The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

This is a two part article for a playstyle in multiplayer. Part 1 has a video where I show how me getting Naked Focus bonuses, but I want to go in depth on the video as a lot of planning and thought isnt shown in the video. The game mode is Wanted.

I know its a huge read, if you arent in the mood maybe skip down to the specific parts of the video as they explain the same hints used in the following article.

The idea for this playstyle is simple, take your time and do social stealth kills. You will probably not score as high as you can as it is not only harder to play like this but you miss out on many fast kills as you have to take your time, but the results are very satisfying. I will basically list a bunch of stuff you should know in any order, and then point out specific parts in the video.

A Naked Focus bonus is basically a kill where you get the focus bonus without using throwing knives or smoke bombs. The idea is to also kill them without them seeing you at all, they shouldn't know you are after them until the kill cam.
I like to use disguise so that it doesn't really effect my target in anyway, but pursuers find it harder to find me so I can ignore them for a little while.

Know where your target is going. Not only do you have to know where your pursuers and your target is, but you have to take into account your targets target. If you see other players running around dont just ignore them, note their direction and see how your compass/target behaves.

Know what your target is doing: This is important, you need to know what kind of state of mind your target is in. Here are some examples.
- He has lost it, he is simply running full speed from target to target without a care in the world. You are best off just killing a civilian for a new target, or waiting for him to make a kill and getting a focus during his kill.

- He is going slow (offensive). If he has stopped running and is now fast walking around, chances are he is near his target and doesn't want to lose his silent bonus. He is most likely distracted and is focused on his target, not you. This is the best time to fast walk up to him and go for a focus kill while on the move.

- He is going slow (defensive). Try and determine whether he is hunting his target, or is hunting you ( or other pursuers) Sometimes you just know his perception is high, this is the worst time to attack him as he is very cautious.

-He is in a morphed group. He is basically playing solely defensive. You have a good chance to take him out now, and it is satisfying when you do.

Know how many pursuers he has. If he has 3 pursuers, chances are he is running about trying to avoid them and is also very cautious. Might be best to take him out normally. Same with 2 pursuers. If you are his only pursuer, his perception will be lower, you have a higher chance of taking him out with a focus.

Most importantly, know how and when to approach him. You should only approach him once your pursuers are taken care of, or you are sure they aren't in the immediate area, because approaching him will take time and planning. Wait for him to cool down and lose his guard, and dont approach him from behind. Instead, figure out where he is going and go around, come at him from the side. If he is in a stationary group, approach him from an angle you wouldnt normally take. Also never approach him by yourself, wait for NPCs to walk by and walk with them. It might even be best to wait for an NPC group to go by, slip in to get close and then slip into his group.

Turn blender off, if you slip into his group undetected, blender will give everything away. If he is in a blend group, another trick is to wait for one of his pursuers to have a go at getting him. If he is a good player, he might stun them, this is your best chance to slip into his group. Never ever stand in front of him, even if you managed to slip into his group, if you ever walk in front of him a circle will appear on your head, its game over.

Know who you are playing against. This is also important, play the same people over and over and get to know who has high perception and who doesn't. You can try more daring approaches if you know your target is a little "slow" from experience with him in previous matches. You can also set up extra precautions if you know your target is a good player.

Alright, for those still reading here are some specifics about the video itself.

00.00: From the start I pop disguise early to give myself extra time if my pursuer is nearby. I notice my pursuer is moving slowly, so I know he is probably alert. I use a group to get right up to him and slip into his group unnoticed, giving myself a Naked Focus Poison kill.

00:31: I notice my target is in a blend group. Most of the time, pursuers approach from the stairs to my targets left, instead of from behind. Because I approached from the direction I used and didn't fast walk, he spotted his other pursuer instead of me.

2:24: Blender is usually never enough to keep you safe, I simply block out one of his copies and use the compass to determine who he is. I got the idea not to use blender from this clip, I was very lucky. You can imagine if blender worked earlier, I might have spooked him and he could have stunned me.

2:50: Try to lock on to your target as soon as you know who it is. Even though im in front of the courtesan, you can still see the focus meter building up. Its easier to maintain your focus kill if you are locked on. Also I kept a good distance in front of her so the stun icon wouldn't appear, it is actually safer to keep walking in front of them and not changing path. Always remember your kill reach is longer than their stun reach, so you can actually stay ahead of them in this way.

3:07: I notice that my target is following the group of thieves. I now know he is distracted and wont be focusing on me, so I can easily stalk him until he makes the kill.

3:42: I played that player in previous matches and knew he was new to the game, I was able to risk blatantly following him from behind as he would ignore me.