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[matrix-cat]

have the climbing mechanics/controls changed in any significant way over the past few games?

They're exactly the same as AC3, which was a huge step down for the series in terms of interactivity. At least in the older games you could stay in jogging mode for better control and only sprint when you had a clear straightaway. With all the hookblade stuff in Revelations it seemed like they were moving towards an actually competent and engaging platforming system, but with the big AC3 redesign the Assassin's Creed games are more automatic than ever. Now it's just all sprinting, all running up walls you don't want to, all leaping out into empty space for no reason, all the time.

The combat is the worst of it. AC's combat was never actually good, but at least the earlier games had some interesting ideas about timing your hits and foregoing your block ability for guaranteed kills with the hidden blade. Now you just hammer the X button until you get a kill, then sit back and watch for five or six seconds at a time as those crazily-long kill animations play. When one ends there'll hopefully be another guy close by for you to keep the chain going, but if there isn't you have to slowly walk over and mash on another guy because Ubisoft copied the Freeflow idea from Batman but didn't bother giving you any way to close distance with enemies to keep the flow going. Also, marvel at the variety in enemy design: one guy you can kill immediately, two guys you have to press A before killing, and one guy who you have to counter before killing.

The only real improvement 4 makes over 3, control-wise, is letting you switch weapons in real-time instead of having to open that menu, but there are far fewer weapons this time around so it's not much of a gain. And I guess there are more auto-crouch shrubs for you to hide in, and about half the awful tailing missions allow you to get detected once or twice without instantly failing. It's nice that the game no longer punishes me so harshly for its own shortcomings, I guess.

I'm still really enjoying ACIV, though, because I just love exploring the world in my sweet pirate ship, scanning the horizon for vulnerable merchant ships separated from their herds, swinging from ropes directly onto guys with my blades out, digging up buried treasure and just generally being free. All I wanted to do in AC3 was sail away from all the awful gameplay and story, but every naval battle eventually took me right back to it.

 

[Gammacide]

You get the supplies by doing the battles for each route. So when a route becomes "dangerous", you engage a tablet-style ship battle and as a reward the route becomes more safe and you get a bunch of supplies. You may need to do several of those in order to get enough supplies.

Ha! Geez! How did I miss that?? Thanks. Been doing plenty of them now. SO glad that even when you turn off the PS4 the missions still run so that the next morning when I play again they missions are all complete! Good times! Should be a while before I finish the Fleet missions though--some of the latest ones look TOUGH.

 

[Noi]

Ha! Geez! How did I miss that?? Thanks. Been doing plenty of them now. SO glad that even when you turn off the PS4 the missions still run so that the next morning when I play again they missions are all complete! Good times! Should be a while before I finish the Fleet missions though--some of the latest ones look TOUGH.

Did you ever have issues getting the fleet to work? Me and a lot of others can't use that feature at all cause we can't connect to Ubisoft servers on PS4. :/

 

[brianmcdoogle]

I'm on the last mission, and I'm incredibly underpowered in my ship, so I have to waste time looting other ships. Then, the white whale popped up, but I've spent all my money upgrading my ship so I don't have max harpooning, so I can't catch the white whale. I've enjoyed this game, but every damn time I hit a wall that forces me to grind and upgrade my ship, either for harpooning that while whale, or more importantly the story missions, it's frustrating. The ship combat is way too hard in this game (or is it just because I skipped AC3?).

I know I'm in the minority. But, I hate the ship combat so much. I hate it. Hate it. HATE IT!

 

[coldfoot]

I know I'm in the minority. But, I hate the ship combat so much. I hate it. Hate it. HATE IT!

Really, it's ridiculously easy in my experience...Haven't played any other AC except AC2, which actually had amazing lore and story.

I also didn't like this game at start, but now I get to pilot ships, everything is dandy.
Sailing the open seas and plundering and looting as a pirate has never been more fun.

 

[Tacitus_]

I'm on the last mission, and I'm incredibly underpowered in my ship, so I have to waste time looting other ships. Then, the white whale popped up, but I've spent all my money upgrading my ship so I don't have max harpooning, so I can't catch the white whale. I've enjoyed this game, but every damn time I hit a wall that forces me to grind and upgrade my ship, either for harpooning that while whale, or more importantly the story missions, it's frustrating. The ship combat is way too hard in this game (or is it just because I skipped AC3?).

I know I'm in the minority. But, I hate the ship combat so much. I hate it. Hate it. HATE IT!

You crazy son. The ship combat is the best part of the game.

 

[Goodacre0081]

not my clip, but this is crazy

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

not my clip, but this is crazy

My God.

