Pickpocketing

In Assassin's Creed, pickpocketing is an important method of gaining information. It is also the only way to restock Throwing Knives, apart from going to Masyaf and/or going to an Assassin's Bureau. In Assassin's Creed II, it is an optional way to acquire florins and items.

How to Pickpocket
To pickpocket, the player must press the Lock On button. Depending on control settings, the Lock On button will be either L1 (Playstation 3), Left Trigger (Xbox 360), or F (PC default layout). While targeting the victim, move Altaïr a few paces behind them and hold the Free Hand button, which will be either (Playstation 3), B (Xbox 360), or Shift (PC default layout). Once Altaïr is close enough, as long as you are not detected by the victim or a Guard, you will steal from the victim's bag, a successful pickpocket. With Ezio, you simply hold the Steal button while in Low Profile and go near any target with no need to Lock On.

Who to Pickpocket
There are two kinds of people you can pickpocket, always identifiable by a pouch around their waist, on their left side.

Informants
Every so often during your Investigations, you will find a person with a bit of information you could use, be it a map or a letter. They always so conveniently place this bit of information in a pouch around their waist - easy for Altaïr to steal. When you first locate Pickpocketing targets, they will be talking with another person. Position yourself an appropriate distance away (not too close, not too far) and press the Lock On button to begin the pickpocket.

Thugs
The thugs roaming the cities always have knives on hand which Altaïr can use as throwing knives. Each time you pickpocket them, you will receive 5 knives. If you happen to pickpocket as many knives as, or more knives than you can hold, your knife count will be maxed out and you will see the message "You have acquired the maximum number of knives". Note you can only pickpocket thugs after regaining the ability to carry throwing knives. This happens in Memory Block 3 after killing Garnier de Naplouse.

When not to Pickpocket
There are various scenarios in which a pickpocket may fail, leading to a fight:


 * The victim stops.
 * The victim is facing you.
 * The victim is looking behind himself.
 * You are too close to the victim and he tells you to be gone.
 * A guard is very close.

If you do try any of the above, the victim may notice you and engage you in a fistfight. If this happens, fight and kill your attacker or run.

Achievement
On the Xbox 360 version you can get an achievement by pickpocketing 200 knives:

Assassin's Creed II
In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio taught by Paola has the ability to steal from any non-friendly NPC (this includes normal civilians, guards, etc.), taking money instead of Throwing Knives. To do this he must use Fast Walk to move through the crowd, and then Ezio uses his empty hand to steal. However, if Ezio lingers too long in the area he will be recognized and attacked, so it is important to move quickly after stealing. Stealing can award the player with anywhere from 3 to 50 florins at a time.

In addition, Ezio can loot unconscious or dead enemies for money. But this takes longer and leaves the player open to attack. Civilians will also scold you. It is possible to get over 100 florins with this method, as well as items such as Throwing Knives, Medicine vials, Poison and Smoke bombs.

However, Pickpocketing quickly becomes useless as the player progresses due to the fact the small amount made isn't enough compared to the prices of items that can be bought as well as the profit you gain by investing in the Auditore Family Villa.

In the first game, you will have your hand out reaching for the pickpocket, leaving you more noticeable. In Assassin's Creed II, this is removed and you can now pickpocket quickly, but people may alert guards around you.

Pickpockets
Like Borgia Messengers, there are random Pickpockets in the cities who are shown on the mini-map with an icon: a pouch with an exclamation mark. Ezio can tackle, grab, attack, or throw a throwing knife at them to obtain their money. They appear to outmatch ordinary Thieves at Free-Running and are hard to catch, or kill. They usually contain about 500 florins at a time. Usually the pickpocket runs toward you, but if you turn in his direction, he will immediately change course and flee. Like the Messengers, they will attempt to dissuade Ezio verbally during the chase and beg for mercy if caught. However, they can also steal as much as 60000+ florins on rare occasions, so it is advised to be careful. They are still subject to Archers' warnings; these will chase the pickpockets once they have judged them to be in violation of the law.

Trivia

 * In Assassin's Creed II, you can pickpocket the money away from Heralds who you just paid off, lowering your notoriety for free. Though, if you are caught, this will raise your notoriety by a little percentage, essentially contradicting your initial purpose. Instead, you could slay the Herald and loot his corpse.