Throwing knife

Throwing Knives were long-ranged weapons that the Assassins could throw at enemies, injuring them or taking them out from a distance.

Third Crusade
Assassins of the Third Crusade were permitted to use throwing knives upon reaching rank 3. The knives also seemed to be one of the most powerful weapons after the hidden blade; with a single, accurate hit resulting in a kill on all targets but major Templars.

If ever an Assassin ran out of knives, he could get more by either pickpocketing them from thugs (earning five knives), by defeating thugs in a fistfight (only one knife, zero if a blade is used), or by returning to either an Assassins' Bureau or Masyaf.

The maximum amount of knives Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad could hold increased at certain ranks, wherein he obtained a knife belt. Each knife belt could hold up to five knives, and were kept at his waist, left boot, and right shoulder. These belts were obtained at rank 3, 7 and 10 respectively.

Renaissance
Throwing knives were also used by Assassins of the Renaissance era, though they were not quite as effective, and could not normally cause a kill in a single hit. To compensate, Ezio Auditore could hold up to twenty-five knives at a time, all of which he sheathed at his waist.

Throwing knives could be bought from any of the city Blacksmiths for 50 florins each. Extra sheaths for knives could be purchased at Tailor shops.

Usage
Though initially only throwing one knife at a time, Ezio learned to throw several at once from the combat instructor at Monteriggioni.

This special attack allowed Ezio to throw three knives mid-combat, effectively dispatching up to three enemies. Despite taking a longer time to aim and use, the ability allowed an instant kill on any targeted enemy.

Later, upon traveling to Rome and becoming a Master Assassin, Ezio was able to throw multiple knives at enemies, even when not engaged in battle. He was able to adjust the number of knives thrown at a time, one for each enemy in range.

Furthermore, Ezio was also able to dual-wield throwing knives alongside his Short blade, much as Altaïr did. This allowed him to more quickly switch between long and short-ranged attacks.

Initially, throwing knives were accurate for a single kill with a single throw. Over time, however, as guard armor improved, multiple throwing knives may be required to remove a target, particularly officers.

Modern Times
In Abstergo Industries, throwing knives served as an ability that its recruits could use while training in their respective Animi. However, the knives used were always non-lethal, and could only temporarily slow down an opponent.

Trivia

 * In all Assassin's Creed games, the throwing knife is often oddly thrown when compared to traditional Western styles. The Western method is to hold the knife by the blade, by the shoulder, and to release when making a quick downward motion. However, in Assassin's Creed, this method is only used occasionally by Altaïr, and at all other times, the throwing knives are thrown from the hip, from right to left, which is more conducive to an Eastern style where the knife is held by the handle and thrown with little to no rotation.

Assassin's Creed

 * During the Animus loading sequence, you are able to select the throwing knives and throw an infinite number of them.
 * AssassinsCreed EaglesEye.jpg the Xbox 360 version of Assassin's Creed, you can get an achievement by killing 75 guards with throwing knives. This achievement is called "Eagle's Eye" and is worth 15 points.
 * Knives can only be used to stun or injure escaping assassination targets.
 * There is a glitch after unlocking the short blade for the first time. In the Animus loading sequence, you can use throwing knives even if they have not been unlocked yet.

Assassin's Creed: Lineage

 * A throwing knife, courtesy of Rodrigo Borgia, nearly killed Giovanni Auditore in Rome.
 * Giovanni Auditore only carried two throwing knives, on his chest, and it is unexplained as to whether this was due to his own preference or to his skill (or lack thereof) with the weapon.

Assassin's Creed II

 * When not locked on, Ezio will throw a knife in the last direction he walked to. Certain targets will not run unless Ezio enters a particular zone around them. If Ezio remains out of this zone and a player throws knives using the described method, he can easily kill them.
 * Even when you have used all of your throwing knives, they are still visible on Ezio's knife belt.
 * An additional five throwing knives can be purchased through Uplay for 20 Units.
 * It takes two throwing knives to kill a guard who is watching you, but only one to kill a guard to whom you are invisible.
 * Venice is an exception, where it takes two knives regardless of whether or not you are visible to them.
 * There is an interesting glitch in Assassin's Creed II that can be performed using the throwing knives' special attack. While moving on a rooftop or a ledge that Ezio can peer down by bumping up against the edge, equip the throwing knives and hold down the weapon hand button. Ezio will keep walking in the direction he was facing when you first pressed the button, and will maintain his current speed and elevation above ground level. Several YouTube videos have been made giving instructions on how to get this result, though most of them state that the glitch (along with the flying-jump-Ezio glitch) has since been patched.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

 * Regardless of the throwing knife capacity of the knife belt, there is no visible knife belt present. The knife belt only appears when the character is in a state of loading (such as when Ezio glows white during an armor switch or clothes dyeing) or within the Animus Virtual Training Program.
 * When focusing an attack on a locked guard with the throwing knives (or dagger), any other surrounding guards will glow red, allowing you to kill them simultaneously up to a maximum of 4 guards.