You're standing on a cliff in Kephallonia. The sun is beating down, the Mediterranean is sparkling, and there’s a family begging for their lives while a priest mumbles something about a "blood fever" plague. You have to decide. Do you step in and save them from certain death, or do you let the soldiers do their grim work? It feels like a small moment. It isn't.
That’s the thing about assassin's creed odyssey choices. They are sneaky.
Ubisoft marketed this game as a massive RPG where "your choices matter," and for once, the marketing wasn't lying. But they didn't mention that some of these decisions have a fuse so long you won't see the explosion until forty hours later. If you save that family, the plague spreads. Kephallonia, your beautiful starting island, turns into a grey, ash-covered wasteland of misery.
It sucks. It’s also brilliant.
The Butterfly Effect is Real in Ancient Greece
Most games give you an "A or B" choice where the outcome is immediate. Odyssey prefers to let you sit with your mistakes. Honestly, the game is kinda mean about it. Take the "Wolf of Sparta" encounter early on. This is the first major branch in the main Odyssey questline. You meet Nikolaos. You have every reason to want him dead. But if you kill him, you set off a domino effect that makes getting the "Best" ending—where your whole family sits down for dinner—basically impossible.
The game rewards mercy, but it doesn't tell you that. It wants you to roleplay as a mercenary, a misthios who is angry and scarred. But if you lean too hard into the "vengeance" path, you'll end up alone.
It’s not just about the big cutscenes, either. Sometimes, it’s about a conversation you had with a side character three chapters ago. Did you promise a merchant you'd help him? Did you lie to a little girl about her friends? These things ripple. The game tracks your "Mercy" vs. "Cruelty" metrics in ways that affect how NPCs react to you in the streets of Athens or Sparta.
Why Some Assassin's Creed Odyssey Choices Feel Like Traps
Let’s talk about Myrinne. Your mom. She’s the emotional core of the game. When you finally reunite with her, she’s trying to reclaim Naxos. She asks you for your opinion on how to handle the Cult of Kosmos and your sibling, Deimos.
Here is where people mess up: you can't just tell her what she wants to hear. You have to be consistent.
If you tell Myrinne you’ll try to save Deimos, but then you act like a bloodthirsty maniac every time you actually face your sibling, the game notices the hypocrisy. To get the "Happy Family" ending, you have to choose specific dialogue options during the "Battle of Pylos." You have to try and reach the person inside the monster. If you choose the option "You're a puppet," you’re already failing. You have to say "It was the Cult." Subtle? Sorta. Important? Absolutely.
The Problem with Brasidas and Kleon
Then there’s the whole mess in Anthropopolis. Brasidas is arguably the coolest character in the game—a stoic Spartan general who actually uses his brain. Then you have Myrinne, who is fueled by maternal rage. They often disagree on strategy.
If you consistently side against Brasidas, his fate becomes much darker. This matters because it affects your standing with the Spartan kings later. You’re navigating a political minefield while also trying to stab cultists in the neck. It’s a lot to manage. Honestly, the most "correct" way to play if you want the smoothest path is to follow Brasidas's tactical advice but maintain Myrinne's emotional goals.
The Myth of the "Right" Choice
There is no "canon" path in terms of gameplay mechanics, though the novelization suggests Kassandra is the "official" protagonist. But in the game world, the assassin's creed odyssey choices you make are your own reality.
Some players prefer the tragic ending. There is something profoundly "Greek Tragedy" about Kassandra or Alexios standing alone on a mountain, having killed their step-father, their sibling, and lost their mother’s respect. It fits the setting. Sophocles would have loved it.
But if you’re a completionist, the "tragic" route feels like a loss. You lose out on Lieutenants for the Adrestia. You lose out on unique dialogue.
Specific Decisions That Actually Change the World Map
- The Plague: Saving the family in "The Blood Fever" turns Kephallonia into a graveyard.
- The Obsidian Islands: Your choices during the "Call to Arms" quest determine who leads the islands and whether you have to kill a lover or a friend.
- The Cultist Shadows: Sometimes, sparing a Cultist (like Lagos the Archon) is actually better for the world's stability than killing them, provided you have the evidence to prove they were coerced.
Lagos is a great example of nuance. Most players just want to kill every Cultist. They’re the bad guys, right? But Lagos is a victim of the Cult’s leverage. If you did the right things earlier with Brasidas, you can convince Lagos to leave the Cult. This simplifies the Spartan King questline immensely. If you killed Lagos's family or ignored Brasidas? You have to kill Lagos, and then one of the Spartan Kings becomes much harder to convict of treason.
Dealing with Deimos: The Hardest Part
Deimos is a nightmare. As an antagonist, they are terrifying because they are literally a demi-god with a glowing sword and zero impulse control.
The game presents Deimos as someone who is "broken," not "evil." This is a key distinction in assassin's creed odyssey choices. If you treat Deimos as an evil boss to be defeated, you lock yourself out of the reconciliation. You have to keep picking the "middle" or "soft" options.
During the "Where it All Began" quest on Mount Taygetos, the culmination of your entire journey happens. If you’ve been aggressive, you’re forced to kill them. If you’ve been merciful and consistent, you can walk away with your sibling alive. It’s the difference between a hollow victory and a genuine emotional payoff.
The Actionable Strategy for Your Playthrough
Don't just click through dialogue. Look for the symbols. The "Scale" icon usually means you're making a judgment. The "Heart" is obvious—romance—but remember that romancing one person might upset another.
If you want the "Perfect" Ending (All family members alive), follow these specific rules:
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- Spare Nikolaos in Chapter 2.
- Tell Nikolaos to go to Stentor when you meet him again later in the game.
- Don't kill Stentor. 4. Try to save the family from the plague? No—honestly, let them die if you want the island to stay pretty, though it doesn't affect the family ending.
- Promise Myrinne you will save Deimos.
- Convince Deimos that the Cult is manipulating them during the prison scene in Chapter 8. You'll know you're on the right track if Deimos yells "I am not your puppet!" at the cultist Kleon.
The complexity of these systems is why people are still debating their "canon" runs years after release. It’s not just a map-clearing simulator; it’s a series of moral tests wrapped in a historical epic.
Navigating the DLC Choices
If you’re playing the Legacy of the First Blade or Fate of Atlantis DLCs, the stakes shift. In First Blade, your choices are much more personal and, frankly, a bit more railroaded. You’re forced into a specific relationship dynamic regardless of your preferences, which was a point of controversy at launch. However, how you treat the "Order of the Ancients" still mirrors the base game’s themes of mercy versus justice.
In Atlantis, you’re literally acting as a judge (a Dikastes). You are balancing the laws of Poseidon against the chaos of the Isu. These choices don't affect the Greek mainland, but they do change the ending of the DLC arc.
Final Insights for the Modern Misthios
The most important thing to remember about assassin's creed odyssey choices is that the game is watching your patterns. It isn't just about the "Golden Path." It’s about who you want your Kassandra or Alexios to be. If you want to be a cold-blooded killer, the game will accommodate you, but it will leave you in a cold, empty world.
If you're stuck on a major decision, take a breath. Check your "Quests" tab and read the descriptions. Often, the flavor text gives you a hint about the moral weight of what you're about to do.
To master your playthrough, prioritize consistency over immediate rewards. If you decide to be a person of honor, stick to it even when a quest-giver offers you extra Drachmae to do something dirty. The long-term narrative payoff is worth more than any pile of gold or legendary gear. Focus on building alliances in the Peloponnesian War rather than just being a chaotic neutral force of nature, and you'll find the ending far more satisfying.