Soldier

Guards were members of either a local militia, or an organized military force. They were usually assigned to defend or control access to locations of interest, or protect certain individuals.

The colors and style of their uniform varied over time, as well as denoted their military rank, allegiance, and combat specialization.

High Middle Ages
"Hashshashin!"

- A Saracen guard, upon seeing Altaïr.

During the course of the Middle-Ages, there were two main types of guards: Soldiers and Archers. The archers were mostly similar, while there were three ranks of soldiers, all of whom were armed with swords of varying styles.

The ordinary Crusaders spoke English, Crusader Captains and Sergeants spoke French or German, Saracens spoke Turkish or Arabic, and the Templar Knights spoke all of the dialects (but only spoke Arabic in Altaïr's fight against Robert's imposter).

The following were the different guard ranks, as well as certain special types of guards:

Regular Guards
Regular Crusaders didn't wear helmets (Saracens wore turbans) and were only equipped with leather armor or light lamellar armor. They weren't able to grab or break a grab, couldn't combo attack and couldn't counter attack. They could only deflect attacks, with a 25% chance of dodging a light attack. Archers were on par with ordinary guards, except that they were only found on rooftops, wore a hood and used bows for ranged attacks.

Guard Sergeants
Sergeants were equipped with helmets, with the Crusaders wearing chain mail tabards and the Saracens possessing medium lamellar armor. They could grab and had a 50% chance of breaking a grab attack, as well as a 50% chance of countering or dodging a light attack. They also had a 25% chance of breaking defenses, but could not perform combo attacks.

Guard Captains
Captains were the most powerful guards besides the Templar Knights. Saracens wore Baidah helmets and heavy lamellar armor while Crusaders wore chain mail tabards with surcoats, chain mail mittens and varying knight helms. They were also able to grab and had a 75% chance of breaking a grab attack, as well as countering or dodging a light attack. They also had a 50% chance of breaking defenses. If a successful heavy attack was delivered, they could perform a combo attack.

Templar Knights


Templar Knights were a special variation of guard, of which only 60 could be found throughout the Kingdom and its cities. They were similar to the Crusader Guard Captain, but with higher stats and unique armor, including helmets that were always bloodstained. They also always provoked a fight if they spotted Altaïr, regardless of his social status. If they were present, ordinary guards would always stand back while Altaïr and the Templar Knights engaged each other.

Strangely enough, Templar Knights were present in many places where it would have been unlikely for them to have been, including mountain paths and Saracen-controlled cities such as Jerusalem. They were typically located in front of chests, making it difficult to assassinate them from behind.

In the Xbox 360 version of the game, killing all 60 Templar Knights will award the player the 'Personal Vendetta (40G)' achievement.



Masyaf Guards
The guards of Masyaf, despite being marked as allies via Eagle Vision, function exactly like normal ones. They are equipped with robes similar to Altaïr's, but they only wielded a long sword and their robes are shorter. Ordinary guards had their hoods down, the Sergeants had their hoods up and the Captains wore cloth face masks along with having their hoods up, leaving only their eyes visible.

15th Century
"Assassino!"

- An Italian guard, upon seeing Ezio.

There were several types of guards during the Renaissance:

Regular Guards
Regular guards were found almost everywhere on the ground and wielded a large variety of swords, maces and war hammers. They were further subdivided into three ranks: Militia, Elite and Leaders. They were not especially agile, but could climb up to the rooftops, albeit slowly, in order to follow Ezio. Also, they could recognize Ezio while he was sitting on a bench.

Militia
Militia were the lowest ranking guards and wore very little armor (only needed one counter-kill from any weapon to defeat). They also had the lowest morale and were likely to be the first to flee a battle if they were losing. Also, they were the only guard archetype to pick up money thrown by Ezio.

Elite
Elites were stronger, wore a moderate amount of armor (needed 2-3 counter-kills from medium weapons to defeat) and were capable of dodging Ezio's attacks. Elites were also more courageous than the Militia, but could still be forced to retreat, especially if their Leader was killed.

Leaders
Leaders were the best fighters and the most tenacious of all the regular guards. They wore slightly more armor than the Elites (needed 3-4 counter-kills from medium weapons to defeat) and were harder to disarm than the others. Also, like Brutes, Leaders were resistant to being grabbed.

