Home Strategy Top 5 reasons you die in Assassin’s Creed Revelations

While I’ve certainly had my fun making jokes at the expense of my would-be pursuers, I understand that’s not wholly constructive. After all, I can’t personally grow as a mass murderer if my opposition never poses a challenge.

I am left with no option but to instruct my victims in the error of their ways.

No, dear readers, I do not have any inborn Templar Vision. But there are a few means by which I can most certainly discern your true identity. That’s the part where I kill you; therefore, it is the part you must immediately prevent.

 

#5: You’re not the first duplicate in a moving crowd

If you have the Blender perk or you’re relying on a duplicate in a moving crowd to protect you, that’s all well and good, but there’s something you need to consider. While you can blend into a stampede of NPCs with relative ease, you cannot be the first person in the group in most cases. Hell, just due to the way blending works, your persona will automatically assume a spot in the middle or the end of the blob of virtual meat. So if I see one Guardian leading the pack and another straggling in the penultimate spot, I’m gutting the latter.

Is this foolproof? Of course not. And when possible, I prefer to validate my decision with a line of sight check or some other test. But if there’s no time or I fear I may be exposed any second, guessing “the persona that’s closer to the rear of the train” is usually the case.

What can you do to avoid this situation?

  • Don’t blend into groups where your double is leading the pack
  • Once blended into a moving group, hold Fast Walk to slowly creep near the front

In an ideal scenario, you’ll want to power walk into a position adjacent to your double, making line of sight tests harder on you. But getting slightly ahead of your doppelganger can be effective, since it throws off players like me who always bet on culling the slower sibling when necessary.

 

#4: You didn’t give NPCs personal space in a static crowd

The universe has a natural order to it: bees build honeycombs in hexagons, rock always loses to paper, and subatomic particles can’t be measured in a deterministic manner. You know, obvious shit. So it should come of no surprise that in a virtual world* things are even more patterned.

If you look at NPC clusters in Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, you’ll notice they’re usually spread very evenly. Groups of three often form equilateral triangles. Squads of four tend to create rhombuses. Packs of five always create pentagrams, then proceed with Devil worshipping rituals. Natural order.

So when I approach a group and see that one of the three Knights therein is rubbing shoulders with a Thespian, I get suspicious. In most cases, the character who isn’t spaced equidistant from his or her fellow Templar is the target.

What can you do to avoid this situation?

  • Occupy open “spaces” in a static group to create an even distribution
  • Gentle push or shove (high profile push) an NPC out of the way
  • Stun an NPC (evaporating it) and take its place

Obviously, the final option is drastic and should never be employed if you suspect your pursuer is withing eyesight of you. Listen for whispers and make your move when it sounds safe, or when you have no pursuers.

 

#3: You gave yourself away too soon

Look, as good as I am at Revelations, I’m not psychic. And even when I’m 90% certain I know who you are and how I want to end your pitiful life, I still have doubts. I still want to be more sure. And that requires more time: time to test your identity via line of sight, time for a skill like Firecrackers to recharge, or time for the Detection Meter to fill so I can get a larger bonus for severing your spine. Point is, there is plenty of room for me to make a mistake that could cost me my points, my contract, and my consciousness.

But in most instances, players give themselves away. Sometimes, they hear whispers and crack under pressure, making a mad dash right into my waiting blade. Other times, they’re wholly ignorance of my presence, and do something dumb like taunt another player or adjust their persona’s position temporarily. If they had waited, they might have thrown me off or had time to use an ability against me. Instead, they’re discovering just how painful per-anesthetic surgery was.

What can you do to avoid this situation?

  • If you hear whispers, identify your pursuer before choosing a next step
  • If you can stun him/her, do so as soon as possible
  • If you can make it to a chase breaker before him/her, do so immediately
  • If you can’t do either, just hope they mess up or go for an honorable death

What you choose will ultimately depend on your likelihood of success for each scenario, in descending order. A stun is the best scenario, since it’s guaranteed points and one fewer pursuer. Forcing a chase is good since it buys you time, breathing room, and the chance of extra points. A lure is great, but it’s a gamble, whereas an honorable death/contested kill is guaranteed points in exchange for your demise. But all of these options are predicated by the assumption you can guess who your killer is in time.

 

#2: You are the fucking Gamestop Harlequin

Honestly, I don’t care if it’s an NPC or not. If I see a jester approaching me, I’m just going to stun it. If it’s an AI, I guess I’m going to pay the price. 90% of the time, however, it isn’t an NPC. It’s someone who’s not only willing to give Gamestop money, he/she is willing to brandish that fact online. Such players will not be tolerated and will be stunned on sight.

What can you do to avoid this situation?

