During the course of Assassin's Creed, there are two types of guards: Soldiers and Archers. The archers are mostly the same, but there are three ranks of soldiers. All guards are armed with swords (with varying styles).
The ordinary soldiers don't wear helmets (Muslims wear turbans) and are only equipped with leather armor or light Lamellar armor. They cannot grab or break a grab attack, A Guard Sergeant in Acrecannot combo attack and cannot counter attack. They can only deflect attacks, and there is a 25% chance of dodging a light attack. Guard archers are on par with ordinary ones, except that they are only found on rooftops, wear a hood, and use bows for a ranged attack.
Guard Sergeants (or elite guards) have helmets, the Crusader variant wear chain mail tabards, and Saracen Sergeants possess medium Lamellar armor. They can grab and there is a 50% chance of them being able to break a grab attack, as well as a 50% one of countering or dodging a light attack. There is also a 25% chance of breaking your defense, but they cannot perform a combo attack.
Guard Captains are the most powerful guards besides the Templar Knight. The Muslim Captains wear Baidah helmets and heavy Lamellar armor, while Crusader captains wear chain mail tabards with surcoats, chain mail mittens and varying knight helms (with faces usually covered, due to helmet size). They too can grab and there is a 75% chance of them being able to break a grab attack and counter or dodge a light attack. There is also a 50% chance of breaking your defense. If a successful heavy attack is delivered, they will perform a combo attack.
Templar Knights are a special version of guard where only 60 are found in the entire game. They are similar to the Crusader guard captain, except possessing higher stats and a special version of helmet that appears bloodstained aside from the other variants. They will also provoke a fight when they see Altaïr, no matter what his notoriety level is. Strangely enough, Templar Knights can be found in many places, including Muslim cities.
The ordinary Crusader and Muslim soldiers and archers speak English, Crusader Captains and Sergeants speak French or German, Muslim Captains and Guards speak Turkish or Arabic and the Templar Knights speak all of the dialects (but only speak Arabic in Altaïr's fight against Robert's impostor).
The guards in Masyaf, despite being marked as an ally via Eagle Vision, function exactly like normal ones. They are equipped in robes similar to Altaïr's, but they only have a long sword and their robes are shorter. The ordinary guards wear no hoods, the elite guards wear hoods and the guard captains wear hoods and have their faces covered with a cloth, with only eyes visible. They all speak English and have all five fingers, indicating that, though members of the order, they are not assassins themselves, instead serving as "The Common Soldiers" of the Assassins.
(Hints) A defense break stuns your counter attack and deflect ability for three seconds, but not your dodge ability. If an enemy breaks your defense, you can still dodge an incoming attack (once the skill is acquired).
(Hints) To improve your chances of a successful grab attack, break the guards defense (once skill is acquired) then perform a grab. There is only a 10% chance of breaking your grab on elite guards (and 25% for guard captains)
(Hints) If able to counter a heavy attack from a weakened enemy successfully, you will punch and/or kick your enemy violently enough to daze him and cause him to drop to the ground. Before he falls, you have two options, hit the attack button which results in a instant kill move or press the step button which results in breaking his legs, this is known as a "Torture Kill."
(Hints) Heavy attacks are far more difficult for enemies to counter then light attacks, use light attacks after performing a dodge (once skill is acquired) and heavy attacks while in main combat. "Note" The short blade/dagger can only perform light attacks, so either use it against weaker enemies or keep the same enemy under constant barrage without switching targets, thus keeping him from recovering.
Those are the "standard" type of guard which can be found almost everywhere on the ground. However, they use a large variety of swords, as well as with maces and war hammers. These regular troops are divided into three ranks themselves: Militia, Elite and Leaders.
Thugs are people hired by Vieri de' Pazzi to attack Ezio. While not officially or technically guards, they function in a remarkably similar manner. They will attack Ezio even if he is Incognito, and fight only with fists, making them the easiest to counter. Also, they will notice Ezio much more easily then other guards do. After assassinating Uberto Alberti, they can no longer be found in game, except for in the Courier mission 'Casanova'.
Militia is the weakest rank. They wear little armor, and can be easily killed (with one counter-kill). They are also the most easily frightened during combat, so if they are losing battles, they are the first ones to flee.
