Combat Maneuvers

There are a number of combat maneuvers that you'll learn throughout the game, some more effective than others. You'll need to progress through the chapters to unlock them - most of them will not be available in Memory Block One, but after each assassination you'll get some new weapons and abilities. Here's a short list of the ones that you'll use consistently. Note that most enemies can use these same maneuvers against you - it'll be pretty frustrating when your foes start to use defense breaks!

Slow Attacks

Holding down the attack button will cause your character to unleash a slow but powerful attack against your foes. If it connects, it will often instantly kill weaker enemies. If you're surrounded by enemies, though, the length of the attack will almost always cause you to leave yourself open to enemy blows before it can hit. Stronger enemies will usually block it, regardless, although this will sometimes cause them to drop their guards.

Counters

Counters will make the combat in the game much easier to survive.

Countering is performed by standing in high profile mode while locked onto an enemy. If you press the counter button just as an enemy's attack is about to hit you, you'll counter it, taking no damage. The results can be mild (knocking your opponent to the ground) or severe (an instant kill on your foe.) If you knock an enemy to the ground, you can switch to your hidden blade to assassinate them (unwise in large groups of enemies) or swing at them with your sword to try and finish them off before they can get up.

Counters are going to be one of your primary methods of dealing with multiple enemies. When surrounded by foes, going on the offensive will put you at risk of getting hit by enemy blades (since you can't guard while attacking). Holding the high profile button will let you deflect incoming attacks by default, and also try to counter your enemy's attacks if you see an obvious one coming, giving you the best of both worlds. Since only one enemy will normally attack you at a time, you can make the most out of this ability, especially on weaker foes that will die from a single counter.

Note, however, that you if you press the counter button too early, you'll wind up missing the counter and taking the opponent's blow straight on. Enemies have a variety of quick, normal, and slow attacks, so it can be tricky to gauge the speed of incoming attacks and counter them, especially when you're surrounded by enemies of various strengths, as happens towards the end of the game. Still, practicing your counters will let you overcome large groups of foes with relatively little trouble.

Grabs and Throws

Holding the high profile button and then tapping the grab button will let you attempt to grapple and shove an opponent. (Note that if you're in combat, though, you need to release the high profile button, and thus lower your guard, in order to grapple someone.) When you grab onto someone, you can move the analog stick in a particular direction to shove them in that direction.

Can you fly, Bobby?

Grappling doesn't always work (strong enemies will break your grapple and knock you to the ground), but when it does, it can be very, very handy, especially on rooftops. If you lure a large number of guards to a tall rooftop, you can grab them one by one and throw them off the edge of the roof. If they fall far enough, it'll be an instant death. (Assassination targets are usually immune to falling damage, however.)

Grabbing enemies and throwing them will usually result in a bit of movement for Altair, too, especially throwing them to the sides. Whenever possible, try to throw your enemies straight ahead; this results in less movement for your character. It's possible to throw people off the roof, then fall yourself if you build up too much momentum. Grabbing enemies and throwing them into walls near your character will also let you quickly switch to the hidden blade and assassinate them, since they'll fall to the ground at your feet.