I want to be able to do this.

 

[Carbonox]

not my clip, but this is crazy

This is why I love the combat system in AC games despite the issues people have with it. When it works, it fucking works and looks beautiful in motion.

 

[SJRB]

This is why I love the combat system in AC games despite the issues people have with it. When it works, it fucking works and looks beautiful in motion.

I've boarded a fair share of ships by now and it has never, EVER been even remotely as cool as this. Edward will always get stuck on a cannon while getting ganked by 4 enemies or something stupid like that. A.I. will glitch out, collision detection issues, lock on not functioning properly. The list goes on.

My favourite is the rope being 2 feet to short so you drop in the ocean.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

They're exactly the same as AC3, which was a huge step down for the series in terms of interactivity. At least in the older games you could stay in jogging mode for better control and only sprint when you had a clear straightaway. With all the hookblade stuff in Revelations it seemed like they were moving towards an actually competent and engaging platforming system, but with the big AC3 redesign the Assassin's Creed games are more automatic than ever. Now it's just all sprinting, all running up walls you don't want to, all leaping out into empty space for no reason, all the time.

On the PS4 at least jogging is back. Because the triggers are analog if you only depress R2 half-way Edward will only jog and not actively climb objects until fully depressed.

 

[Irish]

This is why I love the combat system in AC games despite the issues people have with it. When it works, it fucking works and looks beautiful in motion.

It's pretty much why nobody's opinion matters besides my own when it comes to this style of game. I've seen way too many people play AC and the Batman games 'wrong' to ever trust a random opinion on it.

Actually, I tend to think that way for a lot of different games. Few people seem to play games the way I do.

 

[MrCompletely]

Can anyone comment on the multiplayer community for XBOX One? Are games being played? Mostly interested in the FFA game modes like Wanted and Deathmatch.

 

[chickdigger802]

not my clip, but this is crazy

except most of the time you swing over, miss the boat, try climbing up, but enemy stabs you through the boat, you fall down. when you eventually get up, you try countering attacks but your allies bump into you and you trip and fall.


AC series really needs a combat refresh lol.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Do they really not tell you if you've failed a side objective? I went through a mission stealth killing because it said don't get into combat and stealth kills didn't bring up a red X like previous AC games. I finish the mission and don't get credit for that objective.

 

[chickdigger802]

Do they really not tell you if you've failed a side objective? I went through a mission stealth killing because it said don't get into combat and stealth kills didn't bring up a red X like previous AC games. I finish the mission and don't get credit for that objective.

the optional objective disappears in your objective thing when you press start.

they try to hide that stuff which i applaud. nothing feels shittier when you fail a shitty side thing in the past few games when you see that big red text on the screen and the 50% synch.

now, i pretty much don't care about no combat. i try to stealth, if I fail, and its close to a check point, i restart, if i'm not, don't bother.

 

[Special C]

the optional objective disappears in your objective thing when you press start.

they try to hide that stuff which i applaud. nothing feels shittier when you fail a shitty side thing in the past few games when you see that big red text on the screen and the 50% synch.

now, i pretty much don't care about no combat. i try to stealth, if I fail, and its close to a check point, i restart, if i'm not, don't bother.

I miss the big red obvious failure. Going to have to redo an entire long mission because I didn't realize I'd failed a secondary objective.

 

[Derrick01]

not my clip, but this is crazy

Almost all of that was automated too, that's the funny part.

The thing is anyone can easily pull that off if the janky movement and climbing doesn't get in your way. There's no actual skill involved in that gif and I've done pretty similar stuff easily, although I don't have all of the pistol holster upgrades yet like the gif person seems to.

 

[kazebyaka]

I'm not liking this game at all. It's really just another AC3. I'm hours into the game yet the story has gone nowhere because every mission is just a tutorial for one of the thousand game mechanics that they have to teach you. Even worse, there seems to be more stealth missions then ever. Why can't they add a damn crouch button instead of forcing me to use stealth bushes. It's so stupid and frustrating.

It's really just another Assassin's Creed, what a revelation, right? You might have guessed that it's an Assassin's Creed game by the name, which is Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. This series is clearly not for you.

 

[flyinpiranha]

I've boarded a fair share of ships by now and it has never, EVER been even remotely as cool as this. Edward will always get stuck on a cannon while getting ganked by 4 enemies or something stupid like that. A.I. will glitch out, collision detection issues, lock on not functioning properly. The list goes on.

My favourite is the rope being 2 feet to short so you drop in the ocean.

except most of the time you swing over, miss the boat, try climbing up, but enemy stabs you through the boat, you fall down. when you eventually get up, you try countering attacks but your allies bump into you and you trip and fall.


