Crossbow

The Crossbow is a weapon in Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. It was originally seen in the introduction for the first Assassin's Creed, but was not included due to historical inaccuracies. However, for unknown reasons, it was still featured in Altaïr's Chronicles and the Gameloft mobile version of Assassin's Creed.

After being spotted in concept art and being mentioned in the E3 2010 single player walkthrough, Jean Francois Boivin confirmed that long-ranged weapons, such as the crossbow, would be available for use in Brotherhood, especially in advanced horse combat. Some guard archetypes (such as the Crossbowman) also have the crossbow as a weapon. Ezio and his apprentices are able to use the crossbow only as a counter tactic in melee combat, similar to the hidden blade in the first Assassin's Creed game. The Crossbow is like the pistol's complementary ranged weapon; it has the same range, but is silent. However, unlike the pistol, it cannot be used in public and if unsheathed, will stir crowds and incite guards to attack. The player may still shoot enemies during close-range combat, but this is inadvisable since the crossbow has a long reload time, unlike the pistol. Also notable is that the crossbow cannot kill assassination targets with one shot as the gun does.

Ezio can carry a maximum of 25 bolts, which are purchasable from blacksmiths. The way the crossbow is fired is similar to the pistol in Assassin's Creed II, though it aims faster (equal to the increased aiming speed of the pistol in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood) and can be fired while moving and while on beams. Targeting is accomplished by locking onto an enemy and holding the Armed Hand button, which causes diamond markings to close in and form a white line as the weapon is aimed. A crossbow costs 12,800 florins. After purchasing it, you will be able to upgrade its ammo capacity. In order to receive a twenty five bolt quiver, players must complete the shop quest, Pulling Threads.