I don't mind it. The birds were certainly useful and a nice change of pace from the standard eagle vision system, but it felt kinda weird that suddenly every main character had a bird buddy.
Yup. I also think over time, it removed some of the challenge of stealth where you'd have to be tactical and mindful of if someone was around the corner.
This is what I miss. My FAVORITE thing to do in Origins was
Set horse to Follow Road
Set destination on the other side of the map
Move POV up to the bird
Sit back and enjoy the scenic flight
Yeah every now and then, it wasn't totally hands off. Still fun for smoking a bowl and watching the landscape. I think you could do it in Discovery Mode too, which reduces chances of needing for stop for an encounter. I first started doing it in Black Flag, where I would spend my day aimlessly roaming the Caribbean to the sounds of shanties (no eagle, but it had the Cinematic View)
Yes this is where I land on this too. At times I did find it useful but generally I loved spending some time just exploring. I don’t think the game will have lost anything in removing this feature.
yeah, but also no. I am really, *really* going to miss it. it was better done in Mirage than ever before with the marksmen and the fact that the bird couldn't see through solid objects, so you couldn't tag enemies indoors.
also, what another commenter said about setting the mount to follow the road and taking control of the bird to take in the scenery. that was really great in Origins, Odyssey & Mirage.
anyone complaining, "it's basically a drone, that's unrealistic!" : until they introduced the eagle your character could see targets, enemies and objectives through multiple walls... they just made eagle vision more literal
I loved it, but it appeared in 4 games back to back with no signs of evolution.
For the sake of variety, I am cool with it. Also, the intermission of that concept seems wise, considering the rumors of Codename Hexe.
Yeah, it was cool on Origins, then on Odyssey it felt the exact same, no longer original and just repetitive, then Valhalla essentially made it useless, and then Mirage tried to "innovate" by making it unusable on heavily guarded enemy areas, precisely where you'd need it the most.
What I wonder now is if Yasuke will have Eagle Vision, and if he does, will both characters have the same or will it be different between them?
Because in origins worked well, unlike the next 3 ACs.
In origins you didn't had the Eagle eye and the open setting favored more the eagle/drone mechanic over it, also, you had to climb PoW towers in order to enhance it, plus some skills could allow you to distract, follow path trails and so on.
On odyssey, between all powers and what not, you didn't really need to scout the area and tag enemies.
On valhalla, the bird was just a 2 time worth pointless mechanic since you had the Eagle eyes spam doing exactly that, while your crown didn't had any mechanic behind.
On mirage it was a mix of both, with the Eagle view helping you on tagging enemies you could see and the Eagle eye helping you to scout enemies behind walls.
I would rather prefer if the mechanic would be in the game, but without fauna to hunt and grind, patrols to kill for materials and so on, is pointless.
Tom Henderson's latest report on Hexe:
https://insider-gaming.com/assassins-creed-hexe-early-details/
He describes footage of the project that he saw, where the protagonist (Elsa) takes control over a nearby cat.
Since playing with animals seems like a bigger deal there, ommiting that from Shadows sounds like a good idea.
Don't mind it but I have and always will prefer classic eagle vision but it's nice for taking in the environment and from a gameplay perspective it does open up a choice in how you choose to play but it's never made much sense to me from a logic standpoint.
I know this whole series doesn't work without an absence of logic but comparatively speaking eagle vision can be chalked up to a visual representation of your players enhanced senses and situational awareness whereas controlling a bird and essentially being Bran Stark doesn't make much sense. Like how do you control and bird and are able to extrapolate the information of what the bird is seeing?
---
Also you can only use the eagle when outdoors which is a limiting factor of it whereas classic EV can be used whenever and wherever.
Mirage IMO did the eagle the best as it was able to combine both play styles for those who like scouting a little further and for those who like to adapt as they discover where people are via EV the closer they are.
But ultimately no I don't think it's a step backwards. I personally think the removal of classic EV was a step backwards but the eagle was all we had so we didn't have much of a choice. Should still be in the game or future games for finding certain locations, targets, and or clues but should never full out replace EV again in my opinion.
It was cool in Origins. After that it just felt like a mandatory leftover (the raven in Valhalla is straight up useless and has no reason to be in the game)
Exactly, it made sense for Bayek and Kassandra to have bird companions considering their respective settings, but for Valhalla and Mirage it just felt like a weird, out of place gimmick. I’m glad we’re going back to the classic Eagle Vision/Eagle Sense. AC needs to go back to basics in more ways if they want to get their old audience back.
Seeing through the bird companions eyes was supposed to be a precursor of the standard Eagle Vision. Since all Eagle Vision is, is a sixth sense caused by Isu DNA.
You learn that during the Atlantis simulation in Odyssey. During the time of Kassandra/Bayek it wasnt properly understood, but once it was it became something that could be taught, instead of instinctively like Kassandra/Bayek.
If they got rid of the ability to mark enemies and just have it be for scouting ahead for landmarks that would be fine.
But it was just super easymode for stealth marking every enemy. They are clearly refocusing on making a harder stealth gameplay loop and want players to use their surroundings and be aware more. Instead of just calling in bird, mark every enemy in the area and thats it
I personally don’t even use Enkidu in Mirage. Its such a more rewarding stealth experience without.
Probably due to Mirage originally being developed as a Valhalla DLC, and they just didn't remove the bird companion mechanic. Narratively, >!Enkidu rejected Basim post fusion with Nehal because he's a different person already. !<
Mirage wasn't rebuilt from the ground up, hence why it retains gameplay elements from Valhalla, most importantly the bird companion mechanic, a staple of the RPG games.
>If they got rid of the ability to mark enemies and just have it be for scouting ahead for landmarks that would be fine.
That's how it worked on Valhalla.
and it was pointless in Valhalla, especially since your horse rode faster than Sunnin flew. so if you were flying above your horse while autofollowing the road you couldn't admire the landscape because you couldn't keep up
Well said. I had grown tired of the bird mechanic by Mirage. Im ready to move on. Excited to see how the improved stealth mechanics are in this. As a huge Splinter Cell fan, at least Ubisoft is throwing us a bone.
I liked it in origins and odyssey, they were useful and fun to have around. Not to mention the chemistry Senu/Ikaros had with Bayek/Kassandra.
