Extremist

"Patriots. These imbeciles will pick a fight with anyone. Try not to draw their attention."

―Pierre Bellec to Arno Dorian, 1791.

A group of extremists

Extremists, sometimes known as Patriots, were French paramilitaries who lived during the French Revolution and took advantage of the chaotic situation of the nation to pillage and kill throughout Paris. Many extremists served as hired muscle for the Templars, helping them run their operations and opposing the Assassins.

History

French Ancien Régime

The Templars were already using radical soldiers before the outbreak of the French Revolution, probably to maintain the absolutist monarchy in France. They were present at the expulsion of François-Thomas Germain from the Order.

French Revolution

After the outbreak of the French Revolution, most extremists sided with Germain's radical Templar faction and helped spread the Reign of Terror, typically by "picking fights with anyone", as the Master Assassin Pierre Bellec once put it. The extremists served as the Parisian Rite's foot soldiers throughout the Revolution, acting as bodyguards to various Templars like Charles Gabriel Sivert, Marie Lévesque, and Louis-Michel le Peletier, or guarding important locations like the Hôtel de Beauvais and Germain's workshop. For this reason, they were the main opposition that the Assassin Arno Dorian faced during his hunt of his Templar targets.

Lafrenière meeting with his supporters

However, not all radical soldiers followed Germain, as a number of them initially joined the moderate Templar faction led by Élise de la Serre and Chrétien Lafrenière. However, following Lafrenière's assassination by Arno, who had been deceived by Germain, all of his supporters were either hunted down by or defected to Germain's faction.

Under the Templars' orders, the extremists took part in a number of notable events throughout the Revolution, such as the 10 August insurrection, where thousands of revolutionaries marched upon the Tuileries Palace and massacred the Swiss Guards protecting King Louis XVI of France. They were also responsible for the September Massacres, executing hundreds of inmates across Paris' prisons as directed by the Templar Frédéric Rouille.

Archetypes

Regular

Main article: Regular

Regulars were the most common extremist archetype, compensating for their lack of combat prowess with their large numbers. They wore simple beige shirts with red waistcoats, brown tricorne hats with red feathers on top, and black trousers. They used primarily swords, but also had low-quality pistols on them.

Enforcers

Enforcers were a similar archetype to regulars, being also fairly common and fighting in a similar way. While regulars wore simpler clothes, enforcers wore brown or black long-coats and more intricate tricorne hats with red feathers on top. They had the same equipment as regulars, but were slightly deadlier with their attacks.

Brutes

Main article: Brute

Brutes were a stronger and larger archetype than both the regulars and enforcers. They were also less common, with a single brute usually leading or protecting entire groups of regulars. They wore beige shirts with full red waistcoats, grey gloves, red trousers, and a red cap. Brutes wielded round axes and could also use pistols, being stronger but slower than regulars and enforcers in combat.

Snipers

Main article: Sniper

Snipers were the ranged archetype of the extremists, usually found on rooftops, towers, and balconies. They wore simple black and red clothes with a dark-grey cap, and wielded long muskets as their weapon of choice, providing cover fire to their fellow extremists while avoiding close-quarters combat.

Defenders

Defenders were one of the rarer extremist archetypes, usually found in groups of two to four, guarding the entrance to an area. They were easily recognizable due to their black bicorne hats, red fabric covering the back of their heads, leather or metal armor covering their shoulders and chest, dark leather gloves, and red trousers and sleeves. Defenders wielded halberds or other long weapons in combat, and their defense was extremely hard to breach. At a distance, they could also make use of their pistols, though they were less likely to do so than other archetypes.

While they were slower than the other extremist archetypes and were easier to pass by without being detected, defenders were among the fiercest opponents encountered by Arno and would always counter his strikes with stunning attacks. They could also find a hiding Arno more easily than other extremists.

Elites

Elites were the most powerful and rarest archetype and were always encountered by their lonesome or leading groups of weaker extremists. They wore dark grey suits with brown waistcoats and red ties, and top hats with large red feathers on top. Elites wielded high-quality swords with powerful pistols as secondary weapons, and their attacks were harder to counter, making dodging a more viable option when facing them. Elites were, however, easily killed with heavy attacks and stunned with stunning attacks.

Behind the scenes

Extremists are the most common enemy faction encountered in Assassin's Creed: Unity, with the majority of soldiers fought throughout the game belonging to the group. However, the game occasionally reuses extremist character models for enemies that belong to other factions, including the Jacobins, in memories such as "The Jacobin Club" and "Jacobin Raid"; the Chouans and Royalists, in "Chouan Riddles" and "The Infernal Machine"; Austrian spies in "The Austrian Conspiracy"; the Enragés in "Les Enragés" and "Roux's Remains"; and the Paris Commune in "The Fall of Robespierre".

Gallery

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  Extremist Soldier
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  Extremist Brute
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  Extremist Sniper
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  Extremist Defender
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  Extremist Elite

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Unity