Eagle's Bruise
Welcome one and welcome all to Assassins Creed II: Eagle's Bruise! The game is simple, your only weapons are your limbs.
Back in August I decided to try beating Assassins Creed without any weapons, and to my surprise, it actually worked. And I loved it so much, I thought that I'd do it again. So here we go, new character, new fight system, new game.
For those who haven't seen the original Eagle's Bruise on ac-maps, here's basically what the old combat system consisted of:
Part 1: Speed
Obviously, Altair's best attribute in Assassins Creed is his speed and acceleration. His speed is what will help me dodge attacks and maneuver between enemies to land strikes. Dodging attacks works like this: Because I have nothing to block with I will have to unlock from the fighting stance and sprint a few feet away from the attack, then lock again, then start throwing punches again. I must repeat this process a lot for dodging attacks, but its necessary in order to execute this fighting style perfectly. So speed and acceleration are necessary for defense in this combat system, but what about the offense?
Part 2: Strength
Anyone who has taken on hordes of knife thugs (a guilty pleasure of mine) has discovered that Altair has tremendous punching power. This striking ability allows me to unleash a flurry of quick punches or unleash a powerful knockout uppercut if the enemy drops his guard. But Altair's strength isn't just limited to his punches, there's also the grapple throw. Another common guilty pleasure of avid Assassins Creed players is taking the fight to the rooftops and throwing all your enemies onto the streets below. I won't do this very often, but it will come in handy occasionally when I need a quick disposal of an enemy. Grapple throws are also very important as they link to the next topic "Isolation Techniques."
Part 3: Isolation Techniques
Anyone who has ever played Mirrors Edge knows that the combat system requires you to pick off your enemies one by one. Thats also the idea with the combat system I've devised. Because of the amount of damage the strikes do and the lack of a blocking ability, I need to take down my enemies one by one in order to come out of a fight alive and kicking (or punching, rather). The grapple throw is key in this part because it will allow outside interference from attacking soldiers to be cut off while I focus on one enemy. And in the event that I can't use the grapple throw or grapple counter, I can always delock and leap out of harms way quickly, then resume.
AC2 made a lot of revisions to this strategy, and it caused me to rewrite some of the basic elements. So here's basically what the new technique looks like.
Part 1: Speed
Ezio is ridiculously fast and quick on his feet, and his speed is what is necessary for dodging attacks. Now I could just hold down RT and block everything coming my way, but that certainly isn't any fun. So I'll limit myself to quickstepping away from enemy attacks. Any attacks that come my way that I can't evade, I'm gonna have to take them head on. That's the way it works in the real world, that's the way it works in Eagle's Bruise. In addition to being quick with his feet, Ezio is also quick with his hands, which is why I will also be disarming some enemies so that they'll be wide open for an attack (although I think I'll limit this to Seekers and when there are 2+ Brutes). Anyway, quickstepping, disarming, and sanding will be essential for opening up opportunities for attacking enemies, which leads to the next part.
Part 2: Strength
In addition to being lightning quick, Ezio is also very strong. His punches can deal out a lot of damage even without the metal cestus, and his strength is what I'll rely on for combo kills. Ezio is strong and fast enough to deal out a flurry of damaging punches so that a combo kill can easily be obtained. He's also strong enough to grab enemies by the throat and either put them in a clinch or throw them around like a rag doll. In addition, Ezio can throw sand to blind an enemy and then quickly move in for an auto-combo kill (great for quickly dispatching rooftop guards). So that's speed and strength covered, lets examine technique.
Part 3: Isolation Technique
Technique for Eagle's Bruise really hasn't changed all that much since the first game. The principle is still to pick off enemies one by one so that you have less annoyances to deal with later. It also appears that in large fights guards will allow you to finish fighting one individual guard before engaging another, which means avoiding damage while dealing some out will be much easier than in AC1. The grab will not be used nearly as much as in AC1, however, I plan to use it whenever I need to take down a captain as they have proven to be the most formidable opponents.
