Brute

2010-07-05T04:34:24Z

71.136.52.203: /* Ranking and Morale */

[[File:Brute.jpg|thumb|274px|CG art of Brute guard. Note the heavy weapon, which can be taken if countered while empty-handed.]]

'''Brutes''' are enemies featured in ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''. They are essentially human tanks, wearing heavy, durable armor and carrying large, heavy weapons, and also moving very slowly due to the weight of their equipment. They are the strongest guards in terms of combat difficulty in the game, but can easily be avoided. They will return in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]'' with a reworked appearance.

== Combat==

Brutes are tricky enemies to defeat due to the nature of their attacks, though they can still be dispatched with some tactics and skills.

*Normal attacks:
**Brute normal attacks can be blocked with [[Assassin's Creed II Weapons|any weapon]] but can't be countered with a [[Short Blade|short blade]] or [[Swords and Maces|sheath-able weapon]]. They can however, be countered (lethally) with another [[Heavy weapons|heavy weapon]] such as those the Brutes themselves carry, a [[Spears and Halberds|long weapon]] (carried by [[Seekers]]), or by the [[Hidden Blade]](s), although the successful timing window for the latter is rather short (a fraction of a second).
**Disarm: Brutes can also be countered with [[Fists]], which will disarm the Brute and follow up by a lethal attack on the unarmed Brute. The timing for the disarm is short, although apparently slightly longer than for the Hidden Blade's(s') counter.
**Hidden Blade(s) counter: Special care should be taken when trying to counter the Brutes' with the Hidden Blade(s) due to its very short timing window for successful counter kills. Failed counter will be penalized severely, as Brute attacks deal great amounts of damage. Should the Brute perform a combo, you may lose a significant chunk of your health bar.
**A less risky but more time consuming tactic is to dodge the Brute's attacks and follow up with a combo of your own. Performed correctly, the combo may end with an execution. The maximum number of hits in a Brute combo is three.<br />
*Special attacks:
**Smash: The Brute takes a strong downward swing with his weapon, knocking Ezio on his back and doing about as much damage as a normal attack. A Brute is about to perform a smash attack if he raises his weapon high above his head. A Smash special attack takes less time for a Brute to prepare (approx. one second) than a Knock Weapon Away special attack.
**Knock Weapon Away: This special attack is not named 'Disarm' because it is not the same as [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]]'s disarm ability,( i.e. the Brute does not take Ezio's weapon and uses it for himself). Instead, the Brute takes a hard right-to-left swing with his weapon, breaking Ezio's guard for a second. If Ezio was using a short blade, sheath-able weapon or picked up weapon, this attack knocks it out of his hand. The attack does no damage, but as mentioned, breaks Ezio's guard for a second, opening him to attacks from other foes in the fight. A Brute is about to perform a Knock Weapon Away special attack if he holds his weapon out behind him. A Knock Weapon Away special attack takes a Brute longer to prepare than a Smash attack, which means a larger window of time to attack him than for a Smash special attack. Note that after Ezio's weapon has been knocked away by Brute, the first sheath-able weapon Ezio picks up will become his primary weapon.
**'''Neither of the Brutes' special attacks can be blocked or countered.''' It is suggested that you either attack the Brute before he actually executes the attack, dodge and fire back with an attack of your own, or simply walk out of range of the attack (since the Brute, after beginning to charge a special attack, cannot move again until after performing it) and, again, attack back.<br />
*Attacking: The best times to attack a Brute are after disarming him, while he is preparing for a special attack, or after dodging any of the Brute's attack.<br />
*Other methods: If you are in a hurry, smoke bombs can be used to prevent Brutes from attacking you, and, if necessary, you can kill them while their guard is down.
*If necessary you may use the pistol attachment on your hidden blade to quickly dispatch them.

== Weaponry ==

{|cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" width="70%" border="1"
!scope="col"|Name
!scope="col"|Damage
!scope="col"|Speed
!scope="col"|Deflect
|-
!scope="row"|Bastard Sword
|

::3
|

::4
|

::3
|-
!scope="row"|Bearded Axe
|

::4
|

::3
|

::4
|-
!scope="row"|Labrys
|

::5
|

::3
|

::3
|}

[[File:Heavy_weapons_ac2.jpg|thumb|left|300px|From left to right: Labrys, Bearded Axe, Bastard Sword]].

