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Combat Specialist achievement in Mafia III: Definitive Edition

Combat Specialist

Kill 300 enemies using Takedowns

Combat Specialist0
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How to unlock the Combat Specialist achievement

  • AllgorhythmAllgorhythm
    16 Oct 2016 16 Oct 2016 06 Nov 2020
    This comes naturally in the normal progression of the game because it is often advantageous to perform stealth or other kinds of takedowns. However, you may want to grind it whether for instant gratification, to practice the technique, or to mitigate against a glitch. The achievement is unlocked when 300 takedowns of any type are performed. This achievement has a history of serious glitches.

    Edit 6 November 2020: Many people are unlocking this achievement while, for others, it remains glitched. For people for whom this is glitched, I'd like to highlight the following and acknowledge the insight of the players mentioned:

    Note the comment below by @Kheops Fenix on 31 Oct - the YouTube video referred to is by DK Soul:
    i was almost in the same situation Dilly :/

    but just unlocked it thanks to the place on this video
    and the precious comment here Cheevos not unlocking

    i did this in ONE run, didn't quit the game (it didn't crash)
    i did NOT delete anything on my corrupted save game, not on my console, not on the cloud, i've just started a new game
    if you know where to hide and whistle at the right time you can get 17 takedowns per turn at the place the video shows
    i did NOT reload the checkpoint, if all goons are dead you can easily kill yourself just walk on the fire and let you burn
    Here is the quote of the 2 Sep 2020 comment by @oO NiGhTbAsE Oo in Cheevos not unlocking that @Kheops Fenix refers to:
    The issue is with the achievement trackers being broken, so whenever you quit the game (or if the game crashes), it resets the progress to zero on certain achievements.

    The only way to earn those achievements is by not quiting, or hoping the game doesn't crash. So it will now likely take many play throughs to get 100%

    You can grind out Combat Specialist using the infinite enemy spawns location near the start of the game, just YouTube it. Baby, You're A Rich Man and Hole In Your Pocket can also be ground out with the infinite money glitch found on Youtube. It's about half way through the game.

    As for the informants, they should be fine, no glitches. The killing/flipping of the bosses are however still glitched and will need to be done in one single playthrough.
    Edit 31 March 2017: This achievement had been glitched but players are now unlocking it. Since no official announcement has been made, I am leaving my earlier cautionary comment below. If you have met the conditions for the achievement and it has not unlocked, it is likely it will unlock in a new game. The below guide describes how to get the achievement early in the game even with the high count of takedowns required.

    Edit 31 March continued: It appears that the counters in your game hub cannot be used to reliably inform you if you have met the conditions to unlock the achievement. The best advice I can give, at this time, is to take note in your game hub of what the counter is when you start a new game and assume that you have to perform 300 takedowns in addition to what that counter is.

    Edit 7 April 2017: If you are having trouble with the achievement glitch, you might find this insight to be of value. Thanks to Aliosghof for bringing it to my attention and giving his permission to include it in this guide. Aliosghof said:
    got the 300 TD achievement so the offline method worked like a charm. this is what you need to do:
    1) go offline and delete your save and uninstall the game
    2) re install the game and play (start a new game/save)
    3) count and write down your take downs. there is no other way
    4) After you reached the numbers (30,100 or etc) wait for game to save automatically for the last time and then quit
    5) go online and the achievement(s) will pop
    Note all of these need to be done in one session so don't quit or get online during the session.
    Caution (may have been superseded by the 31 Mar edit above but am leaving this as a precaution): There have been reports that this achievement is glitched as noted in the comments. Check the recent winners of this achievement to see if players are unlocking this achievement at a normal rate.


    Edit 6 May 2017: This achievement has been glitched in the past. Players, now, though, are routinely unlocking it as can be seen in the recent winners panel. However, some players still have issues as can be seen in the comments so I am leaving the above edits related to the glitch(es) intact but with a strike-thru.


    Takedowns: Takedowns can be lethal or nonlethal. The game tab of the options menu allows you to set the type of takedown. If lethal is selected, Lincoln uses his combat knife. Not only are the takedowns lethal but his melee fighting in general is more damaging to opponents. There are three kinds of takedowns—normal, stealth, and brutal.

