Zipline

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"When he tires of running, an Assassin must take to the air."

―Yusuf Tazim to Ezio Auditore, 1511.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze using a zipline in Constantinople

A zipline is a system of transportation that consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline. Through the force of gravity, the user travels along the cable by latching onto the pulley. Although not technically ziplines, ropes stretched between two structures are popularly referred to as such by the Assassins when they are exploited in such a capacity through the aid of special equipment.

Such equipment can range from the Hookblade of the Ottoman Assassins to even a tomahawk as employed by the Kanien'kehá:ka Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton. The rope launcher utilized by the British Assassins in the Victorian era essentially functioned as a portable zipline.

By ziplining, Assassins are able to ease their navigation across cities, as well as provide themselves with more opportunities to strike from above.

Usage

Assassins are trained to use ziplines as an improvised form of transportation, supplementing the usual freerunning they perform across cities. When equipped with a tool that allows the Assassin to anchor him or herself onto the line, such as a Hookblade, the Assassin can slide across it, expediting his or her travel between rooftops.

The speed of travel across a zipline can be controlled based on the position of the user. Tucking one's limbs, thus lessening drag, can permit one to slide along the line more quickly. For the obvious reason of gravity, it is not possible to slide up a zipline, and Assassins are forced to climb along it should they mean to move upwards.

An Assassin can also use a zipline for an offensive advantage, dropping from them to perform air assassinations on unsuspecting enemies. Additionally, should an enemy be standing at the end of a zipline, an Assassin can use the momentum of traveling along the line to kill them or knock them down.

History

Ancient Greece

Kassandra ziplining in 5th-century BCE Greece

Throughout the ruins and cities of Peloponnesian War-era Greece, ziplines connected two distant points, and the Spartan misthios Kassandra used them occasionally. One notable zipline led from atop the Akrokorinth in Korinthia down to the polis of Korinth, and another was located near the Sanctuary of Delphi in Phokis, connecting to the Valley of the Snake on the other side of the gorge between them.

Constantinople

As they were common around Constantinople, ziplines were often used by the Ottoman Assassins. Upon establishing Assassin Dens in certain districts, they would set up more ziplines in the area to allow faster navigation. Knowing this, Byzantine Templars would attempt to destroy the ziplines whenever they captured any dens.

American Colonies

Shortly before the American Revolutionary War, the Colonial Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton used a variant of the zipline to infiltrate Fort Wolcott, employing his tomahawk as a pulley.

Sikh Empire

In 1841, during his quest to reclaim the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box from the British Templars, the Indian Assassin Arbaaz Mir utilized ziplines on several occasions in Amritsar, the Herat Citadel in Afghanistan, and the Katasraj Temple.

Victorian London

During the 19th century, Rexford Kaylock, a Templar and the Blighters' gang leader in Whitechapel, possessed a rope-launcher pistol that could fire grappling hooks. As the launcher was also equipped with a pulley, the device essentially created makeshift ziplines, which Rexford used to access rooftops quickly.

Evie Frye using the rope launcher

In 1868, the twin British Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye defeated the Whitechapel Blighters, killing Kaylock and retrieving the grappling hook pistol in the process. Their friend, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, modified the mechanism for it to be attached to their bracers. Due to the wide streets of London, the rope launchers proved incredibly convenient for the Frye twins, with the ability to deploy ziplines whenever they wished to facilitate faster travel across the metropolis.

Jacob's apprentice Jack also possessed a rope launcher, which he used while enforcing his reign of terror over London in 1888. By the time of World War I, the rope launcher remained a popular tool employed by the British Assassins, including Jacob's granddaughter Lydia Frye.

Russian Revolution

In 1918, the Russian Assassin Nikolai Orelov made regular use of ziplines while navigating the cities of Yekaterinburg, Kazan, and Moscow, during his quest to protect Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia.

Behind the scenes

In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the higher post of most ziplines has the Assassin insignia and a white flag at the top, and the line itself can be boarded along any point in the line. This is highlit by the fact that parachuting onto a zipline is required to unlock the "Show Off" achievement. In the same game, even if Constantinople is completely under Assassin control, Byzantines can still be sometimes seen trying to destroy ziplines.

In Assassin's Creed III, the Kanien'kehá:ka Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton uses a tomahawk as a pulley on a zipline to infiltrate Fort Wolcott, even if he has a knife equipped instead.

Gallery

• 
  Yusuf using a zipline
• 
  Ezio using a zipline beneath the Galata Tower
• 
  A zipline in the Golden Horn
• 
  Connor ziplining in Fort Wolcott
• 
  Nikolai Orelov ziplining in Kazan

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed III
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
  • Jack the Ripper
  • The Last Maharaja
• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India
• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
  • The Hidden Ones
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• Assassin's Creed: Jade
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage