Swimming

Ezio diving from the exploding Naval Cannon

Swimming is the act of self-propulsion of oneself through water, which can include diving.

When an Assassin or Templar would dive, they could choose to remain underwater in order to hide or evade enemies, up until the point where they needed to catch their breath. This enabled them to use water in a stealthy manner, allowing for the traversal of otherwise restricted areas unnoticed.

History

The mercenary Kassandra, the Medjay Bayek of Siwa, his wife Aya of Alexandria, the Alamut Hidden One Basim Ibn Ishaq, the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir, and the Kakushiba ikki members Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke were all capable swimmers, able to hold their breath for extended periods of time and explore underwater caverns or shipwrecks.

Desmond Miles' ancestors Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Edward Kenway, Haytham Kenway, and Ratonhnhaké:ton were also capable swimmers, able to dive from great heights and hold their breath for several seconds. Ezio's apprentices in Rome were trained to swim, as their initiation ceremony required performing the Leap of Faith into the Tiber river. However, swimming was slower than freerunning, and it was preferable to jump on whatever surface they could find.

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was capable of swimming, but a glitch in the programming of Animus 1.28 caused him to drown upon contact with water, which was corrected in the Animus 2.0 when Desmond began to relive Ezio's memories. Desmond himself could swim, and used to wash in the creek after morning exercises on the Farm.

Edward swimming towards a British ship

The pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy dove underwater to find treasure from Caribbean shipwrecks or caverns, after a large armada of Spain's trading vessels sank and scattered a vast amount of wealth to the seabed. Edward Kenway and his former quartermaster Adéwalé each possessed a diving bell on their ships, which allowed them to dive for extended periods of time, since they could place their heads in the apparatus whenever they needed additional oxygen.

Edward and Adéwalé were adept at underwater swimming, being able to push themselves from objects and outcroppings to gain a small boost in speed. When swept into a current, they would position themselves to dodge obstacles. However, in order to increase their maneuverability, Edward and Adéwalé were completely unarmed and were forced to dodge or use their fists against hostile animals like sharks.

The Templar Shay Cormac was also a capable swimmer but had to limit his time in the water due to its often extremely low temperatures, which would cause him to slowly freeze. Aveline de Grandpré, a French-African member of the Assassins from New Orleans, Louisiana, was a skilled diver. An example of this presented itself when she swam through the flooded caverns beneath Chichen Itza to find the shards of a Prophecy Disk and could hold her breath for under a minute.

The French Assassin Arno Dorian and the British Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye could swim for extended periods of time without getting tired, though they were unable to go underwater.

Trivia

• Before Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, civilians, guards, and other NPCs instantly drowned in water, whereas Assassin apprentices would disappear but not be killed. In Black Flag, most of the characters can swim, though they will drown if they are in the water too long. After Assassin's Creed: Rogue, NPCs would drown upon contact with water once more, until Assassin's Creed: Origins, where civilians no longer drown even after extended periods of time.
• Aveline, Arno Dorian, and the Frye twins are the only playable characters to date who swam using only front crawl, whereas other ancestors also utilized breaststroke.
• In Assassin's Creed: Unity, if Arno falls and dies in feet-deep or very shallow water, e.g. the moats at the Bastille, his body would nonetheless appear to be floating. This carries out into its sequels.
• In Assassin's Creed: Identity, Lo Sparviero is unable to swim in the Vaticano District and Romagna. He had to freerun on the boats or find another way to cross any body of water.

Gallery

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  Ezio swimming in Romagna
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  Ezio diving into a pond beneath the fortress in Masyaf
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  Edward using a diving bell
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  Aveline swimming through an underwater cave
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  Haytham and Connor swimming in New York harbor