    Normal Takedown: A normal takedown is melee combat that neutralizes the opponent other than the brutal or stealth takedowns described below. It is performed by pressing cn_B one or more times. If cn_B is held for more than a tap, a heavier melee attack is performed. Heavy attacks cannot be performed against capable and alert opponents unless they are first softened up with one or more light attacks executed by tapping the cn_B button. Sometimes, during melee combat, the cn_Y prompt will appear. If executed when prompted, a counter will be performed to effect the takedown.

    Brutal Takedown: When a heavy melee attack is performed by holding cn_B, a white sector in the circle surrounding the cn_B prompt may appear. If the cn_B button is released while the indicator is at that white sector, a brutal takedown will be performed. Controller vibration (if enabled) and a ‘ping’ sound effect may help the player with the timing on when to release the cn_B button. If the B button is not released when the indicator is in the white sector then the ensuing takedown is a normal rather than a brutal takedown. Note, also, as mentioned above, that a heavy attack by holding cn_B may not be able to be performed against alert, capable enemies unless they are first softened up with one or more light attacks performed by tapping the B button.

    Stealth Takedown: A stealth takedown is a lethal or non-lethal takedown performed when the target has not been alerted to Lincoln's presence. This can be the case where Lincoln sneaks up behind an enemy while crouching. It is, perhaps, most easily performed when Lincoln is in cover and whistles. A nearby enemy will come to investigate and can be caught unawares with the stealth takedown. The takedown is performed by holding cn_B. Often, but not always, the cn_B symbol will appear on the enemy signifying the takedown can be performed. However, this indicator is not perfectly reliable and so practicing in a controlled environment may be of benefit to perfect the timing.

    Grinding the Achievement:

    The achievement can be grinded in many places should players want to unlock the achievement without waiting for it to pop in normal game play. The below video shows a controlled, set-piece type environment where stealth takedowns can be practiced. It is early in the game. Cassandra has become Lincoln's ally and the Way of Flesh mission is underway. It is during the Prostitution Racket sub-mission. At that point in the game, members of the Dixie Mafia have started loitering in pairs at certain locations.

    Note: If you were affected by the achievement glitch and did not unlock the achievement even though you satisfied the conditions, you might want to start a new game and grind the takedowns quickly. In this event, take note of the game hub takedown counter before you start the new game. Assume that you will have to add 300 takedowns in the new game for the achievement to unlock.

    The grinding location has Lincoln do takedowns at a corner on two of the loitering Dixie Mafia members. Then he goes into the First Baptist Church complex and performs two to three more takedowns. When Lincoln returns to the street corner where he started, the loitering Dixie Mafia duo will have respawned. So, Lincoln can go back and forth doing five or more takedowns between the street corner and the house or garage in the First Baptist Church complex.


    The First Baptist Church complex plays a part in the Smack sub-mission. So, the location becomes unavailable partway through the Smack sub-mission. Even though it becomes unavailable early on, it is still a good location. There is a Tac vest and a First Aid box in the house or garage near the Church. So, Lincoln can take care of his health. Even though the takedowns are stealth takedowns other enemies are alerted and will attack Lincoln. So, should Lincoln take damage, he can reconstitute his health and protection. The Tac Vest, if used, respawns when Lincoln goes as far as the street corner with the Dixie Mafia pair.

    Brutal and Stealth takedowns may be practiced while grinding for this achievement. Fifty brutal takedowns and 100 stealth takedowns will result in these respective achievements:

    Mafia III: Definitive EditionClosed CasketThe Closed Casket achievement in Mafia III: Definitive Edition worth 35 pointsPerform 50 Brutal Takedowns


    Mafia III: Definitive EditionShh, shhThe Shh, shh achievement in Mafia III: Definitive Edition worth 22 pointsPerform 100 Stealth Takedowns on enemies


    If three brutal takedowns are executed in quick succession, the following achievement will be unlocked:

    Mafia III: Definitive EditionSending A MessageThe Sending A Message achievement in Mafia III: Definitive Edition worth 35 pointsChain together 3 or more Brutal Takedowns

    Guide not helping? View 2 more guides for this achievement.

