Home Strategy Get Good Get Good: Assassin’s Creed 3 multiplayer advice for new players

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AC3 is here, and millions of players are trying out the title’s innovative multiplayer modes for the first time ever. There’s a lot of intricate stuff to learn, and a great deal of it is intuitive, but there are also some fundamental tactical points every newbie needs to learn if s/he ever wants to get better at bludgeoning targets to death.

These core approaches should get even the most helpless of Hessians on their feet and murdering in no time. And if you happen to need other tips, we have tons of other AC3 multiplayer strategies  available.

 

Your HUD actually matters

Look, I know players don’t like reading manuals or completing tutorials. It reminds them of school, and school reminds them of lunch ladies, and lunch ladies remind them of their sexual insecurities. It’s logical, really. But when it comes to Assassin’s Creed multiplayer, it’s important to understand what the game’s trying to tell you. And of course, the user interface/HUD is the best source of information.

I can’t/won’t recap every aspect of the screen, but every Templar agent would be well served to remember a few important points:

  • If your target is shared among multiple pursuers (as indicated by blue marks under the target potrait), don’t dawdle. It’s not worth risking a slightly better score when one or more other players is gunning for the same guy as you are.
  • Along the same lines, don’t needlessly gang up on targets in team game modes. If your user interface is telling you your entire squad is hunting one woman, perhaps it’s best you break off and assassinate a lone target somewhere else on the map. Your team probably doesn’t need your help, and you’ll get a better score by going mano a mano Templar a Assassino.
  • Shut up and listen up. As with previous Assassin’s Creed games, sound is a big deal. Yes, there are big indicators like The Whispers that tell you when you’re killers are closing in, but other noises matter, too. Pay attention for players making tell-tale climbing noises, and learn how to identify every ability by sound.
  • When you have proximity (inner target portrait is lit or compass is full) but not line of sight (outer portrait or compass is lit), start climbing. Your quarry is likely on the other side of the wall/building from you, and a height advantage will make you immune from many defensive abilities.
  • Check the score frequently. Remember, you don’t have to reach a certain threshold to take first place, so setting realistic goals for your next couple kills can help manage your anxiety. It can also give you important information about who in the game is skilled and who’s failing Animus 101.

With these considerations kept in mind, you’re well placed to score your best on every kill. That said, it’s important not to be overeager since…

 

The best offense is a good defense

Players new to Assassin’s Creed multiplayer tend to view the game as a third-person shooter. “Whom do I have to kill, and where is he?” they tend to ask themselves.* After getting a basic understanding of the radar system and proximity/line of sight detectors, they figure they’re set. It’s just a matter of executing the target now, right?

Wrong. What these murder-obsessed players tend to forget is that there are up to seven people hunting them, as indicated previously. And while a good assassination could be worth more than 1000 points, getting killed before reaching your target means no bonuses for you. In fact, it’s worse than no bonuses, since you lose time in respawn and your opponents (you know, the ones you’re trying to outscore?) get to profit from your untimely demise.

For this reason, dealing with your own pursuers before eliminating your target is usually the best approach. After all, you could try to race your killer and make a beeline to your target, but doing so only makes it more likely both your adversaries will notice and humiliate you. It’s best to get some breathing room before proceeding.

You don’t have to actively lure your pursuers out, but if you see or hear them in proximity (as indicated by The Whispers), start drafting your defensive plan. It might mean moving away from tall buildings to prevent an aerial assassination, or prepping a defensive ability like Smoke Bomb, or simply stalling your killer long enough that his own pursuer murders him. Once you’re in the clear, you can take your time and plan a high-scoring approach. Of course, you shouldn’t get your hopes too high, because…

 

If it feels like a trap, it probably is

One of the biggest mistakes that even practiced veterans make is underestimating their targets. Going into a match, you tend to automatically size up your competition, making a mental checklist of who you expect is going to be a pushover. Perhaps it’s lower level players, or people who pick certain personas, or usernames you recognize from previous matches.

