Sword of Altaïr

Real life replica of Altaïr's sword.

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad had a personal sword that he used throughout Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles, and Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines. The blade's hilt is shaped like an eagle's wings, while the blade itself is both long and agile, making it a light and deadly weapon. The sword is apparently the weapon of choice for the guards at Masyaf, and an all metal variation is available as a weapon in Assassin's Creed II.

Assassin's Creed

Altaïr starts the game with the Syrian sword, which he is very skilled at using, until Al Mualim demotes him to Novice for breaking all three tenets of The Creed. This decreases his abilities greatly. During his progression back into the ranks, he starts off with a basic sword similar to this, though it does not have a cross guard. After he assassinates four targets, he gets the Sword of Altaïr. He uses this sword until the Syrian sword is returned to him.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

Altaïr still possesses his sword during the events after Assassin's Creed, in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines. In fact, his swords can be found hanging within Kantara Castle's Great Hall (in "The Bull" stage), as ornaments. During the game, this is the only sword that can be used. In the beginning, its attack power is quite low and enemies have to be hit with it multiple times to be killed. However, upgrades for the sword and other weapons of Altaïr can be purchased by collecting Templar coins.

Altaïr equipping his sword.

Assassin's Creed II

Altaïr's sword is available in the Monteriggioni blacksmith for 50,000ƒ (or less if the store has been renovated) after DNA Sequence 8. This sword is one of the most powerful melee weapons, as all three stats are maxed out. It is interesting to note that the picture of the weapon's hilt in the blacksmith has a leather-wrapped hilt, however the weapon itself does not have this leather wrapping.

Ezio using his ancestor's sword.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Because Brotherhood takes place directly after Assassin's Creed II, Ezio wields the sword as he makes his escape from the Vault into Rome. He later loses it, along with the majority of his equipment. The sword is made available to Ezio once more after completing all 5 Assassins Guild challenges, where it becomes available at Ezio's Tiber Island Hideout. The sword can also be used by apprentices once they have reached rank 10, or Assassino.

Trivia

• It is unknown why the sword is available from the Monteriggioni blacksmith, since the sword (being Altaïr's personal weapon) would be assumed to be available together with his armor once it was unlocked. However, a possible cause is that the sword had been lost along with the Codex, and was later found and sold to the blacksmith.
• The sword in the game is shorter compared to the other longswords Ezio can use; the entire sword being only a little longer than the length of his arm. Despite this, Altaïr's sword is the strongest weapon available.
• Strangely, though Altaïr's sword is considered the best sword in the second game, in Assassin's Creed, the Syrian sword (which in Assassin's Creed II was among the cheapest weapons) was the best sword.

• It is possible, however, that Altaïr made a new sword, likely out of the same metal as the Armor of Altaïr. This would have made the sword more durable, and perhaps more resistant to aging, unlike the Syrian sword. However, a few facts make this theory less likely; for one, the metal used in the Armor of Altaïr is golden in color, while the Sword of Altaïr is silver. Also, Altaïr mentions in the Codex that one of the virtues of the metal he used in his new armor was that it was very light. While this would be a desirable trait in the armor of an Assassin, since it would permit easier movement, it is not necessarily desirable in a sword, which are made successful in blocking incoming attacks by and deliver more powerful blows because of the weight of the metal in the blade. A very light blade, after all, is much easier for an assailant to knock away or a defender to block than a heavier blade. Furthermore, there would be little need for Altaïr to use the golden metal in his weaponry, since his enemies did not now how to duplicate this metal and whose armor would still be easily penetrable with weaponry made from the more commonplace steel. Finally, Altaïr also mentions in the Codex that he feared the knowledge of this new metal and how to obtain and work it falling into the wrong hands. With this in mind, it would have been inadvisable for him to create held weaponry, which is far more easily lost in battle than armor attached to the user's body by straps or other means.
• It is interesting to note that, in later memory sequences of Assassin's Creed II, if the player has the sword equipped, it can quite possibly be knocked away from Ezio by Brute guards. It can, however, be re-equipped in the Villa if it is lost.
• There is a glitch in the Xbox 360 and PS3 version which automatically replaces this sword with the "Common Sword" in Ezio's inventory after it is bought. To fix this, you will have to go to the weapon room in the Villa and manually equip Altaïr's sword again.
• In the Codex released with Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, Altaïr talks about strong poison, and says that "The blade must be forged quarry following these instructions. Otherwise cracks could generate in the metal, with the risk of making the blade fragile or of breaking it." It explains that the sword has been reforged following the knowledge that Altaïr got from the Apple of Eden, making it much better that the older one.
• During a mission in Brotherhood, when Ezio kills and impersonates a guard named Luigi in order to assassinate Juan Borgia, a fellow guard draws and raises the sword of Altaïr. This is rather unusual, and unclear if intentional or rendered accidentally by the developers.