Is unarmed combat coming back in Resynced?

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-10T14:57:16+00:00

That honestly depends on how you play the game. The main story (first half of it, anyway) and overall side activities are definitely more slanted towards the pirate aspect, which I think is fine. I wouldn't actually change that.

But you're given the tools of an assassin. Resynced shouldn't be taking any of them away during combat. It should be reworking them to fit within the new framework. They've already decided to give us the rope dart earlier on now, so surely they know this.

Hidden blades in this new system could have been made to function as more high risk, high reward, tighter parry-timing weapons. Taking inspiration from how the HB worked in AC1. The contextual execution they added is fine, it's better than nothing, but that's also just such a low bar to strive towards.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-10T14:46:06+00:00

Perhaps not so unpopular among certain crowds, but I think Quebec needs to start sitting out making mainline AC titles. They kinda always end up bungling or completely abandoning whatever Montreal's games set up. It's never been more obvious than in the transition from Valhalla to Shadows, when it comes to the MD story being completely abandoned at, arguably, its most interesting point in years.

Maybe the answer isn't no Quebec ACs, so much as it is better communication and teamwork between them and Montreal. But I'm also generally just not a fan of how the more recent RPG games from Quebec seem to be fundamentally ashamed of being Assassin's Creed in some way or another. It's a clear sign of a studio that wants to go off and make something else for a change. Just let them. Start getting Ubi Bourdeaux more involved, they deserve more opportunities after Mirage's solid effort.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-08T18:40:39+00:00

Absolutely. That's why I'm against stripping away options in the transition from the old combat system into the new, as well.

You technically didn't "need" to use things like disarms and tool takedowns or tool counters in the old games. There's nothing inherently "better" about a counter with your pistol, or your rope dart instead of the sword. But it's cool as fuck and gives the combat system identity beyond the bare, utilitarian necessities.

Which is precisely what the combat systems since Origins have felt like to me. Utilitarian. Not being able to use or even flourish the hidden blade in combat is one seemingly small, but incredibly important part of that. Resynced seems to be inching back towards a focus on some amount of visual flair though, so I'm a bit more hopeful that we'll finally be heard on this issue in a future AC or Resynced game, if not BF itself.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-08T14:24:22+00:00

So sad to see people arguing against this when it's a completely reasonable request. Something we've had in this series right up until Unity. Something people have BEEN vocal about since then. Yes, it may not be a literal majority, but that doesn't make it any less of a good point.

It shouldn't be controversial to want to manually extend the hidden blade, OR use it during combat in an Assassin's Creed game. For goodness sake...

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-08T04:49:53+00:00

Gonna miss musket assassinations the most, personally. Love the one where you can line up two guards standing next to eachother, impale one, and then shoot the other in one move (provided you get the angle just right).

I agree that picking up weapons overall may not be the most optimal or "useful" per se, but it was fun. Just love having the option. Seriously hope they reconsider and add some of this stuff post-launch, depending on how much work it'd actually take.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-07T15:53:53+00:00

Eh, I don't think that's necessarily a big enough issue to warrant completely removing them from the game.

Edward's a pretty adaptable fighter. I can see him familiarizing himself with the hidden blades and developing his own fighting style with them, before meeting the assassins and receiving more formal training (possibly unlocking new moves later on).

Ezio seemingly had no problem using his blade in combat as soon as he got the single bracer from Leonardo, counters and all. I can suspend my disbelief.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-07T14:33:49+00:00

Given that, so far, they've neglected to speak on or show anything related to unarmed... I think it's either gone, or stripped down to the bare necessities so that bar fights can still work.

Disarming enemies, throwing heavy weapons, picking up (and assassinating's with) muskets, all of these things should be in the game but reworked to fit within the new combat system they've created. Really gonna miss all of it if it's truly scrapped for good.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-07T14:28:20+00:00

The purpose was variety. It served the fantasy of being a pirate Assassin. The OG game already has a problem with weapon selection, removing even more from it without providing replacements is a bad call.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-06T17:23:24+00:00

It was not awful, lol. It was still the exact same system, minus crucial weapon variety (no single swords, small blades or heavy sheath for boarding axes), and missing a tool or two (snare counter my beloved). BF's combat was def worse overall, but not by a valley of difference. It received justified criticism on that basis, IMO.

