Aragami 2 — Quick tips for starter ninjas

Aragami 2 is finally out, so I’m going to share some tips for new players. If you want to know what to expect or simply to get a quick gander at what your options will be, this guide is for you. Just keep in mind, this game is easy as long as you’re not pointlessly trying to make use of its dreadful combat.

The enemies are braindead

They’re seriously so stupid. They have practically no peripheral vision and, even when they find a dead body, they won’t do much about it. Also, if you turn invisible after they see you, they might immediately forget you exist. They’re easily some of the worst stealth guards I’ve ever seen. Granted, each mission puts you up against dozens of them, so the challenge is meant to lie in numbers, not individual enemy skills. But understanding that you’re dealing with a horde of mindless idiots is half the battle in Aragami 2.

Dashing is your best friend

The dash is, simply put, kind of broken. Enemies can’t see you while you’re using a dash, plus it’s great for covering distances quickly. Simply double jump and dash from cover to cover and enemies will have a hard time seeing you since they can’t look up. You can also use the dash to move more quickly while sneaking. Later, you can buy an ability that turns you invisible after a dash. Once you upgrade it, it lasts for a whole second, so you can chain them and just walk around in the open basically.

Don’t bother fighting

The combat in Araagami 2 is bad, even by stealth game standards. There’s pretty much never a good reason to fight. If an enemy comes after you, just bail. They’ll forget about you soon enough and you really don’t want to deal with the game’s combat camera. If you do get hit, the camera will automatically lock on to your assailant, making it harder to get away, so bear that in mind. Enemies also do a huge amount of damage, easily killing you in one hit. They themselves automatically dodge nearly all of your strikes, so there’s just no reason to waste the time or energy.

Watch that crouch

While crouching, enemies can barely see you. If you’re not crouching, though, they act as if you’re made of neon signs. When sneaking, you always want to be crouching, which is obvious, I know. What isn’t obvious is that Aragami 2 will break your stance and you may not know until it’s too late. Running, slashing, getting hit, they all break your stance. Sometimes your character will randomly stand up even though you didn’t tell them to due to the way you bumped into something in the environment, though. Keep an eye on how you’re standing, because things can get ugly fast solely because you’re not crouching.

Make sure you have the assassination prompt before striking

Although you’d assume that the assassination mechanics in a stealth game about ninjas would be highly precise and reliable, that’s sadly not the case here. Just because you’re behind an enemy and you’re one button press from an assassination doesn’t mean the prompt will be available. You can only assassinate an enemy if you see that red circle appear on them. If you’re moving quickly and taking your enemies out fast, you’ll often find yourself pressing the button slightly before the prompt shows up, as there’s a delay once you move into position. The most common reason I got seen was simply that I would press the button a split second before the prompt would appear. If you hit an unaware enemy in the back, it will usually give them enough time to become alerted and go on the defensive. It’s stupid, sure, but that’s how the game was programmed.

Assassination position is important

If you assassinate an enemy while obscured by grass, you’ll pull your enemy into the grass as well. Enemies will never find their comrades when they’re hidden in grass, so this is a great time to strike. This works with both assassinations and knockouts. However, the two function differently while hanging or from cover. The knockout is simply not as versatile as the assassination. If you’re hanging from a ledge and you assassinate your enemy, you’ll throw them over the ledge. If you knock them out, you’ll slam their head against the ledge and they’ll stay where you leave them. Either can create problems, so pick and choose based on your needs. The same goes for cover. If you’re hiding beneath an open window and you go after a foe, the same rules apply, but when that cover isn’t a window, an assassination will grab them from around the corner and teleport them to be obscured.

Take out sorcerers first

Sorcerers are the most annoying enemies in Aragami 2. Unlike the normal grunts, they’re much better at seeing you. There are two kinds of magic enemies. The ones I’m talking about now throw fireballs, while the other, necromancers, can tell if connected enemies are alive or dead. Sorcerers act like snipers, so you should shadow grab the ledge they’re standing by and take them out ASAP. They have the finest sense for noticing you and they’ll even randomly start chucking fireballs around even if they don’t know where you are. It’s pretty dumb. As for necromancers, if you prefer to kill your foes, I’d suggest taking the necromancer tied to them out first. Alternatively, you can kill an enemy and use them as bait to lure out other ones, which you can do in a cycle.

Hide enemies you knock out

Unlock a dead body, other enemies will wake up knocked out enemies they come across. You don’t want to have foes you’ve knocked out put back in play, so hide the bodies, either in grass or behind cover. Putting them on rooftops also does the trick, as they’re not likely to get spotted up there.

Getting seen won’t ruin your rank

You can get spotted twice and still walk away with an S-rank. The “never get spotted” and other designations you can accomplish for each level don’t actually do anything and are for completionists, so don’t go thinking you’ve spoiled the entire mission just because one of those idiots sees you. The same is true for dead bodies. Even if you have a  couple get seen, it doesn’t matter much and you can still get that S-rank.

That’s it for our Aragami 2 tips. Keep these in mind and you’ll be assassinating with the best of them. Not that you need to be among the best to handle these jabronis.