The Class variety in Warner Brother’s newest and insanely popular platform brawling game, MultiVersus, is very interesting. Among the seventeen characters out as of July 27, 2022, there are five different Classes that the roster is broken into, Bruisers, Tanks, Supports, Mages, and Assassins.
But, out of all of them, MultiVersus's Assassins are the most interesting and most mechanically different from any other fighting game system, as they have a unique passive that allows for more damage dealing but has them take more damage in response. So, how exactly are these Assassins meant to be played? Well, let's take a look.
6 How Assassins Work In MultiVersus
Like most of the "Classes" in MultiVersus, how the characters are designed and how they end up actually being played are two different things. For example, Superman was designed as a "Tank" but plays much more like a Bruiser online. So, let's go over how Assassins were designed and then talk about how the three Assassins in the game are actually played.
In terms of design, Assassins in MultiVersus are meant to be highly mobile and fast-attacking damage dealers that can't trade all too well, but can easily wrack up damage if their opponent lets them in. They're meant to have a lot of fast but low damage attacks that stack up to high percentages and then they rely on either their ally or one of their riskier moves to actually KO. It's this sort of risk-reward system where Assassins deal more damage but take more in exchange. Now, how does that compare with how the Assassins currently work in-game? Well, let's take a look at each one individually:
- Finn: This kid is an absolute overpowered menace who easily KOs on his own, wins every trade in a fight, and also has all the other aspects Assassins were designed to have. He's basically a Bruiser and an Assassin all in one.
- Harley Quinn: Harley is the most reliable Assassin out of the three, as all of her Normals are pretty overpowered such as Clown Combo, Flying Kicks, and Aerial Pummeler. And, on top of that, her Specials are all fantastic as well. For the most part, Harley is close to the way Assassins were designed on paper, but she can KO on her own a bit too reliably. Funnily enough, this also makes her the most "approachable" Assassin for beginners to play.
- Arya Stark: Arya Stark is absolutely the character that most closely resembles how Assassins seem to have been designed. She's insanely fast, absurdly mobile, and highly technical. She has a lot of different slashing attacks which can combo into each other beautifully if the player knows what they're doing, and she also struggles to KO on her own. As time goes on and people figure her out more, Arya will likely go from the least "overpowered" Assassin to the most, but for now, this is where she sits.
5 They're The Combo-Machines Of MultiVersus
Now let's talk a bit more about how Assassins are supposed to be played, mechanically. Assassins are fantastic at racking up damage and doing it quickly, that much is clear. Whether it's Finn's unholy ground game, Arya Starks cross-up air slices, or Harley Quinn's ground combo into her way-too-strong Up+Special Batter Up, they're damage machines.
As an Assassin character, a player's role is to take advantage of enemies not paying enough attention or focusing on their ally to get them from behind and deal a ton of damage to them in one combo or finish them off entirely. And, if they finish their combo/attack and the enemy is still alive, they make some space, reset, and find their next moment to pop off.
4 Be Careful...They Ringout Quickly
In exchange for the extra power they're packing, Assassins are basically Glass Cannons. They're lighter in terms of their weight class (Arya and Harley are the lightest characters in the game), take more damage (14 percent more, to be precise), and don't have many defensive options. So, optimal Assassin play revolves a bit of Guerilla Tactics, as in they get into, deal their damage, get out, and reset.
This is a lot easier to do in Teams, but in 1v1s it's a bit tougher to pull off. That said, a lot of players have the bad habit of dodging back into the person hitting them to retaliate mid-combo, so Assassins have it easy right now with not even having to reset as their opponent does it for them.
3 Each Assassin Specializes In Something Different
Similar to a lot of the Classes in MultiVersus, all the Assassins have their own gimmicks so that they all feel very different to play (additionally, they all make for fantastic Announcers). Finn has his, frankly annoying, Charge Attacks that he "charges" by moving while holding them, Harley has Confetti mechanic as well as her Stuffie Bat and her J erk-in-the-Box, and Arya Stark has her Face Stealing, Knife Throwing, and the Back-Turned damage buff.
Additionally, each one of them "excels" in different areas. Harley is a beast at getting early KOs with and setting up her combos in advance, Finn is a ground game nightmare with his lightning-fast sword swings and far-reaching hitboxes, and Arya has great natural game while waiting to unleash her devastating Knife-Thrower into Dagger Slash combo. Learn which Assassin works best for each player, where they excel in MultiVersus's combat, and what each player needs to practice to get them there.
2 Learn Your Mobile Moves & When To Use Them
Because Assassins can get killed rather easily, they need to have quick escape options. And, thankfully, each one does, but not enough players are utilizing these tools quite yet. As far as escape options go, here's what each character has:
- Harley has her Prank Shots which allow her to create space while also knocking back any enemy following her. Plus, a well-placed Stuffie Bat or Jerk-In-The-Box creates space as well.
- Finn has the teleport dash off of his Throwing Stones, his Mathematical Air Dash, and even just the ability to scare enemies away by holding a charge attack while moving away from them.
- Arya has her Knife-Thrower that can be used to either approach by teleporting to whoever the knife landed in or create distance by using where the knife landed to teleport away.
As one might be able to tell, all of these mobility options also have an offensive aspect to them, so players will need to pick and choose when to use them purely for attacking, for escaping, or for both.
1 Practice Enough To Start "Reading" Opponents
And finally, once someone gets good enough at any fighting game, it starts becoming about the mental games. Basically, if two people are at the same general technical skill, it's the mind games that will give one the edge, AKA the one who "reads" the other. And, for Assassins, this is extra important.
Play the game enough to learn which direction Batman players tend to dodge in after being hit, how they recover, and after what attack are they the most vulnerable. Once an Assassin player can read this and accurately predict how their enemy will react to their attacks, the game becomes less of a fight and more a challenge to see how little damage the Assassin can take before just straight-up winning.