Summary
Back in October 2022,Assassin’s Creed Invictuswas announced alongside a handful of other in-developmentACprojects. WhileAssassin’s Creed RedandHexeare slated to be single-player adventures,Assassin’s Creed Invictus' main selling point is its multiplayer focus, bringing an online mode back to the series for the first time sinceAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.
ThoughtheAssassin’s Creedfranchiseis often best remembered for its various compelling narratives, characters, and historical settings, multiplayer did play a much bigger role in the series than many might remember. Introduced inAssassin’s Creed Brotherhood, competitive multiplayer remained a staple of the series right up untilAssassin’s Creed Unity, which switched to a cooperative multiplayer mode, and ended up marking the end for multiplayer altogether in theAssassin’s Creedseries. ButAssassin’s Creed Invictuscould be the triumphant return toACmultiplayer fans have been waiting for, and it has the opportunity to fix some shortcomings of the older titles.
Assassin’s Creed Invictus Can Double Down on Character Customization
Character Customization in Old Assassin’s Creed Multiplayer Was a Solid Start
Even in itsoriginalAssassin’s Creed Brotherhooditeration, classicACmultiplayer allowed players to customize their characters, albeit not too much. In every iteration of classicAssassin’s Creedmultiplayer, players would choose from a handful of different character models, each one themed after a different character archetype of the era such as a plague doctor, executioner, courtesan, etc. But what improved steadily with each new entry was the ability to customize these character models even further.
InAssassin’s Creed Brotherhood, players only had the option to unlock four different gear levels, with each one adding new pieces of apparel to the character model such as a cape or collar. Each character model also had four color options. This system was improved greatly inAssassin’s Creed Revelations, with players now being allowed to customize individual aspects of their chosen character model, such as their head, chest, arms, belt, and accessories. Each category had around four options to choose from.Assassin’s Creed 3andBlack Flagimproved upon this system even further, adding unique costumes for each character model that would change their overall appearance drastically.
How Assassin’s Creed Invictus Can Offer More Character Customization
While theclassicAssassin’s Creedmultiplayer modeoffered a decent amount of customization, many of its customization options were shared across multiple character models, and quite a few customization options didn’t change the model in a truly significant way. Put simply, there was plenty of room left to improve, and character customization is an area thatAssassin’s Creed Invictusshould really focus on.
From the get-go,Assassin’s Creed Invictusshould let players create their own custom character. For nostalgia’s sake,Invictuscould let players start with a preset character model, but then they should be able to drastically change its features so that it feels suitably unique. Players should then be able to customize every conceivable element of their character’s costume, from armor sets and belts to boots and capes to hoods and everything in between. It’s also very important for these customization items to be earnable in-game, to incentivize players to keep on working towards the specific item they want for their character.
If Ubisoft wanted to start introducing paid skins toAssassin’s Creed Invictus, it already has an obvious path to do so, giving players outfits based onclassicAssassin’s Creedcharacters like Ezio, Altair, Connor, Edward, and the rest of the Assassin line-up. But regardless of whether Ubisoft decides to monetize these costumes, it should keep its base-game customization completely free, with it being an important incentive to keep playing.