== Intelligence, Agility, and Methods of Escape ==

Brutes are not highly intelligent and can be escaped once you've gotten out of sight by blending or hiding. They are also not agile or quick in any sense of the words, and cannot free-run or climb (at least not without potential glitches, and even then only for a second or less), so taking to the roofs is an easy method of escape.

== Ranking and Morale ==

Some Brutes seem to have a black or brown finish/trim on their armor plating. These Brutes are more resistant to Ezio's attacks and have a higher morale than the others. Brutes, like some [[Seekers|other guards]], have a very high morale. In fact, the Brutes have the highest morale of any guard in Assassin's Creed II. This means that, unlike their allies, they will almost never run away, unless you disarm them when they are alone. When you kill brutes most [[Guards|other]] [[Agiles|guards]] (mostly the lower ranks) will flee.

== Special Brutes ==
*One of Ezio's assassination targets, [[Dante Moro]], carries what may be a Bearded Axe with an enlarged head, and fights like a Brute, only with far more health and immunity from being disarmed.

*One of Ezio's allies, [[Bartolomeo d'Alviano|Bartolomeo]], carries what appears to be a Bastard Sword, (although the design and coloring of the handle appears different from those carried by Brute guards) which he calls "Bianca" and prizes, and behaves like a Brute in combat, only with far more health.

*[[Mario Auditore]] carries a Bearded Axe and fights like a Brute.
*[[Francesco Salviati]] carried an Axe with him in his villa during Ezio's attack and fights like a Brute.

*The [[Mercenaries]] also fight like a Brute and carry similar weapons to Brutes.

*The Templar Spy from [[Assassin's Creed II: Discovery]] uses the model of a brute.
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II]]

Mercenary

2010-06-09T00:22:59Z

71.136.52.203: /* Trivia */

{{Faction Infobox
|image =AC2 CA 018 Mercenary.png
|imgdesc =Artwork of a mercenary in ''Assassin's Creed II''
|religion =
|nationality =
|location = [[Florence]], [[Tuscany]], [[Venice]]
|targets =
|game = ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''
}}
{{quote|I fight at your side, anytime!|Mercenaries's greeting to Ezio}}
The '''Mercenaries''', known as the ''Condottieri'' in Italian, are one of the three factions of ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' helping the main character, [[Ezio Auditore di Firenze|Ezio]] (the other two being the [[Courtesans]] and the [[Thieves]]).

The Mercenaries in [[Tuscany]]/[[San Gimignano]] are led by [[Mario Auditore]], Ezio's uncle. In Florence, the Mercenaries are led by [[Niccolò Machiavelli]]<ref>[http://assassinscreed.uk.ubi.com/assassins-creed-2/dlc/ Assassin's Creed II DLC Official Site]</ref>. In Venice, the Mercenaries are led by [[Bartolomeo d'Alviano]].

Mercenaries (and all other hired help) cost 150 florins, follow you around, and make comments after a fight. They bear Heavy Weapons and are like a more powerful variation of the Brute. However, Mercenaries encountered in missions (that are not hired) are free and have Longswords and Maces. Due to their lack of armour, their effectiveness is drastically reduced and they can be outmatched by 2-3 Pazzi Guards. Ezio can order them to fight the Guards, thus providing a distraction.

==Trivia==
*While distributing Bartolomeo's men to specific spots throughout the Castello district to distract Silvio, his men act like normal guards instead of Brutes, even being able to sprint.
*During the mission to assassinate Vieri De Pazzi, Mario refers to his Mercenaries as Assassins, although they do not appear to actually be assassins due to the fact that they're not carrying any of the equipment Assassins would usually have with them.
*It's ironic that Niccolo Machiavelli is portrayed as the leader of Florence's mercenaries when he was strongly against the use of mercenaries in real life.
*Strangely enough, Thieves are actually more combat effective than Mercenaries are.
*Ironically, guards are often called and call themselves mercenaries.
*In the mission "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" the Medici Guard act like mercenaries (except they don't bear heavy weapons, immediately run off to more fights when theirs is finished, and don't follow the player around).
*in Venice some parts exist were you ca hire 6 mercenaries instead of the usual 4.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Zw-mercenaries.png|Mercenaries in Venice.
File:AC2 S 042 Wetlands MercenaryCombat.jpg|Ezio in battle with Mercenaries on his side.
</gallery>

{{ACII}}
[[Category:Factions]]

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Brute

Mercenary