Acre

Acre (Hebrew: עכו - Akko) is a city in Israel which features in the Assassin's Creed Series.

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
In the year 1190, the city is under siege by the Templars, who planned to poison water and wipe out the entire city population. Altaïr was able to stop this plot by killing the Templar commander in charge of the siege. Even though the city was saved from Templars this time, it was nevertheless eventually taken.

Assassin's Creed
In the year 1191, the city has been recently recaptured by the forces of Richard The Lionheart from the Saracen army, which formerly occupied it. The city would serve as the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem during this period. It is this city that the Christian Crusaders have established a base of operations in order to stockpile weapons and troops. With this they intend to march south towards Jaffa, and from there launch an all out siege upon their true target, Jerusalem, which they have come from Europe to reclaim in the name of their religious faith. In Acre's Middle District there is a large port. These docks possess many troublemakers and drunken sailors. In the Chain District of Acre there is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross which has a Templar in the incomplete spire, and is the highest point within the virtual world.

In Acre there are more than just one set of flags; there are three: the Templar Flags, the Hospitalier Flags, and the Teutonic Flags. It should be noted that each of these give their own achievement for 10 points. Acre is a much more European city than the others like Damascus or Jerusalem. Due to the recent siege the Poor District is still recovering from the numerous people killed. Bodies line the streets and alleys while the people fend off disease, despair, and the memories of those lost. The haunting stench of death plagues the air. This entire district falls under the jurisdiction of the Knights Hospitalier, given to them by King Richard.

The Middle District is more lively, in terms of both citizens and military presence. The area is under the jurisdiction of the Knights Teutonic, given to them by King Richard. The paranoid Sibrand keeps an extremely sharp yet clouded eye (result of paranoia) over the district. Rumors have reached him that the Assassins have come to take his life, and this has driven him to completely fortify the entire area. As King Richard the Lionheart fights Salah ad-Din and his Saracen forces, the duty of governing the entire city falls to the Regent and liege-lord William of Montferrat. The Chain District is where he holds his power and is the district suffering the most under his rule. Much of the population complains about their ill treatment while others plot his downfall. It is these actions that draw the Assassins once more to the city. Within the beautiful Rich District are notable landmarks such as King Richards Citadel, within the citadel is William's Quarters, a small fortress within a fortress. The citadel's interior operates like a small town of itself.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
After Altaïr discovered that the Templars are sailing to Cyprus, he decided to take the fight to them. His first step was to infiltrate the Templar harbor fortress somewhere in Acre, where the Templar ships were preparing for voyage. Altaïr, along with some fellow assassins, successfully entered the fortress and killed all the Templars. He intended to interrogate the fortress commander, who was revealed to be Maria. He captured her and took her to Cyprus with him.

Assassin's Creed II
Due to the Bleeding Effect, Desmond was able to accidentally access a genetic memory without the Animus. He had a "dream"-like vision played as a hallucination of Altaïr back in Acre chasing Maria through William's fortress, on the night their child was conceived.

Assassination Targets in Acre
In Acre, Altaïr is ordered to assassinate the following:

1190

 * A Templar Captain in charge of the siege.

1191

 * Garnier de Naplouse, a corrupt surgeon who is also the tenth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier and enjoys experimenting on his patients removing himself from the world around him.
 * Sibrand, Master of the Knights Teutonic and occupying the Port Area of Acre, while attempting to escape the fear of the Assassins rumored approach.
 * William of Montferrat, the Regent of Acre who vigorously trains his soldiers in preparation of the "New World".

Trivia

 * The cinematic video shown at the start of Assassin's Creed occurs in Acre.
 * Acre is also the location shown in most of the official pre-release Assassin's Creed trailers.
 * Acre was dramatically altered from the first few gameplay demo's shown at E3 in 2006. The first version of Acre had a larger area outside the city walls and could even be entered while on horseback. The reason for such a change is unclear.
 * Acre is the only city that appeared in nearly all Assassin's Creed games, aside from Assassin's Creed II: Discovery.
 * Acre's climate is dramatically different from the other settlements as it is next to the Mediterranean Sea, giving a misty and foggy effect to the streets.