Equipment and Tricks

Now we’re into the best part of the discussion; these are the tools of the assassain trade. With them you can take out anything on land that you face. Whether with stealth, speed, or raw power, you have the ability to defeat entire groups of foes without breaking a sweat.

Hidden Blades

The hidden blades are Shay’s discreet killing weapon. He stabs individuals in vital locations and ends their lives quickly when he’s outside of combat. Though still useful during battle, they don’t have the speed and ferocity of a sword and dagger, so they’re most often used when you’re moving around town and taking out guards discreetly.

Sword and Dagger

Shay’s sword and dagger style relies heavily on counter techniques. He can kill some opponents by beating them down with repeated attacks, but more victories are ensured by using Break Defense, counter, and then counterattacks. That’s the way to win real fights.

Practice tapping the Counter button every time you see a red blip above an enemy’s head, and use Break Defense whenever an opponent blocks or deflects your swings.

Unarmed

Unarmed combat is often reserved for barroom brawls. Shay can’t kill his enemies quickly when fighting without a weapon (but a long enough combo still gets the job done). This is usually better for showing off or grabbing special challenges. Counter an enemy while you’re unarmed, and Break Defense to steal their weapon. Now use it against them and their friends. This is especially useful against gunners, so you have a free ranged weapon after the fight or against agile guards. These foes have throwing knives that give you a fast kill against most targets.

Air Rifle

The air rifle is similar to the pistols; you need to have ammunition for it to be effective. Ammo comes in the form of darts (single-target weapons) and grenades (to use against groups). These each have varying uses, so they are each discussed in turn.

Sleeping Dart

Sleeping Darts put a single target down for a short time. Craft upgrades to increase this duration and make the darts even more useful. Use Sleep Darts to bypass a difficult situation or to put foes out of action long enough to sneak up, kill them quietly, and move on.

As such, these darts are powerful for stealthy activities whether you’re being violent or not.

Berserk Dart

Berserk Darts are more aggressive. They’ll turn the target into a madman who attacks his allies after a short period of freaking out and standing in place. Not only will your target likely hurt his own friends, but he’ll also die at the end of the dart’s duration.

Note that Berserk Darts don’t prevent guards from attacking you. Stay away from berserking enemies to ensure they don’t lock onto you as the focus of their rage.

Berserk Darts make a great distraction. They’ll turn enemies against each other, pulling even more troops away from their patrols. Casualties can be high, especially if you cause a well-placed gunner to go nuts. He’ll shoot all over town, taking out rivals for you throughout a long engagement.

Firecracker Dart

For a more subtle and stealthy aproach, use the Firecracker Dart. These items chase Assassins out of hiding, lure guards out to investigate the noise, and give Shay time to sneak in the other direction when no one is looking. These darts don’t do any damage, so they’re almost worthless when fighting openly. If you want to cause more chaos, use Firecracker Darts to break open poison or gunpowder barrels. The darts detonate these, creating havoc around them.

Sleep Grenade

Sleep Grenades have the same potential as Sleep Darts but give you an area of effect to work with. These bombs are wonderful when there are large clusters of guards (by gates or other entrances). Instead of having to sneak around, you put the entire cluster to sleep and walk right in. Slitting all of their throats is an optional bonus.

Berserk Grenade

Berserk Grenades are a bit more evil than Berserk Darts because you quickly create an entire squad of attackers. Because they aren’t isolated, these foes can do even more damage in their own area.

Berserk Darts are better against isolated troops, like gunners. Berserk Grenades are best against patrolling duos and trios of melee troops.

Shrapnel Grenade

And now for the least subtle weapon you have. The Shrapnel Grenade does direct damage wherever it hits. Kill polar bears, enemy captains, and clusters of troops with these loud, horrifying tools. You can even blow open doors with them. When trying to be stealthy, don’t even look at your Shrapnel Grenades. They’re not an option.

Pistols

Pistols give you direct, ranged damage. They’re very deadly if you aim well and hit with headshots, but even a body hit gives you a way to slow running opponents and gives Shay time to catch up and finish the deal.

Pistol hits have a fairly good stun time. That is a wonderful way to mess with other ranged attackers that are trying to hassle you. Because Shay has twin pistols, it’s possible to nail an enemy in the body with the first shot, aim slowly up toward the head while the target is stunned, and finish them with the second shot before they recover. Reload afterward (when running for cover, as needed).

Smoke Bomb

At first, you’re likely to think of Smoke Bombs as a tool for getting out of trouble. They break line of sight with ranged targets and confuse local enemies. They’ll spend almost 10 seconds freaking out while you can do whatever you want. And, yes, that is great for escaping trouble.

However, Smoke Bombs are a lethal tool as well. If you’re surrounded, drop the bomb at your feet and perform assassination attacks. The enemies can’t defend well against Shay when they can’t see him, so it’s often possible to kill three to five targets during the recovery time from a single Smoke Bomb!

Rope Dart

Rope Darts are odd items. They’re either used from above a target to hang them or from range if you’re trying to catch them and get them closer to Shay. Hanging enemies is a royal pain if there are other targets around; people tend to spot their buddies when the poor sods are gasping, kicking, and struggling against a murderous tree bandit. Avoid Rope Darts when you’re trying to be especially quiet and subtle. Sleep Darts are better for many of the same tactics.

Save your Rope Darts for fleeing opponents or isolated

guards that should be both killed and pulled out of the way (Shay brings the enemies over to his position even when using the Rope Darts from above).

Throw Money

Nothing distracts people like free cash. If you’re near a bunch of civilians and want a serious disruption, throw your money around and let people swarm to pick it up.

Throwing Knife

You can carry only one of these, so they’re more of a situational tool. When you have a single guard to beat and you need a fast kill at short range, this is a good choice. You replenish your knives by stealing them from agile guards (who are easy to notice because they wield knives instead of heavier weapons).