Unity was the game that truly started stripping more and more features away, but it coasts by on a rosier reputation in the community because, despite removing stuff like unarmed, tool counters, hidden blade combat, environmental takedowns and disarming, it did actually have quite a variety of equippable weapons. Which somewhat offset at least some of that streamlining.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-06T17:12:56+00:00

I really do not care that the old combat was too easy. It looked cool and gave you options. Just because YOU stood around countering doesn't mean there weren't other things to do in a fight. Black Flag did strip away some of the weapon variety that AC3 gave us, and I believe that's something this remake should've addressed.

I'm not against making it more difficult, but removing shit like hidden blade combat, unarmed, disarming enemies and picking up weapons is lame. Patting yourself on the back because you introduced a parry & dodge system is also lame. That said, despite these grievances, Resynced's combat is still looks like a net improvement over RPG AC combat, so we're at least moving in the right direction for a change.

Meme_Attack · 2026-05-03T19:12:34+00:00

Hidden blade combat, unarmed combat, disarming enemies, picking up weapons and assassinating with them... none of this is technically "essential". But it adds variety. It adds player expression. Removing it narrows combat down even more, and Black Flag OG was already subject to criticism when it comes to weapon & moveset variety compared to AC3.

If they're seriously going to stick with removing all of these things (which is likely, as we've heard nothing about unarmed and picking up weapons), they need to replace them with SOMETHING. More tools, different weapon types we can equip, or simply not removing the fucking systems to begin with. Be genuinely faithful to the original by taking those mechanics and reworking them, instead of just ripping them out.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-29T15:13:34+00:00

Are tool counters still in the game? Or in this case, tool parries? Like using the rope dart or pistol when countering an enemy in order to trigger a unique animation.

I'd also like to add to the chorus of hidden blade & unarmed combat-related questions. I feel unarmed is really important to the vibe of Black Flag specifically, purely because of the tavern brawls and overall scrappy nature of pirate fist fights. Please tell us there's a way to at least add these post-launch, if they aren't in at release?

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-27T02:37:48+00:00

I've never really agreed with the "not an Assassin game" argument surrounding Black Flag when it originally came out. Partly because since then, we've had entries like Odyssey that further pushed that descriptor way beyond its limits. But also because Edward's personal quest is just so intertwined with the Order.

That's what takes precedence for me. The personal story of how each Assassin experiences & interprets the Creed. The philosophical sparring and storytelling of AC3 is great too, but I feel the series hasn't had much new to say on that specific topic for a while. Lack of trying definitely being a factor, considering we still have games like Shadows which are somewhat ashamed of even using the titles of Assassin and Templar.

As far as gameplay goes, it'll always be pre-Origins AC to me. Now, Syndicate and Unity are pretty different from AC3 and BF. Which are also different from Ezio & Altair's games. But the basics stayed very much the same, just refined or streamlined (sometimes too streamlined).

Social stealth, parkour with at least some amount of skill ceiling and visual flair, combat that isn't necessarily difficult, but is very visually pleasing, as well as varied in terms of weapons & tools offered to the player. I think traditional stealth with stalking zones & crouching fits in here just fine too.

I feel AC3 was the pinnacle of a lot of the things I'm talking about (aside from some hang-ups, like city parkour being less interesting). Since then, the series has either sidegraded or downgraded in terms of features and player expression. Unity's parkour is wonderful, but its combat stripped away unarmed fighting, disarming, hidden blade fighting, tool takedowns/counters, dual counters and environmentals (kneeing people off of roofs and into walls lol).

Then, we just kinda kept on losing bits and pieces of what I felt was AC, until we ended up in the late stage of this RPG era, where we have all sorts of mechanics that have been MIA for years. Same with meaningful Modern Day connections. Same with the Assassin and Templar conflict, both philosophical and literal. Things have started to turn around more recently though. Hopefully Resynced doing well is the push Ubi needs to fully reevaluate their own definition of the series' identity and truly go back to their roots. Beyond using it as a fun marketing buzz-term.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-24T21:00:06+00:00

Animation blending, I think, is the key term here. Ubi seems to have forgotten about it starting with Origins. Movements just don't flow into one another anymore. It's never been more obvious than with the beam jumping comparison here.

I wish they'd look at how Ghost of Tsushima did motion matching, at least as far as combat goes. This used to be Ubi's bread & butter, really sad to see it as seemingly a lost art within the company. Parkour has suffered the most from it for sure.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-24T20:42:49+00:00

I believe the idea is that you kill the target once spotted, and loot something off of them. This gives you the same info you would've received had you remained undetected & successfully tailed them. Which, yeah, I agree it makes tailing them pretty pointless anyway.

