Archer

2011-10-23T22:27:56Z

122.61.133.56: /* Trivia */

{{Era|AC|ACBL|AC2|Discovery|acb|PL}}
[[File:Archer.png|250px|An archer during the Renaissance.|right]]
{{Quote|Shoot! Shoot the flying demon!|An archer's response to the [[Flying Machine]].|Assassin's Creed II}}

'''Archers''' were [[guards]] armed with longbows, who patrolled rooftops and watched for possible enemies below. They usually initiated attacks against any intruder they noticed above ground.

Once goaded into personal combat due to an enemy approaching within a meter or so, an archer would cease firing arrows, and draw his [[Swords and Maces|sword or mace]]. Though accurate and deadly from a distance, archers did not pose a serious threat in close combat.

However, large groups of archers were capable of holding off an [[Assassins|Assassin]], with some attacking from close-range, and others from a distance.

==History==
===Third Crusade===
[[File:Assassins-creed-507.jpg|thumb|250px|A Crusader archer's death.]]
Archers were stationed on the rooftops of every city, and on top of large wooden structures in the [[Kingdom]]. They usually guarded important areas or people, and strictly enforced the city's laws against civilians being up on the rooftops.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref>

[[Templars|Templar]] archers were not as hostile as those in [[Acre]], [[Jerusalem]] or [[Damascus]], and would usually only provoke a fight with [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad|Altaïr]] if the Assassin was already being pursued.<ref name="Bloodlines">''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]''</ref>

However, as Altaïr had discovered different ways to assassinate targets at the time, he was capable of performing a Ledge Assassination to dispose of any attacking archers.<ref name="Bloodlines" />

===Renaissance===
[[File:AC2 Rooftop archer.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Ezio performing a ledge assassination on an archer.]]
Archers took advantage of two varieties of ammunition within the [[Renaissance]]: ordinary arrows, and fire-tipped ones. Though the former was widely used, the latter was only notably used in three instances: attacking the [[Horses|horse]]-drawn [[Wagon|carriage]] of [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] in the [[Appennine Mountains]], and shooting down the [[Flying Machine]] both as Ezio infiltrated the [[Palazzo Ducale]]<ref name="ACII">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref> and during the [[Battle for Forlì]].<ref name="ACII - Battle of Forlì">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' - ''[[Battle of Forlì (DLC)|Battle of Forlì]]''</ref>

Aside from attacking passing Assassins, archers also hunted down [[Pickpocketing#Pickpockets|pickpockets]] or [[Borgia Messengers]], should they cross their patrol.<ref name="ACII" />

===Rome===
[[File:Z d371f5d4.jpg|thumb|250px|Arrows descend from above]]
In [[Rome]], [[crossbowmen]] and [[arquebusiers]], each with more superior weaponry, largely replaced and took on the role of archers. However, unlike archers, they did not possess a short-ranged weapon alongside their [[Crossbow|crossbows]] or rifles.<ref name="Brotherhood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>

Instead, archers could only be found guarding the [[House of Borgia|Borgia]] [[War Machines]]; attacking the stolen [[Machine Gun]] from rooftops, the [[Naval Cannon]] from aboard ships, and the [[Flying Machine#Valnerina|Bomber]] from archer towers.<ref name="Brotherhood" />

Upon building his own guild of Assassins, Ezio trained each of his [[apprentices]] in archery. Upon his signal, a group of them could fire a flurry of arrows at an indicated target. This action was referred to as an "Arrow Storm."<ref name="Brotherhood" />

==Trivia==
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', archers of Acre are the only guards that wear hoods.
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'', two special variations of archers can be found in assassination missions; Elite Archers and Captain Archers, each with trademark headgear and fighting capabilities.
*Captain Archers are seen in the missions "Honorable Thief" ([[Venice]] [[Assassination Contract]]) and in the memory "[[Everything Must Go]];" although the archers in the later mission were actually [[thieves]], who wore their customary head wraps.
*During the [[Bonfire of the Vanities]], [[Girolamo Savonarola]]'s lieutenant, the [[Captain Guard]], makes use of multiple archers (alongside [[Agile guards]]) to form a deadly ambush.

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Guards]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed Gameplay]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Gameplay]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Gameplay]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]

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Archer