  • Do not, under any circumstances, give money to Gamestop
  • If you accidentally give Gamestop money, don’t play as the Harlequin

There are some scenarios whereby you could end up playing as the Harlequin even though you never funneled poisoned money into Gamestop’s coffers. Perhaps you’re playing at a friend’s house, or you’re on a Manhunt team and the captain chose the jester. In both scenarios, your best option is to turn off your console and throw your controller into your television.

 

#1: You’re just strolling around by yourself, dumbass

While it’s by far the most obvious cause of death, it’s also the most common. How did I know you were my target? Maybe it’s because you jumped off a fucking building into a bale of hay right in front of me. That might work on NPCs in the single player storyline, but in real life, suicidal parkour is primo suspicious behavior.

But being in high profile isn’t always what seals your fate. If you’re walking down a road in the opposite direction of all the other personas, you’re a dead giveaway. If you’re circling a building trying to find a spot to climb, you’re a dead giveaway. If you’re the only character turning a corner and my line of sight meter is lighting up like a pothead on April 20, you’re a dead fucking giveaway.

What can you do to avoid this situation?

  • Blend into groups whenever possible
  • Do not walk around corners/through chase breakers when you hear whispers

The fact of the matter is that you will need to fly solo at certain parts of the match to achieve your goals. That’s fine. But those moments should be minimized to the bare essentials. You may not hear whispers, but that doesn’t mean I’m not on a ledge 100 meters away locking onto you with my gun. You may be surrounded by doubles, but if you’re far enough from them that the radar betrays your identity from 25 meters, you are doomed.

It’s simple, really: when you have pursuers, always assume a pursuer could be watching you. And if that pursuer is me, always assume your Will and Testament could use a few last-minute revisions.

If you’ve found this article helpful, check out my other Assassin’s Creed Revelations articles.

* Or a doubly-virtual world, as is the case of a simulation within a video game.

24 replies to this post
  1. I’ve noticed you can lead a pack of moving NPCs in ACR now. Once you get up to the front, stop moving, and you’re the new leader. Fuck the NPCs who didn’t vote for you as their leader.

    You touched on it on your last tip, but it still amazes me how many morons fiddle on the roof. Some people are so into it as soon as I get them as a target, I look up. Lo and behold, there they are.

    I would think it would be even harder to find your target in Deathmatch if you’re up there. On Rome and Venice, for example, if you get up on those small tent roofs the whole fucking map is in your line of sight. And you’re a lightning rod for anyone who is looking to kill you.

    If you do manage to find your target while you’re up there and you happen to live long enough to jump down and go after them, you’ll be in high profile the whole time you’re jumping down to get them. Enjoy your 150 point kill.

    TL;DR Get the fuck off the roof.

      • To be fair, going on the roof has a few purposes. 1: to get aerial/acrobatic/variety bonuses. 2: to avoid smoke bombs. 3. to lure a pursuer into a chase.

      • Right. I’m not saying I never go on the roof. It’s just the easiest way to be spotted.

      • It’s situational really, if you’re playing deathmatch and your target is an ass waiting for you on the roof, then you’re better of going after him, after you, with luck, stunned your pursuer

    • It depends how high the roof is. If it’s a lower one, I’ll hurry and go up and get a quick kill and get back down.

      If it’s a higher one, I usually play defense and wait for them to drop down.

      I hate killing a civilian to get a new target. Just the thought of giving them 100 points for doing nothing but hanging out up there bothers me.

      • They only get a Lure if you are within close radius (full radar). If you kill a civilian from half a mile away, they won’t get a lure, just a “your pursuer killed a civilian” notification.

        Also I have to say I was surprised to see Ledge Grab bonuses are +450 points! More than Incognito! I think that’s Ubisoft’s way of rewarding people able to sneak up on roofers.

      • Oh yes, Ledge Grab. That Variety-Ledge-Inco-Savior kill catapulting me 4 ranks ahead against a lvl 44 guy was hilarious.
        Basically, it’s to punish people being on the edge to spot targets, yet not actually looking.
        IS GUD!

    • I feel roofing gets bashed way to much.
      I often find my self in first place and I will go onto the roof for a few reasons.
      -Easier to spot pursuers.
      – Faster to get near your target.
      – If you get killed it will most likely be for a smaller number of points
      – Causes your enemies to be frustrated.

      I am not advocating roofing and getting kills while roofing. But as a safe and faster way to get to your target. Also if you are running a more combat oriented build like smoke/mute you bring your pursuers where you have an edge.

  2. I didn’t know that about Lures, thanks. Does it give you a “contract lost?”

    I feel Grab Kills are hard to get. My character doesn’t stop at the ledge, they just keep going up on the roof. Maybe I just suck at climbing.