So that's the fighting style in short, and it's going to be constant throughout the playthrough. Before I begin documenting, however, I have one little controversy I need to explain.
The Poison Blade will be allowed in this playthrough. Think of it as lethal injection. When someone gets euthanized, it's not the needle that's killing them, it's the drug. Therefore, I think it's okay to use it. HOWEVER, I will not use it very often, I just know of only two circumstances where I will need to use some sort of weapon to pass the stage, and I figured the Poison was the best cop-out.
In addition, scenes where you are forced to make a kill with the hidden blade do not count (Jacopo de Pazzi, for example), and to make things more interesting, any guards that are still around following your assassination need to be disposed of. That is, there's no running, you have to finish them with your fists.
Alright, I think that's everything. It's late here so I'll document MB1 and MB2 (maybe MB3) tomorrow here on the forums.
Hakunamatata,
FLAE
PS: If you would like to read the documentation of the first Eagles Bruise, here's the link:
http://forums.assassinscreed-maps.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1438
Good luck, I enjoyed your first one.
Thanks to SBIzokronus for the fantastic sig!
are you still doing this? would love to get an update.
btw, i just started wondering. in sequence 9, right before the carnivale starts, there is a random murderer coming from the whorehouse that you are supposed to kill.
the game wants you to use the gun. he runs pretty good but i managed to knife him in the back. how did you do that part, considering you can't do a quick stab at him?
i grab/drowned him
I've already beaten the game, it's just a matter of me documenting EVERYTHING. Which will take a while. Don't worry, I'll get it posted soon. Procrastination is a bitch...
But in response to your question, Rob, I got up on the rooftops and chased him down from there. He follows a set path, so if you just cut across the rooftops and meet him at a halfway point, you can pounce on him and then stomp him to death. If that doesn't work than just pick him up and knee him in the face until he's knocked out. Never mind that he's killing those courtesans, they don't exactly live an honest life (even if Rosa's sect of the Church says she does).
Well now I finally have some time so here's a rundown of Memory Block 1 (I'll be doing updates based on Memory Blocks).
Before I get started, here's a rundown of the rules, I probably should have posted this with the fighting styles, but what can you do.
Here's basically a rundown of the rules, though:
1. Obviously, hand to hand combat is the only allowed way of defeating enemies, and in cases where total stealth is absolutely necessary and brawling will result in exposure and desynch, smoke-bombs and poison may be used, but no direct weapons are allowed at any time except for the metal cestus.
2. Permitted moves:
- Disarms (but weapon must immediately be dropped, which can be done by selecting fists on d-pad after disarm)
- Air to Pounce
- Grapples and their Punches/Knees/Headbutts
- Grapples and their Throws (but not into breakables, off of rooftops, or into water)
- Tackle
- Unarmed Enemy Counters
- Combo Punches
- Throwing Sand
- Any weapon kill that is required by storyline (some can be avoided during cutscenes, others cannot)
- Poison Blade (during situation where unarmed combat will not suffice)
- Smoke Bombs (during situation where unarmed combat will not suffice)
- Sweeping moves with spears (but no killing with them)
- Kick em' while they're down
- Hiring Mercenaries, Courtesans, or Thieves
Not allowed:
- Any strike/kill that is performed with a weapon of any sort
- Hidden blade(s)
- Throwing Knives
- Hidden Gun
- Disarm Kills
- Any assassination technique (air, ledge, hiding place, etc.)
- Combo kills with weapons
- Counter kills with weapons
- Dodge kills with weapons
- Special weapon moves (brute smash, etc.)
3. No Guard Left Behind Law
You can't run from a fight that YOU start, including the Auditore Execution at the beginning of the game. The battlefield cannot be moved from where you are (no rooftop advantage) BUT you can move around the battlefield using quickstepping (which you'll need to be amazing at if you are to survive) and dodging to leave enemies wide open for blows.
4. Notoriety
Notoriety can be gained/eliminated as you wish, but be wary that any fights that come about as a result of your notoriety must be finished by your blades; you cannot run away.