It’s easy to fall into the habit of thinking “I know what I’m doing, there’s no way she’ll see me coming,” but thoughts like this will often lead to getting stunned (or, in Assassinate, stunned and killed). Oftentimes a low-ranking or low-scoring player is actually fairly astute, and is just biding his or her time, waiting to ensnare an overzealous attacker. Other times, the person you remember as being a noob has spent some time practicing, and can now spot your strategy from a mile away.

So, the next time you’re considering strolling up to your target and lingering around for the world’s most obvious focus/poison, ask yourself Would I be falling for this right now? If the answer is no, you may want to attempt a less risky, lower-scoring assassination. Sure, you lose a few points, but it’s better than losing all of them!**

Realistically speaking, of course, you can’t always avoid death. Every now and then, you’ll meet your maker…

 

Can’t beat ’em? Study ’em

When all is said and done, you’re gonna get thrown on your ass countless times. It happens to every new player and hey – it still happens to me occasionally. While it would be easy to blame lag, or glitches or bad luck, it’s important to man up and accept your failures. Somehow, somebody out there just kicked your ass… and it’s your job to figure out how.

After all, you’re not going to get better by throwing your controller through the wall or sobbing into your Hello Kitty Collector’s Edition body pillow. No, you need to think about when you lost control of the match, what caused it to happen, and what your opponent(s) did to take and maintain the lead. If you’re not sure, it’s time to study it out. Ask for advice in-game or on forums, or review strategy footage on YouTube.

Want to get a head start on understanding more advanced strategy? Check out our complete Assassin’s Creed 3 multiplayer abilities guide for additional tactical considerations.

 

* Just kidding. FPS players don’t have a command of grammar this nuanced.
** As well as your dignity.

 

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35 replies to this post

  2. Doctor Awesome’s advice:

    If anybody sees you, you will die. If you are up on the rooftops, you will be shot and die. If you run towards your target, you will die. If you try to run away from a pursuer to avoid that you die for one corner too long, you will die.

    Basically what I’m saying is never forget that you are playing against humans and always assume they are at least as observant as you imagine you are.

    That also means that you can exploit your foes, of course. As a general tip, people NEVER look up, so it’s kind of safe to attempt a high-scoring kill from above IF, and only if, your pursuer is sure to not see you and you can approach your target without being in their frontal sight. Peripheral vision is okay, since, as mentioned, people don’t look up.

    Also, as another consequence of your foes being human, they have the exact same conditions as you. Practice what motions are within your possible LoS (on your screen, in other words). And take distractions for what they are. If there’s somebody running straight towards them (say, a decoy like the one you just created), that’s going to take at least half a second out of your opponent, and that’s what you can use. Slip in in that moment plus the reaction time following afterwards. I swear, it works.

    • In case there are yet newbies reading this, another another really basic advice is orientation. You need every edge you can get so that you may have one more than your opponents (and thus stab faces successfully). One of the biggest factors for this is knowing your environment. I know, this is mostly practice, but you can also compensate for not being used to the maps yet with a bit of effort.

      As soon as you spawn in, look around. Where are CB? What angles do you have to watch when blending into that crowd? How central is this area? What objects nearby can be used for LoS? What abilities are effective here (for instance, is there enough walking time between you and that corner over there that you can react with a knife/SB if a pursuers comes around)?

      And so on. Awareness, people! It’s what this multiplayer is literally built around!

  3. So.. what you’re telling me is that I bought that Hello Kitty Collector’s Edition body pillow. ALL FOR NOTHING?!

  4. Hello Wing it’s me again! Long time no see, did you miss me?

    Decent article, but you left out some of the best advice and I’m going to offer it. You may or may not agree with it, but that’s what civil discussion is all about…and at the the end of the day both of us are out there to improve the player base, making the matches more fun and enjoyable for all!

    My best advice for new players: SLOW DOWN!!!! This game rewards smart tactical stealth play. More so than the previous two. Wing and I had a friendly dispute about how easy it was to get the “Incognito bonus” in Revelations…and I think it’s even easier this time around!

    When you’re rushing towards your target you make yourself visible to everyone. Each player that sees you run by, not to mention your target and the guy targeting you has a huge tip off to your presence…and you don’t have to be a grizzled “Veteran since Brotherhood” to know how to shake and avoid a player like that.