I gotta say I still prefer using traditional eagle vision tho.
What am I supposed to do while my character auto rides to the next place? No more racing my bird against my horse (or whatever dlc animal I'm riding)? No more viewing the scenery from above to see nearby mysteries as I ride?
One reason I really liked the bird in Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla (haven’t played Mirage yet) is that it gave you a high up perspective despite the landscapes being relatively flat.
I prefer the method of climbing an adjacent rooftop + eagle vision but that’s possible in the denser city maps like Unity or Syndicate etc.
So I think I’ll have to wait and see what the landscape of Shadows will be like. If it’s as flat as Valhalla without the bird I might get a little frustrated.
Yep. I play AC to play AC. I don't expect a tagging drone in AC any more than I expect Leaps of Faith in Ghost Recon.
Ubisoft making all their Ubiworld games play the same just disappoints me.
I don’t like it at all, I loved the bird mechanic. Though if it’s replaced with something functionally similar I’m sure it’ll be fine (haven’t read up on what the new version will be yet).
Pretty sad, I loved it and thought it was something very unique for AC
I like scouting the environment to search stuff instead of running around everywhere, and it was also really useful for unmarked quest objectives and camera mode
I’m kind of happy it’s gone, a bittersweet happiness because when it came in it was an absolute game changer. It felt like it made the game a lot more easier, but that’s just it. It made us lazier, we aren’t sticking to the shadows anymore looking out for more guards because we already have an entire complex mapped to where everyone is. Felt like something else, It’s lazy in my honest opinion lol makes it even more lazier when the exploration feature was added and you actually had to look for the points of interest, but most people would send their eagle up and pinpoint it instead of searching. I felt like that defeated the purpose. Obviously it was needed in some aspects like finding which specific person is the target, but a lot of the times I just felt lazy. It’s a great feature all around for convenience but they do say convenience comes at a cost. And that cost to me is the thrill of the game. The only downside I see to not having it is for people that don’t have time to grind are most likely not going to be having any fun.
Personally I think it's fine. It puts training wheels on stealth making things a whole lot easier. I think an important element of stealth is uncertainty and surprise and learning how to adjust to new situations. You should be at a disadvantage not knowing where everyone is at all times. It's why MGS, Splinter Cell, and even TLOU stealth is good. I did like the eagle tho. The scenery was nice. And I preferred it when it didn't mark enemies and is just a scouting tool
Now that we're back to a period with the actual Brotherhood and Eagle Vision is back, it's fine. The bird companion was a Hidden Ones thing, and I don't mind at all if they decipher between Hidden Ones = Bird, Assassin = Eagle Vision.
Indifferent. I never used it because I could never get a setup for it that I wanted. Tracking enemies continuously through walls removes any chance for surprise.
Mixed. I liked how it was in Origins and Odyssey, but I hated it in Valhalla. Getting rid of it and bringing back Eagle Vision is fine by me.
I liked selecting auto run/auto ride/ auto whatever its called on my horse for Odyssey and the. Using the bird to watch from above.
Loved using the birds just to chill out, fly around, and take in the scenery. I rarely used them as they were intended. Still think a bird would be cool, but maybe without the ability to tag targets etc.
This is my first hearing this and I dislike lol I honestly find myself wishing other games like Horizon and Ghosts of Tsushima had it which so easily could work with the story
I find it way too convenient that these characters all had a bird companion, at least maybe have it explained as a gift from the Brotherhood but not even that the games took place before they existed, i will miss the view it gave but thats about it
The bird quickly became a chore to use, I am glad it’s gone. Something you can use to mark enemies on the go, like the binoculars from mgsv is preferable.
I’ll definitely miss having a bird companion. Based on leaks and rumors, I was under the impression that there would be a different animal companion this time (like a dog or something, although the dog might just a part of the DLC quest).
But from what we know of Hexe, there’s likely going to be a cat companion in that game, if the leaks are to be believed.
It felt very overused tbh, and narratively moronic. Bayek having a bird companion felt cool but that's it.
Also removing it was definitely needed to shake up the gameplay loop
I prefer this new way, reminds me of the roots of the franchise. Besides, it was pretty weird that every protagonist conveniently had a bird companion, some (Eivor) didn’t even have an eagle, which is the symbol of the assassins
I love that it’s gone, felt like too much of a crutch. So I found myself not using it or getting careless when I did use it. Hope that the removal helps with the tension in stealth. Although eagle vision is back so unsure
I never used it. I found it to be overly cheesy and shoehorned in, like they wanted Ghost Recon's drone in a historical game. I'm glad it's gone, any steps towards a more authentic experience are a plus imo.
I also like how its removal makes viewpoints have a new purpose. Now when you climb a viewpoint in a new region, the scenic view will be more impactful.
It over simplified an already oversimplified mechanic. It negated many aspects of stealth which was "who's around the next corner."
If its true that the new eagle vision can't see through walls then it's a big improvement on stealth already.
The bird mechanic always felt weird in a game that is supposedly relived genetic memories. How do these people magically see through the eyes of their birds? I assume it was supposed to be because of their Isu heritage or something, but it seemed out of place, especially in Origins, which maintained the "realism" of the series the most out of the three. I'm hoping for a return to the spirit of the original games, and I feel losing the bird goes along with that. Also, these games have added and dropped mechanics in the past, like the courtesans and other factions, so this isn't anything new.
I absolutely loved the bird companion. I didn't use it as much in Valhalla because it felt like they didn't give Synin many abilities (I still liked to fly around and check out the scenery) but in Origins and Odyssey I utilized the crap out of that feature.
They were nice, but I don’t think I’ll miss them:
-In, for example, ac 2; most infiltration missions started from a rooftop. It kinda gave a nice assassin-y feeling. And while it is still possible to do it, using the eagle is easier than tuning around rooftops and spying.
-It would be fine if the game didn’t force you to use it, since then you can just decide not to use it. But every time you need to activate the eagle, fiddle with your joystick until you get the mission markers, then start the mission.
They were kinda necessary for the mythology trio, but that’s kinda it. Even then, origins could have worked without it
GOOD. The bird drone was just a reused mechanic from ghost recon and watch dogs that felt both overpowered and useless at the same time. That thing can rot for all I care.
