Eavesdropping

"Never make eye contact, always look occupied, stay relaxed."

―Al Mualim teaching a young Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad the method of eavesdropping.

Eavesdropping was a form of investigation used by Assassins, in order to learn secrets of vital importance without being noticed.

History

High Middle Ages

Altaïr eavesdropping on a target in Damascus.

To begin eavesdropping, Levantine Assassins would locate their target and sit down on a nearby bench, neither too close or too far from them.

Appearing as nothing more than a civilian, the Assassin would listen in on a short conversation between their target and another person, before using what they had learned to their advantage at a later date.

Renaissance

Ezio eavesdropping on a meeting in Rome.

During the Italian Renaissance, Assassins would tail Templars or their targets to various locations, before listening to their conversations to gather more information about their enemies. One method they could use to achieve this was to take to the rooftops, enabling them to remain mobile and listen in on conversations at the same time.

During his time in Constantinople, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as the Mentor of the Italian Assassins, would work with his forthcoming Master Assassins to find out more information about their prey. There were also times when Ezio would need to create a distraction so that he could eavesdrop without being noticed, such as the riot at the Harbor of Theodosius.

American Revolution

Eavesdropping remained much the same to the Renaissance over the centuries, with the only difference being that Connor had to remain on the same level as the target (unlike Ezio who was capable of hearing conversations on the ground from rooftops). Occasionally he would eavesdrop on regular frontiersmen's conversations to listen for local rumours.

Trivia

• In Assassin's Creed, if Altaïr was being chased by guards, they could disrupt his chances of eavesdropping on a target by making them flee. However, Altaïr could eavesdrop once more after he had left the area and ended the conflict between him and the guards, since his targets would return to the area and resume their conversation.
• Once Altaïr had began an eavesdropping mission, regardless of how far he was from the target, he could hear the conversation with equal clarity, as though he were standing right next to the target.
• Generally, targets in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood walked faster and were more vigilant than targets in Assassin's Creed II, whenever Ezio was tailing them.
• There was a minor instance in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines where Altair could eavesdrop on three guards in Kantara Castle, even though the skill wasn't present in the game.