Assassin’s Creed Mirage Guide – 15 Tips and Tricks to Keep in Mind

AVOID COMBAT

Mirage goes back to the stealth-driven approach of older Assassin’s Creed titles, which means combat is heavily discouraged. Basim doesn’t take too many hits to go down, while enemies are much more resilient, and your moveset when in out-and-out combat is also quite limited. As a rule of thumb, then, you should avoid combat whenever possible. Rely on stealth first and foremost, and if you ever are in combat, make sure to nail the timing of your dodges and parries. Above all else though, if you find yourself facing more than two or three enemies at a time, tucking tail and running to re-enter stealth is usually the best option.

CHEESING STEALTH

As is the case with any stealth game, there are ways to cheese Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s mechanics and game the AI, and in particularly hairy situations, remember that that’s always a viable strategy. For instance, if you’re ever in an area that’s being patrolled by a number of enemies, you’ll find that hiding in tall grass and whistling to lure guards to your position one after the other is a great way of whittling down their numbers. Similarly, if you get caught, it’s often a good idea to run as far away as you can, hide, and come back in a couple of minutes after things have cooled down again.

SOCIAL BLENDING

Social stealth mechanics were once a staple in Assassin’s Creed games, and though that hasn’t been the case for a few years now, they’ve made their triumphant return in Mirage. And given how useful they can be, it’s smart to always keep an eye out for them. From bench assassinations to hiding in large crowds, from hiring mercenaries to fight guards to hiring musicians to distract them, there’s usually several social stealth opportunities at your disposal, and they’re often the most efficient way to sneak past enemies.

STEALTH TOOLS

Progression and upgrade mechanics have been heavily pared back in Assassin’s Creed Mirage, but you do still need to put a little bit of thought in when, say, you’re deciding which upgrade to equip for your stealth tools. Each upgrade for a tool opens up three possible buffs, out of which only one can be equipped. When making that choice, think carefully about your preferred play style and which upgrade would suit you best.

THROWING KNIVES

Speaking of upgrades for your tools, given how the game is structured, the first tool that you’ll be upgrading will be your throwing knives. Out of the three options available here, the most useful one is probably the one that gives you longer range. While having additional max ammo for your throwing knives certainly helps, having the ability to take out an enemy from a greater distance will prove to be much handier in some of Baghdad’s more heavily defended locations.

DESTROY BELLS

Picking off enemies and guards one-by-one is obviously going to be your go-to way of deal with the threat the enemies will post to you in hostile areas, though there are other methods that are worth keeping in mind as well. For instance, something that you should immediately scout out using your eagle in enemy camps and forts is the bell they ring to call for backup, and if they do have one, it’s usually a smart idea to make it a priority to destroy that bell as soon as you can. Alerting enemies is always a possibility, and in those instances, it’s good to have the assurance that at least they won’t be able to call for backup.

HEALING ITEMS AND AMMO

Assassin’s Creed Mirage places pretty heavy restrictions on you in terms of the quantity of each tool you carry, and how much heals you have at your disposal. Every now and again, then, it’s a good idea to stock up. Whether that’s by returning to a Hidden Ones Bureau (more on that in a bit) or looting a chest or finding a trader to trade with, make sure that you’re never running low on the essentials, especially when you’re about to head into a dangerous area.

PICKPOCKETING

Pickpocketing is one of several classic Assassin’s Creed mechanics that have made a return in Mirage, and though it’s quite simple and straightforward, it’s definitely not something you should be ignoring. Though each lift individually won’t be the most lucrative, collectively, they do add up, especially thanks to how easy the mechanic is. As such, anytime you find yourself in a crowded area, make sure to pickpocket as many people as possible.

EAGLE VISION

Here’s another returning mechanic, and a fan-favourite at that. Mirage still lets you manually fly an eagle and use it as a drone to scout of enemy camps, but the old school Eagle Vision mechanic has returned as well. It’s an incredibly useful tool, so make liberal use of it. Obviously, in hostile areas, it’s a great way of remaining aware of enemies that may or may not be around you, but even when you’re out in the open world, Eagle Vision can be used to great effect to find and track down valuable loot chests and collectibles.

HIDDEN ONES BUREAUS

There are several Hidden Ones Bureaus hidden throughout the city of Baghdad, where the Brotherhood carries out its activities in secret, something that longtime series fans will find familiar, and it’s worth it to keep returning to them from time to time. Not only are you able to refill your ammo in bureaus, you can also upgrade you tools or pick up new contracts from the contracts board. Speaking of which…

CONTRACTS

Given their nature as smaller, one-off side quests, you might be tempted to not pay too much attention to contracts, though our advice would be to not do that. The rewards you receive can come in handy for crafting, but more importantly, each contract also gives you a Favor Token, which can be used to lower your Notoriety, reduce prices at merchants, hire groups to fight against or distract guards, and more, all of which is stuff you’re going to be doing a lot of. Given how rare Tokens are, contracts will be your best bet of earning them.

VIEWPOINTS

This is something that Assassin’s Creed fans won’t need telling about, but let’s cover the basics anyway, shall we? Though there are much fewer viewpoints in Mirage’s open world map (simply by virtue of its smaller size), it’s still important to keep an eye out for them and synchronize with them as soon as you find them. Synchronized viewpoints are your key to fast travelling, and you’re going to be fast travelling quite a bit in this game.

HISTORICAL SITES

Scattered throughout Baghdad and its surroundings, you’ll also find specifically demarcated historical sites. Effectively serving the same purposes as the Codex from older Assassin’s Creed games, these sites are well worth tracking down. Not only do they give you more of an insight into the city’s culture and history, once you find all of them, you also unlock a special outfit. Obviously, this isn’t something that you’re going to be done with in the early hours of the game, but it’s worth working towards as a long-term goal.

MYSTERIOUS SHARDS

Similar to historical sites, several Mysterious Shards are also scattered throughout Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s open world, and again, these are collectibles well worth tracking down, because the gear that you’re rewarded with at the end is quite useful (and something that dedicated series fans will probably like).

TALES OF BAGHDAD

Tales of Baghdad are essentially Mirage’s take on the World Events in Valhalla, and they’re some of the game’s brightest highlights. Though they’re smaller quests, they contribute significantly to building the city’s incredible atmosphere and further enriching the setting with insight into its culture. The setting is often the best part of an Assassin’s Creed game, and if that’s one of your main reasons for playing this game, you won’t want to skip the Tales of Baghdad quests.

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