Assassin's Creed Odyssey

[Renegade334]

I unfortunately didn't have the leisure to bring the fight to the seas this last couple of days, as I was busy cleaning up the last of the Kosmos Cultists (I actually completed episode 1 of the First Blade DLC before that) and most of their identity clues were hidden in land fortresses.

It made for rather annoying situations, as I usually play the fort-clearing sessions with the "stealthy sniper" style: perched on top of a tower or rocky peak, picking off targets one by one using the Predator Shot. And it's always when I go boots on the ground to either loot or burn the chests that I hear the warning horn of an incoming Mercenary, which then makes me scramble back to higher ground. Thankfully, though, if they don't find you immediately, they will leave to have a look around...but they always linger in the area, ready to come back at the first sign of disturbance.

As I say, those mercs can have the worst timing ever. The absolute worst is when they barge in while you're trying to sneak in.

[cyberdemon]

haven't finished the dlc yet but it seems they are trying to establish an Alexios/ Kassandra bloodline.

[Renegade334]

It's hard to say what they're trying to achieve with the First Blade DLC right now as only the first episode has been released. So far it seems Ubisoft wishes to show how the hidden blade came to be and how it'll eventually passed down to the Egyptian Hidden Ones in Origins. However, the theme of being hunted for what you are could possibly be the final motivator for Alexios/Kassandra's withdrawal from the world (aside, of course, from the fact that owning the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus makes him/her unable to age, thus creating all kinds of problems with society to begin with) until the epilogue of Odyssey (though him/her wearing modern clothes clearly shows he/she is still in contact with the world in some way). I'm not entirely sure whether A/K had a child (the game does feature romantic flings you are made free to pursue); certain theories I've come across nevertheless ponder about A/K being an ancestor of Aya (who, let's remember, is actually of Greek descent, whereas Bayek is a pure Egyptian), even though the latter does not have Eagle Vision.

It's also a bit jarring that the erstwhile companions of Daris actually form some sort of proto-Assassin group, even though the Hidden Ones are supposed to be the real Assassin precursors (it kinda makes the whole "this is how we came to be" premise of Origins a bit redundant). The fact that the enemy in this DLC are the Order of Ancients (Persian branch) seems even more of a clue that they're trying to create a link between Origins and Odyssey.

Though...as I said in my review, I'm extremely unimpressed with this DLC, incomplete as it is. Even the Hidden Ones DLC, the more underwhelming one of the two Origins expansions, felt more ambitious in scope and we seem for the moment stuck with lousy, boring, sparsely-populated Makedonia. I don't know if the future episodes will unlock more islands or extra maps (maybe a trip to Turkey and Troy, could we hope for that, please?), but I'm very disappointed by the lack of First Blade-centric content (new unique locations and gear). So far the only thing positive this DLC has brought to the base game is this new Ability where a successful assassination move will cause the corpse of your target to "magically" disappear, thus dispensing you of constantly having to conceal your handiwork and raising the alarm. I sincerely hope the Atlantis DLC will be where Ubisoft goes full out with massive amounts of contents (and I really crave a full Atlantis underwater map) just like they did for the Curse of the Pharaohs.

EDIT: since you haven't finished the DLC yet, I withheld a couple spoilers (especially about Darius' companions-in-arms).

[Stark700]

It took me about 5 hours to finish all of the Hidden Blade episode 1 DLC content (with most of the side quests and achievements).

Overall, I'd say it's fine but definitely needs improvement to the storytelling. It honestly just felt like any other main questline but adds the Hidden Blade as part of its theme. I'm also not really impressed by the new ability. Death Veil on surface sounded neat but it felt like an ability that suits more of a stealth type of play. (can be rather situational)

I agree with what Renegade334 said about Atlantis. They have potential to make a full scale map with tons of new content, quests, new weapons, characters, story, etc. Maybe they can make the sea feel more interesting too since the current state is my least favorite part of the game.

I think we're also getting another free quest update this month though right? The previous one took me about 1-2 hours to complete.

[cyberdemon]

Well it is just a part 1 of 3. So it is still incomplete

[cyberdemon]

Seems people are getting upset about the ending of episode 2 of Legacy of the first blade.

[Renegade334]

Yeah, that development was rather surprising and rushed (even with the timeskip and all). I guess it bolsters the stakes for episode 3, but I'm not 100% satisfied with the way it was carried out. That said, I also managed to foretell the plot twist with Orontes, given how suspiciously little fuss was made about his exit, midway into the episode.

Still rather bummed that we're not exactly getting sweeping, new original content (new map region, weapons) aside from that Greek Fire flamethrower. Sure, it forces you to explore Achaia a little more (I've been concentrating on other regions, so it's a nice incentive for me), but beside that it's just regurgitating old stuff and adding a new Order subgroup to your hitlist. Compared to the Hidden Ones DLC, Ubisoft is really taking it easy this time. It's like half of its dev team was furloughed or transferred out to work on the AC3 remake.

