Make good use of Senu
Assassin’s Creed Origins has literal Eagle Vision. That is, Bayek can call upon his bird buddy Senu, who’ll fly overhead and mark anything useful on the map. Before any mission, Senu can find your target for you, meaning you know exactly where to head and who to kill. Senu can also mark animals to hunt — occasionally swooping in to help you kill them — and tag enemy locations. It feels a little like cheating sometimes, but it’s very handy.
Use your Animus Pulse and loot, loot, loot
Holding ‘up’ on the d-pad will send out an Animus Pulse which highlights anything that can be looted or collected in the environment. There’s a lot that can be looted in Assassin’s Creed Origins — vases, pots, chests, boxes, jewellery boxes, pieces of papyrus on a desk — and pick up as much as you can. Most contain money, crafting materials or equipment, and it’s all useful in one way or another. You don’t seem to have a limit on what you can carry in your inventory either, so keep on picking stuff up.
Avoid Phylakes (until you’re hard enough!)
After a few hours with a game, you’ll be unceremoniously notified that the Phylakes are after your blood. They’re a rock-hard bunch of warriors who will destroy you. That is, until you level up enough. They’re fairly easy to avoid as they’re marked on your map with a red horned symbol. The “easiest” Phylake appears in Alexandria and is level 20 — but he’s much harder than a standard level 20 enemy. Make sure you’ve mastered how to block and dodge, and have a good suite of weapons before you decide to attack. It’s worth taking him on once you’re ready though; you’ll be rewarded with a legendary weapon if you win.
Climb towers and activate synchronisation points
This is Assassin’s Creed after all — of course there are towers to climb! The synchronisation points don’t quite operate in the same way as previous games though; your map will reveal itself as you travel through it rather than needing to activate each area’s synchronisation points. That doesn’t mean they’re worth skipping over though — each sync point activated will become a fast travel point (very handy on a map as massive as this) and will also upgrade Senu’s abilities, allowing him to mark more detail when using Eagle Vision.
Break down weapons rather than selling them
Unless you desparately need some coinage, breaking down old pieces of equipment for their materials is probably much more worthwhile than selling them. Those materials are used for upgrading your base stats – as per the animal skins mentioned above – as well as your hidden blade, which is essential if you want to be able to assassinate higher level enemies.
Kill it with fire
See those large, red pots that are often dotted around enemy camps? Shoot one, and it’ll erupt in flames. It’s often worth being stealthy, and waiting until a group of enemies is in the same area, before firing an arrow into one of those pots and setting everyone alight. Equally though, be careful not to break one accidentally while you’re fighting near it. Bayek isn’t particularly flame-resistant, and it’ll kill him quickly.
Embrace your inner hunter
PETA might not like it, but in ancient Egypt, hunting the wildlife is your key to success. There’s a plethora of animals dotted around the map — hippos, lions, cheetahs, deer — and they can all be hunted for hide. You’ll use it to upgrade your neckplate and bracers, which improve your base damage and health stats.
Visit the Nomad’s Bazaar
Marked on your map by a blue diamond with an exclamation mark inside, the Nomad’s Bazaar is occupied by a young boy wanting to sell you expensive stuff. You can, if you want, buy his overpriced wares, but he also gives you timed quests to complete. It’s worth paying him a visit each day that you play Assassin’s Creed Origins. His missions are usually fairly straightforward – go to X and kill Y – but will reward you with rare loot. Just remember, once you’ve accepted one of his quests, you’ve only got the rest of that day to complete it.
