Introduction

This chapter focuses on abilities and concepts introduced during the first three Sequences of the Assassin’s Creed III story, and acts as a companion to the opening sections of the extensive, step-by-step walkthrough that follows.

Before you continue, we’d like to offer a few brief words on how you might get the most out of this Primer chapter.

• While those who choose to read and consume the Primer in a single sitting will gain a broad understanding of the Assassin’s Creed III world and its many features, there’s really no harm in skipping straight into the game, with our Walkthrough chapter as your guide.
• As the opening hours of the adventure introduce new concepts and abilities, we provide page references that will enable you to return to this chapter to learn about topics when they become relevant to your progression or performance. This approach means that you can avoid explanations or advice that you might find to be painfully obvious or redundant (of particular interest to readers well-versed in the Assassin’s Creed series to date), and easily learn more about fundamental abilities that are rather more complex or broader in scope. Even highly experienced players will benefit from reading about the revised combat system, for example.
• As this chapter examines core abilities pertinent to the first three Sequences, we use Haytham’s name alone throughout the document for the sake of simplicity. From Sequence 04 onwards, the Reference & Analysis and Side Quests chapters take over as your primary source of insight, advice and analysis for new features and secondary gameplay challenges. Those who are extremely sensitive to spoilers are advised to avoid both until they reach the appropriate point in the story.