Elite guards are stronger, wear a moderate amount of armor, and need 2-3 counter-kills to be defeated. Elites are also more courageous than Militias, although if you kill their leader, they will still retreat.
Leaders are the best fighters and most tenacious of all the regular soldiers. They wear slightly more armor than their Elite counterparts. The Leaders will last slightly longer than Elites during Ezio's counter-attacks. They also hardly give up their weapons, making them harder to disarm than the others. Also, like Brutes, Leader guards cannot be grabbed very easily.
The Regular Guards are not especially agile, but can climb up to the rooftops in order to follow Ezio (though are not as fast as him). Also, they can recognize Ezio sitting on a bench, but can be assassinated before they recognize him and spread word of his presence.
Hints
In Assassins Creed II The sword can no longer perform heavy attacks, making you more vulnerable to counter attacks. This also means that the ability to counter a heavy attack and perform a "Torture kill" is no longer existent, as well as the ability for enemies to perform combo attacks. Your shortblade/dagger, however, cannot be countered.
In Assassins Creed II Enemies no longer try to grab you, which means you no longer possess the grab break skill. However, leaders and occasionally elites can break your grab attacks.
In Assassin's Creed II both you and enemies no longer posses the defense break skill, making it harder to land a direct blow at times.
When a group of guards form a barricade when you are in open conflict, you can attempt to tackle them. When you do this the guard you tried to tackled will move out of the way allowing you to surpass the barricade.
Seekers
The Seekers, also called "Paranoid", are one of the new special guard types. They are constantly looking in hiding spots (such as the haystacks, benches, and crowds) and checking them (although Ezio can assassinate the seeker from his hiding spot if this happens). They are armed with long weapons, giving them an increased reach in combat and can also perform "Sweep attacks" which require a wind up and results in them sweeping Ezio off his feet and onto the ground. This attack affects anyone in range of the long weapon, including fellow guards. The Long weapons main attacks cannot be countered with a sword or short blade/dagger, however it can be countered with the Hidden Blade, another long weapon/Polearm or a Heavy Weapon. Seekers, like most of the other guards, wear armor. They wear slightly more armor than a Leader-ranked Standard, but not as much as a Brute. When unarmed, they will occasionally approach Ezio from behind and then hold him while the other guards assault him. Disarming the Seeker will give you an advantage, as you can effectively use his own weapon against him. They also have a morale rate of 80% which makes them the second bravest fighter after the Brute.
Agiles
One of the new guard archetypes introduced in Assassin's Creed II is the Agile, which, as the name suggests, are a very fast, light enemy. These guards are more fragile than Militia-Ranked Standards, making them very weak to a combo attack. They run faster than Ezio and also have the Free Run ability, which can lead to chase sequences. They wield small weapons such as daggers and other short blades. Agiles are extremely good at dodging your attacks, thus the best way to kill an Agile is by tiring him out or assassinating them before they have a chance to reveal their weapon. This can be done by constantly attacking and dodging his moves, however, simply countering an attack performed by the Agile results in a instant kill, just as with the Militia. Agiles have a morale rate of 40% which makes them the third-most cowardice after the militia guard and the archer.
(Hint: While fleeing from a fight, agiles can quickly catch up to you and attack you. To avoid this jump while running when you see an agile catching up to you. When you jump the agile will stop and attack you and miss letting you get away.)
Brutes
The Brutes are heavily armored and equipped (wielding two-handed weapons such as heavy swords and axes). Their armor covers almost every part of their bodies, making them tough to bring down, but also making them cumbersome and slow. They are not very intelligent, and won't be able to tell Ezio from anyone else in a crowd. When deflecting a short weapon, they will not take damage (while all other guards do), but can still be damaged with a counter. A good way to make short work of them is to disarm them and counterattack, as they are very easy to disarm. Brutes have two types of attack: one quick, and one that begins with a wind-up. The latter attack cannot be countered, and must be dodged, while the former can be countered. You must possess a Brute's weapon to counter the wind-up attacks of another Brute. Also the Brutes are the only type of enemy that won't flee a battle, they will only run away if you disarm their weapon and if they cannot find another one. Your best bet in taking out a Brute is by assassination. When facing multiple guards who are unaware of your presence, killing the brute first is a good idea, unless you want to be caught in a long fight.