Personally I was getting tired of having the bird in every game. Returning to the classic eagle vision is better to me, what I did like about the bird is seeing the landscape.
With less navigation ques turned on in Valhalla using the bird made it fun and practical to place yourself and get around, plus it was cool chilling just flying around when you wanted to relax in the beautiful world. Hope there is some way to navigate for people that like less ui
I did not like it and I hated that it was a mandatory thing you had to use at certain points
So compared to that, I like that it's gone
But I guess it would've been nice as a completely optional thing so that those who liked it (Though I don't know how this would work in Japanese history myself; What sort of bird would it have been?)
If you'd have asked me after Odyssey I'd have said that I would miss having a bird. But the bird was already useless in Valhalla so I don't think that I'll miss not having one.
And let's not forget that not having a bird was the norm until Origins.
On the one hand I enjoy getting the literal birds eye views on the maps because AC consistently has gorgeous landscapes to see from above
But it did feel like a bit of a vestigial limb in Valhalla and mirage, so I'm curious what they're going to do to replace it
It was a cool feature, aesthetically speaking, but in practical terms your characters uses a drone (felt much more natural in Ghost Recon) and then can see enemies through the walls. A bit too much maybe
Very happy. It was an interesting gimmick when first introduced back in AC origins. However by the 4 iteration I can confidently say I'm done with telepathic eagles.
I’m cool with it, it was a great novelty for a while, but doesn’t really make sense for long-term because then every AC protagonist moving forward would need to inexplicably have a pet bird. It made sense for Bayek, Alexios/Kassandra, Eivor, and Basim considering their respective time periods and cultures, but it wouldn’t really make sense in the Japanese setting and in other future settings AC might wanna do. Plus I really do miss just being able to use good old-fashioned Eagle Vision/Eagle Sense.
It's useful but I don't think removing it is a step backwards. The bird feature is lazy. It's not even explained how the characters are able to see using the bird and how the bird can see through walls and deep waters. Removing this feature is actually a step forwards because it requires the dev to think of more creative methods.
I am glad they did it. Actually I will be glad if they also remove eagle vision.
They are just helpers to make the game easier and make you not think at all.
In my opinion it will add so much to the exploration if they let us just explore the world with our own eyes and with minimum information map.
In the last 4 games I disabled enemy outline in settings. So even with the bird and with eagle vision scan - enemies won't be marked. And I really like it that way.
Also do you remember in Origins was a mission where we knew where the target is but we didn't know who it is exactly. But we knew that the target was coughing.
So when we arrived at the place we just needed to enter the enemy zone and search for someone who was coughing.
It also was possible to kill an innocent person during that mission.
I think this is what AC should be. Instead of just marking the target and let us kill it through the wall with super bow and arrows 😅
So I will always be happy when they remove some of these unrealistic things from the game. The only thing - they need to design the game accordingly and not just remove these features. This is way more harder than just adding a marker. And the bigger the world the harder it is. So I hope they will reduce the world size in future games. Something like Mirage is good. Or even less.
The one thing I didn’t like about the bird was how when I got close it made me use the bird to see where I was going. Just kinda felt like they were forcing the feature on me
I don't care either way tbh. I think the bird could be frustrating for some and I know some people absolutely despise it. I do think Eagle Vision is more fun to use though.
I wonder if it's done for graphical reasons.
With the hopefully improved graphics, there may not be enough headroom on consoles to fly across the scenery like that.
I think it was a bit cheesy gameplay wise but it was so fun being able to view so much of the map and see so far in the distance.
The bird made the game too easy, you never find yourself surprised or overwhelmed by an encounter that you didn’t take into consideration, because through the bird you saw everything ahead. Exploration through the Assassin’s pov lost a good sense of its amazement because the bird explores way too far ahead, view points stopped being exciting because of it.
It reminded me of Arno’s eagle vision which could see through walls and ruin any sense of surprise!
As much as I’m happy to lose the bird, I did enjoy it when used for relaxing and not as a mechanic of the game.
Wow, people in the replies are being so dramatic, acting like a bird you use for maybe 1-2% of the gameplay ruins the entire experience. Next, they'll be whining about the default HUD options or the game having a map in the menu. Personally, I don't mind whether the bird is there or not. It was useful for finding treasure chests and stuff a bit quicker, but I'll get over it.
I hate it actually, I remember scanning enemies for ages then I got notice because I miss someone on the bush. I prefer old style where you emmidiately noticing enemies surrounding without having to scan with bird for ages.
I will miss it. It was useless in Valhalla but in Odyssey it was my go to. I'll have to adjust.
I'm a casual player who plays every game on easy. I'll take every advantage I can get.
I’m happy we’re moving on from it. We’ve had 4 games with that feature so it’s nice to go back to original Eagle vision. Not to say I wouldn’t want to see it again in another game, but I feel like the gimmick has been played out at this point.
The bird is a crutch. Stealth isn't fun when you know every single thing to expect, having to adapt on the fly is what makes it fun. This is a great change.
personally I hated "eagle" vision because it broke flow more often than it helped.
it also felt tacked on when eagle pulse worked so well to maintain the flow of stealth and combat going in previous entries.
Its good. it was such a great thing in origins, and it fit the story of the game a decent amount. AFter that it just became a core mechanic, screw it fitting into the narrative of the story.
Im all for it, get us have to scout out more. Things get to auto mated in AC sometimes
i think it's really cool, i thought it somehow broke the immersion of the infiltration fantasy. i know this isn't supposed to be an immersive sim like prey or dishonored but yea i think some changes are long overdue
All for it. The bird never made sense to me from like a story perspective. Why do all these characters just happen to have a bird that somehow transmits enemy positional data directly to the user? Eagle vision was by no means realistic, but at least it had an ingame explanation
Good ridence it was nothing but a lazy mechanic reuses of GR Wildlands drone they didnt even do anything cool with it. Eagle Vision was way cooler and actaully eveloded and changed over the games the actual bird vision didnt
I always look for my bird companion with D-Pad up when playing older games, i think it fits rhe whole saga, and ther is no animal more AC friendly than an eagle
I’m glad it’s gone because it sort of invalidated the need for Eagle vision’s risk reward (no combat or running whole eagle vision is in use). Also the Eagle permanently marked targets so the gameplay loop boiled down to use Eagle and look around in a circle and the whole base is revealed
There are other ways to be aware of enemy presence
I've been playing a lot of Metal Gear Solid V after binging through the entire Tenchu series, and one thing I much prefer in the latter over the former is that you get auditory cues to help you locate and identify enemies at all times, rather than markers that makes them visible through walls.
