Archer

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"Shoot! Shoot the flying demon!"

―An archer responds to the Flying Machine.

Archers were the soldiers that patrolled rooftops or watched possible enemies below. They usually initiated attack against any intruder they noticed above ground, and did so with bows and arrows. Once goaded into personal combat due to an enemy approaching within a metre or so, an Archer would cease firing arrows and attack with swords. Though accurate and deadly from a distance, Archers did not pose a serious threat during close combat

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed

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A Crusader archer's death.

Archers in Assassin's Creed appeared on the rooftops of every city, and on top of large wooden structures in the Kingdom. Their abilities with the bow were not reciprocated with their sword. They were approximately ranked alongside the meanest of soldiers.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

Templar Archers in Bloodlines were not as hostile as Archers in Assassin's Creed etc., and would usually only provoke a fight with Altair during a chase sequence. As Altair had at this time discovered different ways to Assassinate targets, he was capable of performing a Ledge Assassination within Bloodlines.

Assassin's Creed II

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Ezio performing a ledge assassination on an Archer.

There were two methods Archers took advantage of within Assassins Creed II: ordinary arrows and the fire-tipped variety. The latter was attempted in order to distract Ezio and thus destroy his horse-drawn carriage in the "Romagna Holiday" memory sequence (the Archers shot arrows that exploded into pools of fire on the ground, forcing Ezio to avoid them) as well as shooting down the Flying Machine in the "Infrequent Flyer" memory sequence and the "Battle for Forlì" special memory.

Archers were found on rooftops in all cities, armed with Bows and Swords. If they noticed Ezio in the midst of climbing or walking along a rooftop, they shouted warnings to go back onto the ground. If Ezio ignored these warnings, they started firing arrows, regardless of his Notoriety level. They hunted down Pickpockets or Borgia Messengers on rooftops if they passed by. If Ezio approached within a close distance, they used their melee weapons to attack; however, with their low armor and poor direct combat abilities, they made easy opponents within close quarters. They also were capable of being thrown from rooftops or being assassinated. In crowds, they were often lethal, as a small group were able to hold Ezio back, while the rest attacked him with arrows.

There were special variations of Archers found in Assassination missions and the Primary Memories. There were 'Elite Archers' -- archers with the trademark Elite helmet and fighting capabilities -- as well as "Captain Archers," which were seen in the missions "Honorable Thief" (Venice Assassination mission) and in "Everything Must Go" (the final Sequence 7 mission), although the archers in the latter mission were actually thieves and wore their trademark head wraps.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

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Arrows descend from above

In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, archers are replaced by the Crossbowman. Furthermore, some of the guards that were posted on rooftops were arquebusiers, who were equipped with an arquebus (the predecessor of the musket) instead of a bow.

Archers did appear on occasions, but only during certain memories. They shot fire arrows at the war machines of which Ezio took control, and appeared on rooftops, aboard ships or within archer towers.

Additionally, Ezio had the ability to assassinate multiple guards by ordering his apprentices to fire a flurry of arrows at them, whilst he himself simply continued his route. This action was called an 'Arrow Storm'.

See also

• Guards
• Crossbowmen
• Arquebusiers