in team missions (blue), and enemy pursuers (red).

• There is no Compass in Simple Deathmatch and Deathmatch modes.

Assassinate/Stun Button and Lock Button Icons:

• A contextual visual button prompt over a character’s head indicates when a kill or stun can be performed by pressing /.

• You can also lock () on to a target by pressing /. The lock lasts while your target is in your line of sight, or until manually disabled. It will break if you lose sight of the target for more than a few seconds.

Abilities and Streaks:

• Icons in these slots show which Abilities are currently available to you and, when applicable, which Streak bonuses you can trigger.

• Abilities in Cooldown (that is, recharging after use) are replaced by a timer until available.

Session Information:

• This shows the countdown to the end of the round.

• You will also find information specific to your game mode here, such as team scores.

Players List:

• Press / to display a list of players in the current session, as well as their scores. The list will disappear after a few seconds.

Controls

Control Notes:

• The Fast Walk command (hold /) enables you to increase your movement speed by a barely perceptible degree, which can be invaluable for closing the gap on a victim, or pulling away from a would-be aggressor. This incurs no Approach Meter penalties, but experienced players can identify you when you change pace.

• If you are forced to flee, / can be held to barge past civilians in your path as you run.

• While walking through crowds, you will notice that the Assassinate/Stun button icon can appear above any civilian when you face them in close proximity. Killing innocents leads to the loss of your contract, so this is where the Lock function comes in useful. Press Lock when your suspected target is in your immediate sight, or hold to aim and release to Lock the target from a distance. A white padlock will then appear over your target’s head (). The advantage of the Lock function is that the Assassinate icon only appears for this individual, meaning that you cannot accidentally strike an innocent. The Lock will break if you lose sight of a target for more than a few seconds.

• If an enemy makes a High Profile move while in plain sight, a red icon () will appear over their heads to enable you to focus your attention with ease.

• When running away from an enemy, press / to vault (rather than jump) over small obstacles, or to quickly drop from a rooftop ( 01). This might surprise your pursuer, who will usually expect you to perform a jump, whereas this move can make you suddenly disappear from their line of sight.

Chases and Escape

In most modes, a Chase sequence begins when a pursuer’s Approach Meter is fully depleted (thus preventing them from getting any Approach Bonus). This is usually caused by performing High Profile actions while in the target’s line of sight.

• Pursuer: Once you trigger a Chase, the Chase Timer appears on your HUD. You must now kill your target before they can hide from you. If you can keep your target in sight, they will be unable to hide. However, as soon as they turn a corner or disappear from view, the Chase Timer will begin to deplete. If it is completely depleted, they will have achieved an Escape – and you will have lost both the Chase sequence and the contract.

  

  Once a Chase begins, it’s often a good idea to start free running and ascend to higher ground. Not only will your target have to work harder to hide, but you’ll also increase the effective range of assassination through free running tackles and aerial kills. You could also try to use shortcuts whenever you have a good idea of where your target intends to run next ( 02), or employ relevant Abilities at your disposal, such as Closure. You only have to regain sight of your target for a moment to reset the Chase Timer completely. As exhilarating as a Chase can be, note that protracted pursuits will waste valuable match time.
• Target: When you are made aware that an assailant is closing in to assassinate you, a red Escape Timer appears and the race begins. You must now attempt to leave your opponent’s line of sight by turning corners, entering buildings or dropping out of view. Use Chase Breakers to gain distance ( 03). If you succeed, the Escape Timer will turn yellow and begin to fill. When this occurs, you can slip into a hiding place to turn the bar blue. The blue bar will fill up rapidly while you are hidden. If the assigned killer fails to catch you before the Escape Timer expires, you will have achieved an Escape and your hunter will lose the contract on your head. Successful Escapes earn extra points.

Even if a pursuer is hot on your heels, hope remains right up until they hit the Assassinate button. With a little luck, good reflexes or tactical sense (if you lure them to a hiding place, for example), you can strike them first with your character’s stun move. This will incapacitate them for a few seconds and end the Chase, earning you extra points.

Hiding Places

Carts filled with hay (or leaves or hides), bushes and straw piles are the most obvious hiding places featured in the multiplayer game, and completely remove you from view when you jump inside. All kills made from such places of concealment lead to generous bonuses ( 04), but with the obvious drawback that you must remain stationary while a rival may be closing in on your position. Furthermore, entering and leaving these hiding places is clearly not the behavior of a civilian: such acts telegraph your intentions to anyone who happens to glance in your direction.

Social stealth is the most common method of finding a hiding place, either by blending with a crowd of bystanders or by sitting on a bench (  05). It is easy to make Low Profile transitions from one group to another, and you need only move briefly through a passing crowd when closing in on your target to earn a related kill bonus. Use the Fast Walk move to catch up with groups of citizens walking ahead of you.

A good hiding place is the fastest way to end a Chase. Your judgment on whether to stay put or flee in such situations should be dictated by the time left on the Escape Timer, and the likelihood of whether your opponent can reach your hiding place before it expires. If you successfully escape after a pursuit, it will not matter if your pursuer knows your location or even approaches you, as they will have lost the contract on your head.

Chase Breakers

Each map features a number of Chase Breakers to enable competitors to briefly evade opponents in pursuit. There are four types to look for, readily identified by the white shimmer of their Animus matrix outline. As Chase Breakers are triggered by any High Profile activity such as running, you can pass them stealthily without incident. They also reset after a short period of time, so always make good use of the valuable seconds of grace they offer.

Lifts: Collide with the front of these devices to trigger them, and the counterweight will propel you instantly to roof level. Note that you can also drop onto a Lift from above – a tactic of great merit when a rival is almost directly behind you.

Corner Helpers: As you bound over beams and balconies, these swinging handholds will not only break a vital element of the free running route behind you, but will often slip you immediately into the yellow “out-of-sight” status as you round the corner. Alternatively, you can press / in midair just before reaching a Corner Helper to perform a Long Jump and be propelled forwards.

Closing Gates: Running through these passages will cause doors to swing shut or portcullis grates to fall. Time your entry carefully, and these Chase Breakers will slam shut in the face of your would-be assassin and force them to take another path.

Falling Platforms: These wooden stepping stones fall free of their ropes shortly after you step on them, giving you (but not your pursuer) just enough time to jump off.