Current Events > AC Valhalla brings back social stealth, one hit kills with the hidden blade

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://kotaku.com/assassin-s-creed-valhalla-is-bringing-back-the-instakil-1843417623

Even the littlest details about the next game can be a big deal. For example, Ashraf Ismail, creative director for this falls Viking-themed Assassins Creed Valhalla, recently told me that this latest entry wont just bring back the series iconic hidden blade, but will once again make it lethal enough to regularly pull off one-hit kills.

If youre not an Assassins Creed devotee that might not sound like much. If you are, its a positive signal to the many fans whove been grumbling that the series has lost its way, despiteor perhaps, because ofthe popular success of recent releases. Dont worry, hes saying, they get it: Its once again time for new Assassins Creed games to not just be good, but to feel more like their classic predecessors.

We wanted to look at the old games and see the greatness that those games had and acknowledge whats great about the updated formula, Ismail told me. There was an identity and a uniqueness that we wanted to bring back for Valhalla.

Ismail is referring to a split among the dozen mainline Assassins Creed games, and among many people who enjoyed them. Some fans revere the so-called old formulathe original games starring Altair, Ezio, and the Kenways were focused, stealth-based action adventures featuring assassins in interesting historical eras.
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But even as Valhallas trailer and initial marketing points highlight the potency and aggression of an axe-swinging Viking, Ismails revelation about the hidden blade suggests that the more subtle approach may be returning to series vogue.

Eivor receives the hidden blade quite early on, Ismail told me, referring to Valhallas main character. We continue with the idea that Eivor is not a trained assassin. Eivor is a Viking who receives this badass weapon and has to learn very quickly. Early in the experience, Eivor will learn a technique that, with the right timing ... can one-shot-kill virtually anybody.

Make of this what you will
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thank fuck

the last few games were not assassin games in the slightest bit

neat

maybe Ill check out an AC game for the first time since 4

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I still want to be able to use recruits...

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Tbqh I've gotten used to not being able to one-hit characters who are multiple levels above me, and I think it makes sense within the framework of an rpg. It sounds like they aren't getting rid of that completely, just adding another facet that allows the player to use skill instead of just stats, which is cool.

I really miss social stealth though, so I hope they do bring it back. Blending into crowds as a stealth gameplay element is one of the unique things AC has been doing since way back, and it was really confusing to me when they dropped it completely.

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More details here
https://www.usgamer.net/articles/assassins-creed-valhalla-social-stealth-one-hit-assassination-same-sex-romance

Eivor is a big Viking warrior, so you'd think Valhalla would continue this trend, but that's not the case. Social stealth is back in the series! "Players will be in ninth century England, when Norse and Vikings were not welcome in many places. Going incognito is an efficient way to sneak through an area and not create unwanted noise. To do this, we are bringing back social stealth, the ability to manually use your hood, nearby people and situations to your advantage to blend into the crowd," an Ubisoft spokesperson tells USgamer.

That's a wonderful change, especially the manual toggle of your hood for stealth purposes. That's brand-new for the series; in previous games, your character always had their hood, or would put up their hood automatically in stealth situations. In Origins, changing your hood position offered no gameplay benefits. Now, it seems your hood will provide some degree of cover for your character.

Ubisoft Montreal is also adding other stealth options for Eivor, including the option to feign death. "Additionally, we have the return of the hidden blade, the hood and cloak, distraction capacity with your Raven Snin, feign death ability, and many other tools at your disposal, so stealth is a powerful option," says the studio.

Another major hit to stealth was the addition of RPG-style level progression and specialization in Assassin's Creed Origins. Players could no longer count on being able to assassinate a target, as the current gear might not be focused on stealth stats, or their target was simply a higher level. Apparently, there will be an option for one-shot assassinations, just like the good old days.

"There is a change in the system. Eivor is not a trained Assassin when the journey starts, so using the hidden blade will be unique and new for Eivor. But very quickly Eivor will learn a technique that with good timing, virtually any target can be taken out with a single shot," says Ubisoft.

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Social stealth is back.

Literally a fucking Viking.

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Good.

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But you can stealth in Origins.

Odyssey, no idea. Still haven't played it.
My 11 year old has beat it twice though. I haven't been in the mood to install it or play it on my ps4 yet.

I haven't played any of the newer games. Is the level stuff even fun, or just grindy? It always looked like just annoying padding from the videos I watched.

LeadPipeCinche posted...

But you can stealth in Origins.

Odyssey, no idea. Still haven't played it.
My 11 year old has beat it twice though. I haven't been in the mood to install it or play it on my ps4 yet.

not really.

