The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAAB3xSA3bP2vX0QIHv8KMajQGQHyrkek

Part 01: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFiws9_Vq_I
Part 02: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YonPLCLC-TY
Part 03: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7-ca2IGzFY
Part 04: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXorJrWuXpw
Part 05: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2BzkCs0JDM
Part 06: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ylt6Oikhsg
Part 07: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXVDnEKbYBk
Part 08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8pqtAP8yVQ
Part 09: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuqlaDuZfj4
Part 10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9gf7wVcfRU
Part 11: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-3vGf3gyYs
Part 12: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXeCQsTG1H0
Part 13: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSkYhz_VXKk
Part 14: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOdRynLsBgg

Welcome to my speedrun of Assassin's Creed II 100% sync in 7 hours, 9 minutes and 51 seconds. The completion rate taken into account is the one shown in stats/overall; which means all side memories have to be done additionally to the main sequences (beat-ups, races, assassinations, courier missions, tombs and lairs). This run features save warping, and it is tagged new game +, so that 25 knives are available.

I started the project in summer 2013, began to record in january 2014 and finished on 2014-04-05. I wish to thank everyone from TheHiddenBlade for their continuous support (they will recognize themselves), and people from SDA for their awesome work, as well as verifiers.

This run was done on PC with every possible DLC and extra. I used a Logitech controller to play, and Fraps software to record. There is a total of 157 segments, finishing either with a save ("quit") or assuming the save from the previous checkpoint ("exit to windows").

Timing note: what is shown is the in-game time (from the stats menu), but it doesn't take into account all the time you can not press start and see the stats. Which means all loading times and outside animus events (including Altaïr's memory in Acre) don't add anything to the final time. Nevertheless, creating a segment adds about 3 seconds to the in-game time, so I did it only when the warp saves more than 5 seconds, or when the difficulty/randomness/length was high enough.

A particular thing to mention about the assassinations: there are several places from where you can start one, but for each there is a default pigeon cage assigned; if you reload the checkpoint you will spawn there, and this is used in the run of course. Before moving on to the details, I would like to mention the planning was pretty hard, but I believe the run is now quite optimized from every point of view . This is actually the main point of the commentary, especially when comparing to my any% warpless run.

An Easy Way to Remove All Armor (Even Shoulder)

Finally, after a long time of testing, I found this method by my self. So far, it seems to be the most simple and effective way to remove all armor, and this is the first public guide video of this method on Internet. I know there are so many gamers all over the world that they really want to know this, so this is my first time self-suggestion front-page.

But, here are a few problems I need your help guys. Firstly, I need you to test whether it is viable on PS3 or Xbox 360, because I only do it on my PC. In addition, I need you to discuss it and to provide a more accurate annotations in English, because my English too poor, I'm not sure my annotations are qualified.

The step-by-step procedures:

(Don't forget to backup your saves before you trying this method.)
Step 1. Complete all the lairs of Romulus (Any%).
Step 2. Go to unlock the armor of Romulus.
Step 3. After Ezio wearing the new armor, pressing the PAUSE button when the cutscene switching to white screen. You can refer to the timing from my video.
Step 4. DNA menu ─> Loading Sequence 2 Memory 3.
Step 5. Talk with Machiavelli Niccolo and accept the mission, you can skip the cutscene.
Step 6. Now Machiavelli Niccolo want you to follow him, ignore him, just exit the replay.
Step 7. Exit the menu and return to Rome, it's done!

Since the assassination in memory 1 of sequence 12 has a relatively high amount of freedom (Except for the detection desync sadly) I decided to make a compilation of cool/unique ways of killing him.

The set-ups of most of the assassinations are included in the video so detailed explanations aren't really neccesary.

In the video you can see that I get rid of 3 dancers before luring the target, this is because guiding 1 NPC is easier than guiding 4.

Near the beginning of sequence 9 you meet up with Commander George Washington. After the scene you can talk to him two more times, then the fun begins.

Setup
After talking to Washington all you can, he can be targeted with a ranged weapon. This doesn't kill him of course, but does cause him to momentarily disappear as well as every time you move him.

