Secret location

Ezio, my friend! How may I be of service? This article is in desperate need of a revamp. Please improve it in any way necessary in order for it to achieve a higher standard of quality in accordance with our Manual of Style.

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

File:Ezio secretlocation.png

Ezio about to enter an Assassin Tomb

Each location has several stages, and each one has a different platforming objective, from climbing high towers on 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 needed 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 hide 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

The Templar Lairs (with the exception of the Palazzo Medici) hide treasure that presumably belonged to and funded the activities of the Templar Order. All of these can be accessed through a wooden door, marked with a large red cross.

• 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 in Monteriggioni (Similar to an Assassin Tomb, though the only one that does not hold a seal necessary to unlock Altaïr's Armor - Uplay downloadable content)

Palazzo Medici

While Ezio worked on his mission to eliminate everyone involved in the Pazzi Conspiracy in 1478, he found a passageway into the palace of the Medici family. There, he eavesdropped on Templars who were looking for Lorenzo de' Medici in order to kill him. Lorenzo had hidden himself somewhere in the palace to prevent any attempts on his life, thus Ezio uses his skills as an Assassin to locate Lorenzo before the Templars are able to. It was not an easy task to find Lorenzo, as the palace offered many obstacles, including the Templars themselves and mechanisms that triggered hidden openings. Eventually, Ezio 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 into the shipyard. Ezio had to work his way up, grabbing onto and climbing along ledges, chandeliers and even ships still under construction. Later, he sees 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 that the man had been foolish to try 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 tried to escape away from the Assassin by racing towards the guard room by the treasury. However, through free-running, Ezio beats him to it and finishes him off. Ezio sneaked by the other Templars to access the treasury, activating 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, sometimes just called the Frari, is a church in Venice, where one of the Templar lairs resides. To find it, Ezio had to climb the church walls to access a doorway set into the tower, almost at the top of the structure. The church provided quite the challenge for Ezio, requiring him to conquer incredible heights and climb across several rafters, banisters and scaffolding. With further exploration, and using his skills in climbing, free-running and jumping, he finally found the access door to the Templar treasure, hidden deep below the church. A quick leap of faith from a high point into a haystack allows him to reach the mechanism locking in the treasure, and upon retrieving it, he leaves the church 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 move through the water after a minute, swimming past 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, though 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.