Secret location

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The Secret Locations in Assassin's Creed II are Prince of Persia-like platform levels which must be completed through free running and some puzzle solving. These missions are optional. However, the first one must be done to discover a Templar conspiracy against the Medicis.

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Ezio about to enter an Assassin Tomb

Each location has several stages and each one has a different platforming objective, from climbing high towers from the inside to timed free running trials meant to test a player's abilities. Six secret locations are also Assassin's Tombs containing seals necessary to unlock Altaïr's Armor, which is the most powerful armor in the game and is necessary for Desmond to achieve full synchronization with Ezio. The first Assassin Tomb (the secret location mentioned in the first paragraph) does not count as a "secret" location, but does contain one of the six seals necessary to unlock Altaïr's Armor. In addition, the last secret location in the secret locations tab of the DNA menu is also an Assassin Tomb, but does not hold one of the seals necessary to unlock Altaïr's Armor.

List of Secret Locations

Assassin's Tombs

The Assassin Tombs are landmark buildings that hid the Assassin Seals. The Seals are round objects that, when placed in the Sanctuary, can unlock Altair's Armor.

• Basilica di San Marco in Venice
• Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence
• Torre Grossa in San Gimignano
• Rocca Di Ravaldino in Forli
• Santa Maria Della Visitazione in Venice
• Santa Maria Novella in Florence

Templar Lairs

• Palazzo Medici in Florence (GameStop pre-order exclusive for US versions, Master Assassin and Black Limited Editions or by purchasing Bonfire of the Vanities DLC.)
• Santa Maria Dei Frari in Venice (GameStop pre-order exclusive for US versions, Master Assassin, White and Black Limited Editions or by purchasing Bonfire of the Vanities DLC.)
• Arsenal Shipyard in Venice(Included in Best Buy edition or Black Limited Edition or by purchasing Bonfire of the Vanities DLC.)

Other Secret Locations

• Auditore Family Crypt (Like an Assassin Tomb, the only one that does not hold a seal necessary to unlock Altaïr's Armor - Uplay downloadable content)

Palazzo Medici

While Ezio was on his mission to kill everyone from The Pazzi Conspiracy in 1478, he found a secret way to get inside the palace of the Medici family. There he was eavesdropping Templars who were looking for Lorenzo de' Medici in order to kill him. Lorenzo hid himself somewhere in the palace to prevent any Templar making an attempt against his life. Ezio used his skills as an assassin to climb his way up the palace to locate Lorenzo before the Templars would. It was not an easy task to find Lorenzo as the palace offered some obstacles such as the Templars themselves and hidden openings; mainly behind paintings. Eventually he managed to kill the Templars who stood in his way and brought Lorenzo to safety.

Arsenal Shipyard

In Venice, Ezio accesses one of the Templar lairs by making his way inside by a small structure that led underground. Ezio swam under the gate to sneak his way inside and climbed up the ladder to the shipyard. Ezio had to climb his way up, grabbing to ledges, chandeliers and even ships still under construction. Later he saw a man rushing through a door, with a guard following him. Ezio witnessed his death by the guard’s hands, while he was hiding underneath on a ledge. Another guard entered the scene, saying the man was foolish trying to get his hands on the treasury. However he says his fellow-guard should not have killed the man, as they now had to search for another ship builder. The guard left through the door, from which he came and Ezio took out the ship builder’s killer. Later another Templar guard noticed Ezio and he tried to escape away from the assassin as they both raced towards the treasury. But through free-running Ezio beats him to it, killing him off. Ezio sneaked by the other Templars to access the treasury, as he activated the mechanism attached to the door. Once inside he claimed the Templars' treasure and left the lair behind, leaving through a secret door.

Santa Maria dei Frari

The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, or just named the Frari, is a church in Venice, where one of the Templar lairs resides. To find it Ezio had to climb the church to find his way inside the structure. Almost at the top of the church, he finds a doorway, that allowed him access. This church provided quite the challenge for Ezio to find the Templar's treasure. He had to conquer incredible heights inside this church to make his way through it. With further exploration, and using his skills in climbing, free-running and jumping, he finally found the access door to the Templar treasure as he reached a high point in the church and had to jump down in a haystack to break his fall. Once he retrieved the treasure, he left the church behind through a secret exit door.

Trivia

• In the tomb hidden at Santa Maria Delle Visitazione, if you activate the lever, stand on the edge of the floor and stare into the water, you'll see a large figure in the water appearing after a minute, to swim across while staring at you with what appears to be a yellow eye. After the lever's time limit runs out, when you re-activate it and stand on the same spot and wait, a giant tentacle will shoot out of the water that Ezio dodges, before it manages to hit him.
• Secret locations will appear in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. It has been confirmed that one will include the Colosseum.
• The Temple of Solomon in Assassin's Creed is considered to be similar to a secret location or more precisely, a Templar Lair, due to its linear mission and being underground.