Assassin's Creed Odyssey is here, and brings with it a variety of new features beyond its setting of Classical Greece. The game's open world is extremely deep, with a huge amount of side content to keep gamers interested beyond the core plot.
Chief among these content additions is the mechanic of Conquest Battles. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is set during the Peloponnesian War, and as such large chunks of the map are under the control of either Athens or Sparta. The player is then able to stealthily undermine these regions, eventually then allowing the opposing force to take control, or alternatively can choose to defend against the invading army.
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This is a fun and fulfilling distraction (at least more so than some of the other moments in the game), but it's one that takes a bit of planning to really pull it off. After all, it's not so simple to wrench control of a heavily fortified region without doing a bit of work before a blade is even unsheathed. Here's a quick look at how to make the most of the Conquest Battle system.
For starters, choose a good area of the game's map - one that matches the player's level - and identify the areas of the region there the current leadership can be weakened. This would be killing off Captains and Polemarchs, destroying war supplies, stealing key chests and killing of Leaders, who are located at the Leader House in the first instance. The aim of this is to get the Nation’s Power Meter as low as possible.
To make things easy, don't go straight for the Leader. Instead, focus on undermining the area first. The smartest things to go after are supply crates and killing standard Captains, and doing so can carefully whittle down that Power Meter to a manageable level.
For a big hit, however, go after the forts. It takes a fair amount of patience as these forts are heavily guarded, but look for secret entrances and slowly take out the soldiers found within. The end goal is to then defeat the Polemarch, although these warriors are more difficult than even the Captains.
When the Power Meter is low enough, it's time to go after the Leader. At a certain point, the Leader will become vulnerable and will be forced to flee their Leader House, leaving them outside with a smaller band of bodyguards. This makes it much simpler to take them out, and significantly damages the Power Meter.
Once the time is right, go to the appropriate Conquest Battle marker on the map - there will be one for defending and one for attacking with the invading force. Forming part of the attacking army is a more difficult fight, but with it comes much greater rewards. Once the battle begins, don't get too dogged down in the ordinary soldiers, as satisfying as it is. Instead, focus on the Captains to watch the enemy's strength drop considerably.
Be careful, however, and make good use of any abilities. It's important to be particularly aware of the surroundings and of any other soldiers who break off to attack the assassin - especially when coming face-to-face with another mercenary out for a fight. However, before long the player should then have won the Conquest Battle, and taken whatever loot they have rightfully earned.