    Take some time to walk. Use your camera to pan around a bit as you head towards your target. Be aware of your surroundings, the environment, the players around you. Studying what they do (right and wrong) will improve your game tons.

    There is a time to run (I’ve learned to accept that, big step for me) but there is also a time not to. A big key is learning to discern that. Maybe Wing will let me write a guest article? Ok maybe not but I’ll discuss the crap out of why I think stealth play is a huge part of a consistent winning formula.

    I’m Omega, and I play Wanted. When I join a match with more than 5 minutes remaining I have yet to finish outside the top 3. Slow down, play smarter not harder.

    Maybe I’ll revisit this topic when I unlock the higher levels and get the “classic toys” like smoke bomb and no longer hidden gun. Haven’t gotten to see how those factor in yet. Can’t wait to see what the brand new abilities bring to the table either.

      • Fuck you. My Hello Kitty Collector’s Edition body pillow and I don’t have to care about this shit. We’re gonna go play ACIII together – and we’re NOT gonna use your tips.

        Now your pictures mean nothing and I have…uh… God damn it, I hate my life.

  7. Depends on the FPS. When I play CoD, the guys seem like idiots. Whenever I play Halo I find more intelligent players.

    • i hvnt played halo online but i didnt think much people liked it (plus it depends on who playing against) i like the 3rd halo’s story line cos u get to swing a huge fuck-off hammer for fun (just like i do in real life :D)

  8. Probably an necessary post, but I also have a couple tips that might end up being helpful to newer players, the first being to never feel confident, ever, which has already been said a few times in the article and comments. In this case, I mean not to think you are unbeatable because you have gotten a decent kill streak. After a while I learned that it is only more conspicuous activity that can lead a pursuer to know where you are, and the respawning players are likely to be given you as a target for a possible revenge score. The better you do, the harder you will have to work in order to stay alive.

    Don’t hesitate to use blend spots. It’s actually rather surprising how many people, myself included, tend to take them for granted and not pay a moment’s notice towards crowds or benches, giving their targets an opportunity to stun them or their pursuers the chance to kill, granting the hidden bonus score as well. It’s also a little bit harder to locate you if you aren’t just constantly walking around in the open. courtyard/alleys constantly.

    If you haven’t unlocked the incredibly useful smoke bombs, and you are still relying on knives to stun, know when to use them. If your pursuer is within a few yards from you, it is relatively pointless to throw a knife since it will be ineffective and they will still be able to assassinate you regardless. This also puts you down from your knives for over a minute, and you might need them later. If they are within a few yards, it will be next to impossible for you to escape, so attempt the honorable death approach and you can get the extra 100 points off your death at least.

    Disguises are a reliable offense tactic. After character select, the world-generated turns just about all of the NPCs into characters that have not been selected. As such, most players who have picked up on this will only be looking for characters that do not fit the crowds of lookalikes. Using a disguise can allow you to approach your target in the open with next to no effort to stay hidden, since disguises make you look like one of these unselected NPCs. They will be watching out for the character you have selected, not the NPC. This makes it rather easy to approach them in the open.

    Remember to check in front of you. At first, I always assumed that a pursuer would be attempting to follow me form behind, in order to try and gain a better silent/incognito bonus, and then, while my camera is turned behind em as I hear whispers, end up being stabbed from the front. 360 degree awareness is essential. Heck, you should be aware of all possible directions, up and down included.

    No one is your friend. Remember this is modes like deathmatch. Just because the “Saved” icon has flashed over a person, doesn’t mean that you aren’t their target and they aren’t going to kill you anyways. Also, just because a person has killed you, doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to be after you when you respawn. There are points where I was assigned to kill the exact same person 4 times in a row. This person, who had a mic, was pretty furious, constantly screaming “Again” after I bludgeoned him with the hammer for about the 3rd time in a row.

    Character selection can be key. Some characters are much more conspicuous than others and are easier to pick out from a crowd, such as the soldier with the long hat, or the soldier in the bright-red coat in a sea of brown clothing. It’s a lot easier for pursuers to notice you. Likewise, some characters are a bit more difficult to notice.

