Camping: It's a legitimate strategy (in Renaissance Italy)

 I felt an update was in order after I accused Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of failing at its multiplayer component... After spending some more time with it (I've leveled up to 22, I think.), I have to say this is one of my favorite multiplayer experiences of all time. Yes, the matchmaking is, at times, terribly broken. And yes, there is the occasional Timmy who just sprints around getting as many cheap 100-point kills as he can. But those are all exceptions. It seems that most of the time it is good. And when it is good, it is really, really good.

I derive the most enjoyment from a multiplayer experience when I find my specific niche and milk it for all it's worth. In Call of Duty, for instance, I am a camper. I am fairly adept at finding defensible positions, securing them with a variety of equipment, and then monitoring any possible approaches for signs of enemy movement. It's how I rack up my killstreaks, which I customize to further support my camping-ness by serving as either bait to attract the enemy (FFA) or extra goodies to support my teammates (TDM). It's how I play the game.

Granted, some people will call bullshit. It seems that what many want out of Call of Duty is a never-ending sprint-fest where the only way to win is to turn every corner already spraying bullets wildly and resorting to a stabby-stabby when your clip is empty... Well, sorry. But that's just not how I roll.

Enter Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

In AC:B, scoring in the multiplayer component is all about patience, timing, and making the most of opportunities. You know what that sounds like to me? CAMPING, bitches!

In fact, I have found a very effective and extremely satisfying niche in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood by being a camper. Let me explain...

Scattered throughout the multiplayer maps of AC:B are random small crowds of three or four or five pedestrians. These are placed intentionally for players to mix in and hide themselves from the prying eyes of the enemy. In other words, the crowds were placed there to allow players to camp.

My preferred loadout begins with the "Morph" ability. Morph allows you to alter all of the pedestrians within a small range around your character so that they all look exactly like you. Thus, when I find one of these small crowds, I Morph them all. Now, instead of being the only bald, frocked priest in the crowd, there are six bald, frocked priests. We all look exactly alike. And there are only a very few abilities or perks that other players can use to tell us apart. My second ability is the "Smoke Bomb," which is exactly what it sounds like. It creates a cloud of dust that momentarily blinds the people around me, allowing me to escape...or better.

So here's how this works: I find a crowd. I morph the crowd. Then I check out who is after me. I may have one pursuer, I may have two or three. And I wait. And I wait. And I wait. Disguised within a crowd of look-alikes, I wait. And finally I see a person who is undoubtedly looking for me--given away by their dead sprint for my location, or even by the flashing red arrow about their head... And when they approach, I use the smoke bomb. As my pursuer is blinded and confused, I smack him in the face, "stunning" him and giving me 200 points...

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

You will notice I have said nothing about actually killing my assigned targets. That's because, in AC:B, I make killing targets second on my To Do list. That's right. I stay still, wait to stun pursuers, and if my target happens along within a reachable distance only then do I break cover. Why? Because if I chase after them, the most points I will get are maybe 400. Staying hidden and waiting in the wings, I can score over 900 or even 1000 points per kill. 

What's more, running after every target is not something I find enjoyable. I'd rather mess with my pursuers. And I've become fairly good at it. So yeah, call me a camper. But in Rome in 1499, apparently camping is a perfectly legitimate strategy...