Social stealth

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The Stealth Meter (top to bottom): Unaware, Watched, Alert and Detected

Social Stealth, or how inconspicuous one can remain in public environments, is a key ability to master in order to become a successful assassin.

Philosophy

A true master assassin knows that people cannot appropriately prepare themselves to an invisible strike. For the true assassin, remaining unexposed is the safest way to move about without catching the city guards' attention, arousing the crowd or alerting the target. Therefore, avoiding attention at all times is key to an assassin's survival during an assassination mission.

As the second tenet of the "The Creed", remaining anonymous is a top priority at all times and it is required within the Assassin's Order, since investigations and assassinations have a much larger chance of success when no one knows from where comes the blunt. To understand the people and know extensively how use that element to your advantage during your endeavors is the key. Let them mask your approach during assassinations and reveal yourself only when absolutely certain, using the crowd to create distractions and moving for the kill when everyone's attention is on something else that is not you.

Whether performing silent executions or public assassinations, one must strike at the most appropriate moment, time, and place where he/her can not only hit, but also run or hold his/her ground if it be necessary. Normally approaching someone from behind and putting a hidden blade between their ribs or gently pushing past a crowd and bursting through the guards on a rampage charge at the target's head, social stealth mastery is indispensable. Mastering the kill is your priority, mastering the approach should be too.

In-Game

Assassin's Creed

A major theme in this game is social stealth. Other games have worked with the idea of stealth play while out in the open, notably the disguises in the Hitman series, but few if any have included the crowd dynamics found in Assassin's Creed.

The social stealth system keeps track of how much attention is being paid to Altaïr and his actions. Citizens and guards will react anyway you treat and interact with them. While walking around the city and kingdom, you can either force people out of the way and to the ground or you can gently push past them. The first will attract a lot of attention in your direction but get you through the crowd more quickly, and the person you knocked to the ground may get up and push you back risking exposure if close to a assassination target. Gently pushing past or moving past people will attract no attention but will take more time. Any socially unacceptable behavior will also increase the attention that people pay you. If you quickly climb the front of a building then you will attract a lot of attention, as will jumping from a rooftop and landing in a crowd. Slowly climbing a ladder or dropping quietly into the street will attract much less attention when moving about. Remaining anonymous, completely avoiding all arousing suspicion and publicly expressing only socially acceptable behavior will allow for safe travel through city streets.

With the social stealth system you won't find any shadows to hide in if you are being chased by guards. Instead you have to escape their sight and then blend in with the surrounding crowd, like joining a group of scholars or ducking into a rooftop garden. The scholars have the added benefit of being a mobile source of social camouflage. Other places to hide include bales of hay and even benches (while sitting between two people). The public is your greatest ally when used properly.

Remaining anonymous will also refill your sync bar. If you attract too much attention, the omnipresent guards will recognize you as an assassin and try to kill you, ruining your anonymity, and forcing you to hide. The guards are implacable and to a large degree always scanning the crowd for your presence another reason to remain one with the crowd, if easily dispatched, foes who will follow you over rooftops and chase you through streets, often while gathering reinforcements. A very important (slow paced) but guaranteed way to assure anonymity is to Blend. Dressed as a religious scholar Altaïr's mannerisms mimic theirs, an example folding the hands and being in the prayer stance ensures very slow yet extremely safe passage.

Assassin's Creed 2

"AC2"'s social stealth engine has been largely improved. You can now blend just by walking into a crowd, bribe guards, and hire courtesans or thieves to distract targets. You can now pickpocket for money and also run the risk of being pickpocketed. You can hide in carts of hay, fish and autumn leaves, sit in a bench and also can jump into water. Doing this will not save you all the time as Seekers can now search for you if you're hiding.

Crowds and AI in general are more intelligent and a notoriety system has been included. If you're caught doing bad deeds, your notoriety goes up. and you can reduce it by:

1. Ripping down Wanted Posters.
2. Bribing Heralds. Also, take some time to listen to them. They speak about the different missions you have embarked on and finished.
3. Assassinations. Simple, kill off the people giving false witness (of your very real crimes) or selected key guards.