    • I believe lures also only occur when you kill the SAME PERSONA as your target, so even if you’re close but kill another persona they won’t get a lure.

      And yeh I love the new Ledge Kills as well, but do note that you can’t do them for ‘short roofs’ such as the ones in Venice.

      Extra tip on avoiding deaths:

      1. ALWAYS look around (up, down, front, back, left, right) especially when you hear whispers. One think Deathmatch has improved my play is that because the map is so small with many tight spaces I know which way to look and can quickly peer around a corner before I get to it. It’s great for developing camera-control skills.

      2. Use walls and corners to your advantage. Building on the last point, you can hide around walls/corners (while seeing behind/around them) and surprise your pursuers (or targets) with a quick stun. This trick is even more useful for Simple Deathmatch as there are no abilities. Many times I have lured a pursuer around a corner and stunned them by surprise.

      3. In Deathmatch, always try to stay on the edges of the map when possible, especially when you have multiple pursuers. It makes it a lot easier to spot pursuers and targets while making it hard for them to spot you. You can rest safe knowing that nobody will be able to sneak up on you because there is nothing behind you.

  3. I find it good how this is one of the only games where lag is a valid excuse. It’s still rage inducing WHEN YOU GET STUNNED OUT OF YOUR KILL ANIMATION ON THAT TARGET. Because it is so obvious when you are lagging. Never got an honorable death, but the Drunkard Accolade in that session.

    On the other hand, they often taunt then, and more than half the times when there’s another pursuer on them, THEM are right behind them and will KARMA them for taunting.

    Also, another loved reason to die is not using your abilites. It’s a 50 second cooldown, ffs. USE IT.
    Nearly all of the times where I have blended into a group with just one dupe and then used disguise, it threw off my pursuers completely. Maybe it’s the stress of getting close to your target when they don’t check if that persona is really me. Guess what, IT IS NOT ME. Please eat my fist now. Thanks.
    Disguise is even more powerful in Deathmatch. As from my observations, it always transforms you into one of the innocent personas, which will at least confuse your pursuers about which one of the 50’000 is you now. And make them terribly vulnerable to stuff like Bodyguard, Decoy or Blender (Does that work in Deathmatch?)

    Or climb up a roof when your pursuer can’t magically warp 50 feet towards you with the power of lag, then drop a little spycrab…no wait, a bomb. Then laugh as they gave it just enough time to arm when they wanted to do an incognito. Then bury your fist in their teeth.

    Will #2 still apply if there will be the required free DLC (at least for PC) that unlocks the Harlequin like in Brotherhood?
    Until then, I hearts my Doc. Apart from the fact that it is terribly obvious in the mass of dirt colored Personas. Need TTT on how your persona is always least represented in a 40 yard radius around you (I actually saw some of my NPCs morphing from my persona to another just when I approached.)

    • If you use Blender in Deathmatch (yes, it works), just keep in mind that blending while disguised will create a dupe of the disguised persona, not of your default character.

  4. Does Blender only work on one NPC at a time? For example, if you get into a group and Blender creates a double for you, will it change back as soon as you blend into a different group?

  5. I stopped playing Brotherhood multiplayer due to frustration. It seemed that about a third of my games, one idiot would end up getting an early lead and then just run around on the roofs for the rest of the game. Because he was in the lead, he brought three people up on the roofs with him (they usually didn’t know how to deal with roofrunners short of becoming one himself), which meant at least half the players in the match were on the roofs, usually more.

    Does that still happen in this one, or did some of the changes do stuff to prevent it?

    • It still happens BUT Ubisoft buffed Knives and the Gun, and made the point structure much more rewarding for people who aren’t on the roof. In other words, this still happens, but those idiots won’t win because they can’t get kills worth more than 150 points.

    • Getting the lead and roofing to starve 2nd and 3rd place of points is a valid strategy. You need to adapt to that.
      One way to adapt is to swap to your X2 loss streak and poison class. You can always kill another target the minute you are assigned the roofer to get another.
      -Maniacmadmax

  6. I only counterpoints to numbers 1 and 2.

    For 2, I find the Renegade is an even larger “look at me, I’m your pursuer” sign because the fast walk animation makes it even MORE obvious that you are. In two straight matches with a level 49 Renegade, he always used fast walk, never killed me once and never noticed that I was walking alone, contrary to most defensive strategies, to specifically to weed him out, Needless to say, I smoke bombed/stunned him every single time.

    Leading on to point 1, as I said above, I weeded this guy just be walking alone and picking up on his tells. Sometimes walking alone can do that.

  7. Also…Dont play the Renegade…He has the crabwalking fast-walk animation…It basically puts a big “Hey come get yer free points” sign over your head

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