The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

In this video I do an Eagle Strike on the target from the "Follow the Fiery Trail" mission.

It took me quite some time to get a successful strike recorded. At first I tried to do the strike without the "throwing knife turn", but while it is possible, it was too much trial and error. I could not get it recorded.

So then I turned to the "throwing knife turn". This is possible using the Air Strike skill from the skills tree.

Hope you enjoy the video.

The assassination mission Gilded Butterflies takes place at The Bazaar.

Early Infiltration

The room where the assassination takes place is normally not accessible before the mission, but here is how you can access it. From the place shown in the video at 0:35, Basim can throw a knife to unbar one of the doors. I found it easier to use eagle vision and aim right above the red glow. Note: If you have already started the mission you won't be able to do this because weapons are not allowed in The Bazaar at that time. The room is empty except for one guard.

Early Death

Ning doesn't appear until after the auction scene. Problem is she is immune to damage. Once you have obtained the brooch needed for the mission the game spawns all the guards in the room and Ning in her target form.

Now here is what happens if you kill her at this point: The game recognizes you have eliminated the target, but the memory corridor scene won't play (and her two bodyguards cannot engage you in combat; their detection arrows go back down). So we'll talk to the guard at the door to progress the story, and the memory corridor now starts.

Blooper

Normally you lose the opportunity for a unique kill if Ning gets spooked, but if you scare her before the last checkpoint you can still perform the cinematic death. The scene starts with glitched camera angles.

The first step is to "lure Al-Ghul out". There are two methods suggested by the game (and no others known at this time):

1. Rally the workers
2. Use the merchant

Rallying the workers is the easier and faster option. I chose it in order to keep this video short. If you're up for a challenge, try using the merchant instead. He can be found at the east gate.

There are many ways to infiltrate the Caravanserai. Climbing the leaning palm tree on the south side is an interesting but seldom seen approach. I use the secret underwater entrance because it's close to the worker we need to rally. Pre-assassinate the three guards in this area in order to clear a path to Al-Ghul later.

Talk to the worker and he'll send you to meet with the handler. Three are marked on your map but it's always the westernmost guy you want. Crossing the courtyard undetected can be challenging. Blend with groups of 3 or more until detection meters go away. The next steps are self-explanatory: talk to the handler, don't pay him, pickpocket him, and return across the courtyard to the first worker.

When you start talking to the worker again, you don't have to stand there and listen. Instead, run toward the balcony and take the lift on the right side. There may be a guard on the roof so be prepared assassinate him. Drop down onto the balcony and go backstage to meet Al-Ghul.

Al-Ghul spawns just to the right of the backstage door. Hit immediately for the early/blitz assassination. aurllcooljay and I independently discovered that Basim can assassinate Al-Ghul as soon as he spawns. See Aurel's video here

One thing I noticed is that Al-Ghul's spawning will be postponed as long as your camera (i.e. right stick ) is facing east. My guess is the game designers expected you to be in the courtyard and didn't want you to miss Al-Ghul's entrance onto the balcony. For this blitz assassination it means that you should set yourself up to be face to face with Al-Ghul when he spawns. As such you will be Exposed, but not for long. For a stealth-blitz assassination I found a workaround. Position Basim with his back against the door and look east toward the courtyard. Wait a few moments and observe that Al-Ghul has not spawned. Now look at the floor! Al-Ghul will immediately spawn with his back toward you for the easy stealth assassination.

This is the first story assassination in Assassins Creed Mirage.

Infiltration

There are at least a few ways to get inside the area. One of them is a climbing section on the target's side of the place, giving you easy access to where Al-Ghul is waiting behind a locked door. Through the door screen you can target him with knives but are unable to cause any damage. Being in open conflict can cause the target to engage you in combat, but even that is a fruitless attempt to interact with him before the actual assassination.