Later this month, though, we'll get Arges the Cyclops.

EDIT: oh, so they're actually angry because the DLC railroads them into a heterosexual relationship. GASP! THE HORROR! Didn't Ubisoft know that the Ancient Greeks had found a way for asexual reproduction and whatnot? I feel so off-en-ded! [/sarcasm] *eyeroll*

[Renegade334]

So the last part of the Legacy of the First Blade has been released for a week now and...the story almost utterly failed to surprise me, as I had already foreseen many of the following events:

Spoiler for For Zeus' sake, don't click if you don't want to be spoiled!:

- Kassandra's partner, Natakas, died protecting her child.
- Still no new region or unknown territory to explore (not even a new island!).
- Kassandra had to part with her child, Elpidios, for his safety.
- The story bridges Odyssey and Origins by suggesting that Aya is indeed Alexios'/Kassandra's descendant, through Elpidios after his exile out of Greece. Strangely enough, Aya was originally described in the official literature as being half-Greek or Greek by birth...but clearly more than a few generations passed after Elpidios and the epilogue does not allude to them ever returning to Greece, which is a small contradiction...but oh well. That cutscene at the end, however, was a bit deceitful/erroneous as it depicts a pyramid under construction, which is chronologically impossible...but then again it's just artistic license for the sake of a good cutscene.

This DLC, overall, was...meh. Really, in comparison, The Hidden Ones DLC from Origins went full out and introduced a whole new region and LOTFB, as I have oft repeated, feels very lazy in comparison...almost as if it had been made by a skeleton crew or by the night shift crew at Ubisoft...during holiday season and a citywide public transportation strike.
...
...which, you know, is probably not THAT far off the truth: I imagine Ubisoft pulled off a lot of its programmers to work on the AC3 and Liberation remasters, not to mention the second big DLC...thereby leaving few hands to work on big content for LOTFB.
That said, they did a good work padding the less explored/filled regions of Greece, namely Makedonia and Messenia, which compelled me to reexplore them rather than linger in the islands or stay near the more content-effervescent Athens and/or Sparta.

That said, I've been a bit slow to go back to AC:Od, as I have been busy in World of Warships (there's a marathon to earn a free premium ship there and the last part of the event is slated to show up this Friday) and other real-world stuff (family health scare) has commanded my attention elsewhere.

I have however, decided to try Odyssey's New Game+ feature. I do have the entire map fully explored (and the Steam achievement to prove it), but not all side quests completed. I do OTOH have the main quest and mythical creatures campaign completed and all endings under the belt. However, I have somehow grown a bit tired of Kassandra (it was a bit weird seeing her boss her way around the country, knowing just how brutally sexist/chauvinist and xenophobic Ancient Greece actually was) and wish to restart anew, this time retaining all of my current items and skills. It's kind of cheating...but it'll also save me a LOT of level grinding, even though it means even the feeblest of enemies (the thugs from Kephallonia) are now around Level 98. I'm highly likely to go for the same type of ending (note: according to Ubisoft, Kassandra is the canon main character of Odyssey, not Alexios) as my first playthrough and I hope to have all this stuff completed by the time the Tales of Atlantis swing by. It's a rather unorthodox move from me, as I never replayed any AC games from the beginning due to the sheer amount of content to go through...again! I once did that with Skyrim because I managed to completely corrupt my save, which prompted a moment of introspection and the decision to revisit my character genesis...although it eventually meant going once again through a plethora of tombs, fortresses and other quests...which left me rather exhausted towards the game itself.

[cyberdemon]

Spoiler:

He is likely Aya’s ancestor on her Egyptian side. Her other parent was probably what makes her half greek

[Renegade334]

^-- That's actually a good explanation for the discrepancy; after all, Aya's time is right in the middle of when Egypt fell under Greece's yoke, so it's not unlikely her father was a Greek colonist who married a local (haven't read the prequel novel, so I don't know the full details). Still, it is strange that Ubisoft didn't make Bayek Elpidios' descendant, given that he also has Alexios'/Kassandra's unique Eagle Vision, whereas Aya completely lacks it (note: in the comics, Connor's daughter also gets the eagle!telepathy power, though his sons do not). But I guess they want to establish the Medjay as another post-Isu "gifted"/"tainted" bloodline.

Aside from that, I've just killed Elpenor in Kirrha and have been a little more zealous when it comes to exploring and completing locations. Rather than just synchronizing with a region and just going where the plot tells me to (leaving a lot of unseen sights and untrodden locales), I'm now busy unmasking every unknown (?) location and completing them...and I'm surprised how little territory I've unmasked so far (Kephallonia, Megaris, part of Phokis). Kinda makes you realize just how big the map is, now that I no longer have all those fast travel points unlocked.