5. Additional Challenges
No armor can be bought at any point in the game. The leather greaves must be broken upon your purchase of them, and cannot be repaired.
All guards can be disarmed except for captains and brutes. Captains must keep their weapons to their deaths and brutes must be taken down without disarming (it's not impossible, just lengthy, throwing sand will become important quickly).
Anyway, here's a break down of the Prologue and Memory Block 1:
As Desmond and Lucy make their escape from Abstergo we get to the parking lot in one piece without attracting any attention. It is at this point where the ambush occurs and I'm left to make do with Altaïr's fighting style that Desmond picked up in AC1. Luckily, I'm not alone and the guards are not armed, so it won't take me half an hour like most brawls did during the original Eagle's Bruise. Sadly, I'm a little rusty, and I only manage to knock out eight guards before Lucy cleans house and makes me look like a sad excuse of an assassin. On the plus side, I was able to execute two combo kills, so there was some gain from the parking lot battle.
We get to the hideout, meet and greet, and then after pestering Shaun for a bit I sit down in the animus. After Ezio and Vieri have their trade of words and Ezio's left with his signature scar, it's time for me to go to work. The first REAL fight of Assassins Creed II. Here's how it went from terms of stats:
Speed (Defense): Quickstepping is literally a gift from God. The freedom of movement I have compared to the first game is simply unbelievable. Ezio's quickstepping is so fast that I'm actually able to get behind enemies in the process of attacking and then finish them off from behind. The factor of speed in this fight was so great that I didn't receive a single blow from any of Vieri's thugs.
Bottom Line: Speed=Success (+1)
Strength (Offense): Ezio's strength in his punches finishes off thugs in just three blows, and if I'm not in the mood for combo punching I can also simply counter them with a simple press of RT+X. For some fun, I throw them around like ragdolls and pick them back up while grapple-punching them repeatedly, just to get assimilated with the range of styles I have at my disposal when going through Eagle's Bruise. The future certainly looks bright.
Bottom Line: Strength=Success (+1)
Isolation (Technique): Thugs are easily isolated because they go down so quickly, and they generally don't attack you in groups. Even in cases where I was surrounded by three of them I was usually able to dispose of them quickly before any of them became a threat. Being that they go down after three punches, picking them off one at a time kept me healthy and kept them on the ground.
Bottom Line: Isolation=Success (+1)
Some doctors, parkour, and creepy foreshadowing later, I've become the errand boy for the Auditore family. Not a lot of combat this time around, although I did enjoy chokeslamming the hell out of Claudia's ex. Then Daddy gets abducted and we have to go see why. I leave the guards alone, figure in the sense of realism Ezio probably wouldn't have purposely provoked them if he's got a hit on him and he's trying to save Giovanni. "Ezio, there isn't much time," leap of faith, find the hidden room, you know the drill. Then we arrive outside where two armed guards have come for Ezio's life. Should I use the sword I just got? Hell no. Instead, I decide to beat one of the guards into a critical state (health is under 33-50%, which is when counters, grabs, and disarms can be performed), grab him, and let his idiot friend slice him do death. Using guards as meat-shields is fun, and then after the final blow is dealt to his buddy I stun punch him, two knees to the face, and Ezio lives to fight another day. Run to Uberto's house, explain to him the situation, and then head for the Auditore Execution. Two dead brothers and a father later, we're told by a thief to run away, but as me, SBZ, and Jack have proved before, running away is not out only option.
Speed (Defense): Quickstepping is vital to surviving the onslaught of swords and axes that come your way in this fight, and it's certainly helpful to get behind attacking guards and hit them with a punch before they can block your attack. Being in a wide open space also helps, as there is a lot of room to maneuver around the battlefield while avoiding oncoming attacks. Sadly, without proper ways of disarming at this time we can't dodge all swords, and I'm put in the ED (Emergency Desynchronization) state three times before the fight is over.
