Ubisoft is back with another entry in the legendary Assassin’s Creed franchise after three years with Assassin’s Creed Mirage. It’s comparatively smaller in size; however, you may feel overwhelmed in the bustling city of 9th-century Baghdad as the game features some striking dissimilarities from the previous ones.
But no worries, we have compiled an assortment of the most useful tips and tricks for beginners to Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
1. Less Fighting, More Hiding
If you are a beginner or if you have only played the recent Assassin’s Creed games, you may find yourself in trouble if you don’t adapt. Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla focused a lot more on RPG combat than the older titles and this time, Ubisoft has decided to go back to the old ways.
Your focus should be stealth. Unless it’s very necessary, you should avoid head-on fights and rather take down your enemies via assassination. Note that assassination is only available when you have not been spotted and hence, you should try to be as silent as possible. Not only it’s easy for Basim to get outnumbered, but you also deal significantly less damage and die in just a few hits.
2. Synchronize Viewpoints
In and around the city of Baghdad, the tallest structures are the viewpoints. Upon climbing those structures, you can synchronize with the viewpoint which will reveal the area on the map and mark nearby objectives. It will also reveal other viewpoints, and those will serve as fast travel spots making it easier to travel around Baghdad later in the game.
3. Get An Advantage By Completing Contracts
Contracts are short side quests, which you are able to accept through the Contracts Board present in Harbiyah Bureau. These contracts are not just there as a checklist, they also benefit your gameplay and give rewards upon fulfilling the task required. They often have one extra condition that you may fulfill to reap bonus rewards.
We advise you to accept all the contracts and complete them whenever you like later in the game, however, there are two quests that you should do as soon as possible:
- The Satiric Poet: It’s a simple escort mission, which should not be a problem to complete. As a reward, you will get the Rostam Dagger. With Rostam Dagger, the damage you deal with throwing knives at your enemies increases significantly, which helps a lot.
- The Boat Heist: As the name suggests, you are tasked to steal a boat from a canal while dealing with guards. Upon completion, you will be awarded two Merchant Tokens, which are really helpful for the “Jailbreak” mission.
4. Your Eagle Friend Is Really A Helpful Friend
In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, you are paired with an Eagle named Enkidu. With your friend, you get a bird’s eye view of the area. This essentially acts as a recon for Basim, enabling you to gather a lot of information before starting out on a mission. Enkidu can tag the enemies, survey the surroundings to help you decide the optimal route rather than going straight through the front entrance, and later also highlight keys and secret locations.
5. You Can Reset Your Skill Tree
If you find yourself in a position where you feel like trying different playstyles, and for that you need some skills upgraded, don’t worry. You can reset the skill tree from the skill menu by selecting the button prompt in the bottom right corner. You will get the full refund for your skill points barring the ones spent on Extra tool capacity unlocks.
6. Make A Habit To Collect Favor Tokens
In the dense city of Baghdad, there are two ways you can collect Favor Tokes:
- Pickpocketing: Find potential targets, pick their pockets, and enjoy your favor tokens. Don’t forget to use your eagle to find more targets.
- Contract missions: Completing contract missions will reward you favor tokens, however, this is a more time-consuming way.
But you may ask, what can you do with these tokens? Well, these tokens are a special currency that you can spend on NPCs to get a favor from them. There are three types favor tokens and corresponding to them are three types of NPCs: merchants, mercenaries, and musicians. Merchants will offer you a better deal, mercenaries will attack opponents alongside you, and the musicians will distract enemy guards.
7. The Best Tools To Unlock
There are six different tools that you can unlock and upgrade throughout the game. While throwing knives and torch are available automatically, you need to unlock smoke bombs, blowdarts, noisemakers, and traps through materials and currency. There is no rush to unlock all of these tools, rather you should upgrade only a few that suit your playing style.
One nice tool to have in your inventory is the Blowdart. It is among one of the only few tools that help you in combat by taking out enemies from a distance. Use these blowdarts on strong enemies, making them easier to kill.
8. Don’t Forget To Use Photo Mode
Photo mode gives you a wider view of the scenario. You can activate the Photo Mode by pressing the “F3” key on PCs and pressing both thumbsticks on consoles. It is even accessible while controlling Enkidu, helping you with an even wider bird’s eye view.
Note: Use the photo mode to find the solutions to the Enigma puzzles. In these puzzles, you have to find a specific location by an incomplete drawing, and the photo mode comes in clutch.
9. Take Care Of Your Notoriety
Assassin’s Creed Mirage features a three-stage wanted level akin to Grand Theft Auto games. Whenever you commit crimes in front of civilians, your notoriety level increases causing a lot of trouble. If you linger around crowded areas for a long time while having notoriety, the guards will start to notice and may become hostile towards you. You may also find trouble navigating as your enemies hunt you down.
Make sure to lessen your notoriety by taking down the wanted posters that pop around the city to live safer. Also, as long as you don’t steal and kill publicly, you can wander around without worrying about your notoriety.
10. Get Your Defense Correct
This might be a player-specific tip, but you may find yourself struggling to ward off enemy attacks. This could be happening because you let go of the button immediately after you press it. If you do this, you will end up taking damage even after timing your parry perfectly. Instead, hold down the parry button until the enemy has finished their attack.
These are it! The most helpful tips for beginners to play the all-new Assassin’s Creed Mirage. We hope with our tips & tricks, you have a wonderful time delving into Baghdad as Basim.
