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Basilica di San Pietro Romulus Lair: Flags 99-101

stabguy's picture
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Finally, 101 Borgia Flags collected! I turned Xbox Notifications on in order to record the Capture the Flag Achievement pop-up at the end. I kept my fingers crossed that there wouldn't also be "FLAE has logged in" while recording.

There are three missable cutscenes in this Lair. The first occurs at 0:52 after Ezio enters the Lair. One drunk asks the other, "Did you see that white knight?" You've probably already seen this one. If you jostle one or both of the drunks before opening the trap door, they run off and the cutscene never happens. After Ezio returns from the Lair during story mode, the drunks return for a follow-up cutscene (even if you missed the first one).

The scene after mass at 1:34 can be frustrating. This Lair has a time limit of 8 minutes and we're off like a herd of turtles waiting nearly 2 minutes for the cardinal to leave the room. I don't know of any way to speed up the process so I try to amuse myself to pass the time. You don't need to use Eagle Vision if you instead get up close to the target, so that's the first thing I do. The cardinal pauses two or three times while making his rounds, but not always in the same places. It's okay to poison the guard at 3:15 because he's still alive when the next cutscene begins.

Flag #99 requires some dexterity to reach. Position Ezio near the edge of the balcony and do an Advanced Wall Run with right kick. If you set up far enough to the right, Ezio will automatically grab the obelisk. You may want to do a Catch Ledge straight ahead just to play it safe. Remember to release Analog stick so that you don't accidentally do a Catch-Ledge right and fall to your death. Shock

The second missable cutscene starts at 5:10 when the cardinal slips and falls on the wet roof. You will only miss this cutscene if you're too slow in reaching the ladder because the target will have moved on to his next waypoint. A funny thing is that you can trigger the cutscene without actually climbing the ladder. Running up the wall near the ladder is good enough. Ezio then climbs the ladder during the cutscene.

Flag #100 can actually be collected early from "the blind side" by bumping into the wall on your left while free-running to the beam where I briefly pause at 6:57. This may be faster. Collecting an unseen flag didn't make for good video.

The one thing I wish I had done differently is at 7:04. Instead of turning toward the ladder, you can climb that stack of bricks(?) next to the workman and back kick off the wall onto the posts. It gives you a better view of the cardinal and the context of the next cutscene.

You may have never seen the final missable cutscene at 7:45. By grabbing and throwing the cardinal over the rail you get this neat bonus scene. Kill him any other way and Ezio simply rolls the body over to loot the key. If you're in a hurry to meet the 8 minute deadline, one shot with the Hidden Gun is the recommended method of assassination.

There are three Borgia Flags inside each Lair. If you are looking for a specific Flag refer to this index:
Flag 99 - 4:54
Flag 100 - 7:00
Flag 101 - 8:00

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Finally someone recorded the over-the-ledge death! I did that when I was seeking the flags in that lair. Very unexpected. I assumed he'd just slam against an invisible wall, but then it suddenly ended. It was a cheap win, but I took it. Cool

PSN: JoeyFogey

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Yeah in MGS2 there is a guard who leave his patrol route to stand underneath a railing. Another guard will walk up to that railing and yawn, if you kick him over the camera follows his body as he lands on top of the other guard.

Also if you get passed this whole area without being seen, a guard on a rooftop gives you a "golden shower"

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Nice video! Smile

Actually, it takes several gunshots to get the cardinal to die, like three or four, I can't remember.

EDIT: I checked just now and it appears I was wrong. One gunshot is enough. I had thrown the cardinal around a few times before (before the chase), though.

_________________

"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."

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ThreeLetterSyndrom wrote:
I checked just now and it appears I was wrong. One gunshot is enough.

Yeah. I checked again and confirmed that one gunshot is fatal, even if you don't previously injure the cardinal. Still, I prefer the grab/throw over the railing. It doesn't take much longer than aiming the gun and the cutscene is way cooler.

While replaying the Lair I noticed a few other things:

  • Catch-ledge on flag #99 isn't necessary if you set up the advanced wall run far enough to the right.
  • Collecting flag #100 from the blind side isn't as simple as moving to the left on the beam.
  • The drunks return for a bonus cutscene after Ezio leaves the Lair.

The article has been updated.

You won't even feel the blade.

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Rob's applause 5 stars that Preist must workout alot, he can run so fast! Maybe they have a secret training facility within Il Vaticano.

But seriously, your excellent at this game and the rain effects really suprised me Smile

يمثل الحشاشون أشياء عدة ولكن فوق كل ذلك هو العدالة
(The Hashashin stand for many things, but above all it's justice)

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Hooray! Really well done. I enjoyed it so very much when the priest got thrown over the railing. Evil

Your Ezio runs around so elegantly. Rob's applause

"Now you shall get an earful of my beloved sword! Behold, Pillow Talk! Let's rock, baby!"

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Thanks LBTC and Lisa. I was afraid that this video wasn't up to par with my other Lair walkthroughs because I didn't find any major shortcuts. I did independently discover the "over the railing" cutscene and then confirmed it was previously mentioned on GameFAQs and Assassin's Creed Wiki.

Anyway, now that the Brotherhood flag videos are done I plan to move on to some more interesting subjects.

You won't even feel the blade.

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The railing bonus scene reminded me of something similar in MGS2. In MGS2 you can knock guards over railings by punching them. At certain places if you knock them over the railing the camera follows them as they fall down.

stabguy wrote:
Anyway, now that the Brotherhood flag videos are done I plan to move on to some more interesting subjects.

Oh, you mean... heh heh heh.We can't wait! Party Beer Trig's nuke Sexy