Hidden Blade

"The hidden blade has been a constant companion of ours over the years. Some would say it defines us - and they would not be entirely wrong. Many of our successes would not have been possible without it."

- Altaïr's Codex, Page 13

The iconic weapon of the Assassin's Creed series, the Hidden Blade is used both for regular combat and for stealth assassinations.

Assassin's Creed
Although Altaïr already has this weapon at the start of the game, he loses it when he is demoted to Novice. At his first promotion to rank 2, however, he earns it back (along with his Longsword) so that he may perform his first assassination on Tamir the Merchant in Damascus.

Basic usage
This weapon is mostly used for stealthy, low profile assassinations upon soldiers. An unaware soldier may be assassinated without drawing too much attention, with stealth assassinations being possible from both behind and in front of the target. Altaïr rams the blade into the victim's abdomen (front) or through his spine (back). When stealth is not a priority, Altaïr may perform a high profile assassination. This involves jabbing the blade through the target's nose and into the brain when facing Altaïr, or pushing the target onto his knees and stabbing him in the neck when approached from behind.

thumb|300px|right|Video tutorial on usage of the Hidden BladeThe Hidden Blade is the only weapon that Altaïr may wield while sprinting. When Altaïr is close enough to the victim during a foot pursuit, the button on the weapon hand button on the HUD will change to "assassinate", which can be pressed to carry out the assassination. Altaïr will perform a running leap, landing on his victim from behind and burying the blade in the neck. This feature makes it an ideal choice for running down targets who flee such as Talal the Slave Trader in Jerusalem.

Both low and high profile assassinations may fail. A guard wary of your actions may catch your arm when you attempt the kill and throw you back. Attacks from behind and attacks made upon guards who are prone on the ground will never fail, no matter the circumstances. Be aware, of course, that you will lose one third of your synchronization if you assassinate innocent civilians with the Hidden Blade, just as with any other weapon.



Air Assassination
In a 2007 demo of the William of Montferrat mission, Jade Raymond introduced a move called air to assassinate that combines some of Altaïr's acrobatic skills with his Hidden Blade. From higher ground above a target such as a nearby roof or beam, Altaïr leaps directly onto his victim and stabs him in the throat. Although the move was not covered in the manual or in-game tutorials, air to assassinate does exist within Assassin's Creed and the controls were documented by stabguy on The Hidden Blade website. All forms of air to assassinate draw attention of nearby guards, even when performed in low profile. Note that in Assassin's Creed II Air to Assassinate was renamed Air Assassination and included as a required tutorial with simplified controls.



In combat
The Hidden Blade can also be used while in combat. An enemy who has been grabbed and thrown (or counter thrown with a grab break) can easily be killed while he lies on the ground. Using the Hidden Blade in combat against large groups is challenging, as Altaïr cannot block any attack. The time frame in which Altaïr can counter-attack is extremely small compared to the longsword and the short blade, but successfully countering enables one of several different - and always lethal - counter-attacks in which Altaïr stabs his opponent in the chest, head, abdomen, base of the skull, or spine. It is also possible to assassinate the enemy in combat, while he is caught in a moment of inattention or grappling with a vigilante, or if he is taunting Altaïr (this is documented on The Hidden Blade as the "taunting penalty"), but any other time it will fail because the enemy will always block the attack. It is also possible to assassinate your targets even if they are aware of you by getting behind them and assassinating them.

Mechanism
In Assassin's Creed, Altaïr has the hidden blade on his left hand. The blade is integrated into the vambrace, and when not in use, sits retracted inside of the slide mechanism. When Altaïr flicks his wrist, the blade is ejected with the combined force of Altaïr's arm and gravity. Altaïr is "unhinging" or "releasing" the blade which is kept locked in place. If the player holds down the weapon hand button, the blade stays ejected and Altaïr makes a fist around the blade, which rests in the spot where his amputated ring finger once was. Other popular theory is that a ring mechanism is used and that opening the hand ejects the blade, but this raises the question that why the blade does not activate every time he opens his hand, say when leaping for a ledge, and how he can hold the blade in his fist without it retracting. Another, more sensible theory is that it uses both mechanisms to operate the blade and that the blade wont eject or retract without both systems being used. one being the flicking of the wrist, and the ring mechanism. This explains why he flicks his wrist and opens his hand to eject the blade and why he can close his fist without it closing and why he can flick his arm without fear of an unexpected stabbing.

