Despite the title, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey doesn’t have any assassins in them until the DLC parts of the game. However, it does have Templar predecessors, and those guys are a good enough reason to turn sneaky. Thankfully, Odyssey gives players plenty of options that are not limited to being a strong and noisy Spartan.

If they want, players can stick to the Assassin skill or ability tree and still function superbly. Not all abilities in that discipline are worth taking though. Hence, this guide exists so that players know which of these Assassin abilities to prioritize if they want an optimal assassin before assassins were even cool.

10 SHADOW OF NYX

It sounds cool on paper and it is in practice. Shadow of Nyx literally turns the Alexios or Kassandra invisible while out of combat. Its base level is quite impractical as any movement will dispel the ability and it costs a hefty amount of adrenaline.

Still, the upgraded versions can turn camp raiding and sabotage missions into a breeze and the adrenaline cost also gets reduced. Upgraded versions also won’t dissipate when moving stealthily, making it a more functional ability later on.

9 VANISH

Now, since Shadow of Nyx only works outside of combat, it’s not really that useful for escaping or stealth comebacks, right? Well, the Vanish ability will change the way players use invisibility. It’s pretty much an area stun smoke bomb that can stop all melee combat for several precious seconds.

Each upgrade increases the duration of the stun, giving players enough time to escape, heal, or counterattack. It’s also especially useful against boss fights as most Assassin builds in Odyssey tend to be fragile in combat.

8 VENOMOUS ATTACKS

Speaking of combat, attrition is the best way to deal with enemies instead of immediate chunks of damage which could be risky. For that, poison is the best combat tool in an Assassin’s arsenal. Venomous Attacks is a good way to have poison without needing a weapon for it.

It’s an active ability that gives poison attacks and lasts 15 seconds (and later 20). It’s best used in conjunction with poison damage upgrades in the gear and armor. With the right setup, this can also easily out-damage non-poison builds with little effort.

7 POISON MASTERY

In order to make poison more viable in unavoidable combat situations, assassins will have to make good use of the Poison Mastery ability. This one is passive and increases the poison buildup rate for any weapon or arrow.

This way, players don’t have to commit to too many attacks before an enemy gets the poison status. It’s also a great way to free up the weapon and armor upgrade slot for something else though combining it with poison buildup upgrades is also welcome.

6 REVELATION

Here’s where a committed Assassin build gets a big tactical advantage over the Hunter and Warrior. The Revelation ability is basically Ikaros’ surveillance but faster and immediately tags enemies in a radius as well.

This is perfect for planning out camp assassinations and having quick escape routes in mind as it also reveals hidden passages and all treasures. There’s also not much pressure to upgrade it to max quickly as the only thing affected is the size of the radius.

5 SHADOW ASSASSIN

When it comes to actually assassinating enemies, the Shadow Assassin ability should be a staple for most players. It’s pretty straightforward; it increases the assassination damage by a large percentage and lets players automatically loot the bodies.

This is rather important because assassination was notably nerfed and is not an instant kill anymore unlike in previous Assassin’s Creed games. If anything, this puts assassinations back into normal-ish levels though don’t expect to be one-hitting all camp commanders.

4 RUSH ASSASSINATION

Sometimes the biggest challenge to camp infiltrations or outpost clearings in Odyssey is multiple malakas where killing one might alert their nearby friends. That’s why abilities like Rush Assassination exist—so that players can quickly dispatch multiple small guards.

Rush Assassination is Alexios or Kassandra abusing the Spear of Leonidas’ power which somehow magically teleports them wherever it’s thrown, including at an enemy. At max upgrade, this can be chained up to three times, leading to four total enemies killed (if they have low enough health).

3 CRITICAL ASSASSINATION

Now, for dispatching garrison commanders, captains, or other meat mountains in Odyssey, the best bet is the Critical Assassination skill. That’s because normal assassination won’t cut it and they might end up alerting the whole camp with their scream once they’re still impossibly alive after getting stabbed in the jugular.

Critical Assassination deals 200 to 300 percent Assassin damage, ensuring that no individual manages to survive and squawk or put up a fight afterward. The downside is that it only works out of conflict and has a limited range, so use it wisely.

2 STEALTH MASTER

For general sneaky Spartan buffs and boons, one can’t go wrong with the Stealth Master ability. Initially, it only gives reduced assassination and movement noise which isn’t much. Fully upgraded, it makes players semi-invisible.

Additionally, it also adds a bonus to assassination damage to make up for how minuscule the initial bonuses are. If players still get caught while sneaking in camps with this ability maxed out, then they have nothing else to blame but themselves.

1 DEATH VEIL

One of the most tedious drawbacks of being a stealthy assassin in Odyssey are the leftover corpses that usually need to be hidden. It makes stealth slow and sometimes higher risk than fighting the whole camp. That’s why Death Veil aims to fix this.

It’s an ability that magically makes the corpses of assassination victims disappear. Do note that it requires Shadow Assassin. With this skill, assassination is easy and effortless without the need for a clean up and actually makes assassination fun in a game called Assassin’s Creed.

NEXT: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Daughters Of Artemis