Hidden Blade

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Altaïr proceeding to stab a crusader with the Hidden Blade.

"The hidden blade has been a constant companion of ours over the years. Some would say it defines us - and they would not be entirely wrong. Many of our successes would not have been possible without it."

―Altaïr's Codex, Page 13

The iconic weapon of the Assassin's Creed series, Hidden Blades are used both for regular combat and for stealth Assassinations.

Assassin's Creed

Although Altaïr already has this weapon at the start of the game, he loses it when he is demoted to Novice. At his first promotion to rank 2, however, he earns it back (along with his Longsword) so that he may perform his first assassination on Tamir the Merchant in Damascus.

Basic usage

This weapon is mostly used for stealthy, low profile assassinations upon soldiers. An unaware soldier may be assassinated without drawing too much attention. When stealth is not a priority, Altaïr may perform a high profile assassination. This involves jabbing the blade through the target's nose and into the brain when face to face with you, or pushing the target onto his knees and stabbing him in the neck when approached from behind.

thumb|300px|right|Video tutorial on usage of the Hidden BladeThe Hidden Blade is the only weapon that Altaïr may wield while running or sprinting, jumping upon an opponent and causing him to fall on the ground. Then the blade is triggered, stabbing the victim in the throat. This feature makes it an ideal choice for running down targets who flee such as Talal the Slave Trader in Jerusalem.

Both low and high profile assassinations may fail. A guard wary of your actions may catch your arm when you attempt the kill and throw you back. Attacks from behind though will NEVER fail, nor will attacks made on guards who have been thrown to the ground. Be aware, of course, that you will lose one third of your synchronization if you assassinate innocent civilians with the Hidden Blade, just as with any other weapon.

Air to Assassinate

In a 2007 demo of the William of Montferrat mission, Jade Raymond introduced a move called air to assassinate that combines some of Altaïr's acrobatic skills with his Hidden Blade. From higher ground above a target such as a nearby roof or beam, Altaïr leaps directly onto his victim and stabs him in the throat. Although the move was not covered in the manual or in-game tutorials, air to assassinate does exist within Assassin's Creed and the controls were documented by stabguy on The Hidden Blade website. All forms of air to assassinate draw attention of nearby guards, even when performed in low profile. Note that in Assassin's Creed II air to assassinate was renamed Air Assassination and included as a required tutorial with simplified controls.

In combat

The Hidden Blade can also be used while in combat. An enemy who has been grabbed and thrown (or counter thrown with a grab break) can easily be killed while he lies on the ground.

Using the Hidden Blade in combat against large groups is challenging, as Altaïr cannot block any attack. The time frame in which Altaïr can counter-attack is extremely small compared to the longsword and the short blade, but successfully countering enables one of several different - and always lethal - counter-attacks in which Altaïr stabs his opponent in the chest, head, abdomen, base of the skull, or spine. It is also possible to assassinate the enemy in combat, while he is caught in a moment of inattention or grappling with a vigilante, but any other time it will fail because the enemy will always block the attack. It is also possible to assassinate your targets even if they are aware of you by getting behind them and assassinating them.

Mechanism

When not in use, the blade is hidden in a gauntlet on Altaïr's lower left arm. A ring on his little finger serves as the trigger for the gear system to eject the blade. As the system is not powerful enough to penetrate enemies, Altaïr extends the blade fully and then stabs it into his foe.

File:Assassinscreedbladema5.png

This diagram shows the mechanism behind the Hidden Blade.

When the blade is open, it rests between Altaïr's middle and little fingers, in the space left by his amputated ring finger. This amputation is part of the initiation into the Hashshashin sect, which the Assassins are based on. When he is ready to put up the blade, he flicks his wrist down and the blade returns to the gauntlet.

Role in investigations and missions

Assassination missions

The Hidden Blade is also used for some of the investigations given to you by informants. You are asked to stealthily assassinate a number of targets. If any guard even once confronts you, the mission is failed. If you attack the targets or the guards with fists, the short blade, the longsword, or any other high profile weapon, you will fail the mission. Because of this, you may ONLY use throwing knives or the Hidden Blade to assassinate your targets.

Interrogation missions

During Interrogation missions, after successfully interrogating the target, Altaïr is forced to kill them, so they cannot reveal his plans to the enemy. He will bury the blade in their stomach to kill them, then gently lower their body onto the ground so as not to draw further attention to himself. Occasionally, other assassinations performed with the Hidden Blade play out in the same manner.

