Optimal Progression

Though there is no definitive “ultimate” approach to completing Assassin’s Creed Unity, the simple progression itinerary outlined here will keep you at least one step ahead of the game’s difficulty curve.

1: Concentrate exclusively on main story Memories until you acquire the Phantom Blades and Berserk Blades in Sequence 04.

Arno is practically naked before he acquires these silent ranged weapons during a meeting with the Brotherhood Council. Without them, the process of infiltrating guarded areas is often either painstakingly slow, or noisily and bloodily unsuccessful. Stick rigidly to the main storyline until you have these indispensable additions to Arno’s arsenal.

2: Establish a high Café Théâtre revenue stream as early as possible.

Paying for the four necessary premises upgrades and completing the five missions at the Café Théâtre, then opening all seven Social Clubs will provide Arno with an income of over 16,000 every 20 minutes. This is something that every player can (and, we would advise, really should) achieve during Sequence 04.

■ You only need to pay for the first four Café Théâtre upgrades to unlock all five revenue-boosting Café Théâtre Missions. The fifth upgrade, Finishing Touches, is a money-sink that can be left until much later in the story.

■ The financial rewards you gain from the first four Café Théâtre missions (4,800 ) essentially pay for the required building renovations (6,350). If you do not have the remaining balance, hunt for unlocked chests in the Ile de la Cité district.

■ The last two Café Théâtre missions are potentially quite difficult, but are still easy enough to beat if you follow our stealth-oriented walkthroughs. The final mission, Foxy Renard, offers a huge bonus of 25,000 . Invest this immediately in opening all Social Clubs (as detailed in the table below).

■ Once you have established a high regular income, you can make periodic trips to the Café Théâtre via the Fast Travel feature to collect Arno’s profits before the total reaches the Chest Capacity hard limit. This should enable you to buy necessary clothing, weapons and consumables without the oppressive limitation of a budget determined solely by your success in missions or hunting for chests. The Chest Capacity feature may appear to be a limitation, but it lends itself to an obvious shortcut to riches that you can exploit at any stage: there is no restriction on leaving Arno to idle in the Intendant’s Study whenever you take a break…

Café Théâtre/Social Club Renovation Plan

Action	Expenses	Revised Income ()	New Chest Capacity ()
Auto-Da-Fé (Café Théâtre Mission)	-	95	380
Colette (Café Théâtre Mission)	Ground Floor renovation (100 )	345	1,380
Damsel in Seamstress (Café Théâtre Mission)	Hall renovation (250 )	845	3,380
The Queen’s Necklace (Café Théâtre Mission)	Exteriors renovation (1,000 )	2,095	8,380
Foxy Renard (Café Théâtre Mission)	Upper Floors renovation (5,000 )	4,595	18,380
Café de l’Ile de la Cité (Renovation)	500	5,743	22,972
Café du Ventre de Paris (Renovation)	1,000	6,892	27,568
Café du Quartier Latin (Renovation)	1,500	8,041	32,164
Café du Louvre (Renovation)	1,500	9,190	36,760
Café du Marais (Renovation)	5,000	11,487	45,948
Café des Invalides (Renovation)	10,000	13,785	55,140
Café de la Bièvre (Renovation)	10,000	16,082	64,328

3: Complete Murder Mysteries missions to obtain powerful weapons for free.

After you complete “Murder Foretold” to kick off this unique line of side quests, you can tackle the following missions in any order that you please. The Murder Mysteries do not pit you against dangerous foes (ambient Extremists notwithstanding) or task you with demanding infiltrations, so they are easily completed irrespective of Arno’s stage of development.Picking up the powerful Gladius one-handed sword by completing “The Decapitated Warden”, for example, will give you an edge against your enemies, especially at an early stage in the story.

4: Shop for new equipment and weapons once per story Sequence.

We can’t overstate the importance of this step. Articles of clothing that keep Arno in line with the combat difficulty curve in Sequence 03 simply won’t cut it in Sequence 06; he might as well be wearing a negligée. Similarly, a sword that effortlessly slices through Extremists early in the story will eventually become obsolete as you encounter advanced archetypes and foes with superior reactions and greater physical endurance.

Even if you can’t immediately improve upon the base stats of Arno’s current equipment every time, it’s still worthwhile to gradually acquire a supply of clothing changes and alternative weapons that offer interesting modifiers. Having a belt that increases his carrying capacity for Berserk Blades can be a boon in specific missions; similarly, a coat that reduces his visibility where stealth is of paramount importance (via the Restricted Area Detection Time modifier) has a clear utility. If you gradually add to Arno’s wardrobe and weapons rack as you progress, you will eventually have a stock of items that can help in every possible scenario. You can make purchases at practically any time via the Character Customization menu.

5: Play Co-op Missions to obtain extra Sync Points and valuable equipment.

You can accelerate Arno’s development by hunting for Sync Points that are exclusive to Co-op Missions. If you recruit at least one like-minded associate, you can use our walkthroughs and comprehensive collectibles guide to find these without too much hardship, though be warned: some of the missions can be really hard unless you have a knack for perfect stealth and a cool head when combat is unavoidable.

6: Avoid challenging side quests (such as Paris Stories) until at least Sequence 06.

Arno gains his second batch of essential upgrades at the start of Sequence 06, including a health boost and both double assassination techniques. Even some of the earlier side quests in the Paris Stories category can be surprisingly hard, so it makes sense to leave them until Arno is up to the task.

7: Embark on extended hunts for collectibles only after you have reached Sequence 10.

The start of Sequence 10 marks the final batch of upgrade unlocks for Arno, which enables you to purchase the third lockpicking Skill. This greatly reduces the difficult of the lockpicking minigame, and marks the first point at which players who enjoy searching for collectibles should begin actively exploring the map for treasures. There’s no harm in picking up items and opening chests if they lie in your path before this point (indeed, that’s something we would actively encourage), but it’s only in Sequence 10 that the process of clearing entire regions of collectibles becomes practical.

8: Until you have elevated Arno to true Master Assassin status, be practical in your choice of activities.

In Assassin’s Creed Unity, side quests and multiplayer activities with the maximum difficulty rating () can be punishingly difficult until Arno has a full repertoire of skills and some of the best weapons and equipment available in the game (which translates into a similar high-level gauge above Arno’s Health Bar). While it is possible to complete them earlier in the main storyline, it’s just not necessary: a Paris Story that demands an hour of careful, precision stealth when you are only halfway through the main story could potentially be beaten in five minutes with a Berserk Blade, a Poison Gas Bomb and a riotous brawl with a fully developed Arno.