Earliest Possible Assassination

I loaded a manual save at a part where Basim is almost at a checkpoint allowing you start the assassination (you are unable to save inside a restricted area, so did that outside). Pre assassinated some guards in the area top make things easier. I just need to talk to an NPC to lure out the target. After a short while Al-Ghul teleports through the door, giving you plenty of time to lie in wait for an instant kill. Ubisoft didn't anticipate players to do this, like an assassin actually would. One interesting thing to note is that sometimes the memory corridor doesn't load right away like normal.

[ACII] Flow and Kill | Assassinating Carlo Grimaldi

The goal of this video is to eliminate every guard inside the palazzo while remaining undetected. My playstyle for this mission doesn't focus on completing it as fast as possible. I take out everyone in a different way while prioritising variety, roleplaying, style and the showcase of advanced mechanics and lesser known features.

The video also includes a few seconds of real life footage of Venice which was recorded by myself a few months ago, showcasing "real" history merging with animus sequences.

After Ezio lands on the rooftop I start by taking out the archer furthest away at the opposite end of the palazzo by using two unlocked throwing knives. Instead of relying on the lock on feature which is unavailable at that distance I use the 1st person camera to aim. AC2 doesn't have a cross hair but whatever is in the middle of the screen during the 1st person perspective will get hit. This is a useful trick to prevent auto-detection when using throwing knives and drastically increases the range but requires precise aiming. I move on and kill the next guard by starting a wallrun and immediately cancelling it with an air assassination which is a cool way to quickly expand the range of assassinations (especially useful for archers who have better hearing and detect you more easily). Another option to move faster without making any noise is to use manual jumps. I do this to approach the third archer from behind and eliminate him with a dagger.

After the cutscenes I use a back eject to quickly descend and catch a railing below to perform a low profile ledge assassination. Then I jump down into the courtyard and immediately low profile assassinate the guard who starts investigating the corpse that just dropped to the ground. After eliminating the next guard with a sword I hide behind a pillar and wait for the two patrolling guards to get close enough to a third guard in the left corner. Once they are in reach I stun all of them with a smoke bomb. This allows me to grab someone without being detected so I quickly kill both with a sword, followed by a high profile assassination on the last one. I decide to pickpocket a corpse to steal money that I use as a distraction for the next guard. Looting the body is not necessary but a nice roleplaying moment. The guard is lured behind a corner by coins without knowing that only a few moments ago these coins belonged to his colleague. The distraction effects of throwing money actually have a pretty far reach and are useful to keep in mind for manipulating guard positions. After that I assassinate the last two guards with poison and a high profile assassination after a quick drop from a beam. I like the thought that the guard closest to the Doge who's supposed to protect his life has been poisoned just like the Doge himself, but by a different kind of assassin. It's ironic. The doge only realises too late, maybe he should've listened when he had the chance.

For the assassination of Carlo I chose to showcase a very rare glitch, something that I've only seen in 3 other situations during 750 hours of playtime: triggering a hidden blade combat finisher outside of combat. In this case it seems to be connected to a railing blocking the direct path between Ezio and his target. However, he is still in assassination range so pressing armed hand consistently triggers combat finishers instead of regular assassination animations. Not necessarily useful but still a very stylish trick, probably one of my favourites. To be able to grab Carlo you first need to make sure he's not at full health anymore, a throwing knife tends to work best here.

This assassination occurs when Eivor travels to Vinland, which I've learned is currently Newfoundland and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Canada. Eivor is posing as a slave and doesn't have the usual arsenal of weapons and armor. The target Gorm Kjotvesson is located at one of three camps where he directs a digging operation. This camp is more heavily guarded than the other two.

The Firebrand assassination begins in The Minster located in the city of Jorvik. How you enter The Minster doesn't really matter. I came in through an opening in the tower but you could also enter through a door on the ground floor. The cutscene doesn't begin until Eivor reaches the room off the second floor catwalk.

