Rope dart

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"Pointy metal death on a string."

―Official Playstation Magazine's description of the Rope darts.

Connor using a rope dart to suspend a soldier.

Sheng Biao, or rope darts, were long-ranged weapons that could be thrown at enemies and, once anchored into the target, could be used to pull them over distances. The darts were a product of the legendary Chinese Assassin Shao Jun.

Rope darts consisted of long ropes about 3–5 meters long, with metal darts attached to one end. A dart was thrown with the opposite end of the rope anchored to an object, or held in one's free hand.

Usage

Rope darts were used by the Assassin Connor during the American Revolutionary War, after they were given to him by his Mentor, Achilles Davenport.

The weapon could be thrown down from amongst the treetops to impale enemies, who could then be used as a counterbalance for the user to drop down to ground level, hanging the victim in the process. Accompanying this aerial attack, rope darts could also choke victims to death, if an overhead ledge was utilized to increase the pressure of the strangle-hold. Following this, they could also be thrown upwards to drag enemies from rooftops, or to dismount horsemen.

In open combat, rope darts could also be used to impale enemies and drag them towards the user, allowing for a close attack or for a human shield maneuver, or to wrench the intended target to the floor for a quick, instant kill.

Trivia

• Accompanying the weapon's Chinese name, the art of wielding a rope dart is also named Sheng Biao in Chinese martial arts.
• According to an XboxGameZone article, Connor's long-range weapon was originally a "Chain Blade." However, the development team thought that they would be taking "too much of a fantasy route" and researched a method that was more realistic, resulting in the addition of rope darts. Initially, concept art by William Wu shows that the chain blade was planned to be a form of the Hidden Blade.
• In real life, a rope dart would not be able to hold a victim's weight long enough to pull them great distances, much less hang them from trees.
• On attempting to hang multiple bodies from the same tree branch, it would cause them to fall to the ground.
• Connor could find rope darts on people he had killed before being taught how to use them. However, he could not use them until he was shown how to by Achilles.

Gallery

• 
  Connor using a rope dart to pull a Continental soldier from his horse.
• Connor using the rope dart from above.
  Connor using the rope dart from above.
• Achilles explaining the rope dart to Connor.
  Achilles explaining the rope dart to Connor.
• 
  Concept art of the rope dart by William Wu.
• Concept art of the "Chain Blade".
  Concept art of the "Chain Blade".

Reference

• Assassin's Creed III