What is defferent between "Goup de grace" and signature kills in unity?

[ƵeroƊark Ὧ]

Hi,
I'm really curious about difference in two type of finishing kills mentioned in AC unity tutorial -> Advance fighting section.
1- Coup de grace by pressing X after 0 health
2- signature kills by holding X after 0 health.

but i check it over and over and over in game! but they are both same to me. (same moves)
please anyone has any idea about it?

[NeroAngelo]

isn't one where the enemy is laying on the ground twisting and turning and you can "assassinate" them , while the other is that "cinematic" kill you do with weapons sometimes at the end of a combo if enemy is dazed and at 0 health ?

[ƵeroƊark Ὧ]

thanks for replies but kill animations are same for both situation. i tried every situation when enemy health reach 0 but same kill (long press = taping). but due to tutorial they should be different!

[ƵeroƊark Ὧ]

it seems no one know anything about this problem (or not concerned)? its messing with my head. guys please help me out if u know anything :(((

[ƵeroƊark Ὧ]

thx GoProne but i tried most of situations for finishing blow. its all random and i got hear/throat stabbing buy holding X too. i executed over 100 enemy with tapping and holding x but killing animation is all random and same (for me) and its not depends on holding X or tapping. that why im so curious about this. maybe i'm doing something wrong or....?!

[Mike]

Coup de Grace is when you "kill" them without executing them, then stab them while they're on the ground rolling around. Signature kills are when you've reduced their health to 0 but they haven't fallen over yet.

Pretty sure the nomenclature was the same in other AC games. It's not a problem/bug, just different finishing moves for different things.

The reason the button presses are the "same" but slightly different is because during combat you do the execution moves (signature kills) by holding or pressing the button, but if there's a knocked down enemy near you you'll kill them instead unless you hold it.

Finally, there are no "fear" mechanics (or "brutalize" kills), this isn't Shadow of Mordor, and no, pressing the button differently doesn't change the animation at all, it's just coincidence that it happened like that.

[ƵeroƊark Ὧ]

thx for you'r detailed description. but there is problem...
in database > gameplay > advanced fighting, it described that signature kills can be done only by holding X. the point is, we can execute zero health enemies in fight (while still standing) by pressing or holding x (and both are same) so why they mentioned holding X for signature kills? and pressing X for coup de grace? (for rolling knockout enemies) X and holding X doing same too.

[Apinasan]

I've got one when I hold attack button to finish then Arno takes enemy in strangle hold from behind and slits his throat.

[-Armageddon-]

Originally posted by GoProne+:

From what I’ve seen:
Coup de grace: Once an enemy reaches 0 health, press X to perform a swift kill.
– Stabs in heart/throat/etc. and is also quicker.
Signature Kill: Once an enemy reaches 0 health, hold X to perform a signature kill.
– Brutally kills them, like Apinasan described.
Knock out: Once an enemy reaches 0 health, hold A to knock them out.
– Kicks them in the chest.
Critical Kill: When the enemy’s health bar is blinking red, hold X to perform an execution.
– Same as signature kill?

But none of that relates to being knocked out.

Originally posted by Redneck:

Finally, there are no "fear" mechanics (or "brutalize" kills), this isn't Shadow of Mordor, and no, pressing the button differently doesn't change the animation at all, it's just coincidence that it happened like that.

I was questioning the reason for different finishers, is it theatrics or does it affect morale? Which is a fair question. - And as far as I’m concerned 'brutalize' kills are very much there.

Man i wish there was Brutalize mechanic and also Nemesis system aka normal shoulders promoted to captains and having better armor and 2 bodyguards, that would have been so much better.

[Kurt Thomas]

Yea, I created a topic asking pretty much the same thing. The point zero is making is no matter what the context, tapping and holding the button do the same thing. The only time the kills have been different from me playing around with this is when an enemies back is to the wall, but this has nothing to do with the mechanids being described, only the context in which the kill is performed. The tutorial makes it seem that, at the very least, the signature kill is distinct, but in actuality, they are all the same. They may have well said "To perform a finsher, hold x while health is critically blinking red, hold x when the enemies health reaches 0, or tap x when the enemies health reaches 0." It all does the same thing. The kills are randomized and I have done the same kill performed as a "coupe de grace" a so-called "signature kill" and a "critical kill".

[Mike]

Like I said before, the reason it says to PRESS or HOLD is because during combat it needs two different binds or else you might not be able to activate the context-sensitive action needed to kill enemies on the ground and would instead execute someone standing up. They are two different actions.

Press to kill on the ground if there's a guy with 0 health standing next to him.

Hold to kill the guy with 0 health instead of the guy on the ground.

This is exactly how it's worked in all AC games before. The names for the moves are even the same.

[Mike]

Originally posted by GoProne+:

I was questioning the reason for different finishers, is it theatrics or does it affect morale? Which is a fair question. - And as far as I’m concerned 'brutalize' kills are very much there.

No, they're not. You're imagining things.

[Kurt Thomas]

You do not actively target enemies on the ground during combat, so no Redeck, that conclusion doesn't make sense. I also spent a substantial amount of time with the combat from the previous entries as it's often one of my favorite parts to explore the nuances, and I don't recall these mechanics being used in prior games. You never had to hold the button to execute a kill. Combo kills were done with timed button presses. Counter kills were done by holding the block button and pressing the corresponding button at the right moment. When was there ever an instance you had to hold the attack button to differentiate the attack? Weapon use in this game is very context specific and combat in general has been stripped down quite a bit. You can not use the hidden blade in combat unless you knock someone over with a stun attack, similar to how in the original you could only use it if you threw an opponent to the ground (you could also use it for counter kills but not blocking or actively attacking). Once an enemies health reaches 0 and they have fallen to the ground, after the staggered "finish him" state, you can not actively target them during a fight. I've tried. It's only after when you've left conflict that you can finish him with the hidden blade. Again, this is not to be confused with the ground attack you can perform with the hidden blade ONLY after having knocked them over with a stun attack, or the ground execution that's unlocked after sequence 9 that's also performed in the identical scenario. From what I gather, this is either a mechanic that is not explained very well, or something that was inadvertantly left in post-release when the mechanic had actually been removed. The coup de grace and critical kill as far as I'm concerned are identical aesthetically but the context in which they are performed is different. A hold of the button while the enemy's health is flashing red will kill him earlier than you would have been able to otherwise (he may have half his health remaining but if it's flashing red a critical kill is available). A quick kill ironically is not quick considering you have to whittle their health to 0 first.

Unless I am missing something obvious, the signature kill does not exist.

[badboy14]

I may have found this elusive "coup de grace" finisher. If iI spam attack after perfect parry (so the enemy doesn't keep parrying), while their health is almost out (health bar is flashing red), the finisher animation is kinda different. Different as they are quicker than the signature (usual/critical) finisher. Further testing shows that this may have something to do with arno's 3 strike combo, which is why spamming attack works to guarantee this quick animation. So, just spam attack if enemy health is at critical, and this alleged "coup de grace" finisher will happen, provided the enemies don't parry your combo. Hope this helps.
P.S. This animation also has wall variants, but seemingly no back variant.
P.P.S There ARE back variants. Executed by first rolling to their back, while at 0 health (dizzy), then spam attack.
P.P.P.S Now that I know the rolling then spam attack trick, you can also tap dodge (arno will duck) and then spam attack while the enemy is at 0 health. No need to roll and keep track of their health. Arno will do the coup de grace finisher without the combo trick.
Here is my video on this finisher https://youtu.be/1l22evIgRF0