Short blade
Short blades are short, curved bladed weapons that trade power and reach for a faster swing rate.
History
12th century
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's short blade is returned to him after he has reached the third rank. Like the sword, his skill with the short blade increases as he climbes up the ranks.[1]
The first short blade he obtaines has a wooden handle, though he receives an all metal variation at a later rank. In both instances, he carries the short blade in a sheath strapped across his back, with the handle facing down.[1]
In battle, he wields the short blade with an icepick grip, and often uses it in conjunction with throwing knives.[1]
Renaissance
In a similar fashion to Altaïr, Ezio Auditore is equipped with both a medium weapon and a short blade, though they are sheathed together at his side. He can purchase various types of short blades from blacksmiths, each with unique speed, damage and deflection properties.[2]
In battle, he can wield the short blade much as Altaïr does, utilizing the same icepick grip, though he does not learn to use it alongside throwing knives until he became a Master Assassin.[2][3]
Several of his allies, such as thieves and courtesans, also use short blades in battle. Certain guards and assassination targets, such as agiles and Rodrigo Borgia, make use of short blades as well. However, none of these hold their weapons in an icepick grip.[2]
Combat
Short blades strike more quickly than medium weapons, which makes them ideal for dispatching large numbers of low-ranked enemies. However, as an enemy's rank increases, the short blade's effectiveness diminishes, due to the higher quality armor they use.[1][2]
For Altaïr, the special, close-ranged attack of most short blades can only be performed from behind, slitting an enemy's throat, or stabbing them in the shoulder or the back, which will always result in an instant kill.[1]
When used with the short blade, Altaïr can throw a single throwing knife mid-combat. Similarly, Ezio can dual-wield the short blade with throwing knives, and can throw multiple throwing knives at once.[1][3]
Statistics
Assassin's Creed II
| Name | Damage | Speed | Deflect | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dagger | 1 | 1 | 2 | 500 ƒ |
| Knife | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1,300 ƒ |
| Stiletto | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2,200 ƒ |
| Channeled Cinquedea | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4,100 ƒ |
| Sultan's Knife | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4,300 ƒ |
| Butcher Knife | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6,400 ƒ |
| Notched Cinquedea | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9,500 ƒ |
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
| Name | Damage | Speed | Deflect | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stiletto | 1 | 1 | 2 | 300 ƒ |
| Knife | 1 | 2 | 3 | 700 ƒ |
| Bone Dagger of Romulus | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1900 ƒ |
| Dagger | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6250 ƒ |
| Butcher Knife | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5000 ƒ |
| Notched Cinquedea | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8600 ƒ |
| Maria's Dagger | 5 | 3 | 4 | Unlocked by completing all Courtesan challenges. |
| Dagger of Brutus | 5 | 5 | 5 | Unlocked by retrieving Romulus' treasure. |
| Channeled Cinquedea | 5 | 2 | 4 | N/A |
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
| Name | Damage | Speed | Deflect | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kurdish Jambiya | 1 | 2 | 2 | 345 
|
| Standard Stiletto | 1 | 3 | 2 | 805
|
| Macedonian Dagger |
2 |
2 | 2 | 518
|
| Arabian Dagger | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1,848
|
| Butcher Knife | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5,750
|
| Bayezid's Knife | 5 | 3 | 4 | 13,248
|
| Afghani Khyber Blade | 4 | 4 | 2 | 11,040
|
| Romani Stiletto | 4 | 3 | 4 | Unlocked by completing Set 3 of the Romani Challenges |
| Mehmet's Dagger | 5 | 5 | 5 | Unlocked by completing either Discovery or The Trickster, Part 1. |
Trivia
- In Assassin's Creed, Altaïr is the only person to use a short blade other than Malik & his brother until Malik loses his arm and when his brother dies. All other NPCs use long blades.
- In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, once all throwing knives have been used up, the special attack of the short blade is switched to that of the fists, in which Ezio throws sand to momentarily blind and incapacitate his target.
- In the blacksmith stores in Brotherhood, the Notched Cinquedea has the store image of the Channeled Cinquedea, and vice versa.
- Unlike in Assassin's Creed II, in Brotherhood, the Channeled Cinquedea is a weapon that cannot be purchased, and can only be taken from a guard.
- Only very few individuals throughout the series hold the short blade with an icepick grip. These include Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Tamir, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Francesco de' Pazzi, Bernardo Baroncelli, and Claudia Auditore da Firenze.
- An unusable Notched Cinquedea can be seen stuck in the table in Ezio's room at the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni.
- In every Assassin's Creed game to feature the short blade as a usable weapon, there is a kill animation that Altaïr and Ezio possesses where the blade is not used at all. It involves breaking an enemy's leg with a kick, and then hooking their free arm around the enemy's head and snapping their neck.
- In Assassin's Creed III, presumably because the short blade and the tomahawk use the same slot, Ratonhnhaké:ton can perform stunts such as sliding along a rope with the short blade.
References
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