Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 7/10
- Offline: 47 [1000]
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1000: 20+ hours
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1
- Number of missable achievements: 2 ["Leave No Man Behind" and "Party Pooper"]
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: None!

I have given this game a 7/10 for difficulty based off of the fact that so many people have had trouble maxing it out. It seems that the combat challenges are very difficult for some people and have caused the death of several innocent controllers.

Introduction:
Batman: Arkham Asylum is an over the shoulder action game that is sure to please anyone who plays it. The achievements for difficulty are stackable which means that you only need to do one play through. The game’s achievements can be split into four basic categories, story related, challenge related and combo/combat achievements and miscellaneous. Out of those achievements, the challenge achievements seem to give people the most fits. The game has only two missable achievements, "Leave No Man Behind" and "Party Pooper". Out of those two, "Party Pooper" should be the one you’re most concerned with as it is only available at the end of the game right before the final boss fight. If you fail to do it, you’ll be forced to play through the entire game again. "Leave No Man Behind" on the other hand happens very early in the story, so missing it isn’t that big of a deal.

Step 1: Preparation
Before we begin, you need to pull up a collectibles guide to follow as you progress through the story. Although none of the collectibles are missable, it’s best to collect as many as you can in each area since they give you experience for more upgrades. I personally used swaggers’ guide for collectibles and found it very useful. You can find his maps and videos HERE. As you’ll see when you look at his guide, you cannot collect every collectible in an area the first time you visit. This is because some collectibles require you to have certain Batman gadgets that aren’t rewarded until later in the story. Although the game is fairly straightforward, you may also want to follow a walkthrough in case you get lost. I found this walkthrough to be very useful with it's easy to follow guidance and pretty pictures.

Also, before we begin, it’s important to mention how the health and experience system work. Batman’s health goes down when he is hit by an enemy or other harmful medium (obviously). What makes this game different is that in order to restore his health you need to gain experience. This is done in three ways, killing enemies, completing objectives and collecting Riddler clues/trophies/chronicles/etc. With that in mind, it’s important to realize that although you may be hurt after a big fight, finding a few collectibles will usually put you back at full health.

Experience is important because it allows you to purchase upgrades for Batman. A lot of people struggle on what to upgrade first and what’s important and what’s not. Below is my personal take on upgrading.
NOTE #1: I always had one upgrade remaining at all times to go along with my armor upgrade strategy below or to knock out certain achievements.
NOTE #2: Upgrades don’t save unless you get to another checkpoint. This is useful because you can purchase worthless upgrades early, get the achievement for them and then reload your checkpoint to spend the upgrade on something more useful.


·Combo Upgrades – Perhaps the most important upgrades you have available. Upgrading these early will make large fights much easier.
·Inverted Takedown – I personally did not use this at all in story. I wouldn’t get this until you start the Predator challenges.
·Armor Upgrades – Save these! Too often people upgrade their armor too soon. I suggest not using these until you’re in a big fight. Reason being that once chosen, they fully restore your health. This can give you a much needed second wind in the middle of a fight.
·Batarang Upgrades – Of all the batarang upgrades, the only one I used during the story was the multi-batarang. It’s great for taking out big groups as well as the Mutated Titan Plants’ projectiles. The remote control and sonic batarangs weren’t needed until I started the predator challenges.
·Explosive Gel Upgrades – Save these for much later too. I didn’t need them at all during the story.
·Cryptographic Sequencer Upgrades – I suggest getting the range upgrade early as it is needed to get several Riddler clues. The upgrade that makes it easier to crack the code is your choice. If you’re having difficulty, you may want it as the Joker rigged boxes will kill you if you take too long to crack them.

Step 2: Play Through on Hard Difficulty
With the preparation out of the way, begin a new game on the hard difficulty setting. As we go through this step, I’m going to point out locations to get many of the game’s miscellaneous achievements as well as the missable achievements. The only thing you need to do in between these locations (other than progress the story) is to follow the guide linked above and collect as many Riddler clues as possible.
TIP #1: Press to enter detective mode each time you enter a new area. This will give you immediate feedback as to how many enemies there are as well as where they are.
TIP #2: I made a thread about the incredible usefulness of your explosive gel. You may want to read about it before beginning. The thread can be found HERE.


After the opening sequence of the game, you’ll begin in the Intensive Treatment building. Very early on in the building, you’ll come upon a room filled with gas. Once you enter this room, you’ll need to pull up the two guards and one henchman that are about to fall. This will net you the missable "Leave No Man Behind" achievement. A little bit farther into the building, you’ll enter the Intensive treatment lobby and your first predator sequence. Predator sequences are characterized by gargoyles you can grapple to and several armed guards. What you want to do here is purchase the inverted takedown upgrade and go for the "Rope-A-Dope-A-Dope" achievement. The guard in front of you after you exit the vent is in great position for this achievement. After the "Rope-A-Dope-A-Dope" unlocks, reload your checkpoint so you can spend the upgrade on something more useful.

Your next opportunity to get miscellaneous achievements comes once you exit Intensive Treatment and go outside to get the Born Free achievement. After this, purchase the remote control batarang upgrade and go for the Catch! achievement. Again, reload the checkpoint after getting this since the remote control batarang isn’t a necessary upgrade this early. Next, as you start collecting Riddler clues in Arkham East, you will have to climb to the top of Arkham Mansion. This is a perfect time to grab the "Night Glider" achievement.

Your next opportunity to grab some miscellaneous achievements comes immediately after entering the mansion for the first time and getting the "Breaking and Entering" achievement. Upon entering the main hall of the mansion, you’ll notice 10 henchmen on the floor below you rummaging through books. From the vent you’re standing on, glide down to the open area in front of the statue and allow them to attack you. This is a great spot to nab the "Freeflow Combo 40" achievement since this is a very open area with many unarmed enemies. The next area to pay attention to is the secret lab in the Botanical Gardens. Upon entering the lab, you’ll face two Titan henchmen. This is a great opportunity to grab the "Mano-A-Mano" achievement. Simply let the Titans run into each other and attack when you can. Be sure not to use any gadgets on them!

Our next location is after you leave Croc’s lair and have deactivated the three water pumps on your way out of the caves, before you leave you’ll be faced with a Titan henchman accompanied by a myriad of henchmen. This presents you with the perfect opportunity to go for the "Freakshow Rodeo" achievement. Plus, smacking the henchmen around with the Titan henchmen will really help clear out the room.

My next suggestion is optional, although I highly recommend it. After you defeat Poison Ivy in the Botanical Gardens, you’ll see fireworks outside the Visitor’s Center in Arkham West inviting you to the final battle. This is a great time to finish collecting all of the Riddler clues and snag the "Crack The E Nigma" and "World’s Greatest Detective" achievements because you have all of the required gadgets and there are no more enemies left. It is possible to collect everything after the final boss fight but I figure why not go into it fully upgraded?

NOTE: If you approach the Joker face outside the visitor’s center, one of the four henchmen there will start to talk to you. Don’t worry, this won’t mess anything up.

Now that you’ve gotten all of the collectibles out of the way and are fully upgraded, head to the visitor’s center in Arkham West. Outside you’ll see 4 unarmed henchmen. This is a perfect time to go for the "Freeflow Perfection" achievement because this is an extremely open area with not too many unarmed henchmen. After you’ve taken care of the four henchmen outside, head into the door where you’ll find around 20 henchmen applauding your arrival. WARNING! MISSABLE ACHIEVEMENT AHEAD! This is the location where you get then Party Pooper achievement. To get it, you must beat up all the henchmen in this room. The method I used involved explosive gel. Simply lay three evenly spaced explosive gels on the floor and detonate them at the same time. Then, while everyone’s down, use + to start thinning out the ranks. From there, it’s all on you to take care of the rest.

With the missable "Party Pooper" achievement out of the way, the only thing left to do is finish the game. Upon completing the game, you should receive the "Big Bang", "Bigger Bang" and "Biggest Bang" achievements for completing the game on hard.

Step 3: Predator Challenges
If you followed my advice above, the only achievements you should have left are the ones related to challenges and "Perfect Knight". We’re going to do the Predator challenges first since I think they’re easier than the combat ones. To earn all the medals in each predator challenge, you must complete three objectives per challenge. To find out specifics on what these objectives are, press while in the challenge. The only big difference between the extreme challenges and the regular ones is that the gargoyles are rigged to explode which actually isn’t a big deal once you figure out how to stay hidden.

Before we start going for the medals, though, I suggest you go for the "Invisible Predator" achievement. There’s no specific map to suggest for this one, but I wouldn’t suggest an extreme one. With that out of the way, it’s time to get all 24 predator medals. To complete all eight of these challenges, I used the videos located in the achievement guide as well as the tips mentioned in this thread. With those two resources I finished off the predator challenges with relative ease.

Step 4: Combat Challenges
This is the step that has caused more fits and more problems for players than any other. To earn medals in these challenges, you need to obtain a certain number of points. As an added challenge, the Shock and Awe challenge maps have an imposed time limit per round that if you don’t knock out all henchmen before time expires, the challenge ends. Prior to going for the medals, though, I would suggest loading up the Intensive Treatment challenge and trying to get the "Flawless Freeflow Fighter" achievement. After you get that achievement, you may also earn three medals in the Intensive Treatment challenge because of the Perfect Knight bonus you earn at the end.

It’s now time to get three medals in all the combat challenges. It’s really not hard once you practice a little. Below are a few tips you can use in addition to the ones in the achievement guide:
-This is not a button masher. Carefully plan out your next move. Button mashing will only ensure that your combo gets stopped frequently.
-Relax. These aren’t super easy to do. Getting frustrated and angry will only hinder your attempts at three medals.
-Above all, keep your combo going. Although variation is important, getting high combos is the best thing you can do to ensure you get lots of points.
-Variation is important. If you can pull off a freeflow perfection, you will get an additional 5000 points at the end of the round. However, don’t sacrifice your combo with a risky move just to get more variation.
-The first round is crucial. Getting a high point total in the first round will set the tone for the entire challenge as well as give you a little leeway in the later rounds in case you mess up.
-Use the evade move liberally. You can evade after each successful attack. This can give you a couple precious seconds to plan your next move. Just be sure not to evade twice in a row or it will kill your combo.
-If everyone is down on the ground, use the + takedown. This will not only increase your variation bonus, but also give others time to stand back so you can continue the combo.
-Watch the sides. Be sure to watch the sides of the map as you’re moving around. Odds are if an enemy is standing there, he’s either trying to get a rifle out or pull out a cinder block to throw at you.
-Know your enemy. Shock stick and knife henchman cannot be attacked directly, if you do, your combo stops. To hit them, you must either jump over them for shock stick henchmen or stun them with your cape for knife henchmen.
-Use the slow mo to your advantage. While in a slow mo takedown, you should survey the scene to figure out your next move. The slow mo scenes also give you brief invincibility.

Conclusion:
That’s it! If you completed everything above you should be 100% complete with the game and have received the "Perfect Knight" achievement. If you’re missing something, refer to the appropriate step. Last, I’d like to thank swaggers for his wonderful work on the collectible guide, it was very useful.

[x360a would like to thank Method for this Road Map]

Batman: Arkham Asylum Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed achievements
Show secret achievements

There are 47 achievements with a total of 1000 points

  • Complete story mode on Easy difficulty

    This is a story related achievement.

    See Biggest Bang.

  • Complete story mode on Normal difficulty

    This is a story related achievement.

    See Biggest Bang.

  • Complete story mode on Hard difficulty

    This is a story related achievement.

    Like every game the harder difficulty's can cause issues for some players. I suggest you play through the game at least once to learn all the movies and the general dynamics of the game. If you don't feel like running through the game more than once start out on hard.

    While playing through make sure you pick up and solve as many of the riddles as possible to help build your XP level. The more you build on your character the easier the game will be in the long run.

    Look through the secret achievements for tips on how to deal with the bosses you may be stuck on.

    These achievements do stack so playing through on Hard will unlock Easy and Normal.

  • Time to break up this party

    This achievement is missable.

    You can only unlock this later on when you have to deal with The Joker. You will be summoned to The Jokers party, head over to the visitors center and beat up the goons outside. Once you enter the visitor center do not walk through to the next area. Beat all the enemies in this hallway and the achievement will unlock once you kill the last one.

  • Complete a combo of 20 moves (any play mode)

    See Freeflow Combo 40.

  • Complete a combo of 40 moves (any play mode)

    This is one of the hardest achievements to complete. You will need to string together a comb of 40 hits without being attacked from your enemies. You may find this a little easier with the weapon upgrades as you can pull off far stronger combos and raise your level faster.

    Once you raise your combo level it will turn gold allowing you to pull off stronger hits. You will also be able to take longer breaks between combo attacks on enemies giving you time to think about each move you pull off.

    While fighting with the Titans you can build up a high combo level while riding on their backs and hitting over Jokers men. Just take your time and practice.

    See Freeflow Perfection for combo combination.

  • Glide continuously for over 100m

    There is only one place where you can get high enough to earn this. Climb Arkam Mansion and head toward the clock tower. Once your on the very top platform hold down and run off the platform, keep holding down to glide down towards the door which leads you to Arkam North.

  • String up one henchman and drop him to surprise a second (any play mode)

    You can only earn this once you buy the skill upgrade ability to perform inverted takedowns (Black title with white eyes). Either enter a challenge or story mode, jump up to a gargoyle and hit to hang upside down. Once an enemy passes bellow you press to drop down and leave them hanging from the gargoyle.

    Jump to another gargoyle by hitting the then select and aim your Batarang using the . Aim for the rope holding the enemy and press the to throw the Batarang and cut the rope to drop the enemy in front of the others.

  • Take on a beast in hand to hand combat

    This achievement is missable within the story.

    If you miss this achievement within the story mode you can play challenge mode to take on a Titan in the extreme combat challenges.

    This is going to require some patience. Once you first encounter the Titans you need to defeat them using only your fists. If you use the Batarang you will void yourself of earning this achievement.

    Once you start fighting the Titans make sure they run into each other and dodge out the way. Once a Titan is worn down enough and holding it's head start attacking. Make sure to evade side swipes, you may need to attempt this more than once. You don't need to kill both Titans just one.

  • Catch a Batarang (any play mode)

    Before you can attempt this achievement you need to unlock the Remote Controlled Batarang upgrade. Keep earning XP and you should be prompted to upgrade soon enough. Press the to enter the upgrade menu when prompted and scroll through until you find the upgrade.

    Once you have the Batarang head to an open area and throw the Batarang, use the to fly around the open space and back towards Batman.

  • Complete a combo of 5 moves (any play mode)

    This will probably be your first achievement in the game, just link together a combo of five hit or more on enemies you first encounter by press in sequence.

    See Freeflow Combo 40.

  • Complete a combo of 10 moves (any play mode)

    See Freeflow Combo 40.

  • Perform a perfect combo including all of Batman's combat moves (any play mode)

    This is one of the harder achievements, this may be easier in the challenge modes where you can practice and take on various amounts of enemies. You may find the visitor center the easiest spot in story mode to earn this as none of the enemies will have weapons before you face The Joker.

    Some of these will require you to upgrade Batman's combo skills, earn XP from killing enemies or finding/solving the Riddler challenges.

    Basic Combo:
    - Strike
    - Counter
    Tap Twice - Evade
    Tap Once - Quick Batarang
    Tap Twice - Quick Batclaw

    Upgraded Combo:
    - Stun
    + - Ground Takedown
    + - Throw
    + - Takedown

  • Ride a beast and unleash its power

    You may expect this to unlock when you first fight the Titans but you will earn it later in the game. On your patch you will be taken to the underground sewers which you need to escape. Joker will force you to fight a horde of enemies as well as a single Titan. Throw a quick Batarang and dodge out the way until you have worn down the Titan.

    Climb on his back by pressing to throw a few punches and then climb on, control the Titan with the + and knock down as many enemies as possible before the Titan throws you off. You should get this once you knock down four or five guys.

  • Achieve 8 medals on combat challenges

    See Freeflow Gold.

  • Achieve 16 medals on combat challenges

    See Freeflow Gold.

  • Achieve 24 medals on combat challenges

    These challenges will be a lot harder for some people seeing as you need to beat the highest scores on each challenge map. Before you can start working your way through the challenges you'll need to collect the riddler trophies to unlock them. See Crack The E Nigma for more information.

    You need to beat the following scores to earn a gold medal on each map:

    • Intensive Treatment - 18,000
    • Sewer Bat - 18,000
    • Shock and Awe - 30,000
    • Rumble in the Jungle - 30,000
    • Intensive Treatment (Extreme) - 30,000
    • Sewer Bat (Extreme) - 50,000
    • Shock and Awe (Extreme) - 30,000
    • Rumble in the Jungle (Extreme) - 50,000

  • Achieve 8 medals on predator challenges

    See Predator Gold.

  • Achieve 16 medals on predator challenges

    See Predator Gold.

  • Achieve 24 medals on predator challenges

    These challenges are far more straight forward than the combat ones but they will still be a challenge until you find the best way to complete them.

    Refer to the following guide for tips on how to beat the criteria.

    Predator Challenge Guide

  • Complete one predator challenge by using only Silent Takedowns and without being detected

    This is a lot easier than it sounds, pick on of the earn stealth challenges. You will want to take your time don't rush this as you may get caught. Drop down and hold the to sneak up behind enemies. Press to perform a silent takedown, once you have killed the enemy your after make a quick escape to one of the gargoyles or another section of the map.

    Using other weapons or takedown tactics will cause you to miss out on this achievement so make sure you don't use the Batarang, Batclaw or glide takedowns.

  • Complete one combat challenge without taking damage

    This will either come with practice or patience. Play through the first challenge map "Intensive Treatment" there are less enemies and they won't be armed with any weapons. keep your distance and use some of the tips provided in the videos for Freeflow Gold, they may be for the extreme maps but they will give you some guidance on techniques for taking down enemies quickly.

    Make good use of your Batclaw and Batarang, keep evading and watch out for enemies which may attack you from behind.

  • Solve every riddle on the island

    Once you solve every Riddler challenge you will be rewarded with this achievement. This may seem quite tedious to start with as there are 240 challenges through Arkham Island but it doesn't take that long to complete. You won't be able to collect every single item from the start of the game, you will need to acquire upgrades for your weapons such as:

    • Answer the riddles
    • Destroy the chattering teeth
    • Find all the stone plaques
    • Collect every audio interview
    • Find all question marks
    • Collect all the Riddler trophies

    You will need the following upgrades to access all the challenge items:

    • Explosive Gel
    • Batclaw
    • Thee Shot Batclaw
    • Cryptographic Sequencer (Distence Upgrade)
    • Zipline

    You won't start out with these items as you acquire them while progressing through the games story mode. Before you panic about missing any of these collectibles you can go back in a free roam style to collect all the challenge items at the end of the game. Just continue from the main menu.

    While playing through the story you will find maps which indicate where all the Riddlers challenge items are located. Make sure you pick up all these maps when you see them to save any hassle finding each item. There not hidden away but they will be on your patch or in plain view.

    If you are stuck on any of the Riddler's questions use the following site:

    Riddler's Challenge Guide

  • Solve 5% of Riddler challenges

    As you start out you will find yourself picking up trophies and audio recordings while solving the riddles. This achievement unlocks fairly soon as it doesn't require you to collect many of these riddles. You will unlock most of the achievements towards Crack The E Nigma without really trying as you will want to pick these items up to build XP.

    See Crack The E Nigma.

  • Solve 10% of Riddler challenges

    See Crack The E Nigma.

  • Solve 25% of Riddler challenges

    See Crack The E Nigma.

  • Solve 40% of Riddler challenges

    See Crack The E Nigma.

  • Solve 55% of Riddler challenges

    See Crack The E Nigma.

  • Solve 70% of Riddler challenges

    See Crack The E Nigma.

  • Solve 85% of Riddler challenges

    See Crack The E Nigma.

  • Solve Arkham's biggest mystery

    You find Chronicles of information documenting the villain's from previous crimes around Arkham Island. they are located everywhere but they are fairly easy to solve. The following guides will help you find any articles you may be missing:

    Arkham East
    Arkham West
    Arkham North
    Arkham Mansion
    Botanical Gardens
    Caves
    Intensive Treatment
    Medical Facility
    Penitentiary

    Once you have collected everything and all the stones you will hear from the Riddler one last time. Once he has finished talking head to the Penitentiary and go to the security booth. Head up into the booth and scan the big circle on the floor, the achievement will unlock once you collect this last article.

    If your having trouble finding the security booth its in the same room with Clayface and the mysterious man with one arm.

  • 100% Complete

    This will be your last achievement and most likely your most annoying. You need to fill a list of requirements before the achievement will unlock. You will need to complete the following criteria before this achievement will unlock:

    • Unlock all 20 upgrades
    • Solve the 240 riddles
    • Earn a gold medal on all challenges

     

 

Secret achievements

  • Take down Zsasz in the Patient Pacification Chamber

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Rescue the guards and henchman from the Joker toxin in Decontamination

    This achievement is missable

    You will encounter this area fairly close to the start of the game. You will have to go through a room filled with toxic gas and turn on the fans. You can just walk past all the guards and miss this achievement. Once you get up onto the vents make your way over to the two security guards and one of Jokers men. Help them all up and the achievement will unlock as soon as you help the last guy.

  • Survive the onslaught from the deformed Joker henchman

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Escape from Intensive Treatment to the island surface

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Save all the doctors in Medical

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Survive the nightmare of the Scarecrow's fear gas

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Defeat Bane

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

    Bane can be a little tricky on the harder difficulty's. While fighting him make sure you tap the to throw a Batarang and pressing twice to evade his running attacks. Once Jokers men start to drop down and cause your grief make sure to use Bane as an advantage. Once he starts to charge at you get him to knock over the other enemies leaving you with a clear shot.

  • Gain access to Arkham Mansion after it is locked down by the Joker

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Face your biggest fears and keep your sanity

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Save Dr. Young from being killed by Victor Zsasz

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Capture and lock up Harley Quinn

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

  • Defeat two Titan Henchmen at once

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

    You will first encounter the Titan's while chancing after The Joker a little way into story. They can be a little tough the first time but make sure you make them run into each other. You can also earn Mano-A-Mano at this point in the game.

  • Conquer the effects of the Scarecrow's fear gas

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

    You will enter the Scarecrow's world three times before you can break away from the effects of his fear gas. As you progress you will have one final encounter when you return to the "Intensive Treatment" section of the game.

  • Venture into Killer Croc's lair and come out alive

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

    You will be forced to enter Croc's lair to collect a toxin. You will need to sneak around the waterways by holding the , it doesn't mater how fast or slow you go just make sure your sneaking.

  • Defeat the giant Titan Ivy plant

    This is a story related achievement and cannot be missed.

    Defeating Poison Ivy is more tedious than hard, while attacking her keep an eye on the ground for clumps of grass. As soon as you see these clumps forming evade by them by jumping to either side. Keep tapping the to throw the Batarang, remember not to aim but use quick throws. Half way through the battle Ivy will start to spawn guards, pay less attention to them and concentrate on Ivy. Keep throwing the Batarang and dodge the vines that come up from the floor.

    This is more trial an error but once you get half way through you will start from that save point.

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