The combat gameplay in Assassin's Creed: Shadow is very rich. First of all, it is the basics of offense. Please remember that choosing to fight with Naoe or Yasuke and choosing weapons will change these basic elements. Light attacks are fast, smooth and reliable, causing minor damage. However, certain enemy types can ignore them and launch their own attacks, so be careful.
What is the gameplay of Assassin's Creed Shadow Battle?
Offensive Basics
First, let’s quickly summarize the basic principles of the combat system of "Shadow". Remember that choosing to fight with Naoe or Yasuke and choosing a weapon will change these essential elements.
Light Attack
The light attacks in "Shadow" are fast, smooth and reliable, causing minor damage. However, certain enemy types can ignore them and launch their own attacks, so be careful.
Reattack
A heavy attack with stronger power will cause more damage to most enemies - helping to knock them back and create some space around you.
Stance Attack
Long pressing any attack button (i.e. holding the light attack or heavy attack button) will accumulate power for the attack, thereby significantly increasing its damage output. This is called a posture attack. Stance attacks can be maintained indefinitely, allowing you to adjust distances or change targets. All posture attacks are perfect for breaking through the enemy's blocking posture and breaking their defense immediately.
"Light attacks can use their posture faster than heavy attacks," Charles said. "But if you seize the opportunity, the attack power of heavy attacks will be very fierce. But be careful, the enemy will be alert to the posture attack and try to stop you from charging, so be sure to stay alert."
Therefore, a mix of light, heavy and posture attacks is the best way to build different types of complex continuous techniques.
Fragile state
In some cases, such as perfect dodging, the enemy will be vulnerable, a brief window to deal devastating damage to it. This vulnerable state is an excellent opportunity to launch a posture attack or proactive skill to counterattack to cause maximum damage.
Defense Basics
Naoe and Yasuke have several different defense methods, some of which are unique to them. Here is a brief overview:
Dodge
Naoe and Yasuke can both use directional dodge to avoid incoming attacks. Naoe's dodge is manifested as directional rolling, while Yasuke always keeps his body upright and moves in a directional manner. Although theirs are all responsive, Yasuke needs a little recovery time after the second continuous directional dodge move, while Naoe doesn't.
parry/skew
Yasuke and Naoe have similar mechanisms in parry/skew, but the results of the two will be slightly different. Miyasuke's parry mechanism is linear: after the parry is successful, the enemy is repelled and thus is counterattacked. In short, Miyasuke will not give in at all and maintain its original position.
Naoe's deflection mechanism requires a similar opportunity to launch, but she will turn to the sides of the enemy and shift the enemy's attack away from her. This changes the battle axis and exposes the enemy's flanks, but it also means that Naojiang opens the door to the surrounding enemies, which will force you to always be alert.
Block
As a unique mechanism for Aika, Block allows him to use his weapons to resist attacks, including incoming bows or kunai – except for unstoppable attacks, which will be described in detail in the following content.
"The nuances of attack and defense really make each character have its own merits and adapt to your ideal play style," Charles said.Skills and abilities
You can also acquire and learn skills and abilities on the go to further develop your combat talents. Some of them are proactive abilities that can be used actively in combat to cause more damage; some are combination changes or extensions; others introduce new mechanisms that require precise timing and new tactical methods. These are essential to catch your enemies off guard and because they are related to your game progress, they will keep you growing in combat mastery.
We'll go into the game's progress in detail later, but for now, upgrading or defeating a specific enemy will reward you with mastery points that you can use in different mastery trees to unlock weapon-based skills as well as abilities. This progress loop will allow you to test your skills by facing powerful opponents and get rewards for learning new moves.
"Activity is the most powerful skill right now," Charles said. "They look cool, have strong attack power, and both offer extra opportunities such as narrowing the gap between enemies and us, breaking armor - and even restoring health."
Players can also obtain passive skills that continue to work to make you more efficient and powerful in combat. These skills include accelerated adrenaline recovery, increased basic health, extended windows of time when opportunities come, and more.
Double protagonist
“Essentially,The core combat mechanics of �同 and Naoe are the same,” Charles said. “But as samurai and ninja, they each have specific weapons and abilities, which makes them play very differently. ”
Although Naoe has strong stealth abilities (as mentioned in our previous content), she is not a soft persimmon in battle. She is agile and can easily solve individual enemies with a series of attacks, but as the number of enemies increases, she will be at a clear disadvantage due to the lack of armor and limited combat resources.
Yasuke is the opposite. He is a strong warrior ready to deal with long and intense battles. For example, his last blow on each combo (i.e., the combo ending attack) will break the enemy's defense without relying on posture attacks.
Although both protagonists can carry two weapons and switch in combat, Miyasuke is the only protagonist who can switch weapons midway through a combo through the connection attack ability, which allows him to quickly connect attack and weapon ability to form a continuous offensive.
"Ayasuke also has some unique samurai skills," Charles said. "One of them is the attack of the sword, and he will accumulate an opening attack when the samurai is still in the scabbard. In addition to looking very iconic, if the timing is right, most enemies will not pay attention to this move."
Weapons
Both protagonists have unique weapons to choose from, each with its own abilities. Among other advantages, Naoe's weapons can unlock unique stealth opportunities, while Yasuke's weapons can offer a variety of strategies to unfold in combat.
Here is an introduction to each of their weapon types:
Nayuri
Ninja Knife
Naoe's ninja knife is well balanced and versatile; it strikes a good balance between speed, damage output and defense. Timely attacks can knock back enemies and open up opportunities for posture attacks. Ninja Knife unlocks the ability to assassinate enemies through the Dazimen Gate.