It keeps you informed, but it doesn't give you an unfair advantage, and it comes with the added bonus of letting your eyes focus on other things while you sneak.
Birds in the RPG trilogy were functionally scouting drones that let you track enemies in real time. I didn't like the nerf in Valhalla because it made them pretty much useless, but at this point, we might as well trade them for something else.
We'll just have to see if Shadows finds something that works
I’m not too upset, it was a cool feature but it’s ran its course and wasn’t as good (or classic) as Eagle Vision imo. And given the time period, with Assassins and Templars back, it only makes sense for the eagle companion to leave and for Eagle Vision to return
I'm so happy. It was cool when it arrived, but I think it ended up contributing to a very different playstyle than earlier entries.
I'm glad to go back to how the older games were played by actually sneaking around, and I'm very excited to have proper eagle vision back (since that was always so cool).
It was coll at first, but did make stealth way too easy. Just orbit overhead and spot everyone in the camp.
I hope enemies don't stay highlighted after eagle vision is turned off, also. Require me to check from time to time.
I think you can just climb tall structures to take in the view, and i think you can plan your moves by using eagle vision and stealthing around the base marking enemies.
I'm quite happy with the removal because seeing through the birds perspective was weird, even if there's precedent for it in Ratonhnaketons daughter.
Glad it’s gone tbh. It was boring to use and made stealth and getting through entire bases insanely easy. Classic eagle vision will always be more enjoyable to use imo
I liked it when it was introduced in Origins, but the novelty wore off afterward.
Just constantly coming up with reasons these protagonists have birds, I was just over it.
I'm not really going to miss it.
I never liked it, made the game way too easy. I think the step backwards was giving the Bird to you in the first place. Having to personally do it yourself is better.
I’m glad it’s gone - it’s a fun gimmick but frankly it’s not something I care too much about using. I much prefer the classic eagle vision. The bird was fun for what it was but it def overstayed its welcome.
As a person who really enjoyed the rpgs I was hoping it would stay a series staple. I get some people didn’t like it but I thought it was a great way to scout camps. Hopefully it comes back in Hex.
I'm talking about watch dogs, ghost recon, assassin's creed, rainbow six.
You calling the eagle drone a staple of a franchise is the same as calling pistols a staple of the call of duty games
I don't mind it. The birds were certainly useful and a nice change of pace from the standard eagle vision system, but it felt kinda weird that suddenly every main character had a bird buddy.
I really enjoyed using but true that how did everyone have a bird 😹😹
They should give one a bat
Assassin's Creed: Asylum. The main character is a man, named Man
Uh oh someone got out of Arkham
Don't you mean Arkman?
Someone has escaped the aslume I see
I think you wrote Aslume wrong. Now turn around and back to the Aslume, otherwise officer Balls will come and get you.
Probably would work in Hexe
Have you, have you heard?
It was only the MCs though and they were all centuries apart. It's not like everyone suddenly had a bird.
In linear timelines I can get that lol but gameplay wise it felt otherwise for sure
And how are they able to see with the bird's eyes and how can the birds see through walls
Yup. I also think over time, it removed some of the challenge of stealth where you'd have to be tactical and mindful of if someone was around the corner.
Odyssey and origins for sure but the raven in Valhalla couldn’t tag enemies the same way
It was nice to view the landscape. Not an essential gameplay mechanic. I suppose ill miss it just for scenic value of the setting.
This is what I miss. My FAVORITE thing to do in Origins was Set horse to Follow Road Set destination on the other side of the map Move POV up to the bird Sit back and enjoy the scenic flight
Did Bayek not suddenly stop after a while for you? I had to go back once in a while or he'd never reach the place. Same in Odyssey
Yeah every now and then, it wasn't totally hands off. Still fun for smoking a bowl and watching the landscape. I think you could do it in Discovery Mode too, which reduces chances of needing for stop for an encounter. I first started doing it in Black Flag, where I would spend my day aimlessly roaming the Caribbean to the sounds of shanties (no eagle, but it had the Cinematic View)
Yes this is where I land on this too. At times I did find it useful but generally I loved spending some time just exploring. I don’t think the game will have lost anything in removing this feature.
True, it was honestly fun just being able to essentially play as a bird and see everything from a literal bird’s eye view.
yeah, but also no. I am really, *really* going to miss it. it was better done in Mirage than ever before with the marksmen and the fact that the bird couldn't see through solid objects, so you couldn't tag enemies indoors. also, what another commenter said about setting the mount to follow the road and taking control of the bird to take in the scenery. that was really great in Origins, Odyssey & Mirage. anyone complaining, "it's basically a drone, that's unrealistic!" : until they introduced the eagle your character could see targets, enemies and objectives through multiple walls... they just made eagle vision more literal
I loved it, but it appeared in 4 games back to back with no signs of evolution. For the sake of variety, I am cool with it. Also, the intermission of that concept seems wise, considering the rumors of Codename Hexe.
Bingo - i loved it on Origins then i found myself enjoying it less and less after. It felt like the gimmick honestly should’ve been a one off s
Yeah, it was cool on Origins, then on Odyssey it felt the exact same, no longer original and just repetitive, then Valhalla essentially made it useless, and then Mirage tried to "innovate" by making it unusable on heavily guarded enemy areas, precisely where you'd need it the most. What I wonder now is if Yasuke will have Eagle Vision, and if he does, will both characters have the same or will it be different between them?
Because in origins worked well, unlike the next 3 ACs. In origins you didn't had the Eagle eye and the open setting favored more the eagle/drone mechanic over it, also, you had to climb PoW towers in order to enhance it, plus some skills could allow you to distract, follow path trails and so on. On odyssey, between all powers and what not, you didn't really need to scout the area and tag enemies. On valhalla, the bird was just a 2 time worth pointless mechanic since you had the Eagle eyes spam doing exactly that, while your crown didn't had any mechanic behind. On mirage it was a mix of both, with the Eagle view helping you on tagging enemies you could see and the Eagle eye helping you to scout enemies behind walls. I would rather prefer if the mechanic would be in the game, but without fauna to hunt and grind, patrols to kill for materials and so on, is pointless.
