The 10 WORST Bosses In Assassin's Creed Games
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VOICE OVER: Josh McLean
WRITTEN BY: Josh McLean
"Assassin's Creed" has some stellar boss fights, but today we're looking at the absolute worst! For this list, we'll be looking at instances where the big baddie at the end of a mission was disappointing, frustrating, or just not very much fun. Our list includes Kawab from "Assassin's Creed Origins" (2017), Galan, Son of Mordeleg from "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" (2020), Loreano Torres from "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" (2013), and more!
Script written by Josh McLean
"Assassin's Creed" has some stellar boss fights, but today we're looking at the absolute worst! For this list, we’ll be looking at instances where the big baddie at the end of a mission was disappointing, frustrating, or just not very much fun. Our list includes Kawab from "Assassin's Creed Origins" (2017), Galan, Son of Mordeleg from "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" (2020), Loreano Torres from "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" (2013), and more! Who provides your least favorite boss fight in the series? Let us know in the comments!
I’m sure you’ve heard the term “setting yourself up for failure.” Well, Galan excels at the phrase. Don’t expect this goon to test your mettle, as upon cracking open the door to his hut, you’ll find him standing in a hole, like: (Obi-Wan “Hello There”). Of course, he’s surrounded by numerous explosive fire pots. Because his line of sight is blocked, you’re also free to perform a stealth attack, wiping out most of his health before the fight begins. Funny enough, this isn’t some entry level boss. By the time you reach the quest “Honor Has Two Edges” you’ll be many hours deep into the experience. When the fight draws to a conclusion, Galan will strike the ground, breaking the floor into a lower level with even more fire pots for you to blow him up with. Man really wanted to go out with a bang.
We mentioned it in "Worst Missions in Assassin’s Creed", (check that one out after the video! ;) ) –so I gotta say it again here. Sibrand can be found on the back of a boat, re-enforced by archers and a bow of his own. All seems well and good. After all, this boss does allow you the variety of choosing how to approach him… The problem is that Master Assassin Altaïr missed swimming lessons and will insta-die upon touching water. Choosing to parkour towards him means navigating these sporadically placed posts, which with even slightly imprecise timing will set you all the way back to the portion of the mission where you have to first locate him. The arbitrary combo of having to remain unspotted, and having to slowly hop from pillar to pillar to avoid a mis-step, is simply infuriating and in need of a fine tuning to this day…
Love this boss or hate it, I think he had to be mentioned here… The fight with Rodrigo is narratively impactful, and had a great buildup to Ezio’s eventual clash with the Eden-wielding figurehead… Buuuut it does conclude with you painstakingly fist fighting the Pope, which is, objectively speaking, a little goofy. You can also miss out on dialogue whenever landing a hit on him, so sometimes it’s just best to put the controller down to hear the banter. Never really something you want in a climatic boss battle, eh? Even so, I’m pretty sure no one has ever lost this fight, since Ezio has the upper hand the entire time and the Pope doesn’t exactly whip out a tombstone piledriver. We players didn’t expect the ring-side slam down when finally cornering the head of the Borgias, and for better or for worse this boss will be remembered, just maybe not for the right reasons…
Edward Kenway’s story draws to a close as you confront the Governor and Grandmaster, joined by his gaggle of goons. As far as combat goes, this is merely another group of low level enemies, with the catch that Torres will be changing the environment ever so slightly with force fields using, y’know, ancient magic. Ultimately, your goal is to reach the proper placement to perform an assassination, but it’s a little confusing in the moment being that he’ll block himself off from most angles. This kills any tension or suspense as you first wipe the floor with the jobbers and must climb about the room, scratching your head about exactly how to reach him. All the while he stands perfectly still like any other NPC.
Now, this is not your traditional boss fight! The final encounter with Charles Lee is cinematically epic, but tacked alongside it are asinine requirements to achieve one hundred percent sync and completion. During the parkour battle, Connor must not take damage, not be more than 50 meters away, and NOT BUMP INTO ANYONE. Yes, a single shove means you’ve failed at accurately recreating history, and I haven’t even mentioned the explosive barrels everywhere that pop for seemingly no reason. As one of the last missions in the game, this left us feeling bitter, even if it was an interesting change of pace for a boss. The idea was golden, the execution was more frustrating than it had to be. Worth noting, they patched the entire chase eventually, lowering the difficulty of certain jumps. But, the damage for most was already done.
