Leap of Faith

Altaïr, Rauf and another Assassin performing Leaps of Faith before the Templars.

The Leap of Faith is an acrobatic move in which Altaïr, Ezio, or another Assassin dives from atop a high structure to land, unharmed, in a conveniently placed pile of hay (or other soft landing material in Assassin's Creed II). The Leap is performed by Free Running at a ledge under which is located the target that will break your fall. The Leap of Faith is used to descend from View Points, each of which always provides a suitable safe target for a Leap of Faith. However, it can be used to jump down from anywhere, if, of course, there is a safe target below.

Leaps of Faith prove useful for quick descents, and are commonly used after climbing View Points. The Leap of Faith is also handy in losing pursuers, as climbing to the top of a view point usually results in the pursuers losing sight of the player. Then all he must do is perform a Leap of Faith, and he will be at street level again.

In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio can perform a Leap of Faith to dive into the water in addition to jumping into piles of hay. In addition to hay, other piles of soft material can also be used, such as piles of leaves or flower petals. Pigeons usually perch on areas from which a Leap can be performed. When Ezio joins the Assassin Order, he performs a Leap of Faith as one of the requirements.

In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, in the commented multiplayer demo, it is shown that players can also perform a Leap of Faith. Since the players play as Templar characters, these are new examples of non-Assassins performing a Leap of Faith. Until this revelation, the only non-Assassin Leap of Faith was committed by Francesco de' Pazzi, while trying to escape from Ezio. Also, whenever an Assassin recruit reaches the rank of Assassino, he or she must perform a leap of faith from the top of the Tiber Island hideout into the Tiber River below.

Trivia

• Near the beginning of the game, when Masyaf is attacked by Templars, three Assassins display their devotion by performing Leaps of Faith from a cliff. This is based on a real life incident involving the Hashshashin, in which their leader proclaimed that his followers were more devout than any, and would follow all commands he gave. As shown in the game, he ordered several men to jump from a cliff to their deaths, which they did. The incident is also depicted in the novel Alamut, by Vladimir Bartol; though only one man leaps from a tower, while another kills himself with a dagger.
• There is actually nothing coincidental about the placement of the bales of hay, their locations are entirely intentional. During the game, it is explained that the bales of hay and the birds that denote the location of a View Point have been programmed into the memory by Lucy, as a way to help out in the navigation of the memory.
  • In addition to pigeons marking a spot to perform a Leap of Faith, in Assassin's Creed II the position is also marked by some hay on the ledge.
• When being pursued by Ezio, Francesco de' Pazzi leaps off the Palazzo della Signoria into a haystack for a quick escape. This is the only known example for a non-Assassin committing a form of a Leap of Faith, up until Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
• To achieve the "High Dive" Achievement/trophy in Assassin's Creed II, you must perform a Leap of Faith from Giotto's Campanile in Florence.
• Ezio can perform an alternative leap of faith by dangling from a ledge or View Point and falling backwards onto a safe spot, as long as it is directly below him. He is forced to do this at least once, in Assassin's Creed II, after speaking with his father during the Jailbird sequence.
• Like Altaïr's, Ezio's shadow looks like an eagle while performing a leap of faith.
• In Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Big Boss (and the soldiers he has recruited) can perform Leaps of Faith into straw boxes called "Assassin Straw Box," in the style of Ezio and Altaïr, complete with the eagle cry. Jumping into the straw box also prompts Big Boss' second-in-command to provide trivia about the the box's history, remarking it was once used by Assassins of the Third Crusade, which is a direct reference to Assassin's Creed.
• It has been stated in an interview that in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Desmond Miles performs his first Leap of Faith in the run-down, modern Monteriggioni, after witnessing (thanks to the Bleeding Effect) Ezio climbing up to a View Point

Gallery

• Ezio performing a leap of faith off the Santa Maria del Fiore.
  Ezio performing a leap of faith off the Santa Maria del Fiore.
• Ezio performing a leap of faith off a tower in San Gimignano.
  Ezio performing a leap of faith off a tower in San Gimignano.
• The Mercenary, a multiplayer character from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, performing a Leap of Faith.
  The Mercenary, a multiplayer character from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, performing a Leap of Faith.