Combat System#

Basic Combat Controls#

The Attack System in Detail#

Light Attacks#

• Standard attacks for ordinary soldiers and animals

Heavy Attacks#

• First charge level: damage +50%, with a knockback effect
• Second charge level: damage +100%, with a knockdown effect

Charge#

• Use it to quickly close the distance on ranged enemies

Spartan Kick#

The Spartan Kick is the most iconic crowd-control skill in Assassin’s Creed Origins — a single kick sends enemies flying several meters.

• Use it up close to interrupt enemy attacks and stagger them.
• Kick enemies toward cliffs, rooftop edges, or fire braziers to trigger environmental kills.
• Ineffective against shield carriers — break their shield first, or stun them with a shield charge before kicking.
• After the skill upgrade, enemies you kick into their comrades knock them down as well.
• Elite guards in an unflinching (super-armor) state are immune to knockback — don’t waste kicks on them.

Combo Flow#

1. Chain light attacks to build Adrenaline, weaving in heavy attacks to grind down enemy health.
2. After a heavy attack recovers, follow with a Spartan Kick to boot low-health enemies off cliffs.
3. When an enemy blocks, use a shield charge to break their guard, then chain light attacks.
4. Once an enemy is staggered, switch to a heavy weapon and finish with a charged heavy attack.

The Defense System#

Shield Block#

Hold the block button to shield against frontal attacks. The ordinary shields you get early on only reduce the damage of blocked attacks, but the effect is limited — a perfectly timed block deflects the enemy’s attack completely and leaves them wide open

Hold block to meet frontal attacks with your shield. Basic shields reduce damage, but precise blocking timing deflects attacks entirely and exposes the enemy.

• Regular block: reduces damage by 60%

• Shield quality affects blocking effectiveness

• Regular block: provides 60% damage reduction

• Perfect block (QTE): full deflection, parry

Dodge#

Dodging is the most practical defensive tool in the game. A dodge grants brief invincibility frames (about 0.3 seconds) that can avoid almost every attack

• Side dodge: lateral movement, the most common choice

• Consecutive dodges: the second dodge covers less distance

• Watch the enemy’s attack wind-up before dodging

• Don’t dodge more than twice in a row (recovery stacks up)

• Dodging behind an enemy gives you a safe window to attack

• Dodge early against heavy attacks

Parry#

Use a heavy attack at the exact moment an enemy attacks to parry. A successful parry breaks the enemy’s balance and creates an execution opening

Riposte with a heavy strike the instant the enemy attacks. A successful riposte shatters their balance and creates an execution opportunity.

• Regular soldiers: every attack can be parried

• Elite soldiers: some attacks can be parried (telegraphed)

• Animals: cannot be parried

• Regular soldiers: all attacks are parryable

Enemy Types and How to Handle Them#

Knowing the enemy types is how you pick the right weapons and tactics.

Priority thinking: against mixed formations, deal with high-threat targets like archers and chariots first, then shield-bearers, and leave regular soldiers for last. Save heavy infantry and elite guards for the end and finish them quickly with a full bar of Adrenaline skills.

The Adrenaline System#

How Adrenaline Builds#

Adrenaline Skills#

Recommended Combat Skills#

Skill order advice: early on, pick Shield Charge and Chain Assassination first to raise melee survivability and group-fight capability at the same time. Add Overpower and War Cry in the mid-game for a big jump in outpost-clearing efficiency. Save Beast Taming for later as a low-effort way to clear low-level camps.

Using Tools#

Support tools you can use in combat

Darts#

Bombs#

Special Bow Arrows#

Combat Strategies#

1 vs 1 Fights#

4. Use heavy attacks to break shields

1 vs Many Fights#

1. Use Senu to mark every enemy before the fight

2. Deal with distant enemies with the bow first

3. Use the Spartan Kick to create space

4. Use Senu to mark every enemy before the fight

5. Use the bow to eliminate ranged enemies first

6. Use the Spartan Kick to create space

Fighting Above Your Level#

2. Use poison
3. Use dodge i-frames effectively

Arena Fights#

3. Use the fire basins and oil tanks in the scene

4. Use the braziers and oil jars in the scene

5. The best place to practice real combat

Weapon Types and Combat Styles#

Weapon Perks and Selection#

Gear selection thinking: through the early and mid game, prioritize attack and health perks to keep offense and survivability balanced. Once your damage is online later, stack critical chance and fire chance — heavy weapons with fire perks clear packs extremely fast. Note that perk values scale with gear level, so always swap in higher-level replacements when you can.

Weapon-Swapping Strategy#

• Regular swords handle most trash mobs — balanced on offense and defense, fits any situation.
• Against heavy armor and shield-bearers, switch to heavy weapons and break guard with charged heavies.
• Open group fights by strafing with a light bow to grind down health, then harvest in melee.
• Keep a backup attribute in each weapon slot — one fire, one poison — and swap according to enemy resistances.

Advanced Techniques#

1. Cancel recovery: attack recovery can be canceled with a dodge
2. Terrain kills: exploit fire braziers, oil jars, cliffs, and other environmental elements
3. Weapon-swap reset: switching weapons mid-fight resets your attack animation
4. Shield charge breakout: use a shield charge to break out when surrounded
5. Arrow recovery: some arrows can be recovered after a fight
6. Beast taming: the Warrior branch lets you tame predators to fight alongside you
7. Time control: sneak at night — enemy vision ranges shrink
8. Buff stacking: multiple buff effects can stack

Combo Demonstrations#

Clear-out combo: charged heavy breaks the shield → light attack chain → Overpower finish. Ideal against a single elite.

Group-fight combo: smoke bomb to disengage → Chain Assassination executions → Spartan Kick the stragglers away. Ideal for clearing outposts.

Overlevel combo: poison dart applies poison → open the distance → light bow for chip damage. Ideal against higher-level enemies.

Kiting combo: shoot from horseback → open the distance → dismount for a charged heavy. Ideal for open-field encounters.

Environmental combo: shield charge an enemy into a brazier → ignite them → fire bomb to keep them burning. Ideal for enclosed spaces.

Execution combo: land a parry → enemy staggers → heavy weapon charged finisher. Ideal for one-on-one duels.

High-Difficulty Strategies#

1. Levels first: level compression is severe on high difficulty — stay even with each quest’s recommended level as much as possible.
2. Keep consumables stocked: carry bandages and potions, and if your health drops below half mid-fight, disengage and heal immediately.
3. Use poison and fire well: poison and burning damage over time is unaffected by level compression — the key to fighting above your level.
4. Assassinate first: clear half of an outpost’s enemies with Chain Assassination before going loud, and frontal pressure is halved.
5. Don’t overcommit: enemies have large health pools — swing two or three times, dodge out, and play it steady.
6. Fill your bar before engaging: make sure Adrenaline is full before entering an outpost, and open with Overpower to establish an advantage.
7. Use your mount: against high-level patrols in the open field, mount up and kite them down one by one.

Explore more in our Assassin’s Creed Origins hub.