New Game+

Welcome, Misthios, to your second (or third, or fourth!) journey across the Aegean. New Game+ in Assassin's Creed Odyssey offers a fantastic opportunity to re-experience the epic saga with all your hard-earned progress intact. This detailed guide will help you make the most of your fresh start.

What Carries Over?

Before diving in, it's crucial to understand what aspects of your previous playthrough will transfer to New Game+:

Character Level and XP: Your current level, all accumulated XP, and any unspent Ability Points will carry over. This means you can immediately unlock powerful new abilities or further enhance existing ones.
Abilities: All unlocked abilities, including those from the main skill trees (Hunter, Warrior, Assassin) and the unique abilities granted by the Spear of Leonidas, will be available from the start.
Gear and Inventory: All weapons, armor, engravings, crafting materials, drachmae, and resources (like wood, iron, obsidian, leather, and precious gems) will transfer. This is a huge advantage, allowing you to maintain your powerful builds.
Ship Upgrades (Adrestia): Your fully upgraded Adrestia, including all hull, ram, arrow, javelin, and crew enhancements, will be ready to sail from the moment you gain access to it in the story.
Orichalcum: Any Orichalcum you've collected will carry over, allowing you to purchase more Oikos of the Olympians items early on.
Helix Store Items: All cosmetic items, mounts, and gear purchased from the Helix Store will be available.
Mastery Levels: Any Mastery Levels you've invested in will remain.

What Doesn't Carry Over?

While much transfers, some elements reset to ensure a fresh narrative experience:

Story Progress: The main questline, side quests, and world events will all reset. You'll begin the story from "So It Begins" on Kephallonia.
Cultist Progress: All Cultist clues found and Cultists eliminated will reset. You'll need to re-discover and hunt down the Cult of Kosmos members.
Mercenary Tier: Your Mercenary Tier will reset, and you'll start at the bottom, needing to climb the ranks again.
Map Exploration: The map will be fogged over, requiring re-exploration to uncover locations, synchronization points, and fast travel options.
War Contracts & Bounties: These will reset, and new ones will become available as you progress.

Starting Your New Game+

Initiating a New Game+ is straightforward:

Ensure you have completed the main story questline of Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
From the main menu, select "New Game."
You will then be prompted with the option to start a "New Game+" or a regular "New Game." Choose "New Game+."
Select your desired difficulty level. You can change this at any time during your playthrough.
Choose your protagonist: Alexios or Kassandra. This choice can be different from your previous playthrough.

Strategies for a Successful New Game+ Run

Early Game Dominance

With your high-level gear and abilities, the early game on Kephallonia and Megaris will be significantly easier. Use this to your advantage:

Resource Gathering: Prioritize clearing enemy camps and fortresses for abundant resources. You can quickly max out your materials for ship upgrades or gear enhancements.
Legendary Gear Acquisition: Since your gear scales with your level, any Legendary items you acquire early on will be powerful. Consider revisiting locations where you know specific Legendary items drop (e.g., the Spartan War Hero Set from various Cultists, or the Pirate Set from quests on Mykonos) to get higher-level versions.
Fast XP Gain: Focus on completing side quests and clearing locations. The XP rewards, combined with your existing level, will quickly push you towards the level cap or allow you to invest heavily in Mastery Levels.

Cultist Hunting Revisited

The Cult of Kosmos is back, and you're better equipped than ever to dismantle them:

Targeted Elimination: If you remember specific Cultist locations or clue sources, you can often bypass lengthy quest chains to reveal and eliminate them early. For example, the Silver Vein Cultist, Epiktetos, is found early on Kephallonia.
Legendary Engravings: Each Cultist drops a unique Legendary engraving upon defeat. Prioritize hunting down those that offer engravings crucial for your preferred build. For instance, if you rely on Critical Chance, target members of the Eyes of Kosmos branch for their relevant engravings.
Spear Upgrades: Eliminating Cultists is the primary way to gather the fragments needed to upgrade the Spear of Leonidas. A fully upgraded Spear unlocks powerful abilities and additional Adrenaline segments.

Optimizing Your Build

New Game+ is the perfect time to experiment with new builds or refine existing ones:

Ability Point Allocation: With a wealth of ability points, consider investing in abilities you previously overlooked. For example, if you focused on Warrior, try maxing out Assassin abilities like Rush Assassinate or Hero Strike for a stealthier approach.
Engraving Synergy: Experiment with different Legendary Engravings. For instance, combining the Falx of Olympos (health capped at 25%, +100% All Damage) with the Immortal Set (restore 20% health on death, 2-minute cooldown) can create a high-risk, high-reward Warrior build.
Mounts: Consider purchasing a Helix Store mount like Pegasus or Abraxas for a unique aesthetic and potentially faster travel, though their stats are similar to in-game legendary mounts.

Enjoy your second journey, Misthios! The Aegean awaits your legend once more.