Archers
The Archers are guards that patrol and defend the rooftops. They are armed with bows and swords (sometimes maces or war hammers instead of swords), and warn Ezio on sight to leave the place, no matter the notoriety. Approaching them will force them to draw their weapon and commence a fight. Archers are seemingly just Militia-ranked Standards, with the capability of attacking at a distance with their longbows. However, the Archers in the Vatican are Leader-ranked Standards. While Florentine and Tuscan Archers can be killed with a single Throwing Knife, archers in the other cities and regions (such as Venice and Romagna) will need two Throwing Knives to be taken down. Since they are almost always on the rooftops on buildings, Archers are fairly easy to dispatch in melee combat, as they have the skill and hardiness of a Militia-ranked standard, making them easy to kill. Another good way to dispatch them is to simply throw them off the roof, which will instantly kill the Archer if they fall more than two stories or if they land in water. The archers also have a morale rate of 30% which makes them a little braver than the average guard.
Abstergo Guards
The Abstergo Guards are first encountered when escaping from the Abstergo Building with Lucy. They are armed with asps which can be can be disarmed for your own use. They are quite weak to fight and are easily dispatched even when in larger numbers. As you cannot be killed when playing as Desmond, they can be killed even easier. If you have problems defeating them, Lucy will also be fighting so you can leave them to her. They will never run away from a battle and will fight to the death or until they are unconscious.
Coloring
The coloring of the guards uniforms can identify whom they serve in the game, whether it be a city or a person.
Black caps and red sleeves means they serve the Pazzi family (these guards disappear after sequence 5). They are found in Florence and Tuscany.
Dark red caps and black sleeves with red going down the side means they serve Borgia (these guards usually guard codex pages and appear whenever you encounter Borgia out of Rome). They can be found at the north strip of Venice.
Dark yellow caps and sleeves with black armor plates means they serve the Medici (they first appear helping you fight the Pazzi during sequence 4). They are found in Florence and San Gimignano
Green caps and sleeves means they serve the city of Forlì (they help you in sequence 12). They are found only in Forlì.
Blue caps and sleeves with gold armor plates means they serve the city of Venice (they have much better armor than any other guard in the regular game). They are only found in Venice.
Black caps, sleeves, and armor plates means they serve Savonarola (they only appear in sequence 13, are as heavily protected as Venetian guards, and can be seen fighting Borgia guards throughout the city).
White caps with red and white sleeves means that they serve Rome (they can only be seen in sequence 14 in Rome, they are the most heavily protected guards in the game).
In addition to the guards of Assassin's Creed II, there are several new guard types to reflect the changing location and time period. Guards will also be more aggressive and will have new moves of their own, such as being able to grab Ezio, but you can easliy counter this by flipping them to the ground.
Compared to Assassin's Creed II, there are no longer Elite-ranked Regular guards, only Militia or Leaders, and both Militia and Seekers now have the ability to throw sand at Ezio.
Crossbowmen
Similarly to archers, Crossbowmen patrol and defend the rooftops but are more deadly, crossbow bolts causing more damage and hitting Ezio faster than arrows fired from a longbow. Unlike the Archers from Assassin's Creed II, the Crossbowmen have no melee weapon and if closed in on will walk backwards to create distance. However, compared to the Archers they have increased free-running ability and if investigating they will leap over towards where they detected Ezio.
Guard archetypes in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Horsemen
Horsemen patrol the streets of Rome and are deadly in both short and long range being able to slash Ezio while on a horseback and try and hit Ezio with the arrows in their Crossbow.
Amongst the Regular guards, the armored ones will sometimes mount horses and act as Horsemen, but only those that spawn "as" Horsemen (already on horseback) count towards the Guild Challenges.
The Papal Guard are elite soldiers commanded by the Papacy to serve and protect the pontiff during his tenure. The armor worn by these guards seem largely ceremonial in design. Although it seemed to serve its purpose well enough, it was unable to stop the blade of the Assassins. They also combine the best qualities of all the other guards;including a small pistol they weild with their sword at the same time.
