Knocking enemies out is a big part of the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: Fate of Atlantis DLC (I won’t spoil exactly why here), and odds are a lot of you are coming out of a lengthy hiatus, having completely forgotten how to do the job.
We’ll help you achieve this feat with our detailed Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Atlantis DLC guide.
How do you knock people out in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Atlantis DLC?
As an assassin, it’s pretty easy to eliminate enemies with your diverse array of weaponry. However, what does prove to be challenging is the technique of taking them down without killing them. To help with this maneuver, here are a few ways you can knock people out in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey:
- Unequip your weapons and use your fists
- Paralyzing arrows
- Sneak attack
- Sparta Kick ability
When you knock out enemies in the base game, you can recruit them shortly after. You’ll gain some powerful allies in return, where you can hire them with a certain amount of gold. On the other hand, the Fate of Atlantis DLC doesn’t permit you to recruit any characters whatsoever. You’ll primarily see the option to ‘Carry’ them whenever they’ve been brought down.
Regarding the DLC, the only time knockout comes in handy is during the Dead Kings and Pretty Things quest. Your goal here is to take down enemies without killing them, similar to the recruiting tactic. In some cases, you may eliminate them by accident due to the playable character’s robust skills. If this happens, you can wait until everyone respawns and try again.
Each knockout tactic presents its own sets of challenges and prerequisites, including unlocking specific abilities. So, let’s take a deep dive into what you need to do.
Unequip your weapons and use your fists
You’ll likely be inclined to use your fists for a simple enemy knockout. For this, unequip one of your weapon slots using the inventory menu, then swap to your fists with the d-pad. Relentlessly attack your quarry until they’re knocked out. You can also use Overpower Attacks via the Warrior Ability, triggering a weaponless special.
Alternatively, you can damage them using other means, then change to your fists and finish the job. Just be sure there are no damage-over-time (poison, fire) effects on them; otherwise, they’ll die.
It should be noted that this option isn’t the most straightforward tactic, especially in the challenging domain of the Fate of Atlantis DLC. Foes will be much more difficult here, making it feel almost impossible to take them down. I suggest only using this maneuver when an enemy’s health is at an all-time low. Punches don’t seem to do much damage anyway, so use it as a last resort.
Paralyzing arrows
At this point, you can invest in alternate arrows in the Hunter skill tree. Specifically, you must unlock the Arrow Master ability, producing effects like Poison, Fire, Explosive, and Paralyzing. To avoid killing the enemy, use the Paralyzing Arrows. Go to your inventory and select the Craft Arrows slot. Then, use two pieces of wood and one piece of leather to make the Paralyzing Arrow. You’ll gather these materials through the game’s standard exploration, including defeating ships or eliminating animals.
Now, all you have to do is aim and shoot at your opponent with the Paralyzing Arrow. It should knock them out as a result. This method seems to be the most efficient way to knock out people in the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Atlantis DLC, as it can be done from a long range. You can also aim for the opponent’s head to possibly trigger an instant knockout.
Sneak attack
For the sneak attack approach, you can crouch and take them down from behind or get them from above. Press the interaction ‘Knock Out’ when close by. Note that this attack doesn’t require you to unequip your weapons, so don’t worry about an accidental kill.
If you see the option ‘Unarmed strike’ instead, this means that the opponent’s health is too high to knock them out. I suggest hurting them a bit first and then running away to get yourself off their radar. Once they’ve lost you, return to them, and the Knock Out option should be there (as long as they already have low health).
You can actually see how much health a stealth kill attempt will chip away, so if needed, you can go for the “kill” strike, then swap to fists and end it non-lethally. However, this particular tactic will prove challenging in the Atlantis DLC, even at a high level. Sometimes, enemies may just shrug your attack off, making it the least likely scenario.
Sparta Kick ability
The Sparta Kick ability is the final method to knocking people out in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. You’ll unlock this technique in the Warrior Ability section, which includes three bonus upgrades. The first tier lets you deal 160 percent Warrior damage without killing them. You can then enhance the ability to deal even more damage, making it easier to knock them out. If you happen to miss the attack, you’ll need to wait for your special to cool down. After a few seconds or so, the ability should be ready to give you another chance.
Like the previous methods, you may need to deplete the foe’s health first for a successful takedown. This is always a good rule of thumb for easier and faster knockouts. At the most, you can perform the Sparta Kick twice to bring your target down.
