Group fighting technique in Assassin's Creed

Question

This refers to Assassin's Creed 1.

I'm partway through the second mission, and I've been fighting multiple enemies by blocking, waiting for one of the enemies to start to move, and then counter-killing. Rinse and repeat. This is slow, but pretty foolproof.

Is there a faster technique when dealing with several enemies? Also, are different tactics going to be required further down the road? I think The combat will get pretty boring if this is all I have to do for the rest of the missions.

Answer 1

It's essentially the same throughout the game, however you are going to get more and more techniques to add to your arsenal which makes it both faster to take down enemies as well as more entertaining.

Personally I couldn't get enough of the swordplay in Assassin's Creed. It's just so well executed that it never gets tiresome for me. I ensured that I saved every citizen in the game just for the huge fight that would surely ensue.

Answer 2

Use a constant barrage of attacks, constantly switching between enemies to prevent any one from getting too close and attacking you from behind. As soon as you see one start to attack (from any direction), simply execute a counterattack to kill/mame him, and continue with your barrage of attacks.

This creates a swift, non-stop and very engaging fight that finishes several times faster than waiting around for enemies to attack you first. Keep in mind that you have to be watching at all times for enemy attacks, but once you get used to it, even the largest battles will be drastically reduced for time.

Answer 3

There are four main techniques I used for group-fighting in AC1. These particularly shine in the crusader encampment outside Acre, as well as the killing spree on the way to see Richard.

1. Always use the hidden blade. All the time. It guarantees you a counter-kill, even if the target is one of the higher-level armored guys who would normally take a few kicks before you could kill them. There are, of course, disadvantages. Since the hidden blade can't block in AC1, you're timing has to be perfect every time, or you get hit. Thankfully, it's not that hard, and if you play the way I play, you seldom counter-kill anyway. See 3. and 4.
2. Wait for someone to attack, then counter-attack them. You mentioned this already, so well and good. If you're using the hidden blade like I said, you'll still need to "defend", so you can pull off the counter-kill, even though defending doesn't do anything to protect you. It also makes you move slower.
3. Wait for one of them to taunt you. This happens surprisingly often, and is usually one of the more armored-foes, typically the leader of the patrol. They are generally easy to detect, they perform some gesture with their hands. If you can reach them while they're taunting you (difficult, since you move more slowly when you're "defending", and they could be outside the inner ring of enemies around you, but easy if there's only a single ring), then you can kill them instantly with the hidden-blade. No counter-kill, no risk.
4. Wait for one of them to cower. This also happens surprisingly often, though it can sometimes be hard to detect. What you'll see is that the enemy will lower their sword, or sometimes cover their face. Again, like with the taunt, you can get an instant kill with the hidden blade.

With sufficient enemies and time, you can end up literally standing on a pile of bodies with minimal effort. Have fun!

Answer 4

One thing that works is to climb up to a ledge on the building or a near by rooftop. When they follow you there, as they keep coming up one by one unarmed, one swish and they are a goner.