By 1503, the Papal Guard protected Pope Alexander VI, and were commanded by the Pope's son – Cesare Borgia. During that year, several guards were forced to confront several Assassins, including Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who had attacked the Papal parade in Rome. When Ezio is wielding the apple of eden and forces guards to fight eachother, these guards can actually kill others but take a long amount of time to kill eachother.
On very rare occasions, masked thieves will attack Ezio in addition to the guards. In appearance, they wear hats similar to that of the milita, clothes of a civilian or thief, and a bandanna over their faces. They attack with small daggers. They cannot be seen or picked out of a crowd, as they appear to jump into the battle randomly to support their Papal overlords. They each carry large amounts of money and a trade item, similarly to a Borgia Courier or a pickpocket.[1]
French Soldiers
Up until after Sequence 6 after the French general Octavian de Valois is killed by Ezio French guards will appear in the Campagna district in Rome. They are stationed in military camps throughout the Campagna district, the small camps consist of ten soldiers guarding their territory. The main French camp is the most heavily guarded and is were Octavian was located before his death. French soldiers will behave exactly the as Borgia guards in combat, patrols and ranking, but they are coloured a dark blue instead of the Borgia red.
Viana Guards
Viana guards only appear in Sequence 9 during the Siege of Viana they will engage Ezio in a fight if he is see, or they will either attack the invading soldiers of King John's army. These guards act the same in combat patroling and ranking, they are coloured green.
Navarre Soldiers
These guards serve King John III of Navarre and only appear in Sequence 9 at Viana under the command of Cesare Borgia trying to retake the Viana Castle from the Count of Lerin. These guards will attack Ezio on sight or fight Viana guards. They behave exactly the same as any other guards in the game with combat, ranking and patrols. They are coloured red and yellow.
Taunts
The following are examples of taunts that Ezio uses to anger the guards:
"It's a fight, fesso (fool)! Start fighting for a change!"
"Come now! You bore me!"
"Are you afraid?!"
"Bring it on!"
"Your mamma cannot even save you now!"
"Hurry up! I need to meet a lady, friend!"
"Shall we dance?"
"I hate these awkward moments!"
"Can you hear me in there, metal man?" (said to Brutes occasionally)
"Come on you fat pig" (only said to Brutes)
Trivia
The quickest way to defeat any guard is to counter kill with the hidden blade. This requires reflexes and timing, however, as the counter kill window is only a fraction of that of a sword or dagger.
The Militia Guards resemble the Swiss Guard in appearance, due to their similar caps, swords and clothes, though in different colors.
The amount of counter attacks needed to kill a guard does not affect counter kills with heavy weapons, long weapons or the hidden blade. For all of these, the guard being countered is unable to block or parry.
In Assassin's Creed II the taunts Ezio says to brutes are different from the taunts he says to the other guards, mainly insulting them about their weight. For example, the taunt, "Well, you're certainty well fed!"
Strangely, in the mission "Play Along," Ezio assassinates an Agile so he can disguise himself as a guard, but instead of having an Agile's outfit, he wears the outfit of a Leader guard.
In PlayStation home, you can purchase the design of a Seeker for your avatar, which also comes with a spear.
On Xbox Live, you can purchase the outfit of one of the Militia guards.
Strangely, in the cut scene where Ezio's Flying Machine crashes on the Doge's Palace in Venice, you can see a Brute and a Seeker stationed on the rooftop.
In Florence, Borgia guards are often seen guarding treasure. If you go up to them and start a fight, then run into a group of Medici guards, the two groups will start fighting each other, making this an effective escape tactic. The Borgia guards will nearly always win, unless there is a massive number of Medici guards fighting them. After the fight, they will then return to guard the treasure (Borgia) or patrol the city (Medici).
In the mission "Clothes Make The Man", Ugo tells Ezio that the thieves are to impersonate the archers. Yet in the next mission "Everything Must Go", after Ezio kills the archers on the rooftops, the thieves wear the armor of Leader guards instead of archer armor.
A Brute
An Archer
Ezio throwing an Axe at a Brute
