Throwing knife

Throwing Knives are weapons that the Assassins can throw at enemies, injuring or taking them out from a distance.

Assassin's Creed
In Assassin's Creed, the Throwing Knives are first available at rank 4. The knives seem to be one of the most powerful weapons (after the hidden blade), and unless the enemy is a Templar or a boss character, they generally kill with one hit. When Altaïr runs out of knives, he can get more by either pickpocketing them from thugs (earning five knives), by killing thugs in a fistfight (only one knife, zero if a blade is used), or by returning to either an Assassins' Bureau or Masyaf (maximizes knife count).

The maximum amount of knives Altaïr can hold increases at certain ranks. After first becoming available at rank 4, at which point the knife capacity is five, Altaïr gets extra Knife Belts at ranks 7 and 10, increasing the capacity to ten and fifteen respectively.

Achievement
On the Xbox 360 version you can get an achievement by killing 75 guards with Throwing Knives.

Assassin's Creed II
Throwing Knives return in Assassin's Creed II, though the damage for each knife has been scaled down. This is likely to balance gameplay due to the introduction of the Hidden Gun, as well as to account for the fact that Ezio can hold up to twenty-five of them, once all of the upgrades have been purchased.


 * Throwing Knives cost 50 florins each, and can be bought at the Blacksmith's. Since these are very cheap and can be bought at any Blacksmith, try to use the knives as much as possible before acquiring the Hidden Gun.
 * Compared to the Hidden Gun, the Throwing Knives are reasonably more accurate, as well as quicker to throw, at the cost of power.
 * Extra sheaths for throwing knives can be purchased at tailor shops. Up to 20 knives can be carried through upgrades. An additional 5 slots can be purchased through Uplay for 20 Uplay points.
 * The special attack of the throwing knife is to throw three at once, effectively dispatching up to three enemies. This is, for whatever reason, an instant kill on all guards, even Brutes. A viable explanation would be that Ezio would need time to pinpoint and hit an enemies' vital points, thus keep in mind that it takes time to target all three enemies. Ezio must also be engaged in a battle in order to use this ability.
 * 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; except in Venice, where it takes two knives regardless of whether or not you are visible to them.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Throwing knives are also available in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Ezio will be able to throw multiple knives at enemies, even when he hasn't been seen by guards. Furthermore, Ezio will be able to throw knives while he has the short blade equipped, much like Altaïr could in Assassin's Creed. Throwing knives also serve as an ability for multiplayer characters. In singleplayer however, the throwing knives are a two-shot kill, and are almost obsolete as a stealth weapon due to the introduction of the crossbow.

Trivia

 * A throwing knife, courtesy of Rodrigo Borgia, nearly killed Giovanni Auditore in Assassin's Creed: Lineage.
 * 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.
 * There is an interesting glitch 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.
 * In Assassin's Creed, during the Animus loading sequence, you are able to select the throwing knives and throw an infinite number of them.