I really cant stand the guards that are on every roof in this game. I am really enjoying my time with AC:R so far but am I the only one who thinks having the guards on top of every regular building is really contradicting to the design of the game. This franchise was originally built on the idea of free running from place to place, not just to escape but to get around the city. Yet i find that most of the time I just run around on the ground because I can can not be bothered with guards chasing me every time I stand on on top of a building for more than one second. To me this is the equivalent of Batman being sniped constantly when gliding in Arkham City, yes sure there are one or two snipers dotted around the city but not on every roof, or what if in GTA the cops started chasing you for little things like breaking the speed limit or driving on the wrong side of the road. I understand if in AC:R you have guards on top of a building that actually needs guarding, like a building where one of my targets is hiding but any other time its just stopping me from using the main mechanic of this game which is to climb buildings.

Am I the only one who finds this really annoying?

It's certainly been something that's irked me in previous games, though it's such a small issue in relation to what those game worlds accomplish. The guards that are on roofs are usually easily taken down, and if anything it makes the roof-to-roof traversal that much more interesting by adding combat/assassinations while on the move.

@A_Cute_Squirtle: I suppose but surely there only going to respawn. i would of happily had a mechanic in the game that only had guards on top of buildings that are still under their control, but they are always there and are always going to be there.

I dont mind them at all, they are easy to kill, and they are very easy to just run past, if you have a problem youv'e always got LB

I find it very satisfying running up and flipping them over hes back, hooking them off the edge.

On the one hand, I agree. But on the other, I wouldn't mind seeing them make rooftop travel even more difficult/less accessible. One of my biggest complaints about the sequels to the first AC is that they completely overlook the crowd dynamics (in comparison). Because it's so easy to get on a roof and run around, you completely miss the crowd interaction, which is the most interesting aspect of the games in my opinion. I loved how you were forced to walk with the crowds in AC1, even though I think their implementation was straight up annoying in the latter part of the game (constantly being spotted for doing nothing, for example). I just wish they found a way to make walking in the streets less aggravating, instead of just letting you play the entire game from rooftops.

@deskp: I see your point but i kind of feel if it is so easy to to kill them and just move on then why bother putting them there in the first place. It just leaves you with the choice of stopping every two seconds to get rid of them, or just running for it and hoping for the best. I just feel they have no purpose other than making getting from A to B a hassle.

...that I am still playing the second game...thanks, Ubivision.

I've always had the same issue with the game. When I just want to hang out and look at the ground, I don't need a guard getting all bothered with me. Like you said, having guards on certain rooftops would be good, but not every single one.

I've always just used the hidden blade to kill them, they seem way more stupid than other guards and never alert anyone that they just got stabbed.

@plaintomato said:

...that I am still playing the second game...thanks, Ubivision.

sick burn

EDIT: They are difference and change locations between games.

I always used my gun or crossbow to dust those guys the second I saw them, you have plenty of time while they're all "HEY BRO GET OFF THE ROOF NO REALLY I MEAN IT OK YOU'LL BE SORRY." Asinine game mechanic though.

I am usually able to get away from them as soon as they see me or I just use the hidden blade. I don't even have to change my oath most of the time.. And in Brotherhood and Revelations you can just send your posse after him.

@JuggertrainUK: I always found it annoying that even when no one else can see you killing a roof guard will still raise your wanted meter.

@pantzing_nome said:

@JuggertrainUK: I always found it annoying that even when no one else can see you killing a roof guard will still raise your wanted meter.

I guess the notoriety meter functions more as an awareness meter than anything else. The more things you do, the more alert the guards are, even though they haven't actually seen you doing anything wrong.

Anyway, I'm generally not bothered by guards on the rooftops. They usually give you enough time to just pass by them without triggering a fight. The only time I got really frustrated with the game was during that Thieves' mission...

but shooting them with the crossbow is pretty great

@Dany said:

@plaintomato said:

...that I am still playing the second game...thanks, Ubivision.

sick burn

EDIT: They are difference and change locations between games.

Is that supposed to differentiate AC from COD or something? I hate to tell you, but all three of the Modern Warfare games are also different and change locations between games.

A throwing knife takes like a second to fire and will kill them without fail. Of all the things to complain about I think this is one of the silliest.

That doesn't bother me too much. The fact that the notoriety meter increases every time you buy a shop or bank really does bother me.

The last couple of hours I've bought a few shops, then run around to find a herold I can bribe and then back to buy more. So stupid.

This franchise was originally built on the idea of free running from place to place, not just to escape but to get around the city. 

@AhmadMetallic said:

@JuggertrainUK said:

This franchise was originally built on the idea of free running from place to place, not just to escape but to get around the city.

This isn't Mirror's Edge. Assassin's Creed is about being an assassin of the Templars in the various corners of the world and having to sneak your way across the various cities, be it on the ground, on rooftops or even in the water.

From the story end of things this is true. But as a game the entire reason this game was created was because Ubisoft developed an engine that would allow the player to climb almost anything and everything, and giving them the freedom to get around the city by jumping from building to building. Sure the engine also gave birth to the crowd technology but when you are simply going to somewhere like a bank to withdraw money or to an assassins den to send your people out on missions, nobody hides in crowds going from A to B. Having guards guarding nothing other than a roof of a random building just seems pointless to me. I said before if they are guarding something like one of my targets or even something small like a collectible then I am fine with it, but they are just there to give you a hard time.

@Detrian: Sure they are easy to kill, but if its that easy to get rid of then why have it there in the first place, It just creates more work for the player. So if you are going to get rid of them when you see them and keep in mind you are going to do this again an again because they respawn, then wouldn't it just be simpler to not have them there in the first place. Meaning that their only purpose is to hassle you and be targets for you to waste your throwing knifes on when you're actually on your way to a mission in which you will need those items. I am still having a good time with the game don't get me wrong its just a hassle.

@Detrian: Sure they are easy to kill, but if its that easy to get rid of then why have it there in the first place, It just creates more work for the player. So if you are going to get rid of them when you see them and keep in mind you are going to do this again an again because they respawn, then wouldn't it just be simpler to not have them there in the first place. Meaning that their only purpose is to hassle you and be targets for you to waste your throwing knifes on when you're actually on your way to a mission in which you will need those items. I am still having a good time with the game don't get me wrong its just a hassle.

@Detrian: That was the point, the game was made for you to climb up and jump from building to building.

The OP isn't wrong. Assassin's Creed was originally developed as a sequel to Prince of Persia, hence the traversal/free running. Then Patrice had an epiphany and Assassin's Creed became what we know it as today.

The guards are annoying and seem placed just to annoy the player. I don't mind the guards being there, what I mind is how they seem intent on busting my balls over running around a rooftop. It's just not fun to run into ten guards on a set of buildings while you're just trying to get to the next memory.

but shooting them with the crossbow is pretty great

I only agree with this point because I feel that, in Revelations, you're spotted way too easily.

@Dany said:

@plaintomato said:

...that I am still playing the second game...thanks, Ubivision.

sick burn

EDIT: They are difference and change locations between games.

Is that supposed to differentiate AC from COD or something? I hate to tell you, but all three of the Modern Warfare games are also different and change locations between games.

You didn't hear? There's going to be speed limits in GTA 5. You know, to make it more realistic.