    Expect humiliation. One thing you need to be aware of is that you can be utterly embarrassed by a well layed trap. Closing in on your target only to be hit by a smoke bomb, allowing them to stun you, leaving you ripe for the picking for your pursuer who was a little ways behind is one of the worst things that can happen to you in this game. Don’t freak out. Attempt to remain calm and to not try and bum rush the next person. There have been a few players I have seen do this, constantly charging everywhere looking for their targets, revealing themselves to both the target and pursuer, allowing the former to hide more easily and the latter to make the kill.

    Money Bombs are also an escape tactic. They mainly remain unused, but they are not only useful for revealing someone in a crowd, but also drawing crowds together in order to slow a pursuer. There is even a challenge asking for this. Used in a slightly denser area during a chase, you can better escape from a pursuer by tossing down a money bomb as you go.

    Make note of the best hiding places. There are certain areas in certain maps that people tend to avoid for some unknown reason reason. Make use of these and familiarize yourself with them. If a pursuer is closing in, try and duck into these places and use your knowledge to try and get the upper hand and elude/stun them.

    Again, I don’t know how useful all of this will be. I understand if a lto of you don’t think this will work at all, but these are tactics that seemed to work moderately well for me, so I figured I would post them.

  9. Hey guys xXxHowDareUxXx is here. Lets talk about roof running for a second. Some people think it’s the more annoying thing that people do and it’s because they betrayed themselves by giving you their position. I’m not a noob but I admit that I could have some could tips in my head. Look it’s the best way to kill and shock other players. BUT DO NOT use it in deathmatch. The minute you do it in deathmatch you will get jumped by every player (trust me, I tried). But I’m not like some gargoyle, I can play on the ground. I swear, I was hidden in plan sight with, i believe, 3 or 4 pursuers and they each one passed me like 8 times.!One finally figured it out but thanks to me trust trip bomb stunned him and ran. Sadly one of them was around the corner and killed me. My point is use everything you can to survive and when you find something that’s working, stay with it till it fails numerous times then move on to another plan. If I repeated something, my bad. I didn’t read all the comments and I can forgot really quick.

  14. Just sit on a bench or hide in a crowd of look-a-likes, then set a tripwire bomb in front or close to you. Then sit and wait for your pursuer. Don’t run when you see them, but instead wait for them to activate the then stun them. Remember to stay from places where arial attacks can be performed on you while attempting this strategy. It works well in assassination and when trying to win rewards such as Elusive and Shadow.

  18. I don’t even know what I’m doing here… xD
    I’m prestige motherfucking 59* babeh

    AC3 is ded btw

  19. If you want some good tips, look no further.

    Firstly, and obviously, do some of the lessons if your new. Some experienced players could do this as well.

    Now for the topic of humiliating your attacker. Nothing is funnier than morphing a crowd, then hiding in a nearby haystack or bench nearby. Also, morphing can be used offensively. If you are near a morphed crowd use YOUR morph to turn all the npcs there into you’s. The hapless victim will be wondering about what just happened. This works similarly to firecrackers and money bomb in the fact that it reveals your attacker. On the defensive, these perform radically different however. Firecrackers will blind and disorientated pursuers netting you time to escape. But you must be a ample distance ahead otherwise you will get a knife in the face during the animation. Money bombs will attract a crowd, slowing pursuers down.

    I may/may not add more to this in a few days as I’m tired now. Feel free to add to, elaborate, criticise, and compliment the tips. I will bear responses in mind. Hope these tips help a lot! ;-) good luck

    • Another, simple, often overlooked piece of advice is to PICK THE CHARACTER THAT MATCHES THE AREA!!! If your the Inuit person in the Virginia place, your gonna be noticed easily. The same goes for the soldier in the artic area. Hide, blend and match. Think like a AI. I have also noticed all/most of the persona’s have a Templar cross on some part of their body. Use this if your observant to identify a blended person, don’t take to long or you will be noiticed! Good luck!

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