Now that we’ve gone open world as a series, assassins have to contend with the greatest beasts their environment has to offer. And while the number of enemy types have grown, this newer style of combat hasn’t quite caught up. Exemplified here, in this dungeon of a colossal drunk bear. Foremost, it is able to murder you in a few solid hits AND heal itself completely. Meaning if you’re not at a high enough level you’ll probably waste half an hour of your life until you accept you can’t out-heal him. But where this boss really shines, are the bugs… Occasionally, the beast will be able to hit you while standing behind it or even at a distance. Plus the animations can be very unclear. It can be hard to determine whether the bear is healing or just standing still, which can cause what feels like unfair hits. With the cherry on top, numerous players have reported the bear spawning inside the terrain of the hill, making its loot unobtainable. Feels like you're fighting the game itself and not the boss.
The last legendary ship battle… And this one is a doozy! Despite its size, it’ll always be moving at least ten times faster than you. So if you can’t find the magic area to cower in its blindspot, it’ll sink you in seconds, no exaggeration. This is largely in part to its unlimited unending mortar fire, which spread incendiary damage upon impact. Then there are the other two legendaries that come to back it up when at low health. If they decide to sandwich you, GG, try again. Or if you take out one without damaging the other, the remaining legendary will become far more aggressive and aim to ruin your night. It just seems to break all conventions of every other ship battle by possessing all the most lethal traits at once. Being that the Storm Fort is a level 99 ship, along with its buddies, they have acted as the roadblock between countless players and 100%.
On a lighter note, beat this three- foot-tall dude in "honorable combat" by punching him into the dirt… It sounds like your average fist fight mission at first, but someone downloaded a copy of The Matrix into the Animus and this guy got a hold of it. Kawab will take tens of minutes off of your life as he hops backwards to dodge all of your attacks every second, and when at max distance can perform an attack to erase at least half of your health. Meanwhile, your punches, when they do land, only scratch off tiny flicks of his HP. Now, most people didn’t realize you were allowed to use a shield bash in this fight, and without it you’ll be hard pressed to get the life lead. Ultimately, it controls as though you’re both punching underwate,r and whether you found him easily tedious or a frustrating bore, most agree it was just not very fun…
The Sony PSP’s first Assassin’s Creed game also happens to contain one of the series’ most broken bosses of all time. This mysterious woman lurks in an underground dungeon overflowing with fog and checks every box to decay your sanity… During the game, if you didn’t take time to upgrade your health, The Witch will be the one to punish you for it, as she chains attacks until you're dead. Though most of the time you have no idea where she is, as she’ll retreat into the fog to heal, call in goons to distract and damage you, then unleash an unblockable special attack to ensure your first few attempts are guaranteed game overs. Now, it wouldn’t be the perfect annoying boss if she didn’t also throw crap at you when at a good enough distance, and remain out of reach of your throwing knives so you can’t do the same to her. Let’s just say Altair's last words to her were a little nicer than ours would have been.
Y’all who know, already know. It’s one thing to fight a feral oracle in a vision-obscuring dungeon. It’s an entirely separate maddening experience to get your butt kicked by a gang of fuzzy pigs in the countryside. Boars in Odyssey were unfathomably designed to tower above mythical monstrosities to players bewilderment. These hogs are immensely difficult in all aspects including lightning speed, heavy damage, and an unrelenting nature to see you perish. We even gotta give some props to the “Farting Boar” (Erymanthian Boar) for at least being one-on-one. The Kalydonian however, has no such morals. At any moment with little warning this piggy will summon smaller boars to act as damage sponges, and tank any of your hits. You can’t exactly ignore them as they’ll surround you, and clearing them first will only bring about another wave. It’s incredibly difficult to predict their attacks like any other ordinary soldier, and you’ll likely find yourself swearing off fighting these creatures before the questline is through. To whoever or whichever team designed this hunt, I hope things are better for you now.
