Assassin's Creed 3 – Hunting Guide, Part 1

Introduction
Hunting
The Kill
Profit

Introduction
Even though the game gives a great overview into hunting itself there are still some things that can be best explained separately from the rest of it. These items are the best ways to take down prey and predators, what they can give and the value.

Hunting
Hunting is a completely new aspect to the Assassin's Creed game series. While the player is introduced to hunting in Sequence 4, it is not until a little later you really can set into hunting and start making a profit from it. To do that it is important to understand what basic types of animal you will encounter throughout the game and how to best manage the kill. As you get more practice in hunting it will become easier to get those better kills and reap better rewards. Whenever you enter into an area you can hunt, be sure to have the Poison Darts or the Hidden Blade equipped and handy.

There are only two basic types of animals in Assassin's Creed 3: Aggressive and Passive. The aggressive animals such as wolves, bears and bob cats will not hesitate to attack Connor on sight. More often then not this will result in a Quick Time Event (QTE) that sets Connor up for the kill quickly. It will also stop him from taking a massive amount of damage as the animal will then start to maul Connor. These animals are easiest to deal with if you can pull off an air or stealth assassination on them. This stops them from getting close to Connor and being able to inflict any damage on him. Male Elk fall into this category by virtue of this antlers. As long as they are not spooked or attacked, they will let Connor go on unmolested.

The second animal type is passive. These are smaller creatures generally such as hare or beavers or other herbivores (such as deer). These will run at the sight of Connor and will not stop for quite a while. These animals you will find a much better variety of tricks work on. Snares are added into the general list as well as using bait to draw them close to a stalking zone.

When it comes to the actual hunting there are a few differences from reality: animals cannot see Connor in the stalking zone. The moment Connor moves into the open then they will likely start to run. Most animals have a blind spot behind them, making it conceivable to sneak up behind something. In practice sneaking up on from above is the easiest method. It is impossible to hunt out a region, it just takes a little influence to get things back on the right track.

If you want to increase the number of animals in the region there are things that Connor can do. First is activate Eagle Vision and track down some clues. These can correspond to a specific animal or to an increase in the spawning of a single animal type.

The Kill
While an important part of hunting, in Assassin's Creed, it determines the quality of the pelt that Connor can pull off the animal. The smaller amount of damage done to the animal (a.k.a. The smallest weapon) the better the pelt that can be obtained. This means that assassination with the Hidden Blade is a great way to get the best hide that you can. Snares also work very well here as they will do minimal damage. Poison darts will usually not kill the animal but they will slow it down to make for an easier time to catch up and finish the animal. The bow is the next lowest in terms of getting a quality kill. If at all possible, avoid using firearms as they will yield a very low quality kill. This is very apparent if you look at the reward for an intact bear pelt (worth ₤240) compared to a damaged one (worth ₤40)

Profit
The final step of any good hunting excursion is based here in profit. Once you have access to sending convoys you can start shipping out the spoils of the hunt and start to reap profits. While they are initially cut into by taxes, this can be offset over time. Sending a convoy full of intact bear or  beaver pelts will help Connor establish a solid fiscal base that he can use throughout the whole story. This makes it very simple to just start into the game and get the money you will need later on more immediately.