Save Citizen missions

In the optional Save Citizen missions to save citizens from soldiers threatening to kill them, this weapon will come in handy. Successfully and stealthily used, you might take out three of the soldiers before they notice you, draw their weapons, and engage you in a swordfight. If they notice your tactic, however, you'd best be prepared and draw either your short blade or sword for a swordfight.

Assassinations

The hidden blade is used in every storyline assassination you perform. Even if you begin by attacking the enemy with a sword, you will always finish them off with the hidden blade before it cuts to the death cutscene.

Assassin's Creed II

"The blade is designed to ensure the commitment of whomever wields it."

―Leonardo da Vinci

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File:Ezio's Hidden Blade.jpg

Ezio's Modern Hidden Blade.

In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio possesses two of these blades, whereas Altaïr has only one. In addition, unlike Altaïr, who had to sacrifice his ring finger, both Ezio's ring fingers are intact, due to a modification that raises the base of the weapon itself. It is worth noting that the modification was not made by Leonardo da Vinci as when Giovanni is using the blade in Assassin's Creed: Lineage he has all his fingers intact but was instead a modification made by Altaïr to help the Assassins go underground as the absent ring finger distinguished Assassins from civilians.

Ezio's first blade is the one inherited from his father. The blade is initially broken since the last fight of Giovanni against Borgia's men (see Assassin's Creed: Lineage), but Ezio brings it to his friend Leonardo da Vinci to repair it.

At the end of the game, Desmond receives one from Lucy, a similar (if not the same) model of the Hidden Blade used by Ezio to face the attacking Abstergo's men. However, unlike Ezio's, the Hidden Blade has no upgrades or is just not usable.

In combat

Giovanni's (later Ezio's) Hidden Blade in Lineage.

In Assassin's Creed II, the use of the hidden blade in combat is more "classical": it can be used like a regular weapon, and is capable of breaking an enemy's defences instead of just trying to assassinate him. It attacks fairly fast, becoming faster after the acquirement of the second blade, allowing Ezio to unleash a constant barrage of strikes, suppressing a foe's ability to attack or killing them before they can attack. It is also possible to block attacks while using the Hidden Blade unlike the first game (not with the Blade itself though, but with the upgraded vambraces).

Veterans of Assassin's Creed combat may want to challenge themselves by using the Hidden Blade(s) in combat. While the counter-kill timing window is very short (fraction of a second), skillful timing will be rewarded nicely; except for against the Brutes' smashes which knock Ezio's weapon away (which does not work against Hidden Blades) and Seekers' (sweep Ezio's feet) special attacks, a successfully timed counter will always kill the guard against which it is performed, even if the guard has high health and/or is a high-ranking soldier.

Upgrades

The second Hidden Blade is acquired later and the main blade gets upgraded with the Poison Blade and the Pistol installed.

Techniques

Later on, Ezio can assassinate enemies below with an Air Assassination, a Double Air Assassination if the target is adjacent to another, by leaping from a platform onto the victim. This, however, is easily noticeable by Guards and they will attack once they see you doing it. It is possible to assasinate two guards at the same time (at ground level) by standing between them and piercing both their throats.

At the same time Ezio learns the aforementioned techniques, he can also assassinate enemies above certain ledges while he's climbing them and is now also able to assassinate them when he is in a hiding spot (e.g. Hay, Wells and Benches).

Ezio can also perform special kill animations with the dual hidden blades.

Trivia

Darius, the first to wield a Hidden Blade

• On one of the Codex Pages it states that the blade has to be connected or linked with the user, thus explaining part of why Altaïr had his ring finger removed. Altaïr opens his hand and spreads his fingers whenever the blade is extended. Similarly, he never uses the blade with his hand clenched in a fist; all stabbing moves and assassinations are performed with an open hand. The only time the blade sits in the space left by the amputated finger is when the player extends the blade and holds it out (by holding the weapon hand button while out of combat). Holding the button will keep the blade extended, and will act as any unsheathed weapon, scaring away civilians.
• Ironically in both games the trigger mechanism is not visible on Altair's or Ezio's hands, even when they aren't wearing gloves.
• Masyaf Guards in Assassin's Creed do sport a hidden blade, though they never use it, nor is their ring finger missing.
• Malik, from the first game, had the hidden blade before he lost his arm but did not have an amputated finger.
• The first recorded usage of the Hidden Blade by an Assassin was Darius, when he assassinated Xerxes. Moreover, his seal's symbol is the Hidden Blade. However, his ring finger is still intact.
• Patrice Desilets, the creative director of the game, stated that the addition of a second blade in Assassin's Creed II also had a lucid reason: it's Assassin's Creed II, so there are 2 blades.
• In the film Smokin' Aces, one of the assassins sport a weapon similar to the hidden blade.