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What do flashing yellow enemies mean? - Assassin's Creed Shadows

If you noticed enemies flashing yellow in combat in Assassin's Creed Shadows but have no idea what that means, we have all the information you need.

Aidan O'Brien

March 19, 2025 9:25 AM

Shacknews

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Combat in Assassin's Creed Shadows is fun, especially as you get used to switching between the two very different styles of our protagonists. One of the commonalities between them is that, sometimes, enemies can flash yellow. If you are unsure what this means, it's a very useful combat mechanic that you can take advantage of. 

What do flashing yellow enemies mean? - Assassin's Creed Shadows

Flashing yellow enemies in Assassin's Creed Shadows are in a vulnerable state, are unable to mount any defense to incoming attacks, and will also take more damage than usual. You can make enemies vulnerable by perfectly timing a parry, deflecting attack, or by dodging an unstoppable attack at the very last moment. 

Most standard attacks can be parried or deflected, and doing so at the last moment, right as the attack is about to hit you, will make the enemy vulnerable. You can tell when an attack can be deflected as you will see the enemy's weapon shine momentarily. You can then hit the left bumper button right as the attack is about to hit for a perfect deflection. If you are using a keyboard, the default button to do this is Q.

Unstoppable attacks are the ones that cause your enemies to briefly glow red. These attacks cannot effectively be deflected, and if you try to do so, you will get knocked back and be left vulnerable yourself. Instead, dodge them by hitting the B or Circle button on the controller while holding a direction on the left thumbstick or by hitting Alt and W, A, S, or D on the keyboard.

When enemies are vulnerable, you should follow up with a series of quick strikes or, even better, use a light posture attack to trigger a weak point strike. 

For more Assassin's Creed guides and news, be sure to check out our Assassin's Creed Shadows page.

Aidan O'Brien

Contributing Guides Editor

Hailing from Ireland, Aidan has been conditioned by local weather conditions to survive hours at his PC grinding through whatever game is offering the lowest possible drop rates for loot. He thinks the easiest way to figure out what fans of games want to read is to just be a fan of games. You can normally find him logged into Warframe, Destiny, or a gacha game. You can reach out to him on X @scannerbarkly.