Abilities:
Unlock the following abilities by performing the corresponding tasks:
ABILITY : HOW TO UNLOCK
Climb Leap Ability - Beat Rosa's mission "Monkey See, Monkey Do" in Sequence 7. This allows you to jump further while climbing.
Disarm Combat Technique - Beat Mario's "Evasive Maneuvers" mission in Sequence 5. This allows you to counter heavier attacks.
Equipment:
Unlock the following equipment by performing the corresponding tasks:
EQUIPMENT : HOW TO UNLOCK
Condottiero War Hammer - Collect 50 hidden feathers. It will become available in the blacksmith's shop in the Villa Monteriggioni.
Auditore Cape - Collect 100 hidden feathers and talk to Mario in the Villa Monteriggioni.
Feathers:
Feathers are usually found on rooftops. Walk around the rooftops and turn on eagle vision to spot them.
Medicine and throwing knives:
You can obtain free medicines and throwing knifes by looting bodies or pick-pocketing people.
Get axes/spears back:
To get your axe or spear back from a dead body, pick up the body and drop it.
Glyph locations and puzzle solutions:
Find the Glyphs in the following locations by using Eagle Vision. Solve them by performing the corresponding tasks:
TRUTH FILE : LOCATION/HOW TO SOLVE
The Truth File 1 - Located on the roof's wall at Santa Croce. To solve the puzzle, choose the apple paintings.
The Truth File 2 - Located on the roof's wall at Ospedale Degli Innocenti. To solve the puzzle, rotate the circular puzzle pieces from smallest to largest.
The Truth File 3 - Located on the roof's wall at La Rosa Colta. To solve the puzzle, highlight the circular objects in the photos.
The Truth File 4 - Located on a wall at Villa Auditore; hang from the roof to see it. To solve the puzzle, take the hints literally.
The Truth File 5 - Located in the lower level of Santa Maria Assunta on a wall near some pillars. To solve the puzzle, choose the sword paintings.
The Truth File 6 - Located on the roof's wall at Torri Dei Salvucci. To solve the puzzle, rotate the circular puzzle pieces from smallest to largest.
The Truth File 7 - Located on the roof's wall at Torre Del Diavolo. To solve the puzzle, choose the red paintings.
The Truth File 8 - Located on the roof's wall at San Lorenzo. To solve the puzzle, find the Pieces Of Eden and then put the flame over Joan on the world map. Lastly, move Rasputin's photo above Czar Nicholas II's photo.
The Truth File 9 - Located on the roof's wall at Mercato Vecchio. To solve the puzzle, take the hints literally.
The Truth File 10 - Located on the roof's wall at Monte Oliveto Maggiore. To solve the puzzle, don't look for the Eagle Apollo Lander on the moon. Rotate the puzzle layers from the inside out until they are aligned.
The Truth File 11 - Located on the floor and under a stone arch at Antico Teatro Romano. To solve the puzzle, highlight the light bulbs, then highlight the middle of the photo above the doorway, and finally highlight Nikola Tesla's lap.
The Truth File 12 - Located on the roof's wall at Abbazia Di San Mercuriale. To solve the puzzle, align the red 4 with gray 1 on the wheel and enter the corresponding code. Then, turn off the globe's lights. Select the orb in the middle of the photo. Line up the wheel as: 1=II, 2=III, 3=I.
The Truth File 13 - Located on Avamposto Veneziano. Climb the base lookout tower and you will see it on the stone walling. To solve the puzzle align the wheel as: 5=circle, square, square; 2=circle; 3=triangle. After that, press the red button. The final part you will find near the left-middle bottom of the letter.
The Truth File 14 - Located on a wall near the edge of the water under the Pointe Di Rialto bridge. To solve the puzzle, choose the painting with Cupid, Europa, Jupiter, Swan, and Zeus.
The Truth File 15 - Located on the roof of a taller wall and above a wooden hatch at Gilda Dei Ladri Di Venezia. To solve the puzzle, connect the layers as: 1 to 6, middle two, and 4 to 5.
