Memory 01: The Way the Wind Blows

Location: Port Menier

The first scene opens during the frigid winter on the Atlantic coast. Shay is dressed for the climate and is standing on a cliff side, ready to begin. Take control of him and use Free Run to race along the tree branches in front of you. Look at your screen to see the waypoint nearby; that is where you need to go first.

Free Run is a powerful tool for traveling across tree limbs and rooftops and for climbing up various obstacles. Hold this down whenever you want to move quickly or get onto something that you’re running toward. Don’t use it when you’re trying to avoid detection, blend in with civilians, or move slowly in general.

Kill the Assassin

The waypoint marks a man’s location, down on the ground. You can approach him from down there, but it’s even more advantageous to position Shay above the target and launch an air assassination. This triggers a cutscene.

Afterward, Shay and his ally Liam travel toward a camp of their allies that’s deeper in the wilderness.

Reach de la Verendrye’s Camp

Follow Liam as he proceeds through the area. A fallen tree lets you reach a higher stony ledge, and you can Free Run from there toward the next waypoint.

There are collectible items in this region, but you’ll soon have more time and freedom to go after them. Stick with Liam for now, and match his route through the cliffs. When you reach the edge of the upper plateau, try jumping off the precipice and down onto a large pile of leaves on the valley floor. This technique is called the Leap of Faith, which is useful for Assassins. Hay, leaves, and other soft materials are perfect to land on when you know how to dive carefully.

You soon make it back to camp. The British have attacked it, and several of the men are gone. You have to do something about that soon, but first…

Defeat de la Verendrye

It’s clear that Shay and de la Verendrye have a few minor problems. When a fistfight breaks out, you get to learn about the basics of combat. This is a perfect time to get yourself back in the game, because the consequences aren’t too high in a brawl compared to a swordfight!

Fighting has three major commands. Attacking is straightforward; the command is listed on your screen, and pressing the correct button makes Shay swing at his target.

Counter is a defensive option. Use this when your opponent telegraphs an action (you see their animation beginning and a symbol appears over their heads to let you know what’s coming). That’s when it’s time to counter. Practice the timing of Counter and Attack to block incoming blows and then respond in kind! Counterattacks are one of the most reliable kill methods in the game, no matter how good or shabby your sword arm is.

Break Defense isn’t too important in this particular fight, but it’s a very important command in general. Some foes stay defensive and try to block your attacks while they wait for either an opening or for their friends to arrive. Neither of those are to your advantage, which is why you need to tap Break Defense whenever any enemy gets too cautious. This disrupts them and opens them up to regular attacks for a short time.

Display your skills against Chevalier, and then dust yourself off. The captured smugglers aren’t going to free themselves, so you have work to do.

Free the Smugglers

Optional: Remain undetected by the British guards

Optional: Kill all British guards

A small path through the woods leads toward the British camp. There are seven guards there, with three smugglers tied up on the ground in a couple spots. There are even more British on their ship with the last of your captive allies. It may look like a daunting task to free everyone, but you can do it!

Proceed toward the marked red area. This signifies a restricted zone. These are places where you can be attacked just for being there. You don’t have to do much to get attention, so be careful and move slowly. Stay in the brush or up in the trees, and watch the British soldiers. You have the training and abilities to take on the full group in a direct fight, but stealth is a great option as well.

Combative Route

Why be subtle when there are only a dozen or so British soldiers here? Take the fight to them directly. Free Run up into the trees and use an aerial assassination on the first guard below. His companion nearby won’t hear anything and can be dispatched almost immediately.

Charge toward the series of guards at the other end of camp. They’re going to see you coming, but not before at least one of them takes a blade to the throat. Close for melee with the rest, and show off the Attack>Counter>Counterattack skills that you worked on with Chevalier.

Untie the three smugglers when the skirmish ends, and loot all of the British bodies for some spare change. Then, run to the end of the shoreline and jump toward the British ship that’s anchored close by. Climb up to the deck and leap over the edge to start the second big melee. You get a fair amount of training with counterattacks here, because there are plenty of enemies that try to surround you. They don’t deal much damage or use ranged weapons, so the fight is still hugely in your favor.

Loot the enemies and then free the last pair of smugglers to trigger a cutscene. Shay takes control of the vessel.

Stealth Route

This is a harder path to tread, but it secures an optional goal. These peripheral objectives are often more difficult to pull off when you’re traveling through certain areas, but they increase your synchronization. Many memories have one or two optional objectives, and they’re worth 10% of your total synch any time they appear. Thus, you can only get up to 90% of this memory’s synchronization if you don’t use stealth. If you don’t use stealth and fail to kill all of the British guards, you’ll end up with 80% of your total sync.

Start your run by taking to the tress and using an aerial assassination on the first British guard (that’s great no matter how you’re playing). Next, assassinate the man on the edge of camp. He’s near brush and won’t see you coming. Sprint over to him, get a fast kill, and immediately retreat to the brush.

Get to the farther side of the path and stay under cover. One of the soldiers will likely notice that his companions are dead, so hide and wait for him to investigate. When his back is to you, bring him down quietly.

If he doesn’t come, wait until he’s looking away from the pair of guards described below, kill them first, and then take the wanderer out from behind.

Untie the nearby prisoner, and then stay in the brush to sneak up on the pair of guards near two other smugglers. When two guards are close together, you can assassinate both of them simultaneously. Walk up behind the two and tap the Assassination button to eliminate them both before they can call for help. Untie the smugglers, who just saw what happens when you’re angry.

Now you only have to worry about the ship and its guards. Get over to the ship while they’re distracted by the appearance of Chevalier’s vessel. Kill the guard at the wheel before his friend is no longer distracted. Roll from there to the man on the right and the guard below. Kill all three of these targets quickly, then use the pulley by the mast to zip yourself up to the rigging above the deck.

Use an aerial assassination to finish off the patroller when he goes to examine the bodies that he notices. Both of the remaining guards are doomed after that because they won’t turn around or leave their positions unless you do something really loud.

Take the Morrigan’s Wheel and Sail to de la Verendrye’s Ship

Go to the ship’s wheel and take control of the vessel. You get a bit of a primer on ship commands, and then it’s time to set sail. While sailing, always watch out for crates of salvage. You need tons of salvage to upgrade your ship, renovate buildings, and so forth during the course of the game.

Sail toward the waypoint that’s marked on your map and participate in a major naval battle. There is a primer on ship commands and mechanics in the “Controls and Gameplay” chapter of this guide, but a quick refresher is also listed here.

When you aim and fire from the ship, the direction of your enemy determines the weapon you’ll use. The front carronades fire from the bow. These weapons are good for disabling targets in front of the ship so that you can catch up to them. Firing to either side uses your broadside cannons; these guns are heavy hitters and do quite a bit of damage if you aim for the enemy’s main hull.

Later, you get to use flaming oil, the Puckle gun, and mortars, and you can upgrade your ship to have even more cannons. It’s going to take tons of metal and wood to get these weapons; that’s why you need to improve your sailing and defeat enemies throughout the world.

Using your front carronades and broadside cannons, destroy the ships that are attacking de la Verendrye’s vessel. There are many of them, but they are very small and don’t have much in the way of armaments. Fire at them with impunity, and don’t worry about exposing the Morrigan to return fire, even if you stay broadside with your targets the entire time.

Finishing the naval battle completes the memory sequence.