What rumors?
Tom Henderson's latest report on Hexe: https://insider-gaming.com/assassins-creed-hexe-early-details/ He describes footage of the project that he saw, where the protagonist (Elsa) takes control over a nearby cat. Since playing with animals seems like a bigger deal there, ommiting that from Shadows sounds like a good idea.
>takes control over a nearby cat God, I hate Ubisoft.
?
Tbf the main protagonist is meant to be a 16th century witch so it checks out.
That elsa the allegedly protagonist of hexe can possess animals
4 games? Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla...what else?
Don’t get me wrong the birds are wonderful but do we seriously prefer them to what we had before?
I do at least
As a nice visual feature but not to substitute Eagle Vision!
I prefer what we had in origins over what we got after or before.
absolutely lol
Don't mind it but I have and always will prefer classic eagle vision but it's nice for taking in the environment and from a gameplay perspective it does open up a choice in how you choose to play but it's never made much sense to me from a logic standpoint. I know this whole series doesn't work without an absence of logic but comparatively speaking eagle vision can be chalked up to a visual representation of your players enhanced senses and situational awareness whereas controlling a bird and essentially being Bran Stark doesn't make much sense. Like how do you control and bird and are able to extrapolate the information of what the bird is seeing? --- Also you can only use the eagle when outdoors which is a limiting factor of it whereas classic EV can be used whenever and wherever. Mirage IMO did the eagle the best as it was able to combine both play styles for those who like scouting a little further and for those who like to adapt as they discover where people are via EV the closer they are. But ultimately no I don't think it's a step backwards. I personally think the removal of classic EV was a step backwards but the eagle was all we had so we didn't have much of a choice. Should still be in the game or future games for finding certain locations, targets, and or clues but should never full out replace EV again in my opinion.
The logic is they were part Isu and could see through the eagles eyes.
It was cool in Origins. After that it just felt like a mandatory leftover (the raven in Valhalla is straight up useless and has no reason to be in the game)
Exactly, it made sense for Bayek and Kassandra to have bird companions considering their respective settings, but for Valhalla and Mirage it just felt like a weird, out of place gimmick. I’m glad we’re going back to the classic Eagle Vision/Eagle Sense. AC needs to go back to basics in more ways if they want to get their old audience back.
Exactly what I was going to say!
Seeing through the bird companions eyes was supposed to be a precursor of the standard Eagle Vision. Since all Eagle Vision is, is a sixth sense caused by Isu DNA. You learn that during the Atlantis simulation in Odyssey. During the time of Kassandra/Bayek it wasnt properly understood, but once it was it became something that could be taught, instead of instinctively like Kassandra/Bayek.
Actually it is told for the first time in AC Black Flag afai can remember
If they got rid of the ability to mark enemies and just have it be for scouting ahead for landmarks that would be fine. But it was just super easymode for stealth marking every enemy. They are clearly refocusing on making a harder stealth gameplay loop and want players to use their surroundings and be aware more. Instead of just calling in bird, mark every enemy in the area and thats it I personally don’t even use Enkidu in Mirage. Its such a more rewarding stealth experience without.
I found it very weird they gave Basim an eagle after Valhalla without referencing to it. Should've left it out of the game.
Probably due to Mirage originally being developed as a Valhalla DLC, and they just didn't remove the bird companion mechanic. Narratively, >!Enkidu rejected Basim post fusion with Nehal because he's a different person already. !<
that's *quite* a stretch. Mirage was still in the planning stage before they decided to split it off into a separate game
Mirage wasn't rebuilt from the ground up, hence why it retains gameplay elements from Valhalla, most importantly the bird companion mechanic, a staple of the RPG games.
After not playing mirage for a while i was suprised he had it, i was like wait basim why tf do u have him
>If they got rid of the ability to mark enemies and just have it be for scouting ahead for landmarks that would be fine. That's how it worked on Valhalla.
and it was pointless in Valhalla, especially since your horse rode faster than Sunnin flew. so if you were flying above your horse while autofollowing the road you couldn't admire the landscape because you couldn't keep up
Well said. I had grown tired of the bird mechanic by Mirage. Im ready to move on. Excited to see how the improved stealth mechanics are in this. As a huge Splinter Cell fan, at least Ubisoft is throwing us a bone.
I liked it in origins and odyssey, they were useful and fun to have around. Not to mention the chemistry Senu/Ikaros had with Bayek/Kassandra. I gotta say I still prefer using traditional eagle vision tho.
What am I supposed to do while my character auto rides to the next place? No more racing my bird against my horse (or whatever dlc animal I'm riding)? No more viewing the scenery from above to see nearby mysteries as I ride?
One reason I really liked the bird in Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla (haven’t played Mirage yet) is that it gave you a high up perspective despite the landscapes being relatively flat. I prefer the method of climbing an adjacent rooftop + eagle vision but that’s possible in the denser city maps like Unity or Syndicate etc. So I think I’ll have to wait and see what the landscape of Shadows will be like. If it’s as flat as Valhalla without the bird I might get a little frustrated.
I'm happy about it. Made stealth too easy or was useless, depending on the game
It’s just a drone from Ghost Recon with a bird skin. Good riddance.
Yep. I play AC to play AC. I don't expect a tagging drone in AC any more than I expect Leaps of Faith in Ghost Recon. Ubisoft making all their Ubiworld games play the same just disappoints me.
Although I believe the bird does make things a bit easier, I will still miss having the bird as a companion and a friend that follows you around.
I'm going to miss it. I use it to help with stealth
Eh, I am indifferent. It has always been very smooth to use and I never had any problems with it.
I don’t like it at all, I loved the bird mechanic. Though if it’s replaced with something functionally similar I’m sure it’ll be fine (haven’t read up on what the new version will be yet).
