Soldier

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Five guard types; the Agile, Archer, Brute, Militia, and Seeker.

Guards were members of either a local militia, or an organized military force. They were usually assigned to defend or control access to locations of interest, or protect certain individuals.

The colors and style of their uniform varied over time, as well as denoted their military rank, allegiance, and combat specialization.

Factions

High Middle Ages

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Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad fleeing several of King Richard's guards.

During the Third Crusade, soldiers wore the armor and colors of either Saracens or Crusaders, with the latter subdivided into the personal guards of King Richard I of England, or the Knights Templar, Hospitalier, and Teutonic.

Saracens spoke Turkish or Arabic, while Crusaders spoke mostly English, with some Captains and Sergeants speaking French or German. Templar Knights, however, spoke all of the dialects.

Saracens wore Lamellar armor, and either spangenhelms or turbans. All Crusaders wore surcoats and chainmail, while some also wore spangenhelms or great helms.

Altaïr fighting Talal's personal guard.

The colors of Crusader surcoats differed with their affiliation, with King Richard's personal guard wearing red and white, Templars wearing white with red crosses, Hospitaliers wearing black with white crosses, and Teutonics wearing white with black crosses.

Guards for several smaller factions or individuals possessed their own uniforms as well, such as the black, gold-striped clothes of Talal's men, or the short white robes and gray-hoods of the guards of Masyaf.

15th century

Throughout the Renaissance, multiple factions of guards existed, as they were affiliated to either individual cities or people, instead of armies. They bore unique colors, often along with the family or city crest.

Four Pazzi guards.

Guards for the House of Pazzi wore black caps, red sleeves with gold streaks, and the crest of the Pazzi. They could only be found in Florence and Tuscany, during the height of the family's influence, until the Pazzi Conspiracy.

Guards serving the House of Medici wore dark yellow caps, yellow and white striped sleeves, black armor plates, and the crest of the Medici. They were notably seen during the repression of the Pazzi Conspiracy in Florence, as well as in San Gimignano.

Guards of the House of Borgia wore dark red caps, black sleeves with dark red streaks, and the crest of the Borgia. They often accompanied Rodrigo Borgia, and could also be found in Romagna during the Templar meeting, in the Cannaregio District of Venice, or in Florence during the Bonfire of the Vanities.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze bypassing a line of Savonarola's guards.

Guards of Girolamo Savonarola wore black caps, sleeves, and armor plates. Instead of a coats of arms, they bore a small portrait of Savonarola himself, with three red beams shining down upon him. They were notably seen in Florence during the Bonfire of the Vanities, often repressing the Borgia guards attempting to take the Apple of Eden.

Guards serving the city of Forlì wore dark green caps and sleeves, as well as the crest of Caterina Sforza's family, who ruled Romagna.

Guards serving the city of Venice wore blue caps and sleeves, with gold armor plates bearing the coat of arms of Venice. The quality of their armor was significantly better than that of their counterparts in other cities, and could deflect more damage.

Guards serving the Vatican wore white caps, red and white sleeves, and the coat of arms of the city of Rome. Similarly to Venetian guards, their armor was more resilient than most.

16th century

A contingent of French soldiers.

The 16th century was characterized by several notable international wars, resulting in the clashes of guards from different countries and armies. Among these were the Liberation of Rome, Siege of Viana, and power struggle in Constantinople.

After the alliance of Cesare Borgia and the French general Octavian de Valois, French soldiers became common throughout Rome. They remained in the city, often fighting the mercenaries of the Assassin condottiero, Bartolomeo d'Alviano.

French soldiers were stationed in either the main camp, or in military guard posts throughout the Campagna District of Rome. Their uniforms were dark blue and white.

Ezio charging past Viana and Navarre soldiers.

The Siege of Viana took place between the defending Viana soldiers, and the invading Navarre troops of King John III, who were led by Cesare Borgia. Viana guard uniforms were yellowish-green, while Navarre uniforms were red and yellow.

Constantinople in this century was characterized by two distinct factions, the ruling Ottomans, and the remnants of the ancient Byzantine Empire. Though Constantinople was held and controlled by the former, guards of the latter constantly fought for control. The region of Cappadocia, particularly Derinkuyu, remained in Byzantine control.

Ottomans guarding the docks.

