Hiding spot

Hiding Spots refers to different kinds of hiding places which were used by the Assassins in order to escape from a chase or to perform an ambush.

Third Crusade
During the Third Crusade, hiding spots played a significant role for the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, since they frequently were his only way to successfully escape from a group of guards. Depending on the situation, Altaïr could use different kinds of hiding spots.

Haystacks
Of all hiding spots, haystacks were the ones that offered the most tactical use for Altaïr. Since they could appear both on rooftops and on the ground, they were always a good hiding place. Moreover, a Leap of Faith could be performed from a rooftop into them. Haystacks usually appeared in two different versions: As a pile or in a cart.

Rooftop Gardens
Rooftop gardens were small booths which had their inside covered with curtains. Thus, they provided an easy escape for Altaïr. They appeared on rooftops everywhere in the Holy Land. Their appearance could differ depending on the city and the district. Rooftop gardens in poorer districts were usually flat, whereas the ones located in the richer districts were often decorated with ornaments and had a small, sometimes gilded, cupola.

Benches
Usually, two civilians were sitting on benches, leaving a spot between them blank. Altaïr could sit down and blend in. However, if the civilans watched an illegal action or saw guards pursuing the assassin, they would stand up and hence make the hiding spot useless. At certain occasions, Altaïr could eavesdrop from a bench.

Scholars
Scholars appeared in all bigger cities in the Holy Land. They would usually allow Altaïr to blend in with them in return for his previous help. Since they were a mobile hiding spot, Altaïr could use them to reach guarded areas without any trouble.

Renaissance
During the Renaissance, hiding spots were once again quite important for the Assassin Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. Although he was able to escape from guards by breaking the line of sight or fleeing the area, hiding spots still offered an alternative way to escape. However, guards became more suspicious during that time period and often searched in hiding spots for Ezio. The assassin learned to cope with that and could now assassinate guards from most hiding spots, provided that they were close enough.

Similar to the Third Crusade, there were again different kinds of hiding spots. Most of them could be seen glowing white when using Eagle Vision.

Haystacks
Haystacks worked exactly the same as during the Third Crusade. However, they were now rarely found on rooftops and usually in carts on the ground. Depending on the city, the hay was also often replaced with other things, such as rose leaves in more exalted cities such as Florence or Rome, or green leaves in more rural areas such as San Gimignano. In certain locations, such as Castel Gandolfo or San Donato, big bushes could be found instead of haystacks. However, the visual nature was the only difference between them.

Rooftop Gardens
Rooftop gardens were still present during the Renaissance and had a similar style in most cities, usually only differing in the colour of the curtains. However, both Rome and Venice had rooftop gardens with an unique, posher style, usually decorated with ivy or wine ranks.

Benches
Benches served a similar purpose as they did during the Third Crusade. Although Ezio was not able to eavesdrop from them anymore, he could now silently assassinate guards that came too close to his hiding spot and position their corpses on the bench as if they were sitting. This action would not scare the civilans.

Wells
Wells appeared during the Renaissance everywhere throughout Italy. They worked similar to haystacks, but Ezio could not perform a Leap of Faith into them. Wells were apart from haystacks the only places which were always scanned by paranoid Borgia Seekers in Rome. Their visual appearance changed depending on the city they were located in.

Water
Water provided an easy way to escape for Ezio, since he could jump into it from nearly every height without being hurt. Moreover, Ezio could simply dive in order to break the line of sight with guards.

Civilians
Unlike Altaïr, Ezio could blend with most groups of civilians and not only with scholars. However, this was not possible if the civilians watched a crime or something similar or noticed that Ezio was escaping. Civilians and water were the only hiding spots during the Renaissance which did not allow a silent kill.