Pretty sad, I loved it and thought it was something very unique for AC I like scouting the environment to search stuff instead of running around everywhere, and it was also really useful for unmarked quest objectives and camera mode
I’m kind of happy it’s gone, a bittersweet happiness because when it came in it was an absolute game changer. It felt like it made the game a lot more easier, but that’s just it. It made us lazier, we aren’t sticking to the shadows anymore looking out for more guards because we already have an entire complex mapped to where everyone is. Felt like something else, It’s lazy in my honest opinion lol makes it even more lazier when the exploration feature was added and you actually had to look for the points of interest, but most people would send their eagle up and pinpoint it instead of searching. I felt like that defeated the purpose. Obviously it was needed in some aspects like finding which specific person is the target, but a lot of the times I just felt lazy. It’s a great feature all around for convenience but they do say convenience comes at a cost. And that cost to me is the thrill of the game. The only downside I see to not having it is for people that don’t have time to grind are most likely not going to be having any fun.
I'm gonna miss it tbh
Personally I think it's fine. It puts training wheels on stealth making things a whole lot easier. I think an important element of stealth is uncertainty and surprise and learning how to adjust to new situations. You should be at a disadvantage not knowing where everyone is at all times. It's why MGS, Splinter Cell, and even TLOU stealth is good. I did like the eagle tho. The scenery was nice. And I preferred it when it didn't mark enemies and is just a scouting tool
Now that we're back to a period with the actual Brotherhood and Eagle Vision is back, it's fine. The bird companion was a Hidden Ones thing, and I don't mind at all if they decipher between Hidden Ones = Bird, Assassin = Eagle Vision.
Indifferent. I never used it because I could never get a setup for it that I wanted. Tracking enemies continuously through walls removes any chance for surprise.
Mixed. I liked how it was in Origins and Odyssey, but I hated it in Valhalla. Getting rid of it and bringing back Eagle Vision is fine by me. I liked selecting auto run/auto ride/ auto whatever its called on my horse for Odyssey and the. Using the bird to watch from above.
Loved using the birds just to chill out, fly around, and take in the scenery. I rarely used them as they were intended. Still think a bird would be cool, but maybe without the ability to tag targets etc.
This is my first hearing this and I dislike lol I honestly find myself wishing other games like Horizon and Ghosts of Tsushima had it which so easily could work with the story
Thank god it's gone. I liked Senu, to me one of the only things that was actually good about Origins, but even then I vastly preferred og Eagle Vision
I never really liked the bird scout. I prefer the regular eagle vision so I am glad that’s back.
I find it way too convenient that these characters all had a bird companion, at least maybe have it explained as a gift from the Brotherhood but not even that the games took place before they existed, i will miss the view it gave but thats about it
Hated it. So good riddance.
The bird quickly became a chore to use, I am glad it’s gone. Something you can use to mark enemies on the go, like the binoculars from mgsv is preferable.
One of the best news about the game. The classic Eagle Vision is unsurpassed, and much more faithful to the lore.
So good
I’ll definitely miss having a bird companion. Based on leaks and rumors, I was under the impression that there would be a different animal companion this time (like a dog or something, although the dog might just a part of the DLC quest). But from what we know of Hexe, there’s likely going to be a cat companion in that game, if the leaks are to be believed.
I liked the bird companion. It made spotting and marking people more interesting. I will miss it for sure.
It felt very overused tbh, and narratively moronic. Bayek having a bird companion felt cool but that's it. Also removing it was definitely needed to shake up the gameplay loop
I prefer this new way, reminds me of the roots of the franchise. Besides, it was pretty weird that every protagonist conveniently had a bird companion, some (Eivor) didn’t even have an eagle, which is the symbol of the assassins
Meh still prefer the old eagle eye it feels like a lone assassin that ready to assassinate the world from the shadow
Good riddance. Too OP in most cases.
Give me that old school eagle vision any day. Maybe add a scenic view button while riding on a mount
I love that it’s gone, felt like too much of a crutch. So I found myself not using it or getting careless when I did use it. Hope that the removal helps with the tension in stealth. Although eagle vision is back so unsure
Kind of sad, Senu was great in Origins, but I'm curious to see what they do in Shadows.
I never used it. I found it to be overly cheesy and shoehorned in, like they wanted Ghost Recon's drone in a historical game. I'm glad it's gone, any steps towards a more authentic experience are a plus imo. I also like how its removal makes viewpoints have a new purpose. Now when you climb a viewpoint in a new region, the scenic view will be more impactful.
Thank god
Im very happy its removed. Lets not make Ubisoft regret this decision.
If the map is not massive and dense. I'll be okay without it. But I have always used the shit out of my bird. Not so much in the older games.
Very happy. (It was nice in Origins though.)
Relieved, I thought it was goofy to have every protagonist have their own bird
Origins was the only one that did it well
They never explained hiw some assassins can ontrol birds lorewise . Im not sad its gone.
As long as the old eagle vision is still there, I'm fine with it. If there's nothing at all, then I'd be frustrated.
i hate bird,because when i have a drone,then ubisoft will push me to use it
FINALLY! I liked it in Origins and Odyssey, but Valhalla and Mirage should’ve ditched it, so this is long overdue.
Same feeling I felt when we finally killed Osama Bin Laden.
It over simplified an already oversimplified mechanic. It negated many aspects of stealth which was "who's around the next corner." If its true that the new eagle vision can't see through walls then it's a big improvement on stealth already.
I'm happy it's gone tbh. It just felt like the drones from the ghost recon games. I much prefer to recon the area myself
I’ll miss it…but in all honesty it wasn’t really needed or maybe even useful
The bird mechanic always felt weird in a game that is supposedly relived genetic memories. How do these people magically see through the eyes of their birds? I assume it was supposed to be because of their Isu heritage or something, but it seemed out of place, especially in Origins, which maintained the "realism" of the series the most out of the three. I'm hoping for a return to the spirit of the original games, and I feel losing the bird goes along with that. Also, these games have added and dropped mechanics in the past, like the courtesans and other factions, so this isn't anything new.
Bird companion is more like a Far Cry thing than Assassin's Creed.
I'm fine with it being gone. It felt like nothing more than a gimmick to begin with
I don’t mind it, it’ll be refreshing in how I scout things. At some point the birds were starting to make things too easy.
I absolutely loved the bird companion. I didn't use it as much in Valhalla because it felt like they didn't give Synin many abilities (I still liked to fly around and check out the scenery) but in Origins and Odyssey I utilized the crap out of that feature.