Ottoman guards were mostly those of the Elite rank, supplemented by Militia, Agiles, and Gunmen. The highly-esteemed Janissaries were also of this faction. On the other hand, Byzantines were made up mainly of Militia, Almogavars, Varangians, and Gunmen.

Ottoman guards wore heavy gray armor with green accents, while Byzantines wore small gray capes, and dark red and white uniforms. The latter guards also distinctly wore the black eagle crest of the Byzantine Empire's Palaiologos Dynasty.

Ranking

High Middle Ages

"Hashshashin!"

―A Saracen guard, upon seeing Altaïr.

During the course of the Middle-Ages, there were two main types of guards: Soldiers and Archers. The archers were mostly similar, while there were three ranks of soldiers, all of whom were armed with swords of varying styles.

The ordinary Crusaders spoke English, Crusader Captains and Sergeants spoke French or German, Saracens spoke Turkish or Arabic, and the Templar Knights spoke all of the dialects (but only spoke Arabic in Altaïr's fight against Robert's imposter).

The following were the different guard ranks, as well as certain special types of guards:

Regular Guards

Regular Crusaders didn't wear helmets (Saracens wore turbans) and were only equipped with leather armor or light lamellar armor. They weren't able to grab or break a grab, couldn't combo attack and couldn't counter attack. They could only deflect attacks, with a 25% chance of dodging a light attack. Archers were on par with ordinary guards, except that they were only found on rooftops, wore a hood and used bows for ranged attacks.

Guard Sergeants

File:AC guard sergeant.jpg

Altaïr attacking a Crusader Guard Sergeant.

Sergeants were equipped with helmets, with the Crusaders wearing chain mail tabards and the Saracens possessing medium lamellar armor. They could grab and had a 50% chance of breaking a grab attack, as well as a 50% chance of countering or dodging a light attack. They also had a 25% chance of breaking defenses, but could not perform combo attacks.

Guard Captains

Captains were the most powerful guards besides the Templar Knights. Saracens wore Baidah helmets and heavy lamellar armor while Crusaders wore chain mail tabards with surcoats, chain mail mittens and varying knight helms. They were also able to grab and had a 75% chance of breaking a grab attack, as well as countering or dodging a light attack. They also had a 50% chance of breaking defenses. If a successful heavy attack was delivered, they could perform a combo attack.

15th Century

"Assassino!"

―An Italian guard, upon seeing Ezio.

There were several types of guards during the Renaissance:

Regular Guards

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Ezio attacking a Militia and Elite guard in Florence.

Regular guards were found almost everywhere on the ground and wielded a large variety of swords, maces and war hammers. They were further subdivided into three ranks: Militia, Elite and Leaders. They were not especially agile, but could climb up to the rooftops, albeit slowly, in order to follow Ezio. Also, they could recognize Ezio while he was sitting on a bench.

Militia

Militia were the lowest ranking guards and wore very little armor (only needed one counter-kill from any weapon to defeat). They also had the lowest morale and were likely to be the first to flee a battle if they were losing. Also, they were the only guard archetype to pick up money thrown by Ezio.

Elites

Elites were stronger, wore a moderate amount of armor (needed 2-3 counter-kills from medium weapons to defeat) and were capable of dodging Ezio's attacks. Elites were also more courageous than the Militia, but could still be forced to retreat, especially if their Leader was killed.

Leaders

Leaders were the best fighters and the most tenacious of all the regular guards. They wore slightly more armor than the Elites (needed 3-4 counter-kills from medium weapons to defeat) and were harder to disarm than the others. Also, like Brutes, Leaders were resistant to being grabbed.

16th Century

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Ezio fighting two Borgia Captains and two Seekers in Rome.

In addition to the guards of the 15th century, there were several new guard types to reflect the changing location and time period. Guards were also more aggressive and had new moves of their own, such as being able to grab Ezio.

Two militia Byzantines with one of their Captains, Leandros.

Compared to the previous century, there were no Elite-ranked standard guards, Brutes were harder to disarm, Seekers could not be countered with heavy weapons, Agiles were not exhausted by constant attacks and both Militia and Seekers could throw sand at Ezio.

Captains

Main article: Borgia Captains

The Borgia Captains were only found leading the guard contingent of Borgia Towers. There were only 12 of them throughout Rome, one for each Tower. They fought similarly to Leaders, but were even more heavily armored, wore a white cape with the Borgia symbol on it and could counter Ezio's attacks. However, some were "Coward" types, and would flee if they detected Ezio.