    Showing most recent comments. View all comments.
    Allgorhythm@Hyperionston; Congrats on your achievement. I don’t know which is more impressive—overcoming this glitch or unlocking Recruited to 5th SFG this early in the game. Before the Sign of the Times DLC came out, from a skills standpoint, it was the most challenging achievement in the game. Nowadays, most people use the slo-mo feature from the DLC to pop it.

    The good news is if the counter is working, you’re much more likely to escape the other glitches. It may not be precise but, as long as it is advancing, you’re in decent shape. Good luck.
    Posted by Allgorhythm on 08 Feb at 01:31
    Hyperionston@Allgorhythm thank you for the kind words.

    For the achievement 5th SFG I watched a video where a guy marked a spot where there was a group of cops near the voice early in the game and he parked a vehicle to block the back alleyway to stop you getting flanked and parked a vehicle down the other alleyway which forces the cops to come down in single file once you get their attention.
    Posted by Hyperionston on 09 Feb at 09:42
    Allgorhythm@Hyperionston; I’ve seen the video or one like it. The first time I did it—I did it several times playing XBox One, PC, & PS4 versions of the game (facepalm)—I just threw a Screaming Zemi distraction doll into a police station & went to town on the cops when they grouped around the doll to investigate it.

    I play a lot of stealth games where headshots help avoid detection so I, personally, was not put off by the achievement. But quite a lot of people complained about the difficulty. So much so that I even went out of my way to develop an alternative solution: getting cornered by 3 or more vehicles chasing you & letting the in-vehicle targeting system automatically target the heads.

    Once the Sign of the TimesDLC was released 5th FSG became much easier especially since all DLCs are included in the Definitive Edition. As you play through the DLC story, you get a pop-up tutorial notifying you that pressing Y while targeting sends you into slow motion. Once you get this notification, slow motion is activated for the entire game. All you have to do is find a grouping of enemies (including those used by the non-slow motion guides), aim, press Y, & shoot at least 5 at your leisure.

    Glad to see you did it the old challenging way without slo-mo. smile
    Posted by Allgorhythm on 09 Feb at 21:39
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  • BabyishDuckBabyishDuck
    13 Oct 2016 13 Oct 2016 04 Jan 2017
    This achievement is quite easy but takes a while.

    There are two types of takedowns Stealth and Brutal. You don't need to get 300 stealth takedowns for example. Any combination of both takedowns will suffice. Below is an explanation of how to do these different types of takedowns.

    Stealth Takedowns
    A good way of getting kills is to stay in cover and use your whistle ability by holding cn_left Once you've whistled an enemy will go to investigate the noise. When the enemy is close enough a cn_B icon will appear on the enemy. This indicates that you're close enough to get a stealth takedown.

    A god tip to add will be to use the cn_back button when entering areas with enemies. This will tell you where the enemies are, this is useful for when inside buildings.

    Brutal Takedowns
    You are required to be detected by the enemy. To perform a Brutal Takedown you have to hold the cn_B button. When you're holding the cn_B button a circle will appear around it. This circle is a timer which will let you do a Brutal Takedown.

    You have to keep holding cn_B and you'll want to wait for an audio queue of a coin being flipped. When you hear that noise, let go of cn_B and watch the Brutal Takedown animation.

    Here is an example of a Brutal Takedown.

  • CraigyB78CraigyB78#8653
    05 Apr 2017 05 Apr 2017
    After 1650 kills over several playthroughs I still could not get this to pop, using this method it finally popped today.

    Here is what i did.

    I deleted the game and the 2 save files.
    I went offline with the xb1 and re-installed Mafia III
    I started a new game cancelling any sync beforehand.
    I played the game as normal till after i spoke with "Voice"
    Instead of going to the club I went to the infinite re-spawn of enemies beside the abandoned church, there are 2 guys on a corner and 8/9 guys in the church area. ( see the grind point in the above solutions )
    I kept a note of my kills and once i got above 300 I went back online.
    The game went back to the loading screen but the achievement popped.

    Hopefully this solution will help people with the takedown achievements not popping when they should.
    Showing only comment.
    O CorpoAs of September 10,2017. This method does NOT work. Did not get the 300 kills nor did I get the 100 stealth kills. Started a 5th game to try this method, and no achievement.
    Posted by O Corpo on 11 Sep 17 at 07:14
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