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.

The armor of Altaïr was an unbreakable set of armor, usable in Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Appearance
The metal portions of the armor appear to have a gold tint, while the leather portions are black or dark brown. Unlike most which are made up of a single piece, the chest plate of the Armor of Altaïr appears to be made up of several overlapping metal guards.

A black cloak accompanies Altaïr's armor, and seems to be of a similar cut to Altaïr's Assassin robes. In addition to being black, it is much longer than the one Ezio would normally wear, and is 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 an 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.

History
Following the death of Al Mualim, Altaïr adopted the rank of Grand Master. He later constructed an unbreakable set of armor, using knowledge from the Apple of Eden he had acquired to do so. He chronicled its creation in his fabled Codex, where he admitted to discovering the properties of a new metal in the Apple, from which the armor was created.

At some point following his death, Altaïr's armor was stored inside a vault below the Villa Auditore and locked behind bars that only opened when all six Assassin's Seals from hidden Assassin's Tombs were collected and placed on their respective statues. In Altaïr's Codex, he claimed to have created a new metal that was incredibly strong, whilst also being light as a feather. In contrast to his older robes, Altaïr's armor was black, in line with the traditional color of the Grand Masters' robes.

At some point between 1491 and 1497, Ezio Auditore, a descendant of Altaïr and an Assassin in his own right, managed to recover the six Assassin seals, and claim the robes as his own. He would eventually wear this set of robes during the Bonfire of the Vanities and his confrontation with the Templar Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia in Rome.

Following this, Ezio returned to Monteriggioni and gave the armor a place of pride in his bed chamber. However, with the sudden and unexpected Siege of Monteriggioni, the armor was struck by a cannonball and was lost under the rubble, where Ezio had to leave it due to not having enough time to retrieve it during the attack. However, when Desmond Miles first entered the Sanctuary, he encountered - due to the bleeding effect - the ghost of an older Ezio wearing the armor. Due to this, it is possible that Ezio salvaged the armor from under the ruins of the Villa sometime after the death of Cesare Borgia.

Trivia

 * According to a piece of concept art, it seems that the armor was originally intended to be an invention of Leonardo da Vinci, before being a creation of Altaïr.
 * While wearing the armor in Assassin's Creed II, the hood is never down during cut-scenes where it would normally be down if wearing Giovanni's Assassin robes.
 * Interestingly, the robes underneath resemble Giovanni's Renaissance-era robes rather than Crusade-era robes, albeit much more ornate.
 * Altaïr's armor, unlike other armor in the game, can only be worn as a full set, and the robes underneath it cannot be dyed.
 * Though it is not mandatory to complete the 6 tombs, the player must retrieve all the seals to gain full synchronization.
 * The Missaglias armor set in Assassin's Creed II has the same total amount of health as Altaïr's Armor set. Although it is breakable, the player may want to use the Missaglias armor, instead of Altaïr's Armor if they want Ezio to use the original robe and to dye it as well.
 * Altaïr's armor has 25 health diamonds, as does the Armor of Brutus, its spiritual successor in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
 * Altaïr's armor is available in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood for 20 Uplay Units, though it is only cosmetic, meaning it provides no advantages nor disadvantages.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy, the icon of an Elite Assassin depicts Ezio wearing the armor.
 * In Brotherhood, while wearing the Armor of Altaïr outfit, during cutscenes, the blade of Ezio's left hidden blade will clip through Ezio's left elbow whenever he bends his left arm, though this also happens with Ezio's normal outfit and the Armor of Brutus, but not as noticeably.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Ezio has his hood down twice while wearing the Armor of Altaïr; in Monteriggioni until the siege, and in the last Cristina Memory.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, when playing a Cristina Memory wearing any outfit other than the default one, will prevent to change your appearance to Ezio's of that time period. The same applies to Altaïr's armor.
 * This will also occur if it is equipped while bidding at the fights.
 * The linings on the back of the hood form a shape similar to the Assassin insignia.
 * In the concept art of the armor, the sleeves are white instead of black and the armor has no vambrace, despite the fact that the armor must be worn as a full set.

Notes and references
Armadura de Altaïr