This mission has a lot in common with Jubair al Hakim in the original Assassin's Creed. Both are in the process of burning texts, both shove a guy who objects into the fire, and both spread out into the city among a number of "decoy" body doubles. Even the dialogue is similar:

Jubair: These bits of paper are covered in lies. They poison your minds, and so long as they exist, you cannot hope to see the world the way it truly is.
Firebrand: The vellum that burn before you are covered in lies. So long as they exist, you cannot hope to see the world the way it truly is.

I had just started using a predator bow (Petra's Arc) and decided to test its range. To my surprise, it was easily capable of a headshot from the top of the viewpoint on The Minster. The scope was able to identify the target by her real name (decoys say "Firebrand?") and aim with adequate accuracy. No need for that Ability to steer arrows in flight.

The Lincolnscire story arc ends with the assassination of Bishop Herefrith. The bishop is hiding in a chapel inside the fort at Anecastre. The three doors to the chapel are barred from the inside. That leaves three other ways for Eivor to enter the chapel: break a second story stained glass window on either side of the near end (look for exterior ladders to wooden platforms), or take the secret underground tunnel from the outbuilding past the far end. I chose the secret entrance to demonstrate how to find it and also because it puts Eivor closer to the target.

Most prime targets in AC games are on high alert and take one of three actions if you're exposed: fight, flee, or cower. Bishop Herefrith does none of the above. He just goes about his business. The ten guards inside the chapel with him are in informed mode and ready to fight.

I waited until the bishop steps on the "dark square" (chess analogy) beneath the candelabra and then dropped it on him. You still have to confirm the kill by holding for a second. After the cutscene there's no need for an escape. All the guards are gone and the assault on Anecastre is complete.

The Lunden story arc ends with a boss fight against The Compass. This is designed to be combat rather than an assassination. Since I already assassinated The Arrow and The Leech with explosions I decided to use fire on their boss as well.

You have three choices on how to approach The Compass. I choose to take the flank with Erke. He leads Eivor on a good route around the left of the forces. You can jump from log to log and stay dry but the archers will shoot at you about halfway there. I dive into the water and sneak up on the two archers nearest The Compass. After dispatching them I fire a crossbow at the target. It breaks down after the third shot and does a disappointing amount of damage.

Now I swim underwater far enough away that The Compass loses track of Eivor. When he's not looking I climb to a high point on a nearby boat. The Compass wanders between three sets of explosive barrels (one set is hidden behind a wall that collapses when shot with an arrow). Shoot whichever barrels are nearest to him and set The Compass on fire. A barrage of arrows both accelerates his demise and prevents him from throwing a counterattack at Eivor.

The escape demonstrates the dry route back to shore. Now that the archers have ceased fire there's no reason to swim.

You will find The Leech roaming the ground floor of the two story basilica in northeast Lunden. For a good stealth assassination enter through the open window on the second story and make your way over the study at the east end. Wait until The Leech arrives and hit her with an air assassination.

If at any time The Leech becomes spooked she will flee out the south door to the center of the courtyard. In doing so she passes a natural arrangement of four oil jars. With two more oil jars and a little imagination this becomes a perfect opportunity for a firecracker assassination.

The game mechanics make it difficult to move more than one oil jar a great distance. Whenever you place an oil jar and then move out of its sightline, that oil jar will disappear and respawn at its original location. Successfully moving two or more oil jars involves shuttling them 50 feet at a time and never around a blind corner. It usually isn't worth the effort.

PREPARATION

There are two preliminary steps not shown in the video. First, pre-assassinate all the guards in the courtyard being careful not to aggravate The Leech. Be particularly careful with the guard standing at the door of the basilica (the one through which The Leech flees). If she sees a dead body lying there it may spook her. So either whistle him away from the door or assassinate him while she's not looking and quickly move the body away.

Second, go find another oil jar and bring it to the courtyard. I grabbed the one right in the middle of the Temple of Mithras which is just south of the courtyard. The oil jar is on the ground below an archer on a high platform. You'll have to kill a guard or two in order to carry it out.