CHAPTER VII: SON OF ROME

Follow this detailed walkthrough for Ryse: Son of Rome's Chapter VII: Son of Rome, guiding you through ballista combat, troop deployment, and boss fights.

Alright, let's dive into Chapter VII of Ryse: Son of Rome! This chapter throws you onto a scorpion ballista, so get ready to unleash some serious firepower on those enemies trying to breach the Roman defenses. Keep an eye on your screen for the voice command "FIRE VOLLEY!" – spamming that is key to keeping the enemy numbers down.

Your main focus should be on enemies with objective markers above them. These guys, like axe-wielding warriors, archers, big barbarians with clubs, and especially the elephants, pose the biggest threat to your line. Elephants are your absolute top priority; they take a good 4-5 hits to bring down, but thankfully, they're pretty slow. Use the explosive barrels and burning oil pots scattered around to your advantage – a well-placed shot can take out a whole group!

Once that initial wave is dealt with, you'll need to get your hands dirty with your sword. Fight through the next group of enemies to reach an area where you'll need to make some tactical decisions about troop and archer placement. You can send your ground troops to either the left or the right. If you send them right, you'll be fighting enemies head-on with melee. If you send them left, you can hop back on the scorpio ballista to cover the right flank. Honestly, I found it easiest to have the troops handle the enemies coming from the left.

Next, it's time to position your archers. Just like with the troops, you can send them left or right to support. What I found most effective was sending both your ground troops and archers to the left area. Then, you can personally man the scorpio ballista on the right and just decimate anything that comes your way. If any enemies manage to slip past you, quickly dismount (tap [A]), activate Focus to slow down time, slice them up, and then get right back on the ballista.

After that, you'll move to the next area. Fight off the enemies, and watch the scene play out. Once it's over, hop down to the next section and take out the remaining enemies. You'll get the drop on them here, so try to snag a kill from behind. When they're all down, man the scorpio again. You'll need to shoot an oil pot across the water to help out your soldiers who are getting overwhelmed. As you push forward, take a left turn – opposite the alley you're supposed to go down. You can hop over some boxes there to find a Vista collectible.

When you're ready, head down the alley, grabbing any projectiles you see along the way. Yell "FIRE VOLLEY!" to have your archers take out the enemies across the water attacking your troops, and toss those projectiles yourself to speed things up.

Now comes the big one: Boudica's stampeding war elephants! You'll need to zig-zag through the flames and dodge their massive feet. Make your way up to the ballista and land a precision shot right on Boudica's elephant. After that, chase her down for a one-on-one battle. This fight is tougher than before; Focus isn't as effective, and she's much more aggressive.

Defeating Boudica will advance the story to the