Mafia The Old Country: Palio (Chapter 2) Mission Guide

Mafia the Old Country Chapter 2, Palio, introduces Knife Combat, Horse Racing, and many other new experiences to the gameplay fold.

Mafia The Old Country: Palio (Chapter 2) Mission Guide
Mafia The Old Country: Palio (Chapter 2) Mission Guide [Image via 2K]

Mafia The Old Country Chapter 2, named Palio, takes players to the semi-open world of the game while giving them their first taste of knife combat. And even though the player won’t be able to explore the landscapes of Sicily with complete freedom at this point, the chapter’s more action-packed sequences certainly get the story rolling, unlike the more slow-paced first mission. So, let’s take a more comprehensive look at Palio in Old Country.

Mafia The Old Country Palio (Chapter 2) Overview

The second chapter in Mafia The Old Country picks up the pace from the previous mission and moves things up a bit. Players get to buy their first knife in the game in this mission while taking part in sparring sessions, horse racing, and a knife duel. The presence of these set pieces mixed with the visually stunning cutscenes keeps the gameplay fresh and interesting throughout, and gamers can really start to get a hint of what the following chapter will offer in this mission.

Ride With Luca

Escort the Wagon to Pasquale’s place (Image via 2K)

Palio starts with Enzo and Luca escorting a wagon. After the opening cutscene, climb onto the horse with the objective marker and then simply follow the wagon and your companion through the Sicilian countryside. At this point in the game, you won’t be able to explore the world freely, as we mentioned, so stick close to Luca as much as possible.

Once the wagon reaches its destination, dismount from your horse and interact with the marked box to pick it up. Follow Luca to the iron gates to trigger the next cutscene and progress the mission further. During it, you will meet a new character named Pasquale. You will be able to buy your very first knife from him. Open the box to collect some Dinari, the game’s primary currency, and learn about Trinacria, which are artifacts that you can exchange for money at Pasquale’s store.

Then, follow the quest marker that leads to the downstairs shop. After interacting with Benedetta, grab the note from the table next to her, and then get your first knife from the marked table in the room. Furthermore, you will also find a Mystery Fox there, but you will need 5,000 Dinarito to collect it.

Coming back to the knife, you will get several options for it. However, even though you can virtually pick any from the list, your budget of 200 Dinari limits you to the basic choices such as the Viperi, Draguni, or Colossu. Furthermore, take a good look at all the associated perks of the weapons, and only then pick the one that suits you the best.

Also Read: Mafia The Old Country: How To Heal

Defeat Luca

Defeat Luca by parrying and counterattacking (Image via 2K)

Once you get the knife and walk to the outside, Luca will ask you to spar with him so he can teach you the ropes of knife combat. To summarize, in a duel, you get the option to Slash, Thrust, Strike, Dodge, and Parry. As you can expect, slashing and thrusting will be your primary offensive moves, while dodging and parrying are defensive maneuvers.

After that, the game will give you a tutorial, and you will have to land multiple hits on Luca and then dodge his attacks. Once it is done, your ally will teach you the basics of parrying. You will need to use it right when an opponent attacks to block his move and land some hits of your own. Learning it is fairly easy thanks to the significant timing window the game gives you.

After that, you must learn the strikes, which are basically unblockable heavy attacks. When your opponent performs it, you can identify it by the red flow around their weapon, and dodging will be your only option. After avoiding Luca’s strikes, it will be the time to land some of your own. Use the dedicated button to perform the move to dismantle your rival’s guard and create opportunities for dealing damage. But keep in mind that strikes take longer to land.

Once you are done with the tutorial, it will be time to go against Luca in a full-fledged duel. Keep the focus on your defense and avoiding attacks, and only perform an offensive move when there is a clear opening for it. After you have defeated him, simply get onto your horse and ride to Palio.

Win the Race

Use the Spurt ability whenever needed (Image via 2K)

After reaching Palio, you will be able to explore the nooks and crannies before meeting Don Torrisi at his tent. Truthfully, you won’t find many items in the area except for a newspaper on a stand close by and a charm left by the tent itself. Once you have grabbed those, go and see the mob boss and participate in the horse race to win an opportunity to become the Torrisi family’s new rider.

The race itself will consist of only two laps and will be held inside the town, and you will also be competing against eight other NPCs. Once the competition begins, focus on your own horse and try to overtake whenever the opportunity arrives. Your horse will start picking up speed after warming up, but still, you will need to manage the horse’s pace and use the Spur ability wisely to win the event.

We highly recommend using the ability on straights to close the distance with rivals ahead of you or on corners, but only when you are close to another rider and can overtake with the extra speed.

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Defeat L’Ombra

Wait for L’Ombra to give you an opening for a strike (Image via 2K)

A cutscene will trigger after you win the race, in which you will meet Isabella yet again. She will ask you to deliver some wine with her. Start following her to the objective marker while the two characters have a conversation. Shortly after, you will be confronted by some thugs and a character named L’Ombra, who will challenge you to a knife duel.

Note that L’Ombra is way more aggressive than your previous opponent. Thus, we recommend that you stay on the defensive and parry or dodge his attacks. If successful, you will get plenty of chances to counterattack and do some significant damage to your opponent’s health.

At the halfway mark of the fight, a button-mashing sequence will occur. You will get a fair amount of time for this. After that, the second phase of the duel will begin. This time around, L’Ombra will start to hit you with more strikes. They are unblockable, so dodge them instead of trying to parry.

After dodging, hit him with some sharp counterattacks. Keep repeating this process until your rival’s health reaches zero. Once it reaches that point, Luca will interrupt the battle and scare the thugs away. This will mark the end of Chapter 2, Palio, in Mafia The Old Country.


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Mafia The Old Country (Image via Hangar 13)

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