I don’t usually offer game tips on this blog, but I’m in the process of finishing up the Curse of the Pharoahs DLC for Assassin’s Creed: Origins and am still fresh from getting mummy dust on the blade of my sword. There are four major boss battles at the climax of the DLC, against the zombified mummies of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Ramesses and Tutankhamen and the first two whipped my ass when I initially went blade to blade with them. Once I developed an effective strategy, though, it turned out to be ridiculously easy to send them off to the duat or wherever undead god-kings go when they’re no longer undead and I was able to plow through the feral pharaohs like a sickle blade through a flamingo. (Yes, you can fight flamingos with sickle blades in this game, though you’d be better off shooting them from a nearby blind with a predator bow so that they won’t fly away when they see you coming.)
I’ve seen other strategies online that involve complicated combos and rapid dodging, but my strategy only requires an overpower attack and a lot of running — about 20 minutes worth of running per pharaoh. Keep a bottle of Gatorade by your side to fight controller fatigue. The best thing about this strategy is that there’s no luck or skill involved. It’s guaranteed to work unless you seriously screw up. And it isn’t a cheat.
I recommend using a bladed weapon, like a sword, because you’ll need to get in and out very quickly during the overpower attack. Under most conditions, heavy blunts have the best overpower attack in the game, essentially turning you into a superhero for the 15-20 seconds it takes to clear out nearby enemies, but they’re also slow, inaccurate and won’t let you get back out of the mummy’s way when the overpower attack wears off.
I strongly recommend that you have the Overpower Fury ability, which heals you during an overpower attack. It’s not strictly necessary, but you’ll be glad you have it if you get sloppy and take damage. (This is most crucial during the fight with Ramesses, which takes place in the desert, where brief sandstorms occasionally obscure your view of the enemy. Ramesses may get in the occasional non-fatal blow, but Overpower Fury will heal it the next time you attack.)
All that said…
Here’s How It Works
When the fight begins, start running in circles around your adversary, staying out of reach of their weapon. This isn’t as difficult as it sounds. The undead pharaohs are fairly slow moving and your constant motion will prevent them from landing a strike. You’ll find that your adrenaline bar goes up while you run, something that doesn’t seem to happen in other fights. As soon as you have enough adrenaline for an overpower attack, use it. The pharaoh will be stunned for about a second, giving you time to back off and start running again. Repeat this over and over until your opponent is dead.
That’s It?
Yeah, that’s it. No complicated moves, no fire arrows (though a fire blade might not hurt), no bodily damage to Bayek. The only risk this strategy carries is tedium, because it takes a long time to whittle away at a mummy’s hit point bar, even with overpower attacks. But if you keep running and don’t wander within reach of your opponent’s weapon, you’ll eventually win the battle. And winning these battles is crucial to completing the DLC.
One Note…
Fighting Ramesses in the afterlife, which is where that particular battle takes place, requires first fighting his “shadow” in the streets of Thebes. For that you just have to hang around town until he materializes (the game will let you know when a pharaoh’s shadow has appeared), locate him on the map (he’ll look like a cryptic rune scribbled in bright red ink) and gallop over to his location. (Combat by horse is strongly recommended.)
The battle itself is trivial. Just target the ghostly figure and ride around him in tight circles. He won’t fight back as long as you keep hitting him and it only takes a few seconds to reduce his hit points to zero. Then you’ll be given the quest to meet him in the afterlife.
If I’ve saved any player the aggravation of dying repeatedly while fighting undead pharaohs, my work here is done. Your comments are welcome.
Sublime Confusion 