Bottom Line: Speed=Failure (+0)
Strength (Offense): Punches weren't exactly very successful in this fight as most enemies (especially both of the brutes) would almost always block your attack. That means that I had to either a. Get my punch blocked and hit them with a quick punch immediately after the blocked punch animation ended or b. Wait for an attack, quickstep, and then hit them with a punch from the side before getting blocked (again). Damage came very limited in this fight, but in the end it was just enough to keep me alive and end the fight at the execution.
Bottom Line: Strength=Success (+1)
Isolation (Technique): The key to surviving this fight is to get rid of the biggest threats as fast as possible. That means taking out both brutes first, then the captains, then the thugs, and then the regulars. Each brute takes roughly 25 punches to take down, and even though the process took time, both were downed in about 7 minutes. 50 punches in 420 seconds may not look too appealing, but it worked. Next came captains, who were basically the same story as the brutes, but they take less punches to eliminate, so the time was much less. After the last captain falls, a new wave of regulars floods in, and there's still the Pazzi to deal with (who now have weapons, oh great). They're made quick work of and then I move on to the regulars. The guard respawn rate in this fight is that if two guards remain and aren't finished in 5 seconds, then a new wave of 4-5 comes in. I eliminate three of the guards and then get the other three down to one block of health. I grab one of them and use him as a meat shield, then punch out his friend who's still recovering from his attack in about 2 seconds. 3 seconds left, one guard remaining, and I'm mashing X for my life. The Hidden Blade glitch occurs, the fight ends, and my life is saved. Whew! Isolation is the key to winning this fight, and needless to say it certainly helped a great deal.
Bottom Line: Isolation=Success (+1)
Review of Memory Block 1:
Speed (Defense)=1/2
Strength (Offense)=2/2
Isolation (Technique)=2/2
Overall Evalutaion=5/6
KO Total: 8 Abstergo Security Guards+21 Pazzi Thugs+2 Brutes+2 Captains+12 Guards+Claudia's Ex=45 KO's
Kill Total: 0
Final Comments: The future looks bright, which is odd considering Ezio's family was just systematically slaughtered, but the point remains the same.
Hakunamatata,
FLAE
I just read too much. Back on topic, seems Eagle Bruise is going on wheels. Do you have any number of kills expected in the game? Also, there you counted so many thugs because of the first fight, or were they scattered across San Giovanni?
ROB_88 wrote:
[On the meaning of BAMF]i figured it was something similar to a MILFBabes Await My..............Flap-a-doodle
Damn, Eagles Bruise is so much harder then I thought 
Well FLAE, I'm going to read your story for another time, and try again tomorrow.
I just read too much. Back on topic, seems Eagle Bruise is going on wheels. Do you have any number of kills expected in the game? Also, there you counted so many thugs because of the first fight, or were they scattered across San Giovanni?
At this point, there are probably going to be quite a bit of kills during Sequence 13 due to the fact that most of the targets have to be assassinated anonymously. However with the discovery of superblending by Ian (and hopefully he informs us of this "hyperblending" he has in store as well), some of these assassinations may in fact be possible. If I can get a permanently blended exploit then I can finish off the targets that would normally need poison. But only time will tell.
I didn't go out of my way to kill thugs in the memory block, and didn't encounter most of them mainly because I like to travel on rooftops. The first eighteen were from the bridge brawl, and the other three were from the Auditore Execution.
best response to this forum yet.
i dont think you can complete seq 14 borgia while sticking with eagles bruise. you can poison borgia, but you cant progress the game this way.
http://www.thehiddenblade.com/rodrigo-borgia-non-story-assassination
I've legalized poison but it's only a last resort move in cases such as this.
i dont think you can complete seq 14 borgia while sticking with eagles bruise. you can poison borgia, but you cant progress the game this way.
http://www.thehiddenblade.com/rodrigo-borgia-non-story-assassination
Actually, if there is a way to get around Borgia I can trigger an auto-kill from behind (broken neck, leg sweep, etc.) but I'm not sure if it is possible. Can I get behind Borgia without him seeing me?
i dont think so. i think he is programmed to turn toward you if you are in proximity.
How did this go, FLAE? Did it work?
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus