SegmentNextMechanics
Egypt runs on drachmae, and Origins gives you two ways to earn them that are worth learning properly. One is passive and never stops paying: pick up everything, sell what you cannot use, and take the perk that makes it worth more. The other is a minigame with its own controls and its own prize pool, sitting in a stadium outside Alexandria. Both are covered below.
The passive tap: looting Egypt properly
The single largest source of money in the game is the habit of not walking past things. Treasure chests hand over weapons you can sell straight to the nearest blacksmith. Animal corpses carry remains that sell as well as they craft. Location objectives pay XP alongside the loot, so clearing a camp properly is paid twice.
Then take Salesman, the perk the Seer branch of the tree holds, which raises what you are paid for all of it. Grab it early rather than late, because the perk multiplies everything you sell afterwards and nothing you sold before. After that, be picky about side quests: a wealthy quest giver pays out properly and a farmer does not, so read who is asking before you commit an hour. Papyrus puzzles are the other steady earner, paying 300 coins a solve on top of the gear at the end of the riddle.
The active tap: the Lageion Hippodrome
Chariot racing unlocks once you reach Kanopos village and the Lageion Hippodrome opens to you. It splits in two. Time trials are solo runs against the clock, four of them, and posting a good time on one unlocks the next; the ghost chariot running alongside you is not a rival, so do not waste a ram on it. Tournaments are the real event, and they are where the cash prize and the Road Rage trophy live.
| Tournament | Direction | Laps | What the track throws at you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nike's Winged Victory | Clockwise | 3/3/3 | Broken chariots only, the clean introduction |
| Ramesses Divine Justice | Counter-clockwise | 3/3/4 | Statues in the middle, rain in race two, smoke in race three |
| Sol Indiges' Cursus Magnus | Clockwise | 3/4/4 | Obstacles on every turn, and firebombs from the crowd |
| Darius' Great Battle | Counter-clockwise | 4/4/5 | Fire blazes and statues, the longest of the four |
The controls are worth twenty seconds of your attention because they are not the ones you expect. Heavy attack accelerates, the interaction button boosts, and the boost meter refills faster the closer you sit to the chariot in front, which makes drafting a resource rather than a flourish. Drifting through a corner at the right moment saves you spending boost on getting out of it, so mastering corners is what wins races. The grab ledge button rams, and a single clean ram from the side can empty a full health bar, which cuts both ways: whenever somebody moves to overtake you, hit them first.
Spend stamina on straights and in short bursts, and keep some in reserve for the moment a rival tucks in behind you. On the harder tracks, learn the course on lap one from behind and take the lead once you know where the obstacles sit, then time your attacks so rivals crash into them for you. Every track in detail is on the Hippodrome racing guide, and the full list of income sources is on the money farming guide.
What the money is for
Two things, mostly. Blacksmiths charge to bring a weapon up to your current level, and skipping that is the most common reason a fight feels unfair, so budget for it every few levels. Tailors charge between 200 and 5,000 drachmae depending on the outfit, which is the bulk of the wardrobe in our items guide. Everything else that pays out, from stronghold chests to arena purses, is in the locations guide. Start from our Assassin's Creed Origins guide if you want the whole game in one place.