Locking Scythe
The terrifying Lock Scythe is the best choice for Naoe to control the enemy group. Its telescopic chains can attack distant enemies and knock back many enemies at the same time, while its scythe is good at attacking individual enemies at close range. The Scythe unlocks the ability to sprint and assassinate enemies within 10 meters.
Short sword and sleeve sword
After combining with the short sword, the battle of the hive sword returns again. It combines dazzling hacking and lightning-fast assassination, and is an ideal weapon with a one-hit evacuation and a thousand-cut knife gameplay style. The combination of short sword and cuff sword unlocks the ability to perform double assassination
Miyasuke
Da Tai Dao
The legendary samurai weapon—scaled to match Aika’s body—is versatile and well balanced. It has both attack and defense and is an excellent choice for one-on-one duels or large-scale conflicts.
Naginata
The body length of naginata is more than two meters and the sharp tip of the knife is the first choice for Aiya to help control the enemy group. It can be very effective in blocking enemies from approaching and causing damage to multiple enemies around it.
Ghost Gold Stick
The deadliest weapon of Miyasuke—and of course, the heaviest weapon—the Ghost Gold Rod can easily break through the enemy’s defenses and crush the armor. But its lethality comes at the expense of speed and mobility. For the ghost gold stick players, timing is everything.
and bow
Miyasuke uses and bows to attack unprepared enemies from a long distance and accurately knock them down. Its arrows are of wide variety and provides a series of interesting strategies. Mastering accuracy will improve the efficiency of breaking enemies.
Iron Cannon Rifle
The iron cannon flint rifle has both destructive power and high lethality. Its powerful power provides a longer range than a bow and arrow, and has a stronger penetration—although it has a slower firing rate and slower loading time. If you don't mind being noticed, the Iron Cannon is a great opening tool.
It takes time and concentration to master weapons. In Shadow, players gain experience through combat and gain mastery points that can be used to unlock new abilities in their favorite weapon types.
Know yourself and your enemy
"As the game progresses and discover new locations in Japan, you will encounter stronger and stronger enemies," Charles said. "Each enemy has new abilities and moves to challenge different aspects of your combat mastery."
The number of enemies in "Shadow" is numerous and diverse, but for the sake of easy understanding, we classify some of them into several major categories:
Challenger
The gangsters are opportunists, who prey on the weak, and although they have only received a small amount of combat training, some will make up for it with unusual tactics. Be careful of their brutality, they are still very deadly.
Football
Football is a militia and volunteer who constitute the main body of the forces of various ethnic groups.They carry basic weapons and use conventional tactics to fight. They tend to be more aggressive to Naoe and are afraid of helping.
Ronin
The samurai without a master are always looking for the next meal, and most ronin are employed by Naoe and Yasuke's enemies; they wander the road and attack you if they recognize you. The ronin was also a samurai in the past, well-trained, and their unkempt appearance was deceptive.
Samurai
Samurai are excellent warriors with a very good training and combat capability, and they can carry a wide variety of weapons, from trusted samurai swords to powerful ghost gold rods; they can also wear impressive armor suits – including some very advanced ultimate suits – and use amazing attacks and counterattacks in combat.
If you can be surprised, warriors can easily become prey for ninjas, but once they know there may be threats lurking nearby, their vigilance and battlefield awareness will make them terrible enemies.
Samurai General
The general is a branch of the samurai family and an enemy type that only appears in military castles. They have a unique fighting style, blending multiple skills, and fighting alone is extremely challenging, not to mention when there are other samurai around.
However, the Samurai General is also a way to get some of the best loot in the game, so it is worth the time and effort.
Guardian
The Guardians are an elite group of brave warriors who will be sent to reinforce when an alarm sounds from any province. The Guardians have unique white mane and masks, and their goal is to scare your opponents and provide you with some of the most difficult battles you can find in Shadow.
Understand their strategies
Understanding the enemy's behavior patterns and strategies will ensure you have the upper hand in any situation. Here is a brief overview of some of the mechanisms and challenges you will face in "Shadow":
Fierce attack
The sign of a fierce attack is that the enemy's weapons are flashing with a unique blue light. They are a series of short attacks that you won't stop even if you successfully block, parry, deflect or dodge them; no matter what, the next blow will hit you.
Advanced players may try to parry/skew each consecutive blow to trigger the enemy's vulnerability, but parry/skew the last attack is not enough: you need to deal with a series of attacks that put your enemies at a disadvantage.
Unstoppable Attack
Unstoppable attacks will flash unique red light on the enemy's weapons; they are extremely impactful and high-intensity attacks, which are best avoided. Blocking, parrying, or skewing unstoppable attacks will offset most of their power, but will damage the character's defenses and leave you vulnerable to subsequent attacks.
Advanced players may need to fine-tune their dodging timing, as a perfect dodging of unstoppable attacks will trigger the enemy's vulnerability.
Defense Action
When attacked, the enemy can take various reactions to try to change the situation. These reactions are called defensive moves, from a simple step back to a blow to an unstoppable counterattack like lightning, challenging your nerves.
Generally speaking, the more enemies in a battle, the less defensive actions they each take, because they believe they are enough to suppress you. But in a one-on-one duel, against a skilled warrior, there will be a lot of defense actions, and almost continuous, forcing you to use changeable attacks and rationally use every move you learn in battle.