You'll have to deal with the soldiers in that area of course. After that start moving him west toward water. Yes, drowning still works as a way of killing when all else fails. He may try to run away, but I just shoot him again and that seems to help.

Also it seems the optional conversation with Washington after the scene might be available only once in the game. I tried talking to him again a second time during a replay, and the option wasn't available.

Seeing as though the last video I posted on this site was front paged, I just thought you guys might appreciate the current series of AC IV videos I'm doing... Pls feel free to leave a comment, give feedback and ask questions.

Hope you enjoy

Hi guys, here is how to get into the mansion in earlier and I made some tests in cutscene.

Sorry about not enough English annotations, you already know how poor my English, and I'm sure you will clear at a glance from these videos. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Above is the route of entry, and an annoying glitch.

The first target in Assassin's Creed IV, Julien du Casse is the captain of a Spanish Galleon in port at Great Inagua. For full sync you need to stay out of combat and finish du Casse with an Air Assassination. I chose to do an Eagle Etrike, which can fulfill both requirements.

The controls have been further simplified for AC4. Basically all sprinting, free running and climbing can be done with two buttons: + . Even the climb leap maneuver at the beginning of this video is automatic. The only time you need to add is to force an unsafe jump (such as to initiate an Eagle Strike).

The range of Air Assassinations has been extended to nearly equal the height of a fatal fall. This makes Stunt Assassinations quaint because in most cases you'll be passing up an opportunity for an air in order to do a similar aerial assassination that doesn't work quite as well.

Getting back to the controls, an Eagle Strike begins with + + as usual. Catch Ledge has been simplified. You no longer hold . Instead, you just aim Edward's hands using left . In this video I held it . Air Assassinate has also been "simplified" in a way: no more target locking . Now you just look at someone and press . This can actually make some assassinations more difficult if your target is in a group or behind you. For this video I used right during the fall to aim the camera at du Casse.

So invisible assassinations (starting a memory corridor scene right before an assassination mission by assassinating a character while he is despawning) are also possible for Al Mualim and Robert de Sable.

Al Mualim Invisible Assassination
The civilians inside the Masyaf fortress disappear when the cutscene in the garden starts. So throw one of them there (don't throw him more than a few times or you'll take out all his health). After the memory corridor scene the game glitches with Altair since he is teleported to the usual spot after the memory corridor, but still affected by the scene started by entering the place. You then hear the dialogue with the dying Al Mualim, "I applied my heart to know wisdom...", but the regular cutscene also starts regardless. After the scene you are unable to perform any high profile actions and can't progress any farther into the game, not to mention the camera zooms out.

Robert de Sable Invisible Assassination
With Robert you use a guard for the assassination. When fighting the last wave of guards in Arsuf kill the high level ones first and the last remaining few will abandon the fight. The memory wall won't disappear until you kill a certain amount (you'll know when because the game will lag for a brief moment). The scene starts when you're about fifteen meters away, so at sixteen meters high profile kill the guard to start the memory corridor scene.
Afterward the scenes before and after the memory corridor are merged together for a while, but eventually sort themselves out. Since the memory corridor has already happened, you automatically progress through the game after the scenes.

Many thanks to MAGLX for discovering an easier way of getting in the side window.

setup
The easy way to get inside the hospital early is to to edge jump to the window.
http://thehiddenblade.com/garnier-easy-way-preassassination
After that you will notice Garnier and two guards standing by the door inside the hospital. There are also two other guards and a civilian prestaged for the following cutscene.

Now for the invisible assassination. For those who are not familiar with it, it happens when characters for a scene prior to an assassination are assassinated in high profile (except for the target, he can be assassinated in low profile) while despawning. This causes the memory corridor to start, skipping the assassination mission entirely.

When we accept a task, the system will reset the guards back to the default location. But, when the rooftop guards leaving their sentry post to chase us, if we become anonymous, a new guard will be born on the rooftop and replace that original guard. Also, that original guard will leave the scene. The good news is system will not reset the original guard. As you can see in my video, the system didn't remove that poisoning guard.

One more thing, After the animation of dialogue ends, the target will be born again. But I guess, if we can make him fall to his death in the moment of switching animation, maybe he will not be born again . For this, I have a reason in my another video about Francesco.