"Assassin's Creed" has some stellar boss fights, but today we're looking at the absolute worst! For this list, we’ll be looking at instances where the big baddie at the end of a mission was disappointing, frustrating, or just not very much fun. Our list includes Kawab from "Assassin's Creed Origins" (2017), Galan, Son of Mordeleg from "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" (2020), Loreano Torres from "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" (2013), and more! Who provides your least favorite boss fight in the series? Let us know in the comments!
#10: Galan, Son Of Mordeleg
"Assassin’s Creed Valhalla" (2020)I’m sure you’ve heard the term “setting yourself up for failure.” Well, Galan excels at the phrase. Don’t expect this goon to test your mettle, as upon cracking open the door to his hut, you’ll find him standing in a hole, like: (Obi-Wan “Hello There”). Of course, he’s surrounded by numerous explosive fire pots. Because his line of sight is blocked, you’re also free to perform a stealth attack, wiping out most of his health before the fight begins. Funny enough, this isn’t some entry level boss. By the time you reach the quest “Honor Has Two Edges” you’ll be many hours deep into the experience. When the fight draws to a conclusion, Galan will strike the ground, breaking the floor into a lower level with even more fire pots for you to blow him up with. Man really wanted to go out with a bang.
#9: Sibrand of Acre
"Assassin’s Creed" (2007)We mentioned it in "Worst Missions in Assassin’s Creed", (check that one out after the video! ;) ) –so I gotta say it again here. Sibrand can be found on the back of a boat, re-enforced by archers and a bow of his own. All seems well and good. After all, this boss does allow you the variety of choosing how to approach him… The problem is that Master Assassin Altaïr missed swimming lessons and will insta-die upon touching water. Choosing to parkour towards him means navigating these sporadically placed posts, which with even slightly imprecise timing will set you all the way back to the portion of the mission where you have to first locate him. The arbitrary combo of having to remain unspotted, and having to slowly hop from pillar to pillar to avoid a mis-step, is simply infuriating and in need of a fine tuning to this day…
#8: Rodrigo Borgia
"Assassin’s Creed II" (2009)Love this boss or hate it, I think he had to be mentioned here… The fight with Rodrigo is narratively impactful, and had a great buildup to Ezio’s eventual clash with the Eden-wielding figurehead… Buuuut it does conclude with you painstakingly fist fighting the Pope, which is, objectively speaking, a little goofy. You can also miss out on dialogue whenever landing a hit on him, so sometimes it’s just best to put the controller down to hear the banter. Never really something you want in a climatic boss battle, eh? Even so, I’m pretty sure no one has ever lost this fight, since Ezio has the upper hand the entire time and the Pope doesn’t exactly whip out a tombstone piledriver. We players didn’t expect the ring-side slam down when finally cornering the head of the Borgias, and for better or for worse this boss will be remembered, just maybe not for the right reasons…
#7: Loreano Torres
"Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" (2013)Edward Kenway’s story draws to a close as you confront the Governor and Grandmaster, joined by his gaggle of goons. As far as combat goes, this is merely another group of low level enemies, with the catch that Torres will be changing the environment ever so slightly with force fields using, y’know, ancient magic. Ultimately, your goal is to reach the proper placement to perform an assassination, but it’s a little confusing in the moment being that he’ll block himself off from most angles. This kills any tension or suspense as you first wipe the floor with the jobbers and must climb about the room, scratching your head about exactly how to reach him. All the while he stands perfectly still like any other NPC.
#6: Chasing Lee
"Assassin’s Creed III" (2012)Now, this is not your traditional boss fight! The final encounter with Charles Lee is cinematically epic, but tacked alongside it are asinine requirements to achieve one hundred percent sync and completion. During the parkour battle, Connor must not take damage, not be more than 50 meters away, and NOT BUMP INTO ANYONE. Yes, a single shove means you’ve failed at accurately recreating history, and I haven’t even mentioned the explosive barrels everywhere that pop for seemingly no reason. As one of the last missions in the game, this left us feeling bitter, even if it was an interesting change of pace for a boss. The idea was golden, the execution was more frustrating than it had to be. Worth noting, they patched the entire chase eventually, lowering the difficulty of certain jumps. But, the damage for most was already done.