AC series really needs a combat refresh lol.

I have missed the boat maybe once or twice. You just have to wait. Personally I use the canon and take out about 2/3rd of the objective before even boarding the boat.

While I don't use the human shield, using Triangle to shoot quickly to stop people coming out you is awesome, really a game changer. If you use the rope and jump, if you have a target and they highlight and you try and assassinate it will move you to them like that. If that user wouldn't have pressed (square I think) when the person was highlighted to kill he would have fell in the ocean like I have on occasion. It's also good to climb up and go over on their mast and do a double attack from the top to take out two.

The combat system is what you make of it. You can either do it with flair, do it with repetition, or don't do it at all and die. I have had very few glitches in the game regarding combat/ship boarding.

Same with traversal. I've gotten better at it and now while I hate chasing Shanties down, I usually can catch them once I see their path once.

 

[mattiewheels]

I've been playing completely hudless and it improved the game a lot for me. Now i actually have to pay attention to combat.

Just had this HUGE battle trying to take a fort. Had to face the fort defenses plus a man o' war hunter and some other ships. It was a stormy night. I barely took care of them.

Infiltrated the fort and had to use the Eagle vision to locate the officers instead of just follow the red dots.

Everything was so beautiful and atmospheric. My jaw dropped.

I hate Assassin's creed. I hate how repetitive this game can be. But i love everything else.

The first AC was designed in a way that turning off all HUD and using environmental cues alone to play was supposedly the original design, and made the game very interesting.

With all the added trappings and new mission types of the sequels I don't think turning off all HUD works so well anymore, I could see being lost because they rely on following the dots so much nowadays. Anyone else try playing this one "blind"?

 

[Barzul]

What's worse, eavesdropping or sneak missions?

 

[Barzul]

Also anyone take out a Legendary ship yet? Got any tips, should I max out the Jackdaw before I even try?

 

[Nymphae]

except most of the time you swing over, miss the boat, try climbing up, but enemy stabs you through the boat, you fall down. when you eventually get up, you try countering attacks but your allies bump into you and you trip and fall.


AC series really needs a combat refresh lol.

I would agree. I'm basically countering 100% of the time in this game, or doing the human shield thing occasionally. I actually enjoy doing stealth kills and then laying waste with counters, but it needs some fresh air.

 

[chickdigger802]

What's worse, eavesdropping or sneak missions?

eavedropping is fine if there are escorts around. sneak probably. its funny because i'm sure the folks doing them could make a good stealth sequence... but are hampered by the controls set in stone by ac3 folks... so they try to compensate by throwing bushes everywhere lol.


You really can't mix up combat in this vs batman though. only pistols work properly in melee combat as an alternative, (i think i got off a few sleeping darts by accident though). There is also no reward for variety, so there is no reason to not counter kill everyone because its the fastest and most efficient way.

 

[owlbeak]

I haven't been able to find any Social Treasure chests yet!

Do they just pop up randomly?

 

[badnewsbeers]

It says I've got the Scottish broad swords acquired but I can't equip them. What's going on?

 

[Double D]

What's worse, eavesdropping or sneak missions?

Eavesdropping for sure. I really enjoyed the sneak missions. You're referring to missions where you creep around bushes and whatnot taking dudes out, right? If so, those were my favorite parts of the game.

 

[flyinpiranha]

What's worse, eavesdropping or sneak missions?

Eaves dropping. I just don't enjoy "follow" missions in any game whatsoever.

But I'm the 1% when it comes to sneak/stealth missions. I've mentioned it before but I think the bush jumping (immature laugh) is akin to early Splinter Cell games which I loved. If you really plan it out, sneaking around is so much fun (for me).

I would like a crouch, I would think there would be a 'crawl' more like MGS or something, but I think the mechanic works fine for what it is. Just like in Splinter Cell or MGS or even the stealth sections of Uncharted, there usually is a "path" they want you to take and it helps to take it, but you don't have to.

I loved finding the keyholders for looting warehouses then sneaking back. Berzerker darts and Sleep darts are awesome (berzerker moreso). You just have to have patience and take your time. This game can be almost exactly what you want it to be. It's not a twitch game, it's more of a rhythm game and if you get out of it, it throws off everything you're doing. Sneaking around an area to be jumped by a crocodile scared the shit out of me and alerted the guards I was trying to sneak up on.

But I understand I'm alone in this.

Eavesdropping for sure. I really enjoyed the sneak missions. You're referring to missions where you creep around bushes and whatnot taking dudes out, right? If so, those were my favorite parts of the game.

