Armor of Altaïr

"It is possessed of great strength, yet so light to allow complete freedom..."

- Altaïr's description of the armor in the Codex, page 19.

The Armor of Altaïr was an unbreakable set of armor that was constructed by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad using knowledge obtained from the Apple of Eden.

Subsequent to his death, the armor was sealed in the Sanctuary beneath the Villa Auditore, where it was later recovered and used by another member of the Assassin Order, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

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

A black cloak accompanied Altaïr's armor, and seemed to be of a similar cut to Altaïr's regular Assassin robes. In addition to being black, it was much longer than the one Ezio would normally wear, and was made up of three layers. Each layer was longer than the one above it, and the longest, lower layer was segmented, giving the whole piece a look resembling an eagle's wings.

Third Crusade and Middle Ages
Following the death of Al Mualim, Altaïr took the Apple of Eden from him, and adopted the rank of Mentor.

He later constructed an unbreakable set of armor, using knowledge from the Piece of Eden, and chronicled its creation in his personal journal. There, he admitted to using the Apple to discover the properties of a new metal, which he had used to forge the armor. He also wrote about how he ultimately destroyed the armor's blueprints, fearing that it was too powerful to be recreated by either friend or foe.

Renaissance
"Little is known about Altaïr's life, but his armor is light and very strong. I'd give it to you, but I don't know how to retrieve it. My great-grandfather told me it would remain locked away until all its protectors were made whole."

- Mario Auditore to Ezio.

At some point following his death, Altaïr's armor was stored inside the Villa Auditore's sanctuary. It was locked behind a metal gate that could only be opened when all six Assassin Seals from hidden Assassin Tombs were collected and placed on their respective statues.

Some time after 1491, Ezio Auditore managed to recover the six Assassin seals, and claim the armor as his own. He would eventually wear this set of robes during the Bonfire of the Vanities, and during 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 on Monteriggioni, the armor was struck by a cannonball and was lost under the rubble.

However, when Desmond Miles first entered the Sanctuary, he encountered – through the bleeding effect – the 'ghost' of an older Ezio wearing the armor. Based on this, it is possible that Ezio salvaged the armor from under the ruins of the Villa sometime after the death of Cesare Borgia in 1507.

Trivia
Assassin's Creed II
 * 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.
 * The lining on the back of the hood forms a shape similar to the Assassin insignia.
 * Interestingly, the robes underneath resemble Giovanni's Renaissance-era robes rather than Crusade-era robes, albeit much more ornate. It is possible that Ezio had the robes made since no robe can be seen with the armor before he was able to acquire it.
 * 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 six Assassin's Tombs, the player must retrieve all the seals to gain full synchronization.
 * The complete Missaglias armor set has the same total amount of health and resistance as Altaïr's armor. Although it is breakable, the player may want to use the Missaglias armor instead of Altaïr's armor to maintain Ezio's original robes.
 * In the Codex pages it is stated that Altaïr erased the armor's formula due to his belief that it was far too powerful.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
 * Ezio explains to Mario near the beginning of the game that the armor "blunted Rodrigo's attack" from the end of Assassin's Creed II, which was how he survived being stabbed.
 * Altaïr's armor has 25 health squares, as does the Armor of Brutus, its spiritual successor in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
 * Altaïr's armor is available for 20 Uplay Units, though it is only cosmetic, and provides no advantages or disadvantages.
 * During cutscenes, while wearing the Armor of Altaïr outfit, the blade of Ezio's left Hidden Blade will clip through his left elbow whenever he bends his left arm.
 * 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: Project Legacy, the icon of an Elite Assassin depicts Ezio wearing Altaïr's armor.
 * After Ezio arrives at Monteriggioni, the player is allowed to access the Inventory menu and look at Ezio's current armor, and even though he is currently wearing the Armor of Altaïr, it is shown that he does not have any kind of armor on him.