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Top of the Food Chain achievement in AC Odyssey

Top of the Food Chain

Become the first Mercenary.

Top of the Food Chain0
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How to unlock the Top of the Food Chain achievement

  • Apostle92627Apostle92627
    20 Oct 2018 15 Oct 2018 14 May 2019
    You get this achievement by killing Mercenaries. There are nine tiers in the Mercenaries tab, and the object is to get to the first tier any means necessary. You only move up one rank no matter what. Even if you defeat a mercenary two or more ranks above you, you still only move up one rank. You could kill the first ranked merc if you wanted but you would still move up one rank within your own tier. If you're at the highest tier in your current rank, you would move to the that tier to the lowest rank in the next tier. You do NOT move up if you kill a lower ranked merc.

    Each tier has a bonus, such as discounts with the blacksmith, and tier 4 has 20 percent off for ship upgrades.

    If you need to move up but can't seem to find a merc above you, the arena usually has a merc for you to fight. To get there, fight a couple mercs, and you will get a quest. Then sail to Pephka on the bottom right corner of the map. Tell Skoura you want to fight the merc (bottom option). If you win, you unlock:

    Assassin's Creed OdysseyBlood SportThe Blood Sport achievement in Assassin's Creed Odyssey worth 31 pointsDefeat a Mercenary in the Arena.


    The bounty system can also help you move up throughout the Mercenary system since it provides a constant stream of mercenaries coming at you instead of needing to search for them. However, if you're level 5 on the bounty scale, you may end up fighting two or three mercs, so if may be too difficult to win.

    You can also recruit them as crew members. You can use your eagle to hover over them and scan them. If the mercenaries has a gold background on his or her thumbnail, go ahead and Sparta Kick them (wait until their health is low and there are no cliffs). Kick to end the fight. Then, press cn_RS while standing over the body.

    If you recruit four legendary lieutenants, you'll unlock:

    Assassin's Creed OdysseyThe ArgonautsThe The Argonauts achievement in Assassin's Creed Odyssey worth 46 pointsFully crew the Adrestia with Legendary Lieutenants.


    Anyway, the mercenaries seem fairly impossible at first, but as you build your character, they get easier.

    First, make sure you're upgrading your spear. Check out TheDude722's Legacy Restored guide on how to do that. You want your spear to be level 5 by the time you're in tier 3.

    Next, here's the build I used:

    Stealth Master: 3/3
    Critical Assassination: 3/3
    Second Wind: 3/3
    Flaming Attacks: 3/3
    Weapons Master 3/3
    Gear Master: 3/3
    Overpower Attacks: 3/3
    Shadow Assassin: 3/3
    Fire Mastery: 3/3
    Battlecry of Aries: 3/3
    Sparta Kick: 3/3

    I didn't mention abilities I didn't use for the fights.

    You also want good weapons that can produce high DPS.

    Another thing is overpower attacks use up three adrenaline points. So, with your spear at level 4, you can perform two overpower attacks if your adrenaline is maxed out. However, if you defeat the Minotaur, you will get Minotaur's Labrys, which gives you the "-1 Adrenaline Cost for Overpower abilities" engraving. Go to any blacksmith and have him engrave any weapon you want. You can also do this for as many weapons as you want, though only one engraving can be used on any weapon. Now you can perform three overpower attacks in quick succession with a full adrenaline meter. You should also add assassin damage to your gear.

    I typically only fought them if they were one or two levels above me. Oftentimes, killing a merc that's a higher rank would reveal another merc, so you don't really need to keep your wanted level up.

    Anyway, here's how a typical mercenary fight went for me:

    First, make sure you're out of combat and you don't have a bounty on your head (if you have one, go you your map and hold cn_Y). Now, hold cn_Y (Critical Assassination) to get his/her health low, then Flaming Attacks (with Fire Mastery), followed by overpower until you're out of adrenaline. Finally, finish of any remaining health the merc has and any animal companion.