Yay, I'm not alone!

 

[chickdigger802]

yeah really wish optional objectives gave you some sort of monetary reward, even if small. i tend to do warehouses and assasinations stealth because there is a tiny gold bonus (although you can kinda cheese assassinations by just getting within shooting range and head shot the target with a loud ass pistol).

 

[The English Conquistador]

AC series really needs a combat refresh lol.

The entire series needs a huge gameplay refresh.

The parkour especially is fucking atrocious in this and 3. I went back recently to see how much smoother parkouring was in Revelations. The difference is night and day. Moving around the environment in this and the last game is jittery, janky looking and immediately takes me out of the game. Overall it just looks a mess.

 

[Lime]

fuck me i hate this Konway character so fucking much.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

Wish James Kidd was the character every time he pops up in the game.

The entire series needs a huge gameplay refresh.

The parkour especially is fucking atrocious in this and 3. I went back recently to see how much smoother parkouring was in Revelations. The difference is night and day. Moving around the environment in this and the last game is jittery, janky looking and immediately takes me out of the game. Overall it just looks a mess.

I just did this 5 minutes ago and my god, yes. The idea that they just combined free running and sprint into the same button was fucking stupid and broken. IV seems much worse than III however. But Revelations was especially satisfying, especially with the hook.

 

[Lonestar]

Also anyone take out a Legendary ship yet? Got any tips, should I max out the Jackdaw before I even try?

Probably. I've got a "nearly" maxed out ship, and I might have gotten the ship in the southwest corner down to 2/3rd's health, and that's with quickly taking down 2 smaller ships for ship health regen. Those mortars that distort the ocean are a freaking killer.

 

[Lime]

Wish James Kidd was the character every time he pops up in the game.

That's funny, I had the same thought.

 

[The English Conquistador]

fuck me i hate this Konway character so fucking much.

Yup. Since Ezio, I couldn't care less about the main character in these past two games. They've made them as unlikable as can be.

Wish James Kidd was the character every time he pops up in the game.


I just did this 5 minutes ago and my god, yes. The idea that they just combined free running and sprint into the same button was fucking stupid and broken. IV seems much worse than III however. But Revelations was especially satisfying, especially with the hook.

I agree with you completely! (If I'm reading your first sentence properly lol) James Kidd would have been a way better and more interesting protagonist. Every time she enters the story, she bumps up the interest level immensely.

Aha hell yeah! The free running in this and 3 is just a visual and gameplay mess. Looks horrible!! I couldn't believe how much smoother it was in Revelations, like you said, using the hook and such. It just feels smooth, period.

 

[Pagusas]

Yup. Since Ezio, I couldn't care less about the main character in these past two games. They've made them as unlikable as can be.



I agree with you completely! (If I'm reading your first sentence properly lol) James Kidd would have been a way better and more interesting protagonist. Every time she enters the story, she bumps up the interest level immensely.

Aha hell yeah! The free running in this and 3 is just a visual and gameplay mess. Looks horrible!! I couldn't believe how much smoother it was in Revelations, like you said, using the hook and such. It just feels smooth, period.

Maybe if she was voiced better, but every time I have to listen to that voice I pray here scene will end.

 

[exYle]

Maybe if she was voiced better, but every time I have to listen to that voice I pray here scene will end.

I love the voice. It reminds me of Ygritte.

 

[SmokinGunZ1981]

Wish James Kidd was the character every time he pops up in the game.


I just did this 5 minutes ago and my god, yes. The idea that they just combined free running and sprint into the same button was fucking stupid and broken. IV seems much worse than III however. But Revelations was especially satisfying, especially with the hook.

Really.......

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

not my clip, but this is crazy

That looks awesome! I wanna raid pirate ships like that. Damn.

Waiting on a sale or good deal on the PS4 version. Sucks there really isn't a deal on it this Black Friday... kind of surprised, actually.

 

[Special C]

Anyone else think it ruins the immersion when you board a ship in the middle of a multi-ship combat, and the rest of the ships just completly ignore you while you board?

 

[Big_Al]

I'm trying to collect the animus fragment in

Spoiler

Kingston at Laurence Pins place

and it's driving me mad. It's right above a chimney and when you stand on top of the chimney it's just above you. However you can't stand up (since when you are perched atop Kenway crouches), there's nowhere to jump from to grab it and you can't jump up. It's the only thing left to get in this place. Anyone know how to grab it ? Unless I'm missing something really stupid.

 

[Simo]

not my clip, but this is crazy

Haha that was from GAF's keltickennedy too on PS4.

 

[Lostconfused]

The entire series needs a huge gameplay refresh.

The parkour especially is fucking atrocious in this and 3. I went back recently to see how much smoother parkouring was in Revelations. The difference is night and day. Moving around the environment in this and the last game is jittery, janky looking and immediately takes me out of the game. Overall it just looks a mess.

It was a janky mess in the previous 4 games as well. Jump a small gap between buildings, woops Altair/Ezio hits his shin on the edge of the roof and then stumbles for a couple of seconds every god damn time.

Almost all of that was automated too, that's the funny part.

The thing is anyone can easily pull that off if the janky movement and climbing doesn't get in your way. There's no actual skill involved in that gif and I've done pretty similar stuff easily, although I don't have all of the pistol holster upgrades yet like the gif person seems to.

So is the combat in Batman. The reason that the combat in Batman works is because it is automated. If you hit a button to punch some one, Batman will punch a goon in their god damn face even if he has to bend time and space to do it. That's why the game changes from a boring a janky ass combat like AssCreed and into a rhythm button mashing game where you have to time your punches and counters to get a hundred hit combo going without making a single mistake and getting hit.

Edit: Also the overall combat in Batman is better designed, but that's rather obvious. It's entirely possible to play the game without indicators for counter attacks even if it's a huge pain against enemies with blades. While at least to me it seems far too annoying in AssCreed where enemies don't have good tells or indicators for where they are attacking you from or how to effectively defend and counter against them without markers.

 

[matrix-cat]

I'm trying to collect the animus fragment in

Spoiler

Kingston at Laurence Pins place

and it's driving me mad. It's right above a chimney and when you stand on top of the chimney it's just above you. However you can't stand up (since when you are perched atop Kenway crouches), there's nowhere to jump from to grab it and you can't jump up. It's the only thing left to get in this place. Anyone know how to grab it ? Unless I'm missing something really stupid.

You sure you can't jump up? Hold right trigger and press A and you'll jump on the spot. It's necessary for a few Animus Fragments I've found.

 

[Setsuna]

Long bay has to be thee most annoying part of this game

lets give ranged enemies the ability to hide and have an attack speed that is shorter than the stun animation

 

[chickdigger802]

stealth and crocs were pretty bad until i realize i could tranquilize them and skin them alive lol.

 

[Cess007]

not my clip, but this is crazy

Okey, that's waaay cool, i wanna be able to do that soon.

I'm just starting the game, and as someone who hasn't played a single game since the first one (i was incredible disappointed by the game and skipped the next games) i didn't know what to expect. And to be honest, i kinda hated it it again in the beginning, the movements felt clunky, the parkour elements a mess and the game overall bad.

However, i kept giving it a chance and after a good couple of hours i can get the game is getting better and i'm kinda getting used to the controls and movements. Hopefully the story will deliver and the game itself will get better and better.

 

[Derrick01]

So is the combat in Batman. The reason that the combat in Batman works is because it is automated. If you hit a button to punch some one, Batman will punch a goon in their god damn face even if he has to bend time and space to do it. That's why the game changes from a boring a janky ass combat like AssCreed and into a rhythm button mashing game where you have to time your punches and counters to get a hundred hit combo going without making a single mistake and getting hit.

Edit: Also the overall combat in Batman is better designed, but that's rather obvious. It's entirely possible to play the game without indicators for counter attacks even if it's a huge pain against enemies with blades. While at least to me it seems far too annoying in AssCreed where enemies don't have good tells or indicators for where they are attacking you from or how to effectively defend and counter against them without markers.

It's not really that close to being comparable to Batman's combat. The only thing that's automated in that are the basic punches, every other move out of his 15 move arsenal you have to do yourself while juggling enemy positioning (and your own) and keeping an eye open at all times since at least 1 enemy is likely going to attack while you do any other move, they don't stand around like Assassin's Creed's enemies. There's also far more enemy variations that force strategy changes than in AC.

 

[Big_Al]

You sure you can't jump up? Hold right trigger and press A and you'll jump on the spot. It's necessary for a few Animus Fragments I've found.

That worked, thanks very much The one button combo I didn't try!

It's not really that close to being comparable to Batman's combat. The only thing that's automated in that are the basic punches, every other move out of his 15 move arsenal you have to do yourself while juggling enemy positioning (and your own) and keeping an eye open at all times since at least 1 enemy is likely going to attack while you do any other move, they don't stand around like Assassin's Creed's enemies. There's also far more enemy variations that force strategy changes than in AC.

That's not true though. Batman has many many moves which are automated - variety of punching, kicking, arm breaks, leg breaks etc. Not just basic punches.