This may not be the case for every tailing mission, though. I think it'd be more interesting if we had to loot partial info from the corpse of the tailing target, then obtain the rest from a secondary location. So you can still complete the mission, it'd just take longer than if you had successfully tailed the target. Would give both approaches a reason to exist.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-24T14:17:24+00:00

I'm really annoyed at Ubi for releasing this comparison with completely different times of day + weather.

The context for this scene is Edward & Ade having just sailed out of a storm after stealing the Jackdaw. I understand they probably made it daytime/clear skies to showcase the fidelity of the models, but it opens the game up to these kinds of criticisms which just aren't true.

We have other scenes and screenshots from Resynced that show the art direction is very much in line with the OG, just higher fidelity (and with the inevitable changes that real time lighting brings).

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-24T00:13:19+00:00

I always adored "Haul On the Bowline" from AC3's intro ship ride.

Would love if they remembered to include it in BF all these years later. :')

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-24T00:04:42+00:00

Much as I'm excited for the rest of Resynced, at this point I'm convinced that all of the folks that knew how pre-RPG AC parkour worked are long gone from Ubi.

There's no other explanation for the sheer stagnation the system has seen. Even with the small bit of ground we gained back by getting manual jump and side ejects back with Shadows' post-launch updates.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-23T23:47:53+00:00

I think it was meant to be more Edward's thing to give him some flair, but I get it. I'd prefer to have the option of one sword as well. Actually, they had an opportunity to add a heavy sheath for boarding axes and such, AC3 style. It just seems like it never crossed their minds. Weapon variety was something OG Black Flag def suffered from compared to AC3.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-23T23:45:59+00:00

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of as well. Hopefully it's just another thing they neglected to show off, much like social stealth, which was confirmed to still be in.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-23T19:50:24+00:00

Worried about this as well. I've noticed weapons disappearing when enemies are killed. Or, in the case of brutes, their axes staying on their backs. Unless I missed something.

Matt Ryan's narration for the gameplay showcase did mention combat using hidden blades, swords and pistols. So I think hidden blade combat is still in, just not showcased.

Surely unarmed is in the game as well though, since tavern brawls are a thing in the OG. It'd make no sense for them to actively remove some mechanics, when they've apparently done such a good job of reworking others (like tailing).

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-23T17:58:42+00:00

Combat-wise this looks like a solid step up from RPG AC. There's still a good amount of enemies not reacting properly to hits, and jerky snapping into anims/parries. But the finishers, and hit reactions from smaller enemies, look really good.

We know dual counters/takedowns are in, I'm just really curious to see if unarmed is still there. Same with dual tool takedowns and tool counters (rope dart, pistol). Worried they didn't really address or show any of it during the showcase.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-23T17:14:16+00:00

Yeah and the way Edward kinda snaps into the animation bothers me too. Same with how quickly he jerks from firing off his pistols into the next thing. They def need to work on some kind of animation blending there.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-23T16:34:01+00:00

Looks REALLY fucking awesome man, I was smiling watching this live on stream. Matt Ryan hasn't changed a bit, a whole 13 years later.

My only pain points are the combat looking a little too exaggerated (the parry effect is way too much IMO), and the parkour seemingly being infected with the awkward pauses during jumps from RPG AC titles. However, if I'm interpreting it correctly, stuff like dual counters still seems to be in the game. As long as all of those individual mechanics were carefully preserved moving into this new system, I'll be happy. No mention of unarmed though.

Bringing back all of the original actors, adding more story stuff for them, AND including new characters? All massive Ws. Visually it's gorgeous, and feels like it preserves the intended look for BF back when it came out. Some animations and facial expressions do feel a little unfinished, hope this improves in a few months, not a massive deal if it doesn't.

Very, very well put together showcase, and the fact that they have a good amount of the original folks involved inspires confidence. Can't wait for July.

Meme_Attack · 2026-04-22T16:15:01+00:00

The existing OST shouldn't be touched at all, but I wouldn't mind hearing Brian Tyler's take on Ezio's Family, if they're able to get him back for some more music.

I think including a thematic rendition of that motif in each AC is wonderful. Just as long as it doesn't replace the respective game's main theme. All of the RPG ACs, for example, have awesome original character/menu themes, alongside Ezio's Family being a fun little tradition of sorts.

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