As for New Game+, it's a-okay so far but...
- Looks like the orichalcum deposit points I've already cleared didn't get refilled for the new playthrough, which I somehow expected (after all, that's how you get premium items for free...couldn't exactly expect Ubisoft to throw me a bone when profit is in the balance).
- I have retained almost all of my previous legendary items in my storage after the NG+ upgrade, but it's absolutely hilarious to dress Alexios with the female Amazonian outfit. This Wonder Woman-like bustier really isn't unisex, but then again now that I'm a male character I can just play the game and collect the Alexios-only Achilles Armor, by farming the Order members.

*crosses fingers for a proper Tales of Atlantis DLC with an actual new map*
Come on, Ubisoft, give us the magic you used for the Curse of the Pharaohs DLC -- now that was a blast. Don't just pad empty regions like you did for Legacy of the First Blade.


EDIT: okay, that's weird. I just had two rather frustrating bugs where I couldn't use any special/macro attack and where my player dashboard exhibited no available quest (not possible at this stage). Thankfully, fast-travelling to a different region fixed the first one, but for the second I had to reload my latest autosave in order to make the game behave again. I hope NG+ didn't corrupt my converted save (I'm after all switching character genders here), as the first issue led me into a very problematic standoff with Cultists, wherein I had severe trouble properly dealing damage and getting rid of the bloody shields they were constantly hiding behind.

[Renegade334]

Not really official news, but a series of achievements just showed up on Odyssey's Steam page, hinting at some very interesting features in the upcoming Atlantis DLC.

- Every Story Has An Ending: maybe the final Lost Tale of Greece DLC?
- No More Rulers: kill all Overseers in Elysium
- Blasphemer: destroy all of the Marble Maiden Tributes
- Gathering Strength: collect all of the Keeper's Insights in Episode 1
- The Conqueror: win the conquest of Elysium with freed humans from the 3 main regions

So:
- We get (HOPEFULLY) a new Map called Elysium, very likely comparable to the oneiric worlds from the Curse of the Pharaohs in that it's only materialized through Isu techno-witchcraft or it's in some sort of subterannean/subspace area.
- Elysium has 3 main regions. *fingers crossed for a really big map*
- Elysium is (partially) inhabited by abducted/lost humans living under the yoke of non-humans (like the Anubis guardians from TCOTCP).
- Elysium has either military commanders or regional leaders called Overseers.
- The Atlantis DLC might be released in episodes, just like Legacy of the First Blade.


...
Aside from that, still continuing my slow progress through the main campaign, unlocking and exploring regions and subregions one at a time and completing all side quests to be found therein. I've been pleasantly surprised by some of these smaller missions I had so far eschewed and was even more surprised to note that some of the timed/dynamic quests/mercenary contracts actually gave more insight to aspects of the main campaign (for example, I met Elpenor's grieving brother and the cousin of the Pythia who confirmed me that she survived the Kosmos interrogation in the Delphi cave).

My progress towards the main campaign ending will probably take some time as I'm now focusing on the side quests rather than the family reunion mission.


Also, for those who might have missed it, Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered has been made available to owners of the Odyssey Season Pass.


EDIT: the changelog for Update 1.2.0 on Uplay indicates that the first episode of The Fate of Atlantis will be released on April 23.

[Renegade334]

The next Assassin's Creed might be all about...
...
...Vikings.
...
...
...Personally not 100% sold on this, but then again, keep in mind that in Watch_Dogs 2, there was a mission and an Easter egg about "Assassin's Creed: Osiris", which foreshadowed the Egyptian-themed Origins. So it's not impossible those are legit breadcrumbs (but then again, the poster is about a Germanic/Norse opera, so the next AC could also take place during Richard Wagner's time if you want to nitpick about it).

[JagdPanther]

Originally Posted by Renegade334

The next Assassin's Creed might be all about...
...
...Vikings.
...
...
...Personally not 100% sold on this, but then again, keep in mind that in Watch_Dogs 2, there was a mission and an Easter egg about "Assassin's Creed: Osiris", which foreshadowed the Egyptian-theme Origins. So it's not impossible those are legit breadcrumbs (but then again, the poster is about a Germanic/Norse opera, so the next AC could also take place during Richard Wagner's time if you want to nitpick about it).

Argh!

FEUDAL. JAPAN.

PLEASE.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

[Renegade334]

^-- Apparently, Ubisoft is reluctant to use historical settings that are already in use in other, popular (i.e. samurai/ninja-themed) games. Not to mention, Assassins = Ninjas + Samurai = Templars was reportedly too obvious for Ubi.