#5: Beast of the Hills
"Assassin’s Creed Valhalla" (2020)Now that we’ve gone open world as a series, assassins have to contend with the greatest beasts their environment has to offer. And while the number of enemy types have grown, this newer style of combat hasn’t quite caught up. Exemplified here, in this dungeon of a colossal drunk bear. Foremost, it is able to murder you in a few solid hits AND heal itself completely. Meaning if you’re not at a high enough level you’ll probably waste half an hour of your life until you accept you can’t out-heal him. But where this boss really shines, are the bugs… Occasionally, the beast will be able to hit you while standing behind it or even at a distance. Plus the animations can be very unclear. It can be hard to determine whether the bear is healing or just standing still, which can cause what feels like unfair hits. With the cherry on top, numerous players have reported the bear spawning inside the terrain of the hill, making its loot unobtainable. Feels like you're fighting the game itself and not the boss.
#4: The Storm Fortress
"Assassin's Creed Rogue" (2014)The last legendary ship battle… And this one is a doozy! Despite its size, it’ll always be moving at least ten times faster than you. So if you can’t find the magic area to cower in its blindspot, it’ll sink you in seconds, no exaggeration. This is largely in part to its unlimited unending mortar fire, which spread incendiary damage upon impact. Then there are the other two legendaries that come to back it up when at low health. If they decide to sandwich you, GG, try again. Or if you take out one without damaging the other, the remaining legendary will become far more aggressive and aim to ruin your night. It just seems to break all conventions of every other ship battle by possessing all the most lethal traits at once. Being that the Storm Fort is a level 99 ship, along with its buddies, they have acted as the roadblock between countless players and 100%.
#3: Kawab
"Assassin's Creed: Origins" (2017)On a lighter note, beat this three- foot-tall dude in "honorable combat" by punching him into the dirt… It sounds like your average fist fight mission at first, but someone downloaded a copy of The Matrix into the Animus and this guy got a hold of it. Kawab will take tens of minutes off of your life as he hops backwards to dodge all of your attacks every second, and when at max distance can perform an attack to erase at least half of your health. Meanwhile, your punches, when they do land, only scratch off tiny flicks of his HP. Now, most people didn’t realize you were allowed to use a shield bash in this fight, and without it you’ll be hard pressed to get the life lead. Ultimately, it controls as though you’re both punching underwate,r and whether you found him easily tedious or a frustrating bore, most agree it was just not very fun…
#2: The Witch
"Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines" (2009)The Sony PSP’s first Assassin’s Creed game also happens to contain one of the series’ most broken bosses of all time. This mysterious woman lurks in an underground dungeon overflowing with fog and checks every box to decay your sanity… During the game, if you didn’t take time to upgrade your health, The Witch will be the one to punish you for it, as she chains attacks until you're dead. Though most of the time you have no idea where she is, as she’ll retreat into the fog to heal, call in goons to distract and damage you, then unleash an unblockable special attack to ensure your first few attempts are guaranteed game overs. Now, it wouldn’t be the perfect annoying boss if she didn’t also throw crap at you when at a good enough distance, and remain out of reach of your throwing knives so you can’t do the same to her. Let’s just say Altair's last words to her were a little nicer than ours would have been.
#1: Kalydonian Boar
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey" (2018)Y’all who know, already know. It’s one thing to fight a feral oracle in a vision-obscuring dungeon. It’s an entirely separate maddening experience to get your butt kicked by a gang of fuzzy pigs in the countryside. Boars in Odyssey were unfathomably designed to tower above mythical monstrosities to players bewilderment. These hogs are immensely difficult in all aspects including lightning speed, heavy damage, and an unrelenting nature to see you perish. We even gotta give some props to the “Farting Boar” (Erymanthian Boar) for at least being one-on-one. The Kalydonian however, has no such morals. At any moment with little warning this piggy will summon smaller boars to act as damage sponges, and tank any of your hits. You can’t exactly ignore them as they’ll surround you, and clearing them first will only bring about another wave. It’s incredibly difficult to predict their attacks like any other ordinary soldier, and you’ll likely find yourself swearing off fighting these creatures before the questline is through. To whoever or whichever team designed this hunt, I hope things are better for you now.