    Also, if you're using the Bounty System, you can kill them easily with the Adrestia (Check out PsYcHoZeRoSk8eR's Lord of the Seas guide for tips on upgrading it). Ramming at full charge (hold cn_A from a couple hundred meters away) can do the most damage if done properly.

    The top tiered mercenary (level 50) is a cultist so if you're going for the cultist achievement, you will want to go for this one as well. I killed him at level 47, and I wouldn't recommend fighting him until you're at least level 46. Anything below that is a one-hit kill for him.

    However, according to comments, you can kill the cultist merc without getting the achievement. People have found and killed him while they were on tier 6. You do not move all the way top the top by killing him.

    *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***


    Finally, if you give me a negative vote, let me know why in the comments section so I can improve my solution.

    (Special thanks to PBreezy for helping me with the organization of this guide.)
    Showing most recent comments. View all comments.
    Ryn0 LA tip that hasn’t failed me so far:

    Start a fight with a bounty hunter (or two) and head for high ground like a building. As soon as the hunter climbs up to fight you, knock him off with a heavy attack or spartan kick. Fall damage (if you’re high enough) takes a lot of health off their meter and it’s relatively risk-free for you! You don’t even really need to fight. Let gravity do its thing.
    Posted by Ryn0 L on 26 May 19 at 17:56
    SwordofWhedonI’ve been number two for twenty hours. Killed mercs of all levels by the score, sometimes 4 or more at once. Game finished, cultists finished. Still no sign of number one.
    Posted by SwordofWhedon on 14 Jul 19 at 04:16
    TheDude722Just for shits & giggles, did you check the Arena?
    Posted by TheDude722 on 14 Jul 19 at 11:31
    Captain Chao5Just killed #1 merc. My initial meeting with him was by accident and he killed me with one blow! ( I am lvl 46). I reloaded and stood on a building whilst lobbing flaming arrows at him (Hades Bow is great!) until he died. I've found many of the mercs can be taken down this way, even if they are several levels above you. They don't seem to understand how to climb...which was good for me! haha
    Posted by Captain Chao5 on 13 Aug 19 at 14:26
    Trikke den 1eNice one!
    Posted by Trikke den 1e on 02 Apr 20 at 10:38
    Brint xIf you killed the tier 1 mercenary early and are unable to find him again anywhere no matter the mayhem you cause, start accepting bounty contracts from boards until you get one regarding killing him/her. I spent countless hours with the tier 1 mercenary undiscovered until I tried this and voilà
    Posted by Brint x on 10 Apr 20 at 08:22
    AshoholicMy tier 1 is still showing up as defeated...how many bounties are needed here?
    Posted by Ashoholic on 16 Aug 20 at 18:54
    Car56Excellent, excellent guide! Very informative and well thought out. Thanks!
    Posted by Car56 on 19 Sep 20 at 21:46
    IRL Games XIf you are new to the game DO NOT kill the first mercenary wait until you are number 2 or it will take the new mercenary a while to spawn and may take a long time to discover them. I have been creating havoc for a while and can still not find them in the arena or bounty. I only have 4 other achievements left so just leaving this here to help others. Will update on how I found them. Spent 2 hours just killing and still nothing.
    Posted by IRL Games X on 08 Mar 22 at 17:01
    Obi TW0I had killed the Tier 1 merc earlier and was sitting in 2nd spot with the new #1 "undiscovered" for hours. The game seemed to stop giving me Mercenary bounties after a while, so I took to fast traveling to the main population centre in each region and then having Ikaros fly around me in a big circle. This was able to spot undiscovered mercs from over 1km away. I'd then fly to them with Ikaros and zoom in to "discover" them. Eventually using this method I found my new #1 merc while on the fast travel point at Akrokorinth.

    If like me you already killed the cultist and have your #1 merc still showing as "undiscovered", I think it might be worth holding off killing any other mercenaries until you discover them, as this will reduce the "open" spots on your merc list and might increase the chances of the next one you discover being the top one.
    Posted by Obi TW0 on 26 Mar at 23:00
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