Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Complete Guide

A practical guide to Assassin's Creed Odyssey covering early priorities, combat and ability builds, gear and engravings, the mercenary and cultist systems, naval combat, the choices behind the best family ending, and how to approach the DLC.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC build (content-complete since 2019, with New Game+, Story Creator Mode and Discovery Tour included). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: Odyssey (October 5, 2018) is a finished game. Its content updates ended in 2019 (the last patch notes on Steam are 1.3.0, May 2019); a later console patch added a 60 fps mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. On PC it runs through Ubisoft Connect, which Steam launches for you. Its two story DLCs are Legacy of the First Blade (three episodes) and The Fate of Atlantis (three episodes). Both come in the Season Pass and the Gold and Ultimate editions.

Quick Start

Choose Alexios or Kassandra freely. The story is the same either way, and only your decisions change outcomes.
Use Exploration Mode if you want to find objectives through clues and Ikaros. Pick Guided Mode if you just want markers.
Get Second Wind early. It's a self-heal and the most important survival ability in the game.
Upgrade the Spear of Leonidas whenever the story lets you. Spear upgrades unlock new abilities and higher ability tiers, so they're a big power jump.
Do side quests. The game is paced around them. Main quests often have a recommended level a few above you. Side content, cultists, and forts are how you close the gap.
Watch your bounty. Crimes raise it and send mercenaries after you. Pay it off from the map or kill the person who placed it before you get mobbed.
Recruit lieutenants. Knock out useful enemies and mercenaries and recruit them to the Adrestia. Legendary lieutenants give strong ship bonuses.
Dismantle junk gear and keep legendaries. Legendary pieces carry engravings and set bonuses. Everything else is upgrade material.
Save before big choices. Several decisions have long-term consequences (see "Choices That Matter" below).

Core Systems

Progression and level scaling

Level cap: raised post-launch to 99. A late-game Mastery system (added with the cap increase) turns further XP into Mastery points that buy extra stat bonuses; check the Mastery tab in the Abilities menu once it unlocks.
Scaling: by default, regions and quests scale around your level so the world stays relevant. Later patches added a level-scaling option in the difficulty settings if you want to feel stronger than the content.
Ability points: you get them from leveling and from Tombs (Ancient Tablets), which give extra points. Tombs are well worth clearing.

Combat basics

Dodge and parry. A perfect dodge slows time and opens a counter window. Parry works against normal attacks. Glowing red attacks can't be parried and must be dodged.
Adrenaline fills as you fight and powers your active abilities. Several abilities have multiple tiers you unlock with the Spear.
Damage types: Warrior (melee), Hunter (bow), and Assassin (stealth and daggers). Gear rolls on each piece push one of these, and your build should specialize.
Weapon classes: swords, daggers, heavy blades, heavy blunts, spears, staffs, and bows. Each has its own moveset and speed.

The three ability trees

Tree	Stand-out abilities (names as in-game)	Role
Hunter	Predator Shot, Devastating Shot, Rain of Destruction, Sixth Sense (passive), Archery Master (passive)	Long-range burst, headshots, cleaning up forts from a distance
Warrior	Bull Rush, Spartan Kick, Shield Breaker, Overpower Attack, Second Wind, Battlecry of Ares, Weapons Master and Gear Master (passives)	Melee brawling, crowd control, sustain
Assassin	Rush Assassination, Critical Assassination, Shadow Assassin, Hero Strike, Venomous Attack, Poison Mastery and Stealth Master (passives)	Stealth one-shots, poison damage-over-time, teleport assassinations

Early priorities (levels 2–10): Bull Rush and Spartan Kick for crowd control (kicking enemies off ledges is an instant kill), then Second Wind, Predator Shot, Rush Assassination, and Weapons Master.

Builds

Warrior (beginner-friendly)

Actives: Bull Rush, Spartan Kick, Second Wind, Overpower Attack, Battlecry of Ares, plus a flaming or poison weapon imbue.
Passives: Weapons Master, Gear Master, and the fire or poison mastery for your chosen element.
Gear: the Spartan War Hero set (from killing the Peloponnesian League cultists) or Agamemnon's set (from the Silver Vein cultists). Nikolaos's Sword (Chapter 2) is a strong early weapon.
Engravings to chase: +% Warrior damage, +% all damage, +% armor pierce, +% post-critical damage, +% Overpower Attack damage.

Hunter

Actives: Devastating Shot (your main nuke), Predator Shot, Rain of Destruction, Second Wind, Battlecry of Ares.
Passives: Sixth Sense, Archery Master.
Gear: the Artemis set, earned by killing the legendary beasts in the Daughters of Artemis quest chain (started by Daphnae in Phokis). Achilles's Bow boosts Devastating Shot.
Engravings: +% Devastating Shot damage, +% headshot damage, +% Hunter damage.