The Truth File 16 - Located on the floor of the Campanile Di San Marco bell tower. To solve the puzzle, answer it as follows: Naples, Alaska, Greece, and Tunguska. Then, go to the staff, and stab the photo with it.
The Truth File 17 - Located on the floor of the Torre Dell 'Orologio. To solve the puzzle, align the wheel as: 7=broken square, 9=six-sided hourglass, 1=square with smaller square inside of it.
The Truth File 18 - Located of the roof's wall at San Pietro Di Castello. To solve the puzzle, align the wheel as: 6=M or YYY, 0=Chalice symbol, 3=<. Then, move the symbol over the blood vessels.
The Truth File 19 - Located on one of the wall with a rounded top at Scuola Grande Di San Marco. To solve the puzzle, choose the Aztec Calendar, Easter Gate, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Nazca Textile, and Book Of The Dead paintings. Then, find the part of the sun photo with the most radiation and ID it.
The Truth File 20 - Located on the roof with a fire nearby on a wall at the side of San Giacomo Di Rialto. To solve the puzzle, work from the inside out. The second inner layer and fifth outer layer are not connected. ID the sun. Line up the code wheel in any alignment to complete it. In this puzzle, you can change the skeleton from a monkey to a human by placing the cursor over the bones.
Shop renovations:
You will increase the Villa's value and receive special discounts by renovating any of the five shops located in the Villa. Each shop has three renovation levels. The blacksmith and doctor are available at the beginning of the game. The following is how much each of the three renovation levels cost for each shop.
SHOP : RENOVATION LEVELS COST
Ant Merchant - 1,000, 5,000, 8,000 Florins.
Bank - 1,500, 5,000, 9,000 Florins.
Blacksmith: First renovation already available, 7,000, 12,000 Florins.
Doctor - First renovation already available, 3,000, 5,000 Florins.
Tailor - 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 Florins.
Lower Notoriety:
If you're close to getting a "Notorious" rating, go visit Herald and bribe him. After bribing him, steal the money back.
Defeating Archers:
Usually Archers are a little threat and more of a nuisance, but in some areas there are a lot of them scattered around. If you find yourself in a fight and at the same time there are archers shooting at you, try to break off the fight and run to an archer. This makes them drop their bow and draw their sword. The more fun approach is to position the soldiers in the archer's line of fire and have them do your dirty work and hurt the solders attacking you.
Defeating Brutes:
Brutes are the big armored soldiers. They are armed with two handed weapons such as axes and claymores. The trick to Brutes is to disarm them. Trying to reverse their moves will just result in you getting hurt if you have a weapon ready. You can take their weapons away from them and then kill them easily.
Defeating Seekers:
Seekers are soldiers with spears. The trick to Seekers is grappling them. Try to grab them first and kill them to remove that threat quickly.
Defeating Rodrigo Borgia (The Spaniard):
There are a few things you should get before you go to Rome: The Armor of Altair, The Sword of Altair (or whichever weapon you prefer), Notched Cinquedea, Metal Cestus, both knife belt upgrades (as many as possible), medium and large medicine pouches (buy as much medicine as possible), and full smoke bombs. The battle is divided into three stages. In the first stage you must assassinate him. Go down the ladder quietly. Do not jump down. Then begin blending in with everyone immediately. Go to the front, select your pistol, and lock on to Rodrigo. Hold [Action] until the thin beam appears and fire. In the second stage you must fight him. You sit back and wait for your four Dopplegangers to finish or at least weaken him, but you can also join in the fight which is much more exciting. He attacks just like a brute; just tackle him as you would a normal villain. In the third stage you must finish the job. After the cinematic, use Eagle Vision to find the switches to the vault. Follow the road down. Another cinematic starts, after which it is a fistfight from here on out. Just keep attacking him. The Metal Cestus will stay equipped and will kill him faster. Follow the onscreen prompt to finish the fight
Defeating groups of enemies:
When fighting a large group it is best to keep moving about so they do not surround you and attack from more than one side at once. The trick to fighting the group then is to keep your guard up and wait for one of them to attack and counter it. If there are Brutes or Seekers in the group, it gets a bit tougher but the other tips listed here will help. Try to avoid Brutes or Seekers at first and focus on the others.
