Assassin's Creed games have taken place during wars before, notably the American and French Revolutions, but Odyssey kicks it up a notch by allowing players to join in on the fray in ways that weren't possible before. We'll break down what exactly these Conquests are and what you'll need to know about them before jumping in.

What are Conquests?

Conquests are optional, large-scale battles between Athenian and Spartan soldiers that determine which army rules a specific region. When viewing the world map, you'll notice that any region you hover over will either have a blue or red outline, denoting the ruling army, as well as a description displaying its leadership power.

How do I participate in a Conquest?

By weakening the Nation Power of a region, you can take part in these battles. On the map where you see a region's display of its leadership power, there will be a three-tiered bar that shows how fortified or weakened it is. Once weakened enough to a Vulnerable state, you can trigger these Conquests.

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Weakening the Nation Power of a region is as simple as killing soldiers that belong to the ruling army, killing the leadership in the area, burning war supplies in forts, and taking out commanders and captains at forts. If a leader in an area remains undiscovered, you can usually find them at their house, which is denoted by a purple icon on the map.

Though a region may have a ruling army, that doesn't always mean that every fort in the region is part of that army. Before you take out a fort, look at the banners hanging across its walls. If they are red, that's a Spartan fort, and if they are blue, it's Athenian. Don't just rush in and kill everyone before realizing you were attacking the wrong fort.

Which side should I fight for?

In the grand scheme of things, which side you fight for doesn't make a huge difference. It all comes down to personal preference, whether you like one side over the other, and this could be affected by certain missions you undertake.

If you're just interested in the biggest reward, then you'll want to fight for the invading side. Though invading is a harder challenge than defending, you are rewarded with more Epic loot and more experience.

How do I win Assassin's Creed Odyssey's conquests?

Each side begins with a set amount of soldiers that are indicated through two bars at the top of the screen. The more soldiers that die, the lower the bar regresses. Your goal is to deplete the enemy's bar before yours runs out.

The battlefield looks chaotic at first, but you shouldn't just rush in and kill the first enemy you see. Instead what you'll want to do is take out the other side's captains, which diminishes their bar even further. Captains are denoted with yellow symbols surrounding their level above their heads. Run around and find these first before focusing on basic foot soldiers. Mercenaries can also join the fray if you fight for the invading side.

In our review, we called Assassin's Creed Odyssey "another win for Ubisoft's leading design team."

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