Assassin

Actives: Rush Assassination, Critical Assassination, Shadow Assassin, Hero Strike, Venomous Attack.
Passives: Stealth Master, Poison Mastery.
Weapons: daggers deal Assassin damage by default.
Engravings: +% Assassin damage, +% critical assassination damage, +% backstab damage, +% dagger damage. Convert weapon damage to poison with the right legendary engravings.

Gear and engravings in short

Engravings unlock when you obtain legendary items (from cultists, legendary animals, legendary chests, special quests, and mercenaries).
Engrave at a blacksmith. Each gear slot takes one engraving from its category.
Upgrade legendaries to your current level at a blacksmith and replace everything else as you go.

Mercenaries and Cultists

Mercenary ranks: killing mercenaries raises your own mercenary rank. Higher ranks give passive bonuses and discounts.
Keep your bounty low if you're under-leveled. A bounty of several helmets can bring multiple mercenaries at once.
The Cult of Kosmos is split into branches with a Sage for each. Clues come from quests, forts, and killing members, and the Cultist menu shows who's revealed. Killing an entire branch rewards a legendary set piece. Wiping out every branch opens the way to the final cult leader, the Ghost of Kosmos.
Many cultists can be killed long before the story "introduces" them. Checking the Cultist menu regularly is one of the best XP and loot sources.

Naval Combat (the Adrestia)

Upgrades: spend wood, iron, and drachmae to upgrade hull, rams, arrows, and javelins. Add lieutenants for bonuses.
Weapons: arrows are strong against light ships and javelins against heavier ones. Ramming is the most damaging attack.
Boarding: damage a ship until it can be boarded, then board it for loot and a full-health repair.
Naval Conquest Battles and naval-only mercenaries also exist, so upgrade the ship before sailing into contested waters.

Choices That Matter (spoilers)

Key choices from GamePressure's ending guide. Save before each one.

Kephallonia plague family (early side quest): sparing the sick family has consequences later on the island. Weigh it before you choose.
Chapter 2: spare Nikolaos, the Wolf of Sparta.
Chapter 6: promise Myrrine you'll try to free Deimos from the Cult.
Chapter 7: convince Nikolaos to intervene, and do not kill Stentor.
Chapter 8: tell Deimos they're only the Cult's puppet.
Chapter 9: refuse to duel Deimos.

Get all of these right and the whole family survives and reunites. The Alexios/Kassandra pick doesn't affect it.

DLC Order

Legacy of the First Blade: three episodes (Hunted, Shadow Heritage, Bloodline) about the first hidden-blade wielder, Darius. Play it during or after the mid-game.
The Fate of Atlantis: three episodes (Fields of Elysium, Torment of Hades, Judgment of Atlantis). It's high-level content with its own ability system upgrades, so it's best after the main story.
Lost Tales of Greece: free side stories added after launch.
Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece: a combat-free educational mode, bundled with the game since 2019.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Skipping Tombs. They're a large source of ability points.
Spreading engravings across all three damage types. Pick one primary tree.
Ignoring the ship until naval quests become brutal.
Letting your bounty stack and then fighting three mercenaries at once.
Following only main quests. Scaling means main quests will outpace you.
Selling legendaries. Dismantle or keep them for engravings and set bonuses.

Advanced Tips

Assassinate from above or behind with Critical Assassination for huge damage, and switch to a Warrior setup when stealth breaks.
The Arena on Pephka is a great XP and gear source once unlocked.
Mastery points in the late game can make one damage type much stronger. Focus them.
Photo Mode and Visual Customization let you use your favorite look without losing stats.
PC performance: volumetric clouds are a very expensive setting, so lower them first if your frame rate dips. Use exclusive fullscreen if you notice stutter.
New Game+ keeps your gear and levels. Start it when you've finished the story and want to replay with your build.

FAQ

What's the level cap? 99 after post-launch updates, plus the late-game Mastery system for extra stat bonuses.

How do I get the best family ending? Spare Nikolaos, keep Stentor alive, and handle Deimos as described in the Choices section.

Do I need to play the DLC in order? Each DLC's episodes should be played in order. The two DLCs are independent of each other.

How do I stop mercenaries attacking me? Pay off your bounty from the map, kill the person who placed it, or avoid crimes (theft and killing civilians or soldiers of the faction you're fighting for).

Is Odyssey still supported? It's complete, with no new content since 2019, but it remains playable online through Ubisoft Connect.

Can I respec? Yes. The ability menu has a reset option that refunds your points, so experimenting with builds is cheap.