Mastering the Seas: Naval Boarding Strategies in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Naval combat in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is not merely about sinking enemy ships; it is a dance of strategy, timing, and brutal efficiency. While raining arrows and javelins upon adversaries from a distance is effective, there are moments when closing the gap and boarding an enemy vessel becomes the most rewarding tactic. Naval boarding offers substantial rewards—extra resources, drachmae, and morale boosts for your crew—but it also demands careful planning and execution. This guide delves into the strategies and combat techniques essential for mastering naval boarding.
Why Board? The Rewards and Risks
Boarding an enemy ship is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. Successfully clearing a deck grants you and your crew additional resources, including wood, ore, and drachmae, which are crucial for upgrading the Adrestia, your trusty trireme. Moreover, it instantly restores a portion of your ship’s health, making it a tactical move when you’re heavily damaged and unable to disengage. However, boarding leaves you vulnerable to attacks from other ships in the area. If multiple enemies are nearby, they will continue to fire upon you while you are engaged in melee combat on the deck.
Preparing for Boarding: Setting the Stage
-
Weaken the Target: Do not rush headlong into an enemy ship at full health. Use your ranged weapons—arrows, javelins, and fire braziers—to whittle down the enemy’s health bar. Ideally, reduce their health to below 50% before initiating boarding. This ensures that the ensuing combat is shorter and your crew faces less resistance.
-
Clear the Surroundings: If you are in a region with multiple hostile ships, such as in a nation’s fortified waters or a pirate ambush, eliminate weaker vessels first. Use hit-and-run tactics to isolate your target. Sinking smaller ships quickly reduces the number of enemies that can interrupt your boarding action.
-
Positioning is Key: Approach the enemy ship from its broadside. This minimizes the damage you take from their ram and allows you to unleash a full volley of arrows or javelins before closing in. Use the wind to your advantage to maneuver quickly and avoid taking unnecessary hits.
Initiating the Boarding
Once you have weakened the target and positioned yourself appropriately, sail close to the enemy ship until the boarding prompt appears. Timing is critical: initiate boarding immediately after firing a volley to maximize damage output before transitioning to melee.
Combat on Deck: Phases and Tactics
Naval boarding combat occurs in waves. Typically, you will face two to three waves of enemies, with each wave increasing in difficulty. The final wave often includes the enemy captain, a tougher opponent with higher health and damage.
1. First Wave: The Grunts The initial wave consists of standard sailors and soldiers. These enemies are relatively weak but can overwhelm you with numbers. Use area-of-effect (AoE) abilities to clear them quickly:
- Ring of Chaos: This ability is invaluable for knocking multiple enemies off balance, creating space and interrupting their attacks.
- Sparta Kick: While not lethal to higher-level enemies, it can instantly throw weaker foes overboard, reducing the number of combatants swiftly.
Focus on dodging and parrying. Enemy attacks are telegraphed, and a well-timed parry can create openings for counterattacks. Use light attacks to build adrenaline and then unleash powerful abilities.
2. Second Wave: Veterans and Archers The second wave introduces more robust melee fighters and archers. Prioritize the archers first, as they can deal significant damage from a distance. Use the ship’s environment—masts, rails, and crates—as cover to avoid arrows.
Abilities like Shadow of Nyx can be useful for temporarily breaking line-of-sight and repositioning. Alternatively, Bull Rush can close the gap quickly on archers, disrupting their attacks.
3. Final Wave: The Captain and Elites The captain, often accompanied by two or three elite bodyguards, represents the toughest challenge. These enemies have higher health, deal more damage, and are more aggressive. Do not attempt to engage them all at once; use hit-and-run tactics.
- Hero Strike: This ability is exceptionally effective against single targets, dealing massive damage while making you briefly invulnerable during the animation.
- Overpower Attacks: Use these to break through the captain’s guard and stagger them, creating opportunities for combo attacks.
If you are playing as Kassandra, consider using Poseidon’s Trident or other legendary weapons with perks that enhance warrior damage or critical chance. For Alexios, weapons like the Minotaur’s Labrys can be devastating.
Crew Management and Upgrades
Your crew’s effectiveness during boarding is influenced by their morale and your ship’s upgrades. Recruiting legendary lieutenants through story missions or by defeating mercenaries significantly boosts your crew’s combat performance. Each lieutenant provides unique perks, such as increased melee damage, fire resistance, or health regeneration during boarding.
Upgrade the Adrestia’s hull to increase your crew’s health and damage during boarding actions. The Mercenary Hull upgrades, in particular, offer substantial bonuses to boarding efficiency.
Advanced Tactics: Combining Abilities and Environment
-
Fire and Chaos: If you have set the enemy ship on fire before boarding, the deck will be periodically engulfed in flames. Use this to your advantage by luring enemies into fire patches, which cause continuous damage.
-
Throwbacks: The Spartan Kick and other knockback abilities can instantly eliminate enemies by throwing them overboard. This is especially useful against powerful foes like captains, though higher-level enemies may resist being kicked off easily.
-
Adrenaline Management: Ensure you have at least one full adrenaline segment before boarding. This allows you to open the combat with a powerful ability, such as Ring of Chaos or Hero Strike, gaining an immediate advantage.
Handling Multiple Boardings
In rare cases, you may board one ship while another enemy vessel closes in. If this happens, focus on ending the current boarding action as quickly as possible. Use overpower attacks and abilities to clear waves rapidly. If you are overwhelmed, remember that you can abort the boarding by running to the edge of the deck and pressing the prompt to return to the Adrestia. This is a last resort, as you will forfeit the rewards, but it may save your ship from being sunk.
Conclusion: Becoming a Master of the Aegean
Naval boarding in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a thrilling and strategic element that rewards boldness and skill. By weakening enemies beforehand, managing your abilities wisely, and leveraging your crew’s strengths, you can turn every boarding action into a decisive victory. Not only does this approach yield rich resources, but it also embodies the spirit of a true mercenary—adaptable, ruthless, and always in control of the battle. So set sail, captain, and may the winds favor your conquests across the Aegean Sea.
