Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey combat guide

The Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey combat system might seem daunting when you’re first starting out. However, as with most stuff in the game, it’s easy to master once you know how it works. Below, we’ll teach you how to dodge incoming attacks, use weapons to take down opponents, and employ some of Ancestors‘ best early weapons that are essential to survival.

Like most interactions in Ancestors, dodging and attacking enemies requires holding down a button and releasing at the right moment. For both dodges and attacks, you will be using the ‘A’ button (provided you’re using a controller).

How to dodge

To dodge in Ancestors, press and hold down the ‘A’ button as you’re being attacked and hold the left joystick to either the left or the right. Now, you’ll need to listen for a sound cue that sounds like a chime/bell. As soon as you hear it, release the ‘A’ button (but make sure you’re still holding the joystick either direction). This should take you out of danger with enough time to run away. If you were carrying anything, though, there is a good chance you’ll drop it on a successful dodge. So, make sure to circle back to the area if you were carrying something valuable. Later on, unlocking nodes will increase your chance of holding onto your items when you dodge.

Hold ‘A’ when combat starts. The direction that you hold the joystick before you release will determine what you do. Hold it to the left or right of your attacker will cause you to dodge. Hold it towards them and you will attack, provided you have a weapon in one of your hands. Release ‘A’ at the wrong time and you’ll be on the receiving end of the attack.

How to attack

Attacking in Ancestors has you follow a pretty similar procedure to dodging. You will definitely want a weapon in your hand to do this; otherwise, you will take damage and receive the bleeding debuff. You can make simple weapons out of rocks and dead tree branches until you craft some better ones. If you do not have a weapon, stick to only dodging.

To attack, hold down the ‘A’ button, but this time point the joystick towards the enemy. When you hear the sound cue, release the button and you will attack.

For larger predators, attacking will usually cause them to retreat from the area and despawn out of sight. Animals like boars and snakes will run off (usually staying in the area) and often will attack again if you’re still near them. Many animals require multiple attacks to finish off, so bring an extra weapon if you’re stalking a particular foe.

Different types of weapons in Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey

There isn’t a huge arsenal of weapons to use right out of the gate in Ancestors. That said, you will have access to just about whatever you need as soon as you start. There are two main types of weapons in the game: bashing weapons and striking weapons.

Bashing weapons include granite rocks, basalt, and obsidian (as well as bones and other blunt objects you’ll find as you explore). These aren’t going to be your go-to tools when trying to kill an enemy, but they work great as a form of defense. The benefit of bashing weapons as opposed to striking is that they won’t be consumed when used, although you might drop them here and there. You can also find them pretty much anywhere that you’ll explore.

A simple rock or piece of obsidian makes for a great early game weapon. You can use these to attack ambushers, and they will not be consumed upon use.

Striking weapons serve as the best tools for killing animals in Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey‘s combat. In a pinch, a dead tree branch can be used as a striking weapon, but it has a low chance of actually killing your foe. A better option is to use a rock to alter the dead branch into a sharp stick. You can do this by holding down both ‘LB’ and ‘RB’ and releasing ‘RB’ when you hear the chime. You will also need to unlock a node in the Dexterity branch that lets you use both of your hands. If you haven’t discovered this yet, stick to the dead branches until you do.

You can kill a handful of creatures with one or two sharped sticks. Larger animals will take quite a few sharpened sticks (such as the sabertooth tiger, which takes me around 4-5). Don’t forget that these types of weapons are consumed when used, so make a stockpile or travel with two if you’re on the hunt. Again, unlocking new nodes as you progress the game will improve the odds that your weapon will kill your attackers.

Altering a stick with a rock isn’t a quick process, but it creates a much better tool for attack and defense than the stick would be otherwise.

Ancestors‘ best early weapons

In Ancestors, you really can’t beat how great a regular ol’ sharpened stick is when it comes to offense. These are crafted quite simply by altering a dead tree branch with granite rock, piece of obsidian, or some basalt. If you can find a couple of pieces of basalt, bashing two of them together will create a basalt chopper. This tool makes crafting dead branches into sharpened sticks quite a bit faster. I’d recommend making one to have in each of your settlements.

A handy combination for when you first set out and are still getting comfortable with combat is to bring both a rock and a sharpened stick. I equip the rock in my left hand and the stick in my right. When an enemy attacks, you will default to using the stick to defend yourself. After the stick is consumed, you will still have the rock to either defend yourself with or to make a new sharped stick from another dead tree branch (which are found all over). You can even use the basalt chopper mention above as a decent bashing weapon. Just make sure you do not lose it.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey combat is fairly simple to master. Take some time when you’re first starting out to experiment with it, understand how it works, and unlock new skills. Once you do that, you’ll no longer be afraid to venture far from your home.

Be sure to check out our other Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey guides to learn to survive and thrive!