Blending

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"Discretion is a paramount in my profession. We must walk the streets freely: seen, but unseen. You too must learn to blend like us and become one with the city's crowds."

―Paola to Ezio.

Blending was the stealthiest method of movement that every Assassin needed to learn. It allowed them to hide from pursuing guards, as well as access normally restricted areas.

Usage

High Middle Ages

Altaïr blending with a group of scholars.

When blending, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad moved very slowly, so as not to arouse suspicion. If he was on foot, he would lower his head, fold his hands, and imitate a scholar. Also, if he was on a horse, he would bow his head and slow his steed to a walk. Should they be nearby, Altaïr could even blend into a group of scholars for extra security, however if he did so, he was bound to follow wherever the group walked until he exited from the blend.

As a crowd, scholars were effective hiding places provided an Assassin broke a pursuer's line of sight and join them during a chase. Should the scholars realize that the guards could see Altaïr coming to them, they would usually flee as well, preventing the Assassin from hiding amongst them. When guards were informed, shown as alert with their swords drawn, blending was the best way of avoiding attention.

However, blending was not effective in all cases. Archers and Knights Templar, for example, were often discerning enough to identify an Assassin quickly, and would attack one on sight, whether or not they were trying to blend. The guards before city gates also refused to allow a single "scholar" to pass them, and would only let by a group.

Renaissance

Ezio concealing himself in a crowd.

Paola taught Ezio Auditore how to blend in with the crowd. Unlike Altaïr, Ezio could hide within any group of civilians, as long as there were at least four of them. An exception to this rule however was with hired courtesans, who Ezio require only a minimum of two of them following him. To blend into the crowd, he would simply walked into the middle of their group and follow them.

Ezio would remain hidden within the group, as long as he remained in close proximity to them and avoided drastic actions, such as drawing a weapon or free-running.

Courtesans were useful allies to Ezio should he need to hide or pass through a guarded area. After purchasing their services for 150 florins, a group of four courtesans would join Ezio, concealing him amongst them much as scholars would for Altaïr. However, unlike scholars, courtesans would follow where Ezio walked, rather than the other way around.

Though the courtesans were not enough for Ezio to simply enter restricted areas, he could request them to distract any nearby guards, allowing him to enter the area behind their backs. Should any guard pass by too close to Ezio as he travelled with the courtesans, two would often break away from the group to draw the enemy's attention.

Colonial America

Connor could blend with at least two civilians: the Animus showed a white circle above his head to indicate being hidden, and directional lines emanating from the circle to show who he was blending with. Connor would blend among crowds, or stand between relaxing civilians provided there was a space. Often, he would join in their activities, sitting down with the poor, or folding his arms and dropping his head to stand out less.

Present day

While recovering a First Civilization battery from a stadium in Brazil, Desmond Miles used the skills he had inherited from his ancestors to blend with the crowds, and avoid detection from Abstergo's guards.

Trivia

• A bug in Assassin's Creed II gives the player a never-ending blend ability. If walking onto a non-standable surface while blending, the player will stay in blend mode until Ezio stands up.
• It is possible to blend with only one person. If you manage to find one of the three factions (Courtesans, Mercenaries, or Thieves) near to water or on top of a roof, Ezio could push all of them into the water or off of the roof except for one, and once he moved closer to the remaining person, he would blend.

A crowd in the Brotherhood multiplayer.

• Blending is also available in the multiplayers of Brotherhood and Revelations. However, the only change to the blend mechanic is that the player is no longer required to manually follow the crowd, and may simply allow the civilians to lead their character, much as scholars did in Assassin's Creed.
• While playing the first and the second repressed memories in Brotherhood, Ezio was able to blend, despite not having visited Paola and learned the skill at the time.
• After obtaining the Apple at Basilica di San Pietro, Ezio is no longer able to blend with crowds, since the telltale glow of the equipped Apple scared the civilians when he walked close to them, leaving no groups large enough for him to hide within.
• When equipped with the crossbow, Ezio would be greyed out with the crowd when blending, however, the crossbow would remain in full color.