Improvised weapon

thumb|300px|right|Invisible sword gameplay. thumb|right|300px|Broom Gameplay. In Assassin's Creed II, besides the purchasable "proper" weapons and the two-handed weapons such as spears and halberds, Ezio Auditore can also use "improper" weapons. These weapons include:

• Brooms
• Hoes
• Rakes
• Fishing poles
• Pitch forks
• Violins (the stringed instruments that are used by certain Minstrels, only available during Carnevale)
• The parts of a broken spear (upper part acts like a sword, lower part like a mace)
• Invisible sword (uses the unarmed slot, swings like a sword when attacking, allows only instant kills and counters, and is lost when wall running)

The above can be picked up like two-handed weapons. They are discarded once a fight is finished, or once Ezio enters a Free Running sequence. These weapons act mainly as hammers or maces, using the same animations and sound effects.

These "weapons" cannot be kept, and their animations are sometimes nonsensical. For example, Ezio can slice an enemy's throat with a broom after a grab, exactly the way he does with a sword. These objects can be taken from civilians. They will drop what they're carrying once Ezio runs into them, when a fight starts, or if you throw money near the person.

To use the invisible sword glitch, simply use a spear counter on a two-handed guard, and try punching, you will notice that Ezio does the sword animation when swinging or blocking.

Trivia

• Some improper weapons CAN be kept with a glitch, but will be lost when going to another city or randomly during excessive combat. To do this, you cannot have a weapon in your sword sheath, which can be done by letting a brute smash your sword or mace away. Afterwards, simply pick up one of the improper weapons, and you may be able to keep them. This only works for certain improper weapons, however, such as the blunt bottom part of a broken spear.
• Guards can also use these improper weapons, as long as you disarm them and there is no other weapon available. They will pick up any improper weapon except the invisible sword (as this is merely a glitch). It's easier to make guards use them during DNA Sequence 1, as guards won't have weapons.
• When you rescue the Assassin Bartolomeo d'Alviano in the mission Caged Fighter, he uses a broom to fight until he picks up a proper weapon from a fallen guard.
• Improper weapons can be used in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Proof is the "Spring Cleaning" Achievement that requires you to kill a guard with a broom.
• The violin sounds like a sword, yet acts like a mace.
• If you want to drop your sword, just go to Monteriggioni and practice "Picking Up Weapons", and Ezio's sword will immediately drop right out of his scabbard automatically.