Armor of Altaïr



"It is possessed of great strength, yet so light to allow complete freedom..."

- Altaïr's description of the armor in Codex page 19.

After becoming Master of the Order, Altaïr used the knowledge from within the Apple to construct a lightweight, yet unbreakable set of armor.

History
Unlike the robes Altaïr wore during the events of Assassin's Creed, this armor provided more protection against attacks and was dyed black/red. Due to its advanced design, it looks closer to the armor Giovanni and Ezio wore than Altaïr's original armor. The armor is seen in Assassin's Creed II.

Assassin's Creed II
Years later, Altaïr's armor was stored inside a vault below the Auditore Villa, locked behind bars which only opened when all six seals from hidden Assassins' tombs were collected and placed on their respective statues. As each seal was placed, a bar (to which the placed seal corresponds) retracted into the wall. When all six seals were placed, the bars that block access to the Altaïr's armor retracted into the floor, granting access to the armor. Altaïr's armor was the most powerful armor in Assassin's Creed II. Since it couldn't break, it didn't need to be repaired, which saved the user a great deal of florins. Unfortunately, the armor couldn't be dyed visibly when worn. In Altaïr's Codex Pages, he claimed to have created a new metal which was incredibly strong whilst being light as a feather. In a contrast to other Assassins' robes, Altaïr's armor was black, while Ezio and Altaïr originally wore white. The black color scheme could be attributed to the rank of Grandmaster of the Syrian Assassins' Sect, which Altaïr obtained after defeating Al Mualim. Once Ezio obtained it, it could be taken on and off in the Auditore Family Villa in the armor room. Altaïr's armor had to be worn all at once: you couldn't mix it with other armor sets/types. It's important to note that while the armor was unbreakable, it was not a full body suit, which explained how Ezio could be damaged while wearing it.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Altaïr's armor was possibly lost during the Templar attack on the Villa Auditore in 1499. While the armor was in the room when he found out about the attack Ezio probably didn't grab it because the cannonball that broke through the wall had scattered it and he was rushed to join the fight. The armor was virtually indestructible, which would have been crucial to Ezio as he'd have been more able to resist Cesare Borgia's gunmen. Due to its nature, it most likely survived the raid but may have been buried underneath the rubble of the villa.

If you look closely at Ezio's new robes in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood they look very similar to Altaïr's armor only Ezio's robes are white and Altaïr's armor was black. This is most likely because the Armor of Altaïr is both a set of armor and the robes of a Master Assassin, and Ezio would most likely have reached that rank by the beginning of this game, since he leads the Assassins in Rome.

Trivia

 * According to a piece of concept art, it seems that the armor was intended to be an invention by Leonardo da Vinci before being a creation of Altaïr.
 * While wearing the armor the hood is never down during cut-scenes where it would normally be down if wearing Giovanni's assassin robes.
 * The cloak for Altaïr's Armor, in addition to being black, is much longer than the one Ezio would wear with the other armors, and made up of three layers. Each layer is longer than the one above it, and the longest, lower layer is segmented, which gives the whole piece a look resembling Eagle's Wings. The back of the lower layer is also split down the middle, making it behave much like Altaïr's cloak from the original game, where each side would move up and down as the back of Altaïr's legs pushed against them.
 * It is interesting to note that the Chest Guard of Altaïr and Pauldrons of Altaïr somewhat resemble Roman Lorica segmentata. Also, the cape-pauldron seems to be composed of leather. Plus, the Vambraces of Altaïr resemble golden Missaglias and Guard Captains wear similar vambraces. The Greaves of Altaïr also bear a strong resemblance to leather.
 * The Robes that come with the armor look like a cross between Al Mualim's, Altaïr's and Giovanni's robes.
 * Altaïr's armor, unlike other armors in the game, can only be worn as a full set.
 * Despite having been created by Altaïr probably in the 13th century, the armor set corresponds with 15th century Italian fashion. This could be attributed to the armored parts of the outfit being created in the 13th century while the cloth sections where added at a later time period, closer to the 15th century.
 * It is also interesting to note that while Altaïr's armor is the strongest armor in the game the Missaglias Vambraces give the player one extra health point whereas Altaïr's armor does not however the Missaglas greaves give one less health square making Altaïr's armour the strongest as it is unbreakable.
 * This is the only armor in the game that cannot be dyed.
 * Though it is not mandatory to complete the 6 tombs, the player must get all the seals to get full synchronization.