The true mechanics behind the retraction of the blade remain a mystery. When the weapon hand button is released, Altaïr loosens his fist and opens his hand. At this point, the blade returns to the vambrace seemingly of its own accord. Some theories on the blade's mechanics exist, with some maintaining that the blade works on a spring-retraction system, and with others stating that the blade is never truly locked when it is released, and therefore the blade will return if Altaïr is not holding it in place. Many fans of the game have attempted to construct their own hidden blade, with many posting videos of their blade on YouTube.

It is probable that it works on the same system as modern full automatic switchblade knives. There are two springs of equal strength present. The inertia from the pull/push of one spring is enough to overcome the resistance of the other spring for the blade to lock into place.

Informant missions
The Hidden Blade is also used for some of the investigations given to you by informants. You are asked to stealthily assassinate a number of targets. If any guard even once confronts you, the mission is failed. If you attack the targets or the guards with fists, the short blade, the longsword, or any other high profile weapon, you will fail the mission. Because of this, you may ONLY use throwing knives or the Hidden Blade to assassinate your targets.

Interrogation missions
During Interrogation missions, after successfully interrogating the target, Altaïr is forced to kill them, so they cannot reveal his plans to the enemy. He will bury the blade in their stomach to kill them, then gently lower their body onto the ground so as not to draw further attention to himself.

Save Citizen missions
In the optional Save Citizen missions to save citizens from soldiers threatening to kill them, this weapon will come in handy. Successfully and stealthily used, you might take out three of the soldiers before they notice you, draw their weapons, and engage you in a swordfight. Also, the Save Citizen missions are commonly located in alleyways or dark corners, so it is possible to begin the mission by starting from an elevated position and performing an air-to-assassinate.

Assassinations
The hidden blade is used in every storyline assassination you perform. Even if you begin by attacking the enemy with a sword, you will always finish them off with the hidden blade before it cuts to the death cutscene.

Assassin's Creed II
"The blade is designed to ensure the commitment of whomever wields it."

- Leonardo da Vinci



In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio possesses two hidden blades, whereas Altaïr has only one. In addition, unlike Altaïr, who had to sacrifice his ring finger, both Ezio's ring fingers are intact, due to a modification that raises the base of the weapon itself. It is worth noting that the modification was not made by Leonardo da Vinci as when Giovanni is using the blade in Assassin's Creed: Lineage: he has all his fingers intact due to the modification outlined by Altaïr in the Codex. The modification was made so that the Assassin Order could go underground and the assassins could not be identified by the lack of a ring finger.

Ezio's first blade is the one inherited from his father. The blade is initially broken since the last fight of Giovanni against Borgia's men (see Assassin's Creed: Lineage), but Ezio brings it to his friend Leonardo da Vinci to repair it.

Ezio acquires the second hidden blade when he brings a Codex page to Leonardo for decryption, which details the construction of a hidden blade that is identical in all aspects to the first, but has a metal plate on the top side of the vambrace to deflect enemy attacks and allow the wielder to engage in armed conflict with the blades.

At the end of the game, Desmond receives one from Lucy, a similar (if not the same) model of the Hidden Blade used by Ezio to face Warren Vidic's henchmen, but the Poison Blade and Gun are seemingly absent.



In combat
In Assassin's Creed II, the use of the hidden blade in combat is more classical. It can be used like a regular weapon, and is capable of breaking an enemy's defense. It attacks fairly fast, becoming faster after the acquirement of the second blade, allowing Ezio to unleash a constant barrage of strikes, suppressing a foe's ability to attack or killing them before they can attack. It is also possible to block attacks while using the Hidden Blade unlike the first game (not with the Blade itself though, but with the upgraded vambraces).