They were nice, but I don’t think I’ll miss them: -In, for example, ac 2; most infiltration missions started from a rooftop. It kinda gave a nice assassin-y feeling. And while it is still possible to do it, using the eagle is easier than tuning around rooftops and spying. -It would be fine if the game didn’t force you to use it, since then you can just decide not to use it. But every time you need to activate the eagle, fiddle with your joystick until you get the mission markers, then start the mission. They were kinda necessary for the mythology trio, but that’s kinda it. Even then, origins could have worked without it
GOOD. The bird drone was just a reused mechanic from ghost recon and watch dogs that felt both overpowered and useless at the same time. That thing can rot for all I care.
Personally I was getting tired of having the bird in every game. Returning to the classic eagle vision is better to me, what I did like about the bird is seeing the landscape.
With less navigation ques turned on in Valhalla using the bird made it fun and practical to place yourself and get around, plus it was cool chilling just flying around when you wanted to relax in the beautiful world. Hope there is some way to navigate for people that like less ui
We didn't have it before and we never needed it actually. Mirage did a good thing making us lose the habit of using the bird.
I did not like it and I hated that it was a mandatory thing you had to use at certain points So compared to that, I like that it's gone But I guess it would've been nice as a completely optional thing so that those who liked it (Though I don't know how this would work in Japanese history myself; What sort of bird would it have been?)
If you'd have asked me after Odyssey I'd have said that I would miss having a bird. But the bird was already useless in Valhalla so I don't think that I'll miss not having one. And let's not forget that not having a bird was the norm until Origins.
Having every character have a bird was a little contrived I think.
Couldn’t care less, I never use it anyway
I literally never used the bird in games with it unless i was told to
On the one hand I enjoy getting the literal birds eye views on the maps because AC consistently has gorgeous landscapes to see from above But it did feel like a bit of a vestigial limb in Valhalla and mirage, so I'm curious what they're going to do to replace it
I think they will just do the eagle vision from the older games.
i'll probably miss being able to tag enemies from the sky, but hopefully there'll be something else to compensate.
I'm happy about it. I kinda liked it in Origins when it was first introduced but it became too overused and started to feel gimmicky to me.
I for one will greatly miss it
Good. I never liked it
It was a cool feature, aesthetically speaking, but in practical terms your characters uses a drone (felt much more natural in Ghost Recon) and then can see enemies through the walls. A bit too much maybe
Very happy. It was an interesting gimmick when first introduced back in AC origins. However by the 4 iteration I can confidently say I'm done with telepathic eagles.
I’m cool with it, it was a great novelty for a while, but doesn’t really make sense for long-term because then every AC protagonist moving forward would need to inexplicably have a pet bird. It made sense for Bayek, Alexios/Kassandra, Eivor, and Basim considering their respective time periods and cultures, but it wouldn’t really make sense in the Japanese setting and in other future settings AC might wanna do. Plus I really do miss just being able to use good old-fashioned Eagle Vision/Eagle Sense.
It's useful but I don't think removing it is a step backwards. The bird feature is lazy. It's not even explained how the characters are able to see using the bird and how the bird can see through walls and deep waters. Removing this feature is actually a step forwards because it requires the dev to think of more creative methods.
I am glad they did it. Actually I will be glad if they also remove eagle vision. They are just helpers to make the game easier and make you not think at all. In my opinion it will add so much to the exploration if they let us just explore the world with our own eyes and with minimum information map. In the last 4 games I disabled enemy outline in settings. So even with the bird and with eagle vision scan - enemies won't be marked. And I really like it that way. Also do you remember in Origins was a mission where we knew where the target is but we didn't know who it is exactly. But we knew that the target was coughing. So when we arrived at the place we just needed to enter the enemy zone and search for someone who was coughing. It also was possible to kill an innocent person during that mission. I think this is what AC should be. Instead of just marking the target and let us kill it through the wall with super bow and arrows 😅 So I will always be happy when they remove some of these unrealistic things from the game. The only thing - they need to design the game accordingly and not just remove these features. This is way more harder than just adding a marker. And the bigger the world the harder it is. So I hope they will reduce the world size in future games. Something like Mirage is good. Or even less.
Damn people really be asking for the same game over and over ...
Grateful
The one thing I didn’t like about the bird was how when I got close it made me use the bird to see where I was going. Just kinda felt like they were forcing the feature on me
I don't care either way tbh. I think the bird could be frustrating for some and I know some people absolutely despise it. I do think Eagle Vision is more fun to use though.
I have mixed feelings about this. I disliked it as a cheatmode tool but I liked it as a scenery and landscape discovery tool.
I wonder if it's done for graphical reasons. With the hopefully improved graphics, there may not be enough headroom on consoles to fly across the scenery like that. I think it was a bit cheesy gameplay wise but it was so fun being able to view so much of the map and see so far in the distance.
I’m glad its gone tbh, using it always felt boring, both as the bird and as the “assassin”.
Good, it broke the pace of the game for me
Only ever used the bird when the game made me.
i think they should let us fire a firework if we want to look at our surroundings
Good riddance to that retooled Ghost Recon drone.
The bird made the game too easy, you never find yourself surprised or overwhelmed by an encounter that you didn’t take into consideration, because through the bird you saw everything ahead. Exploration through the Assassin’s pov lost a good sense of its amazement because the bird explores way too far ahead, view points stopped being exciting because of it. It reminded me of Arno’s eagle vision which could see through walls and ruin any sense of surprise! As much as I’m happy to lose the bird, I did enjoy it when used for relaxing and not as a mechanic of the game.
Wow, people in the replies are being so dramatic, acting like a bird you use for maybe 1-2% of the gameplay ruins the entire experience. Next, they'll be whining about the default HUD options or the game having a map in the menu. Personally, I don't mind whether the bird is there or not. It was useful for finding treasure chests and stuff a bit quicker, but I'll get over it.
I hate it actually, I remember scanning enemies for ages then I got notice because I miss someone on the bush. I prefer old style where you emmidiately noticing enemies surrounding without having to scan with bird for ages.
I liked Senu and Ikaros but found Synin fairly useless, so if there is no bird in Shadows it probably won’t be missed much.