Use the following trick when you are in a situation where you will have to take on multiple guards, attack with a group (thieves or mercenaries). While your friends are attacking someone, come from behind with your hidden blade and make the kill. Note: This also works with the final battle where many Ezios battle the final Boss, though instead of your hidden blade (because it is never successful), you will need to use your main weapon.
Defeating larger or harder enemies:
Note: This can only be done after learning the Disarm move. Sometimes you will run into the big "Golden Knights" or the men who just fight better than normal soldiers. These opponents usually have unique weapons such as lances or big axes. They can also deflect attacks and counter more often, resulting in you being killed. To take them out more easily, simply disarm yourself. Put your weapon away by pressing Down. When they attack, press X Xbox 360 or Square PlayStation3 to counter and disarm them. This usually works in one attempt. Quickly press press X Xbox 360 or Square PlayStation3 again to kill the unarmed man.
Blunt weapon broom:
When you knock into a person with a broom or mop, pick it up. When you enter combat with it, the broom or mop will act as a mace, hammer, or other blunt weapon. It makes it seem as though you are cleaning up the trash. Note: This can also be done with farmer's garden hoes.
Notoriety:
Notoriety is essentially your wanted level. The higher it is, the closer to notorious you are. Notorious is the state where guards take one look at you and say "Get him!". You want to keep the symbol of a head inside the gauge white. Gaining notoriety is easy; just do criminal activities, assassinate in front of people, kill guards in general, run across rooftops, and even just bumping into some guards by accident. Losing notoriety is also easy. The game tells you the three methods of losing it: rip down posters, bribe heralds, and kill officials. The first is the easiest because those are most abundant. However, because of that, they also give the smallest returns (up to 25% of your notoriety bar per poster, or four posters if you are notorious). If you are that bad off, four posters can seem next to impossible. However, you will be jumping about a lot anyways and will be bound to find a couple of them. The second method, heralds, is your middle ground, but it comes at a price: 500 Florins for up to 50% of the notoriety bar. The cost is 1,000 Florins if you are notorious. Do not be deterred by the cost. That cost turns into a very slight profit. The last method, the officials, give the best return, but are also difficult. Like the thieves and couriers that you chase down for cash, they run everywhere once they see you (up buildings, across beams, through crowds, and most especially towards guards). The reward is 75% of the bar for an official, but the time spent could have been better used ripping down posters and bribing heralds.
If you accidentally kill someone in front of some guards, kill an archer and his body falls to the ground, or do something else that gains notoriety, this trick will allow you to get rid of up to half of it and gain some money, all without having to hunt down posters or officials. First, find a herald. He will be noisy and talking about you. Bribe the herald. He will take 500 Florins and you will lose up to 50% of maximum notoriety. If you have under that, there will be no notoriety remaining for you. Here is where this expense can be turned into a very slight profit. Pickpocket the Herald. You will gain about 3 to 5 notoriety back, maximum. This is handled easily by a poster. Most heralds have at least 3 to 5 Florins, and the money you gave them goes into their pocket, so you will gain your bribe back plus whatever they already had. It is not much, but it gets rid of the bulk of your notoriety. The useful part is, if you have anything over halfway along the first diagonal of the notoriety gauge, just use this trick and find a poster afterwards.
Loyal steed:
The horses in the game can be very useful. Other than the obvious use for travel, they can be ridden into a potential fight and dismounted. Lure your enemy to the rear of the horse and it will kick them, doing good damage. They also will follow you after you dismount them until you enter a city, making them easier to relocate.
Fast travel:
You will start the game with only being able to go between cities or other locations via a horse. This becomes difficult once more locations are unlocked and you have to go back and forth between them frequently. You will be able to unlock and use fast travel stations in the game. These also appear on the map to make finding them easy. Using this option does have a cost of 100 Florins, but it is worth that amount to transport to your destination instead of a long horse ride