Veterans of Assassin's Creed combat may want to challenge themselves by using the Hidden Blade(s) in combat. While the counter-kill timing window is very short (fraction of a second), skilful timing will be rewarded nicely; except for against the Brutes' smashes which knock Ezio's weapon away (which does not work against Hidden Blades) and Seekers' (sweep Ezio's feet) special attacks, a successfully timed counter will always kill the guard against which it is performed, even if the guard has high health and/or is a high-ranking soldier.

Upgrades
The second Hidden Blade is acquired later and the main blade gets upgraded with the Poison Blade and the Pistol installed.



Techniques
Later on, Ezio can assassinate enemies below with an Air Assassination, a Double Air Assassination if the target is adjacent

to another, by leaping from a platform onto the victim. This, however, is easily noticeable by Guards and they will attack once they see you doing it. It is possible to assassinate two guards at the same time (at ground level) by standing between them and piercing both their throats.

At the same time Ezio learns the aforementioned techniques, he can also assassinate enemies above certain ledges while he's climbing them and is now also able to assassinate them when he is in a hiding spot (e.g. Hay, Wells and Benches).

Ezio can also perform special combo kill animations and counter kill animations with the dual hidden blades.

In addition to this, Ezio's apprentices can also perform these moves.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood


In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, in 1499 at the beginning of the game, Ezio's hidden blade (or at least its bracer) can be seen on a table while he is sleeping with Caterina Sforza.

However in 1503, Ezio has two new hidden blades with similar bracers on each forearm. These new bracers match the other new parts of Ezio's robes.

Ezio's Apprentices are equipped with hidden blades, though they only have one.

Trivia



 * On one of the Codex Pages it states that the blade has to be connected or linked with the user, thus explaining part of why Altaïr had his ring finger removed. Altaïr opens his hand and spreads his fingers whenever the blade is extended. Similarly, he never uses the blade with his hand clenched in a fist; all stabbing moves and assassinations are performed with an open hand. The only time the blade sits in the space left by the amputated finger is when the player extends the blade and holds it out (by holding the weapon hand button while out of combat). Holding the button will keep the blade extended, and will act as any unsheathed weapon, scaring away civilians.
 * In both games the trigger mechanism is not visible on Altaïr's or Ezio's hands, even when they aren't wearing gloves.
 * Masyaf Guards in Assassin's Creed do sport a hidden blade, though they never use it, nor is their ring finger missing.
 * Malik, from the first game, had the hidden blade before he lost his arm but did not have an amputated finger.
 * The first recorded usage of the Hidden Blade by an Assassin was Darius, when he assassinated Xerxes. Moreover, his seal's symbol is the Hidden Blade. However, his ring finger is still intact.
 * Patrice Desilets, the creative director of the game, stated that the addition of a second blade in Assassin's Creed II also had a lucid reason: it's Assassin's Creed II, so there are 2 blades.


 * In the film Smokin' Aces, one of the assassins sport a weapon similar to the hidden blade. Also, in the movie G.I.Joe: Rise of Cobra, Storm Shadow uses a weapon similar to the Hidden Blade, though it is limited by the fact it must be operated with both hands. In the new Mortal Kombat: Rebirth trailer Dr. Alan Zane, a.k.a. Baraka has similar forearm hidden blades. In Soul Calibur : Broken Destiny, the character Dampierre fights with two similar hidden blades, although much bigger in size.


 * The Hidden Blade is the only weapon that has a counter attack that cannot be blocked by enemies, though the timing has to be more precise than with a counter with a sword or shortblade.


 * Ezio's second Hidden Blade on his right arm in Assassin's Creed II is black, compared to the original white one.


 * In Brotherhood, it seems that Ezio has a new set of Hidden Blades, each of them sporting the gun attachment.
 * Eventually the Templars made their own version of the hidden blade called the Switchblade used by the Hunter in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
 * According to the Codex, there are only a limited number of Hidden Blades due to how risky it is to retrieve metal they are made from.