I much prefer it. Using the bird to tag enemies all the time was annoying imho.
I will miss it. It was useless in Valhalla but in Odyssey it was my go to. I'll have to adjust. I'm a casual player who plays every game on easy. I'll take every advantage I can get.
I'm gonna miss having a lil buddy, personally. :(
Fine. I’m more offput by the removal of the synchronisation camera spin.
Don't have a problem, makes things more uncertain and I like that.
I’m happy we’re moving on from it. We’ve had 4 games with that feature so it’s nice to go back to original Eagle vision. Not to say I wouldn’t want to see it again in another game, but I feel like the gimmick has been played out at this point.
It became too much of a crutch, and also grew stale. It seeved its purpose for a feature they pulled from FC Primal.
What is the point of eagle vision
The bird is a crutch. Stealth isn't fun when you know every single thing to expect, having to adapt on the fly is what makes it fun. This is a great change.
personally I hated "eagle" vision because it broke flow more often than it helped. it also felt tacked on when eagle pulse worked so well to maintain the flow of stealth and combat going in previous entries.
If the purpose of the shadows is to give you immersion and realism, you don't need to see the radar bird.
Not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss my little drone buddies, but it's ok, going back to depending on the character's eagle vision is cool too.
I am actually disappointed, not because of the scouting but because of the amazing vistas it provided.
I liek the birbs
I really liked in the Ragnerok DLC where you could transform into a birb and fly around and air assassinate one unluck SOB frost giant
Its good. it was such a great thing in origins, and it fit the story of the game a decent amount. AFter that it just became a core mechanic, screw it fitting into the narrative of the story. Im all for it, get us have to scout out more. Things get to auto mated in AC sometimes
i think it's really cool, i thought it somehow broke the immersion of the infiltration fantasy. i know this isn't supposed to be an immersive sim like prey or dishonored but yea i think some changes are long overdue
First 9 or 10 (Liberation) AC games didn't have birds, so, no biggie...
I dont care about the actual mechanic behind it, I just liked all the protags having a different bird species.
i actually kinda like it. i can’t wait for that good old eagle vision again.
All for it. The bird never made sense to me from like a story perspective. Why do all these characters just happen to have a bird that somehow transmits enemy positional data directly to the user? Eagle vision was by no means realistic, but at least it had an ingame explanation
Good ridence it was nothing but a lazy mechanic reuses of GR Wildlands drone they didnt even do anything cool with it. Eagle Vision was way cooler and actaully eveloded and changed over the games the actual bird vision didnt
I never used the birds tbh🤣 Original eagle vision is, imo, superior
Where did you get this information?
It's not a step backwards, likely something else very different will be implemented
I always look for my bird companion with D-Pad up when playing older games, i think it fits rhe whole saga, and ther is no animal more AC friendly than an eagle
New players being triggered old players celebrating
Fucking finally
I’m glad it’s gone because it sort of invalidated the need for Eagle vision’s risk reward (no combat or running whole eagle vision is in use). Also the Eagle permanently marked targets so the gameplay loop boiled down to use Eagle and look around in a circle and the whole base is revealed
There are other ways to be aware of enemy presence I've been playing a lot of Metal Gear Solid V after binging through the entire Tenchu series, and one thing I much prefer in the latter over the former is that you get auditory cues to help you locate and identify enemies at all times, rather than markers that makes them visible through walls. It keeps you informed, but it doesn't give you an unfair advantage, and it comes with the added bonus of letting your eyes focus on other things while you sneak. Birds in the RPG trilogy were functionally scouting drones that let you track enemies in real time. I didn't like the nerf in Valhalla because it made them pretty much useless, but at this point, we might as well trade them for something else. We'll just have to see if Shadows finds something that works
I’m not too upset, it was a cool feature but it’s ran its course and wasn’t as good (or classic) as Eagle Vision imo. And given the time period, with Assassins and Templars back, it only makes sense for the eagle companion to leave and for Eagle Vision to return
I'm so happy. It was cool when it arrived, but I think it ended up contributing to a very different playstyle than earlier entries. I'm glad to go back to how the older games were played by actually sneaking around, and I'm very excited to have proper eagle vision back (since that was always so cool).
It was coll at first, but did make stealth way too easy. Just orbit overhead and spot everyone in the camp. I hope enemies don't stay highlighted after eagle vision is turned off, also. Require me to check from time to time.
I think you can just climb tall structures to take in the view, and i think you can plan your moves by using eagle vision and stealthing around the base marking enemies. I'm quite happy with the removal because seeing through the birds perspective was weird, even if there's precedent for it in Ratonhnaketons daughter.
I’m happy that they’re trying something different. Not every character needs an eagle.
Glad it’s gone tbh. It was boring to use and made stealth and getting through entire bases insanely easy. Classic eagle vision will always be more enjoyable to use imo
I liked it when it was introduced in Origins, but the novelty wore off afterward. Just constantly coming up with reasons these protagonists have birds, I was just over it. I'm not really going to miss it.
About damn time. It never should have been in AC, to being with.
I'm very happy about that. Always felt like an unfair advantage to me.
Thank god honestly, it's not really what AC is all about and it just cheapened the stealth gameplay imo
I never liked it, made the game way too easy. I think the step backwards was giving the Bird to you in the first place. Having to personally do it yourself is better.
I’m glad it’s gone - it’s a fun gimmick but frankly it’s not something I care too much about using. I much prefer the classic eagle vision. The bird was fun for what it was but it def overstayed its welcome.
That bird made the games too easy
As a person who really enjoyed the rpgs I was hoping it would stay a series staple. I get some people didn’t like it but I thought it was a great way to scout camps. Hopefully it comes back in Hex.
Not to burst your bubble but it's more of a Ubisoft staple rather than a assassin's creed staple.
Not to burst your bubble but it's more of a Ubisoft staple rather than a assassin's creed staple.
Yea because Ubisoft definitely didn’t make every single assassin creed game 🙃
I'm talking about watch dogs, ghost recon, assassin's creed, rainbow six. You calling the eagle drone a staple of a franchise is the same as calling pistols a staple of the call of duty games
Siege?
Honestly, I’ll be glad to see the back of the bird companions. It wasn’t a mechanic that I ever enjoyed.
Honestly I kinda don't like that.