After the fiasco surrounding the cancelled press previews and delayed upcoming launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows, it appears that Ubisoft is doing something of a redemption tour in order to garner hype for the latest installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Previously, news about AC Shadows's simultaneous console and Steam launch was quite positively received. Now, Ubisoft has given us a full overview of what's to come regarding the combat mechanics in Assassin's Creed Shadows. While the weapons and unit types in Shadows are certainly interesting, perhaps the most important take-away is that timing will be an important aspect to combat.
One of the most important mechanics behind Assassin's Creed Shadows's combat seems to be the character and weapon choices. The samurai, Yasuke, and the shinobi, Naoe, will supposedly come with their own versions of stealth, defensive, and offensive attacks, and each will have their own weapons, to bring some diversity to the gameplay of each character. It looks like each of the different weapon classes will be locked to either character and play style. At launch, Naoe will have three weapons to choose from, and Yasuke will have a broader selection of five weapons to choose from.
Naoe's weapons in Assassin's Creed Shadows include:
Overall, Naoe seems to be mostly a close-quarters fighter, with the Kusarigama being the only weapon in her arsenal that offers any sort of crowd control or distance from the target.
Yasuke's weapons in Assassin's Creed Shadows:
Yasuke's kit seems to offer a lot more versatility than Naoe's even if his combat seems to be somewhat slower than that of his shinobi counterpart. Ubisoft's language surrounding Yasuke's kit also seems to suggest that he is significantly taller than the average NPC or enemy in the AC Shadows world, which is somewhat fitting for a slower, more powerful fighting style.
Ubisoft also provided a sneak peek at the different enemies that will feature in Assassin's Creed Shadows, from the basic Ashigaru foot-soldiers, who should mostly be cannon fodder for players, to the more heavily armed and more skilled Samurai, Ronin, Samurai Daishu (a more elite version of the Samurai), and Guardians—the highest tier of Samurai revealed so far.
All combat moves in AC Shadows will fall into two categories: Flurry Attacks, hinted by a blue sheen on enemy weapons, and Unstoppable Attacks, telegraphed by a red sheen on enemy weapons. Both attack types can be blocked and parried, but Flurry Attacks are significantly faster, and blocking a Flurry Attack will not stop the next attack. Unstoppable Attacks cannot be blocked or parried without losing footing and leaving players open to an attack, but dodging an Unstoppable Attack will break the enemy's guard and make them vulnerable.
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
One of the most important mechanics behind Assassin's Creed Shadows's combat seems to be the character and weapon choices. The samurai, Yasuke, and the shinobi, Naoe, will supposedly come with their own versions of stealth, defensive, and offensive attacks, and each will have their own weapons, to bring some diversity to the gameplay of each character. It looks like each of the different weapon classes will be locked to either character and play style. At launch, Naoe will have three weapons to choose from, and Yasuke will have a broader selection of five weapons to choose from.
Naoe's weapons in Assassin's Creed Shadows include:
- Katana: A versatile sword that balances attack and defense moves and has a timing-based stagger.
- Kusarigama: A two-handed chain weapon with a scythe on one end and a spiked ball on the other; intended for crowd control.
- Tanto & Hidden Blade: A new take on the classic Assassin's Creed extendible wrist blade, with a long dagger in the other hand. Unlocks double assassinations.
Overall, Naoe seems to be mostly a close-quarters fighter, with the Kusarigama being the only weapon in her arsenal that offers any sort of crowd control or distance from the target.
Yasuke's weapons in Assassin's Creed Shadows:
- Long Katana: A longer version of Naoe's katana designed for one-on-one battles and assassinations.
- Naginata: A two-meter-tall Japanese polearm designed for dealing with multiple enemies.
- Kanabo: A heavy two-handed spiked club meant for slow, heavy attacks.
- Yumi Bow: A powerful, silent long-range, high-accuracy bow with various arrowheads to deal spice up tactics. Longer draws are more powerful.
- Teppo Rifle: A high-powered rifle with better range and armor penetration than the Yumi, albeit at the cost of accuracy.
Yasuke's kit seems to offer a lot more versatility than Naoe's even if his combat seems to be somewhat slower than that of his shinobi counterpart. Ubisoft's language surrounding Yasuke's kit also seems to suggest that he is significantly taller than the average NPC or enemy in the AC Shadows world, which is somewhat fitting for a slower, more powerful fighting style.
Ubisoft also provided a sneak peek at the different enemies that will feature in Assassin's Creed Shadows, from the basic Ashigaru foot-soldiers, who should mostly be cannon fodder for players, to the more heavily armed and more skilled Samurai, Ronin, Samurai Daishu (a more elite version of the Samurai), and Guardians—the highest tier of Samurai revealed so far.
All combat moves in AC Shadows will fall into two categories: Flurry Attacks, hinted by a blue sheen on enemy weapons, and Unstoppable Attacks, telegraphed by a red sheen on enemy weapons. Both attack types can be blocked and parried, but Flurry Attacks are significantly faster, and blocking a Flurry Attack will not stop the next attack. Unstoppable Attacks cannot be blocked or parried without losing footing and leaving players open to an attack, but dodging an Unstoppable Attack will break the enemy's guard and make them vulnerable.
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
