Leap of Faith



The Leap of Faith is an acrobatic move in which Altaïr (or another Assassin) dives from atop a high structure to land, unharmed, in a conveniently placed pile of hay (or other soft landing material in Assassin's Creed II). The Leap is performed by Free Running at a ledge under which is located the target that will break your fall. The Leap of Faith is used to descend from View Points, each of which always provides a suitable safe target for a Leap. However, it can be used to jump down from anywhere, if, of course, there is a safe target below.

Leaps of Faith prove useful for quick descents, and are commonly used after climbing View Points. The Leap of Faith is also handy in losing pursuers, as climbing to the top of a view point usually results in the pursuers to lose sight of the player. Then all he must do is perform a Leap of Faith and he will be at street level and hidden in the target that he landed on.

In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio can perform a Leap of Faith to dive into the water or wagons of fish in addition to jumping into piles of hay. Hay has also been expanded into other piles of soft material, such as piles of leaves. You can also perform a Leap of Faith when you are in the location of where pigeons mingle.

Trivia

 * Near the beginning of the game, when Masyaf is attacked by Templars, three assassins display their devotion and faith by performing Leaps of Faith from a cliff. This is based on a real life incident involving the Hashshashin, in which their leader proclaimed that his followers were more devout than any, and would follow all commands he gave. As shown in the game, he ordered several men to jump from a cliff to their deaths, which they did. Unlike in the game, however, they died.
 * There is actually nothing coincidental about the placement of the bales of hay, their locations are entirely intentional. During the game, it is explained that the bales of hay and the birds that denote the location of a View Point have been programmed into the memory by Lucy as a way to help out in the navigation of the memory.
 * In addition to pigeons marking a spot to perform a Leap of Faith, in Assassin's Creed II there is a white mark on the edge where the pigeons are perched. This is likely because when you get near the pigeons, they fly away, meaning the location would otherwise no longer be marked, as what happens in the original game. The "mark" is actually hay from the hay bale below. The birds were using it to construct a nest before the incoming Assassin scared them off. Either that or it's dung.
 * In-game hints in Assassin's Creed II also suggest looking for white sheets, as stacked boxes that serve as a starting point for Free Running will always have those hanging over them.
 * When being pursued by Ezio, Francesco de' Pazzi leaps off the Palazzo della Signoria into a haystack for a quick escape. This is the only known example for a non-Assassin committing a form of a Leap of Faith.