Arquebusier

An arquebusier was a soldier armed with a long firearm called an arquebus. Similar to archers and crossbowmen, they patrolled rooftops, protected high-profile locations, and guarded noteworthy targets.

Though arquebusiers did not have as great a range as crossbowmen, what they lacked in distance, they made up for in power. Their shots dealt significant damage to targets and enemy armor.

Characteristics[edit | edit source]

Like crossbowmen, arquebusiers did not carry melee weapons to supplement their long-ranged attacks. Instead, they would only back away and resume shooting if engaged at close quarters, using the arquebus itself to block melee attacks.^[1]

Aside from their firearms, arquebusiers carried several bags across their belts, likely containing gunpowder and lead projectiles to serve as ammunition.^[1]

Like all other guards, the color of their uniform indicated their allegiances; with red signifying them as soldiers working for the Borgia, blue for France, and yellowish-green for Viana.^[1]

History[edit | edit source]

Italy[edit | edit source]

By 1500, arquebusiers served the Papacy and supported Cesare Borgia's forces during the Siege of Monteriggioni. A contingent of them was able to seriously wound Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the shoulder and abdomen, tipping the attack in their favor.^[2]

Throughout Rome in the 16th century, arquebusiers could be found guarding Borgia towers, as well as rooftops around the Pantheon and Castra Praetoria. They could also be seen patrolling the streets of the Antico or Campagna Districts in pairs.^[1]

Around 1503, Baltasar de Silva organized a division of arquebusiers as an ambush. He lured the traitor Fiora Cavazza into a warehouse, in which the arquebusiers were hidden; however, a team of Assassins was able to shoot down the enemies and rescue her.^[3]

Later that year, a number of French arquebusiers under Charles de la Motte were key factors in a trap set by Charles and Cesare Borgia for the Assassins of Rome. Though the Assassin apprentice team of Francesco Vecellio was able to kill several arquebusiers with bows, this broke their cover and led to them being overwhelmed by the combined Templar forces.^[4]

Though the Assassin team escaped to the roof of an inn, another contingent of arquebusiers surrounded and fired upon them from nearby buildings, wiping virtually all of them out.^[4]

Ottoman Empire[edit | edit source]

Arquebusiers continued to be used by the Templar forces around 1511. Leandros made use of them as protection in a stronghold near Masyaf, while the Byzantines used them to protect any Assassin Dens they captured in Constantinople, as well as the rooftops of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia. The Ottomans also employed their own arquebusiers, who patrolled the rooftops of Constantinople.^[5]

Unlike in earlier years, other than patrolling rooftops, arquebusiers also stationed themselves in reinforced outposts, which protected them from close-range or melee attacks. However, they were still vulnerable to ranged weapons.^[5]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

Arquebusiers are an enemy archetype introduced in the 2010 video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood who, alongside the crossbowmen, replace the archers featured in Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II. Unlike the crossbowmen and similarly to Papal Guards and Brutes, they are rarely encountered outside of story missions. The arquebusiers act as a precursor to snipers, who would feature in almost all of the series' games set during or after the 18th century.

Arquebusiers, alongside crossbowmen, are the only guard archetypes in Brotherhood whose weapons cannot be picked up by Ezio, as they will disappear shortly after moving out of the camera's view.

In Brotherhood's cinematic E3 trailer, an arquebusier can be seen taking aim at Ezio before being dispatched by an Assassin apprentice. This arquebusier wears the uniform of a regular militia instead of the unique armor worn by arquebusiers in the game.

In the memory "Hell on Wheels", several arquebusiers erroneously use the character model for Agiles. Strangely, if the guards manage to shoot Ezio's tank, the vehicle will receive no damage and the guards will flee as Ezio approaches them.