Militia

The Byzantine Templars consisted mainly of Militia, who carried a large variety of weaponry, including swords, maces and axes. They had slightly different clothing depending on their rank, such as some having longer robes, capes or different helmets.

Ranged types

Archers

Main article: Archers

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Ezio pulling an archer from a rooftop in Venice.

Archers were guards that patrolled and defended the rooftops. They were armed with long-ranged bows and a large variety of swords, maces and war hammers, and would always be suspicious of Ezio, regardless of his social status.

Getting close to an archer forced him to drop his bow and to draw his medium weapon. Most archers were equivalent to Militia-ranked regular guards in melee (higher ranked versions were present in assassination contracts and the Vatican), with only the additional capability of attacking at a distance with their longbows, however, their arrows were very slow and easy to dodge. They also had a morale rate of 30%, which made them slightly braver than Militia.

Since they were almost always on the rooftops of buildings, Archers were fairly easy to dispatch in melee combat. Another good way to dispatch them was to simply throw them off the roof, resulting in an instant kill if they fell from more than two stories or if they landed in water.

Crossbowmen

Main article: Crossbowmen

Similarly to archers, Crossbowmen patrolled and defended the rooftops, but were more deadly; crossbow bolts caused more damage and were more accurate. Unlike archers, Crossbowmen had no melee weapon and if their enemy closed, would start walking backwards to create some distance. They had increased free-running ability and if investigating, could leap over towards where they had detected Ezio.

Arquebusiers

Main article: Arquebusiers

A line of arquebusiers.

The Arquebusiers (also called Gunmen or Riflemen) were firearm-wielding soldiers who served and protected the pontiff during their tenure. They acted similarly to Crossbowmen, but used more powerful but shorter-ranged rifles. They were usually found on the rooftops near the Pantheon or patrolling in pairs near Guard Posts.

Bombmen

Bombmen commonly guarded rooftops in high traffic areas, such as the docks, arsenal, and harbor. They would also participate in the protection of dens, and would attack from the safety of reinforced sentry boxes. They were equipped with short blades and Thunder Bombs.

Specialized types

Agiles

Main article: Agile guards

Agiles were a very fast and light guard archetype. They could run faster than Ezio and also had adept Free Running abilities. They wielded short blades and were extremely good at dodging attacks, but could become tired should Ezio constantly attack them and dodge their attacks, causing them to dodge less.

They wore the least armor of any guard archetype (only needed one counter-kill from any weapon to defeat), rendering them very easy to kill should they become unable to dodge. Agiles have a morale rate of 40%, which makes them the third-most cowardly after Militia and archers.

Brutes

Main article: Brutes

Ezio throwing an axe at a Brute.

Brutes were both heavily armored and equipped, wielding two-handed weapons such as heavy swords and axes. Their armor covered almost every part of their bodies, which made them difficult to bring down, but also made them cumbersome and slow (they had the lowest running speed of all the guard archetypes and could not free run or climb). They were not very intelligent and could not distinguish Ezio from anyone else in a crowd.

They could use the "Smash" special attack, indicated by a wind-up where their weapon is raised overhead, which knocks down anyone hit by it, including fellow guards. They also used the "Disarm Smash" special attack, indicated by a wind-up where their weapon is drawn back horizontally, which knocked away any weapon Ezio was wielding. Both could not be deflected or countered, and had to be dodged.

Brutes did not take damage when deflecting a short blade or medium weapon (while all other guards do), but can still be damaged with a counter (from the Hidden Blade, a Long Weapon or another Heavy Weapon only). They were very easily disarmed. Also, they had the highest morale of any guard archetype and only fled if they were disarmed and could not obtain another weapon.

Seekers

Main article: Seekers

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Ezio swimming towards a Seeker.

Seekers, also called "Paranoid Guards", were constantly checking hiding spots (such as the haystacks, benches, crowds and wells) for Ezio's presence, regardless of his social status.

They were armed with long weapons, giving them an increased reach. The long weapon's main attacks could only be countered with the Hidden Blade, another Long Weapon or a Heavy Weapon. They could also perform "Sweep Attacks", which required a wind up and resulted in them sweeping Ezio off his feet. This attack affected anyone in range of the long weapon, including fellow guards.

