The Cyclops is one of four legendary monsters you’ll have to go toe-to-toe with if you want to 100% complete Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. (We’ve got guides for the Sphinx, the Minotaur, and Medusa as well if you’re having trouble finding or beating any of them.)
Finding the Cyclops is arguably harder than killing it, but never fear—we’ve got you covered on both counts. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you the three quests that lead to the Cyclops and offer some tips on besting it in battle.
Hold Your Horses Pegasi
If you’re anything like me (meaning, you never do the main quest in video games until you’ve explored every other corner of the world first), it’s easy to stumble upon the Cyclops’s lair long before you’re meant to. The beast lives in the Cave of the Forgotten Isle, on the west side of the map between Megaris, Achaia, and Boetia—but if you go there before you’ve completed several other late-game quests, you’ll find nothing but a locked door.
Before you can face off against the Cyclops, you’ll first need to be at least level 36, and you’ll have to help a crazy person max out his craziness.
A God Among Men
Once you’re level 36 or higher, sail to the island of Kythera and set your waypoint for Murex Fort. On a hill outside the fort, you’ll find a man arguing with several women. Talk to him to find out what all the fuss is about.
He’ll tell you that his “god” has been wrongfully imprisoned in the nearby military stronghold and asks you to free him. Yes, this guy is off his rocker, and yes, this crazy train has just barely left the station.
Sneak (or kill) your way into Murex Fort and free Empedokles from his cell near the southern gate. He’s terrible at being stealthy, so if you don’t want to deal with waves of guards on the way out, consider dispatching all of the guards in the area before releasing Empedokles.
Once your charge is safely outside the fort, he’ll return to his acolyte on the hill. Follow him and speak with him once he arrives there to complete the quest.
Left to Dye
This quest will start immediately after finishing “A God Among Men.” Empedokles will tell you that he needs a special disk in order to enter Mount Olympos and reclaim his “birthright”—a disk that’s been stolen, of course. If you’ve done any of the other “Big Four” quests already, you might start to suspect that this disk is what you’ll need to unlock the Cyclops’s cave. (It is.)
Fortunately, this quest takes about 30 seconds. Play along with Empedokles’s god fantasy and agree to hunt down the thief who stole the disk. He’s not far away—on the road somewhere between the town of Kythera and the Murex Dyeing Facility, to be precise.
Call Ikaros in that area until you find the thief and his two bodyguards. Kill them all, retrieve the disk, and return to Empedokles to finish the quest.
Gearing Up
Now it’s time to face the Cyclops. Tell Empedokles that you’ll meet him “at the gates of Olympos,” but before you rush off to claim the beast’s head, make sure you’re ready.
The Cyclops is slightly easier to kill than the Minotaur, but they have similar attack patterns, and similar strategies will be effective in both cases. Tanking the Cyclops is not a great plan, so we recommend bringing light, fast weapons that will allow you to strike quickly, then retreat. Bring weapons, arrows, or abilities that will enable you to inflict poison—doing so will weaken the Cyclops’s attacks by about 20%, which might make the difference between life and death.
Make sure your armor and weapons are upgraded to your current level, and that you’re maxed out on all types of arrows if you intend to fight this fight from afar.
Stairway to Olympos
Once you’ve checked your gear, refilled your quiver, and healed up, sail to the Isle of Thisvi in the Gulf of Korinth. Find the wrecked ship on the beach and disembark there.
Enter the ruins via the stairs and follow the path; it never branches, so it’s impossible to get lost. When you reach a cliff overlooking the water, dive in. Swim toward the wall with the eye on it, then dive down and swim through a cave just under the surface. (Swim quickly and don’t dawdle too much; the path is semi-long and it is possible to run out of air.)
When you surface at the far end, you’ll find the door to the Cyclops’s chamber—and your old pal Empedokles. Once he’s done rambling, use the disk to open the door. In a turn of events that will surprise absolutely nobody, Empedokles’s delusions of godhood and his skull are both about to be crushed by the Cyclops.
Poking Its Eye Out
The Cyclops will open the battle with a powerful melee attack, so get some distance right away. Depending on your armor, it can kill you in anywhere from 1–4 hits, so it’s best to not get hit at all whenever possible.
During the first half of the fight, the monster will use three attacks: a two-handed smash, a sweeping punch, and a stomp that can stagger you even if it doesn’t connect. Kite him around for a bit until you get a feel for the speed and timing of his attacks, then move in and start attacking in short bursts.
Never attack the Cyclops directly from the front, as it will be hard to get out of the way of his counterattack if you’re stuck in the middle of a combo. Wail on him from the rear or side with your strongest quick-hitting abilities until you see him start to turn around, then retreat. If he stomps while facing away from you, you may get staggered, but you shouldn’t take any damage and should recover in time to dodge the followup attack.
Apply and reapply poison as needed to deal insignificant amounts of damage and to temporarily lower the monster’s strength. Fire deals a little more damage than poison, but it’s still probably not worth your time. If you’re primarily a ranged fighter, aim for the Cyclops’s eyeball and use explosive or death arrows for maximum damage.
Once you take the beast down to 50% health, he’ll procure a club and get mad. All of his attacks except the stomp will now have longer reach and hurt more, so stay clear of that club at all costs. Additionally, he can now use three new attacks, the worst of which is a 360-degree swipe that really hurts. The windup is fairly short, so play defense for a minute and bait him into using the move until you can reliably predict it, then get back on offense.
His second new attack involves slamming the ground, which will damage you if you’re too close and also cause rocks to fall from the ceiling. Don’t try to attack the Cyclops when this happens, just focus on avoiding the rocks until they stop falling. The third thing to watch out for is a grab-and-slam attack that the Cyclops can use if you approach him from the front, so be sure to stay behind or beside him, as before.
The Cyclops will attack more frequently now, so take extra care to keep your own combos short. Heal with Second Wind if you need to, keep hitting him with Hero Strike and swift weapon attacks, and you’ll bring him down before long.
Claiming the Piece of Eden
Once the legendary beast falls, pat yourself on the back, then rip its eye out with your bare hands. Turns out that it’s another Piece of Eden, which you’ll need later for a main story quest. You’ll also receive some XP, some drachmae, and a legendary heavy bladed weapon for your trouble.
Do you need any help with some of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey’s other side quests—like Dagger to the Heart, for instance? Or, if a different dialogue option or dilemma interests you, take a look at our guide to Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey choices.