But then again, remember that one of the AC bigwigs (Patrice Désilets, who was twice fired by Ubisoft, founded his own game studio that was eventually resold to Ubisoft, who then wasted no time firing him for the third time, for good measure), at the time of AC3, swore upon all that is holy, that Egypt was not an ideal setting for an AC story. And we know how that assumption turned out. So... #fingerscrossed

[Toukairin]

Patrick Désilets is an idiot. His vision of AC games was just too small for where the franchise was ready to go.

Some people whisper rumours that AC: Japan could come out when the next-gen console will arrive. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised. And besides, we already know that the modern Assassins have a member named Kiyoshi Takakura.

But before we go to Japan, I'm open to see one more game taking place in European Antiquity. A few months ago, I would have stood against. However, I would be now happy to see one final installment of Anquity-based assassins, probably in the Roman Empire of the 2nd Century AD. I can imagine a strong storyline that includes the sudden and mysterious death of the wise Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the rise of the tyrant Commodus, Commodus' death, and then the war of succession for the imperial throne.

[Renegade334]

YouTube

https://youtu.be/uH_SZpBpoZQ

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Originally Posted by Uplay description

Venture into the fabled realms of Greek mythology to discover your hero's true power and unravel the mysteries of the First Civilization. Explore three new worlds from Greek mythology - Elysium, the Underworld, and Atlantis! Face legendary trials and encounter the gods themselves, including Persephone, Hades, Poseidon, and more! Delve deeper into Assassin's Creed lore and uncover the mysterious power of the First Civilization.

The Fate of Atlantis is the second post-launch story arc of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which includes 3 new episodic stories. Players can dive into new episodes as they premiere, or experience the epic adventures in their entirety once all episodes are available.

Episode 1 will launch on the 23rd of April 2019.

I'm currently slooooooowly, but surely, re-discovering Crete before heading out to Thasos, Lesbos and Makedonia (the last unexplored/undiscovered territories on my map), so I still have a ways to go. I need to get two Mythical Creatures and complete the Between Two Worlds quest before being allowed to hop on to Atlantis...and even so, I feel like I need to re-complete Legacy of the First Blade for good measure before commencing what I hope to be a DLC as fantastic as The Curse of the Pharaohs.
...
...and judging from the trailer...
...
...
...OMFG YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!

[Kanon]

Is it bad that I'm more interested in this DLC than I am in the main game? I haven't gotten it because it seems to be Origins 1.5. Do they still make game of the year/complete editions or whatever they call them these days?

[Renegade334]

Nah, Ubisoft offers the following packages:

- Standard (base game)
- Deluxe (base game + couple skins + boosts)
- Gold (base game + season pass)
- Ultimate (base game + season pass + couple skins + boosts)

No GOTY edition. Not even Origins has that, either on Steam or on Uplay.

What you can do, however, is buy the base game (there is a -50% promotion on Uplay right now) and, later, the Fate of Atlantis DLC. Right now, I don't see the two Odyssey DLCs as separate purchasable packs but it's not impossible both packs will be put up for sale once the final FoA episode is released.

[Kanon]

Thanks. I'll wait until everything is released and decide what to do then. I am interested in the main game too for that matter (it does look like it's a great game), the DLC just interests me more with its ties to Greek mythology.

I can't say I like the way Ubisoft is doing things. Other companies still release complete editions, I saw Horizon Zero Dawn got one for example. No clue if it's still as widespread as before though.

[Renegade334]

Added screenshots - click to enlarge them.


So Episode 1 of the Fate of Atlantis made landfall and I just roughly completed it. And it was a joyride.

!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!

What first enthused me with this DLC is that, unlike the Legacy of the First Blade, Fate of Atlantis actually has a modern-day component, especially in the preliminary mission that preceded the download of the DLC pack itself. Layla Hassan is controllable and explores tombs that Alexios once visited, in an effort to find the code to open Atlantis in the future. That resolves one gripe I had with the base game - that it completely shoved the modern-day storyline back into the background, devolving it into a mere footnote. I actually regretted the days of AC3 and Black Flag where the modern-day Animus diver had to go around and discover/resolve stuff (AC3 went one step further and had Desmond infiltrate buildings and other venues to steal power sources from Abstergo). Even Origins had more activity on that side (Layla's storyline) than Odyssey. FoA brings that back and I'm happy so far.

So.

TL;DR…

let's get into it, shall we?

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

I would have liked to write a longer article, but I'm afraid I'm kind of running on fumes at the moment (didn't wake up well). Might add more later, but then again I think the above content is good enough as it is.

I currently have the entire episode completed, all Overseers (the regional bosses) killed, all four Keeper's Insights collected, but not all Marble Maiden Tribute statues destroyed and I haven't got all locations discovered/completed, either. Will continue later.

Can't wait for Episode 2.