Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey – How to Fight

In Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, it is often best to avoid a fight if you can, but in this guide we will try and give you the knowledge you need to fight predators.

It’s not easy trying to evolve into the kind of species that will reach the intellectual heights of arguing about Love Island on social media, but that is the aim of the game in Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. You will be trying to shepherd your early-stage humans on the road to becoming the planets dominant species. To do so, you might need to fight from time to time.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey – How to Fight

The first thing to understand about fighting in Ancestors is that it should be your last option for dealing with predators. The first step is avoidance. You have a dopamine meter in the bottom left of your screen that acts as an early warning system for predators. If it starts to blink red, it might be time to get out of there, because predators are around.

If leaving isn’t an option, you can try Intimidation. Survival instincts are a strong thing, and many predators will not risk injury or death if they can slink off and try to get a different meal. If you do have to face down a predator then just hitting the prompted button on-screen and holding it down has a strong chance of scaring your predator away. If you have a few of your tribe with you or are carrying a weapon, this will be even more effective.

If it does boil down to a fight, you will have the option to run or fight. Running will normally involve having to take a dodge test. Your screen will slow down, and you will need to hold the prompted button and then release it when you hear the audio cue. The main aim of running will be to try and climb up a tree, as a lot of your predators will struggle to follow you. This is your only option if you do not have a weapon, such as a sharp stick, with you. Fighting predators empty-handed is just inviting death.

To attack something, you will want to push the left stick on your controller forward, to adopt an attack stance. Hold the prompted button and then release it with the audio cue, and you should do some damage to the predator.

Like most things in the game, practice will make perfect as your feeble proto-human brain sews itself together into something a little more formidable. Still, each fight is a dice roll, and they are often best avoided when you can.