Brute

Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of this painting.

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"Well, you're certainly well-fed!"

―Ezio Auditore insulting Brutes.^[src]

Brutes were heavily-armored guards employed by various cities and states in Italy during the Renaissance. They were fierce soldiers armed with intimidating heavy weapons and donned with many layers of resilient plate armor.

Characteristics and skills[edit | edit source]

Brutes were armed with various heavy weaponry such as bearded axes and bastard swords, allowing them to deliver a devastating blow to their opponents. They were additionally equipped with multiple layers of plate armor, which easily allowed them to withstand multiple attacks. This also caused them to be quite fearless and would rarely flee the battle unless they were disarmed and unable to find an alternative weapon.^[1]^[2]

Despite their intimidating armor and heavy weaponry, this was also their most prominent weakness, as their equipment greatly hindered their agility. This allowed a skilled Assassin to easily evade their attacks and retaliate. Because of their heavy armor, Brutes were also unable to perform any type of freerunning.^[1]^[2]

Brutes were trained to perform two forms of attack techniques, in which they raised their weapons overhead and struck downward into their opponent's guard, effectively breaking their defenses. Another variant was the disarm attack, in which they held their weapon prominently behind their back, before swinging into their opponent's weapon hand, disarming them in the process.^[1]^[2]

Brutes employed by the Borgia in Rome were generally better trained than those found in other cities during the Renaissance, being much deadlier with their attacks, and were also equipped with higher-quality armors and weapons.^[2]

With the advent of firearms, Brutes gradually became obsolete, as their heavy layers of armor provided little protection from bullets. A skilled Assassin like Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who had mastered the Hidden Gun, could aim for the weak spots in their armor, dealing heavy damage to Brutes or even outright killing them with a single shot.^[1]^[2]

Weaponry[edit | edit source]

Name	Damage	Speed	Deflect
Bastard Sword	3	4	3
Bearded Axe	4	3	4
Labrys	5	3	3

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

Brutes are an enemy archetype featured in the 2009 video game Assassin's Creed II and its 2010 sequel, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. While they are exclusive to these two games, most of the later instalments in the series would feature similar archetypes, including the Almogavars in Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the Grenadiers in Assassin's Creed III, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and Assassin's Creed: Rogue, and the Hypaspists in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.

Assassin's Creed II

Several enemies in Assassin's Creed II behave similarly to Brutes in combat, including Francesco Salviati in the memory "Behind Closed Doors", and Dante Moro in the memory "Two Birds, One Blade". Bartolomeo d'Alviano and all mercenaries that can be hired by Ezio also fight like Brutes.

During combat, Ezio can use certain taunts that are specific to Brutes, usually insulting their weight and equipment. Among them are: "Can you even hear me in there?!", "Well, you're certainly well-fed!", "That looks heavy!", "Fatti sotto, porco! (Come on, pig!)", and "Ehi, grassone! (Hey, fatty!)"

In the memory "Infrequent Flier", during the cutscene where Ezio abandons a burning Flying Machine, a Brute and a Seeker can be seen on the roof of the Palazzo Ducale. Strangely, these are the only two guard archetypes that cannot freerun or climb.

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery

Guard captains in Assassin's Creed II: Discovery possess the same appearance as Brutes and are armed with greatswords. However, unlike Brutes, they are extremely fast and can pull Ezio down if he attempts to scale a wall.

A Templar spy encountered in the memory "Assassinate the Templar Spy" also resembles a Brute.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Borgia Brutes are noticeably rarer than those encountered in Assassin's Creed II, with French Army Brutes being more common. They are mostly found in French camps throughout Rome until the completion of Sequence 6. Beginning with Sequence 7, they can be found in just one location: a guard post south of the Terme di Caracalla. In this game, Brutes can be disarmed when they are taunted.

All Borgia Brutes wear frog-mouth helms. Historically, these helms were used primarily for jousting rather than on the battlefield because of their extremely limited field of view.

Similarly to Assassin's Creed II, certain mission-specific enemies fight like Brutes, including Il Carnefice in "Well Executed", and Auguste Oberlin in "Counter-Propaganda". Some Papal Guards equipped with heavy weapons also behave similarly to Brutes in combat.