Freerunning

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Rosa: "Climbing a bit of scaffolding is all well and good, but let's see how you do out in the open."

Ezio: "Top of that tower, then? Torno fra un attimo. (I'll be right back)."

—Rosa challenging Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

The Codex sketch on freerunning.

Freerunning is a form of acrobatics, in which participants navigate through a landscape by performing fluid movements over and across structures.

This particular form of movement was utilized primarily by members of the Assassin Order, and was a vital asset both during and after assassinations. Over time, Assassins would also use a series of tools to supplement their climbing and freerunning abilities.

Movement

High Middle Ages

Altaïr performing a gap jump in Jerusalem.

During the Third Crusade, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was able to scale any wall if its surface possessed anything he could grab onto. In addition, he could have used any of the following movements:

• Swing was a movement in which Altaïr swung onto a bar and let go, enabling him to grab another object, or to drop to the ground.
• Drop was the act of dropping from a hanging position or bar.
• Wallpass was the act of climbing a tall wall by kicking its surface once to propel upwards.
• Climb-up was the movement of climbing an obstacle from a hanging position so Altaïr's upper body was above the obstacle, supported by his arms.
• Pass involved quickly and smoothly passing over medium sized obstacles.
• Breakfall was a forward roll where the hands, arms, and diagonal of the back made contact with the ground.
• Arm jump was to land on the side of an obstacle in a hanging position, hands gripping the top edge of the obstacle, holding the body.
• Long jump was a jump from a high height, and was usually followed by a protective roll.
• Gap jump was performed similarly to a long jump, except over an open expanse.
• Precision jump was a moving jump from one object to a precise spot on another object, usually with a small surface.

Renaissance

In addition to all of the movements performed by Altaïr during the Third Crusade, Ezio Auditore learned various new moves throughout his life during the Renaissance.

Fast climb

By moving in High Profile, Ezio could climb structures much faster, making him scale buildings faster than Altaïr. However, the scheme of the ledges he grabbed had to be regular, and he must have started in a standing position on a ledge in order to do so.

Climb Leap

The Climb Leap movement was first shown to Ezio by Rosa in Venice, and allowed him to grab potentially out-of-reach handholds by performing a vertical jump while climbing.

Spring-jump

The Spring-jump was a maneuver unlocked in the Bonfire of the Vanities downloadable content, but could only be used in the Oltrarno District of Florence. The Spring-jump allowed Ezio to jump twice as far as he usually could by sprinting straight onto and leaping from a springboard.

Swinging

Ezio could also swing from lanterns and pots hanging off structures in order to navigate cities quicker.

Colonial America

Due to the lack of structural sites or cities, the American Assassins were forced to learn how to climb and swing on trees to accompany the original freerunning skills. One notable member who could climb trees was the Assassin Connor Kenway. As well as climbing trees, Connor was also able to climb structures of rock such as cliffs and mountains. Along with the ability to slide down snowy slopes of mountains, Connor was also able to vault over and slide under obstacles.

Modern times

Desmond Miles and the other modern day Assassins are able to free run, and perform all of the freerun movements from the Third Crusade, as well as the fast climb movement from the Renaissance. However, the iconic 'Leap of Faith' is much rarer than in the past experiences.

Tools

As they used freerunning for travel, attack, and escape, members of the Assassin Order made use of a series of tools that would improve their freerunning abilities. Among these were the Climb Leap Glove, manufactured by Leonardo da Vinci, and the Hookblade, which was used by the Assassins of the Turkish branch.

Trivia

• Though referred to as "freerunning" throughout the Assassin's Creed series, the Assassins' focus on speed and efficiency, rather than creativity, more closely resembled Parkour.
• There is a bug present in most installments of the series, where civilians in certain areas or circumstances are able to perform free-running movements.
• Other than the Assassins, several factions were also known to be adept freerunners, including Agile guards, Thieves, Papal Guards, Janissaries, and Borgia Messengers.