They wore slightly more armor than a Leader-ranked regular guard, but not as much as a Brute, and were easily disarmed. When unarmed, they occasionally approached Ezio from behind and then would grab him while the other guards continued to attack. They also had a morale rate of 80%, which made them the second bravest fighter after the Brute.

Horsemen

Main article: Horsemen

A horseman dueling Ezio.

Horsemen patrolled the streets of Rome and were deadly at both short and long range, being able to slash at Ezio while on horseback. They could also shoot Ezio with their crossbow, or in some cases, their throwing knives, if he attempted to flee.

Leader-ranked regular guards sometimes mounted horses and acted as Horsemen, but only those that spawned as Horsemen (already on horseback) count towards the Guild Challenges.

The easiest way to kill a horseman was to take a long or heavy weapon and counter attack, or use a spear's special attack; usually this resulted in them being pulled off the horse, where it's easier to finish them off. Otherwise a ranged or thrown weapon would kill them while on the horse.

Almogavars

Main article: Almogavars

Ezio aiming at a group of Almogavars.

The Almogavars were comparable to the Brutes in Italy. They fought with heavy weapons, were rather slow compared to other enemies, and wore thick armor. They were resistant to being grabbed like their Italian counterparts, but very vulnerable to the effects of Datura Bombs.

Varangians

Main article: Varangians

The Varangians were the equivalent of Seekers in Italy, as they fought with halberds and spears. They also wielded pistols that they could use when disarmed or when Ezio was out of their reach.

Expert types

Templar Knights

Main article: Templars

Altaïr charging down a Templar knight.

Templar Knights were a special variation of guard, of which only 60 could be found throughout the Kingdom and its cities. They were similar to the Crusader Guard Captain, but with higher stats and unique armor, including helmets that were always bloodstained. They also always provoked a fight if they spotted Altaïr, regardless of his social status. If they were present, ordinary guards would always stand back while Altaïr and the Templar Knights engaged each other.

Strangely enough, Templar Knights were present in many places where it would have been unlikely for them to have been, including mountain paths and Saracen-controlled cities such as Jerusalem. They were typically located in front of chests, making it difficult to assassinate them from behind.

In the Xbox 360 version of the game, killing all 60 Templar Knights will award the player the 'Personal Vendetta (40G)' achievement.

Papal Guards

Main article: Papal Guard

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Four members of the Papal Guard.

The Papal Guard were elite soldiers commanded by the Papacy to serve and protect the pontiff during his tenure. The armor worn by these guards was quite heavy, but did not affect their movement (they had the same movement speed and free-run ability as Agiles).

They combined the best qualities of all the other guard archetypes and were also able to dual-wield a pistol alongside a medium weapon, though they could not do so with a long or heavy weapon.

Janissaries

Main article: Janissaries

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Four Janissaries.

Elite soldiers and guards to the Sultan, Ottoman Janissaries were highly trained soldiers. During the early 16th century, Ottoman Janissaries wore golden masks covering all of their face.

Their uniform consisted of colorful robes with many patterns embroidered on them. Janissaries also wore hats over their masks.

Trivia

An image gallery is available for Guards

• The amount of counter attacks needed to kill a guard does not apply to counters with heavy weapons, long weapons, or the hidden blade. For all of these, the guard being countered is unable to block or parry.
• Several other guard archetype are present only in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines and Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles, such as Shield Guards, Duelists, and unnamed robed guards wielding maces.
• 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 an Agile.

Assassin's Creed II

• In Assassin's Creed II, the taunts Ezio says to Brutes are different from those he says to the other guards, mainly insulting them about their weight.
• In the memory "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.
• In the memory "Infrequent Flier", a Brute and a Seeker can be seen stationed on the rooftop, despite being the only guards who cannot climb or free run.
• In the memory "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.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

• In the memory "French Kiss", Ezio kills twenty French guards of different archetypes. However, in "Trojan Horse" (the following memory), the mercenaries are equipped with only Leader armor, while Ezio wears one similar to a Borgia Captain (albeit in French colors, despite the fact that no such guard was ever encountered).
• In Brotherhood, an extremely rare glitch occurs with a group of four guards. They will stand in place and will not pay any attention to you, even if you kill someone nearby. You are free to attack them, in which case an execution will be performed, but it will not kill them. Instead they will simply stand back up. This glitch usually ends in the game freezing, and has a danger of crashing the entire console system.