Jabodie posted...

Social stealth is back.

Literally a fucking Viking.

lol. Yep

Im not liking the sound of a shooting hudden blade. All I see is the punisher shooting harry heck.

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LeadPipeCinche posted...

But you can stealth in Origins.

Odyssey, no idea. Still haven't played it.
My 11 year old has beat it twice though. I haven't been in the mood to install it or play it on my ps4 yet.

Some of the stealthy stuff has been taken out from Origins to Odyssey, like you can't poison dead bodies or make guards go berserk anymore, but I think it's still plenty viable.
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nemu posted...

I haven't played any of the newer games. Is the level stuff even fun, or just grindy? It always looked like just annoying padding from the videos I watched.

Well you can always buy that XP booster.

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nemu posted...

I haven't played any of the newer games. Is the level stuff even fun, or just grindy? It always looked like just annoying padding from the videos I watched.

I think it's mainly a way of keeping a massive world sort of manageable, limiting you to certain areas until your level is high enough.
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Antifar posted...

the original games starring Altair, Ezio, and the Kenways were focused, stealth-based action adventures featuring assassins in interesting historical eras.

lol were they though?

They were about as stealthy as hiding from cops in GTA 4/5.

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Darmik posted...

lol were they though?

They were about as stealthy as hiding from cops in GTA 4/5.

Yeah? You could play the whole game without alerting anyone until the game forces an alarm on you.

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The best thing I heard about this game is that it's not gonna be anywhere near the largest or biggest game in the series. Open world games with hundreds of hours of "content" mean I might be skipping over them because I may be busy with another long game. I appreciate shorter games nowadays.

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dave_is_slick posted...

Yeah? You could play the whole game without alerting anyone until the game forces an alarm on you.

Which one? Most of my memories of Assassin's Creed is assassinating a guy, running away until I can hide in a haystack or crowd until I'm left alone. Hell I'm playing Rogue right now and it's the same thing.

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lol at believing anything a developer says

they won't even show gameplay footage

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Darmik posted...

Which one? Most of my memories of Assassin's Creed is assassinating a guy, running away until I can hide in a haystack or crowd until I'm left alone. Hell I'm playing Rogue right now and it's the same thing.

2, Brotherhood, Revelations, 3, Syndicate...

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dave_is_slick posted...

2, Brotherhood, Revelations, 3, Syndicate...

I've played all those but Syndicate and I don't really consider them stealth games. The Arkham Asylum games have more stealth mechanics and I don't really consider those stealth games either.

Like you can't even hide bodies or actually creep around in AC. There isn't even a crouch button. You basically sprint between areas that 'hide' you like crowds or hay stacks (or just run above everyone on rooftops) and wait for guard alert meters to cool down until you reach the target who is generally always in a public place. Then you kill them which often raises an alert and you run away and hide until the alert meter cools down again. Sometimes you can avoid that final alert by killing them near a haystack but not always. The most efficient way to play the game is to basically run around and kill guards one by one so there's less to deal with later.

I clicked into a random mission on the IGN guide for 2 and sure enough the end has you fighting a whole bunch of guys.

https://www.ign.com/wikis/assassins-creed-2/Sequence_04:_The_Pazzi_Conspiracy

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Antifar posted...

Some of the stealthy stuff has been taken out from Origins to Odyssey, like you can't poison dead bodies or make guards go berserk anymore, but I think it's still plenty viable.

Why worry about that when you can just make bodies disappear into the air when you assassinate them /s

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1) Assassinate target
2) Blend in with group of wandering viking monks
3) ???
4) Profit

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Darmik posted...

Like you can't even hide bodies or actually creep around in AC. There isn't even a crouch button.

You can do both of those things, at least in Origins/Odyssey
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We shouldn't be having Social Stealth during these times!

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"As a Viking warlord, you can blend into these English peasants by putting your hood up!"

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Smart of them to not make the whole setting in Viking territory. Vikings had a dichotomy of hygiene; they placed great value in personal hygiene, but slept in the same room with their farm animals.

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Antifar posted...

You can do both of those things, at least in Origins/Odyssey

The quote I'm poking fun at was talking about the older games lol.

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DarthAragorn posted...

thank fuck

the last few games were not assassin games in the slightest bit

Agreed, they were better.

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Talk2DaHand posted...

Agreed, they were better.

No. They weren't bad but if they didn't include the AC title I would have thought it was a new IP

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Darmik posted...

The quote I'm poking fun at was talking about the older games lol.

Tbh, the older games can sorta be stealthy games if you commit to doing so. But you really don't have to.

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