When the Notoriety meter is full, the guards are on constant lookout and always suspicious of you.

There's also a new system called Social Status Indicator (SSI). It is divided in two parts.

NPC Arrows

There is an arrow above a guard's head that informs you if you're at a risk of being detected or not.

• If you're incognito, the guards will only notice you if you engage in illegal actions such as killing, looting or pushing them.
• When the arrow turns yellow it means the guard has started investigating and is alerted to his surroundings.
• When the arrow turns red, the guard has recognized you.

Mini Map Frame

The social status indicator, instead of being located left to the Synch Bar, is now a frame that surrounds the Mini-map located on the bottom right. The indicators colors are the same from AC1:

• White: You are Anonymous
• Red: You are in an Open Conflict with guards
• Yellow: You are in an Open Conflict with guards however you have broken the line of sight
• Blue: You are Vanishing (ie. you're in a hiding spot and the guards are still searching for you)
• Green: You are Hidden (ie. in a hiding spot)

Social Status

Social status is a measure of how much attention Altaïr is drawing to himself, and how much attention he is receiving from guards.

The player's current social status is displayed on the HUD, via the social status icon and witness indicator. The social status icon switches to the witness indicator under context- they are never displayed simultaneously. The witness indicator is only used when Altaïr is in the presence of guards who are not in open conflict with him- in all other cases, the social status icon is available.

The social status icon

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The indicator is the triangle on the left of the Synchronization Bar.

On the left of the Synchronization bar is the social status icon. This triangular-shaped icon changes color and shape to distinguish between different Social Statuses. The icon is used only when Anonymous, fleeing guards, or in Open Conflict.

Anonymous

When Altaïr is not visible to any guards whatsoever, he is Anonymous. Represented by a white social status bar, this status is the ideal one to be in.

Exposed

If Altaïr draws too much guard attention to himself, he will become Exposed. The social status icon changes shape and color, flashing red. He can either kill all the guards (instantly returning to Anonymous status) or flee.

Unseen

If Altaïr chooses to flee, breaking the line of sight of pursuing guards, the social status icon will flash yellow and an audible beeping may be heard, signifying Unseen status. Now, Altaïr should find a Hiding spot and hide. If the player chooses to instead keep running, Altaïr may eventually outrun the pursuers and skip immediately back to Anonymous status.

Vanishing

If, while in Unseen status, Altaïr hides in a hiding spot unseen by the guards, he will enter Vanishing status. After a few seconds, the guards will appear. Unable to find Altaïr, they will give up the search. Altaïr has Vanished.

Vanished

When the guards give up the chase, Altaïr has Vanished. While Vanished, he can not be Exposed again. He will remain in this state for as long as he remains in the hiding spot- once he leaves, he is again able to be Exposed.

The witness indicator

The witness indicator distinguishes between the different awareness levels of guards near Altaïr. Shaped differently from the social status icon, it has an eye in the center that glows either yellow or red, depending on soldiers' level of awareness.

Unaware

A yellow witness indicator means that the guards near the player are either unaware or suspicious.

An unaware soldier has his hands to his side, unaware of the danger posed by Altaïr.

Suspicious

A suspicious soldier is slightly suspicious of Altaïr, but not enough to attack or draw his sword. He rests his hand on his sword, ready to draw it. You shouldn't worry about unaware or suspicious guards- they are not very likely to attack unless provoked.

The witness indicator is yellow while soldiers are Suspicious of Altaïr, as well as when they are unaware of him.

Informed

A red witness indicator means that guards near the player are very suspicious, ready to attack Altaïr.

An informed soldier has his sword fully drawn, ready to fight. He is very suspicious of Altaïr, or has seen a dead body on the ground. When in this state, they are easy to provoke. Blend to get away, or kill the soldier.

All guards within the Kingdom are always Informed.