Archers


Archers were guards that patrolled and defended the rooftops. They were armed with long-ranged bows and a large variety of swords, maces and war hammers, and would always be suspicious of Ezio, regardless of his social status.

Getting close to an archer forced him to drop his bow and to draw his medium weapon. Most archers were equivalent to Militia-ranked regular guards in melee (higher ranked versions were present in assassination contracts and the Vatican), with only the additional capability of attacking at a distance with their longbows, however, their arrows were very slow and easy to dodge. They also had a morale rate of 30%, which made them slightly braver than Militia.

Since they were almost always on the rooftops of buildings, Archers were fairly easy to dispatch in melee combat. Another good way to dispatch them was to simply throw them off the roof, resulting in an instant kill if they fell from more than two stories or if they landed in water.

Seekers


Seekers, also called "Paranoid Guards", were constantly checking hiding spots (such as the haystacks, benches, crowds and wells) for Ezio's presence, regardless of his social status.

They were armed with long weapons, giving them an increased reach. The long weapon's main attacks could only be countered with the Hidden Blade, another Long Weapon or a Heavy Weapon. They could also perform "Sweep Attacks", which required a wind up and resulted in them sweeping Ezio off his feet. This attack affected anyone in range of the long weapon, including fellow guards.

They wore slightly more armor than a Leader-ranked regular guard, but not as much as a Brute, and were easily disarmed. When unarmed, they occasionally approached Ezio from behind and then would grab him while the other guards continued to attack. They also had a morale rate of 80%, which made them the second bravest fighter after the Brute.

Agiles


Agiles were a very fast and light guard archetype. They could run faster than Ezio and also had adept Free Running abilities. They wielded short blades and were extremely good at dodging attacks, but could become tired should Ezio constantly attack them and dodge their attacks, causing them to dodge less.

They wore the least armor of any guard archetype (only needed one counter-kill from any weapon to defeat), rendering them very easy to kill should they become unable to dodge. Agiles have a morale rate of 40%, which makes them the third-most cowardly after Militia and archers.

Brutes


Brutes were both heavily armored and equipped, wielding two-handed weapons such as heavy swords and axes. Their armor covered almost every part of their bodies, which made them difficult to bring down, but also made them cumbersome and slow (they had the lowest running speed of all the guard archetypes and could not free run or climb). They were not very intelligent and could not distinguish Ezio from anyone else in a crowd.

They could use the "Smash" special attack, indicated by a wind-up where their weapon is raised overhead, which knocks down anyone hit by it, including fellow guards. They also used the "Disarm Smash" special attack, indicated by a wind-up where their weapon is drawn back horizontally, which knocked away any weapon Ezio was wielding. Both could not be deflected or countered, and had to be dodged.

Brutes did not take damage when deflecting a short blade or medium weapon (while all other guards do), but can still be damaged with a counter (from the Hidden Blade, a Long Weapon or another Heavy Weapon only). They were very easily disarmed. Also, they had the highest morale of any guard archetype and only fled if they were disarmed and could not obtain another weapon.

Coloring
The coloring of the guards uniforms identified whom they served, whether it be a city or a person:
 * Black caps and red sleeves with gold streaks meant they served the Pazzi family. These guards disappeared after Sequence 5, but before then, were only found in Florence and Tuscany. They also wore the emblem of the Pazzi family.
 * Dark red caps and black sleeves with dark red streaks indicated they serve the Borgia. They were usually guarding Codex pages and appeared whenever Rodrigo Borgia was encountered outside of Rome. There are a few patrols of these guards in the Cannaregio District of Venice just north of the Palazzo della Seta. They can also be found in Sequence 12 in Romagna during missions, and in Sequence 13 around Florence fighting Savonarola's guards. Possibly due to an oversight or error, a patrol of Borgia guards can still be found in the Oltrarno District after Sequence 13, standing idly in the street north of Santo Spirito. These guards wear the coat of arms of the Borgia family.
 * Dark yellow caps and sleeves with white streaks and black armor plates were the guards that served the Medici Family. These guards first appeared helping fight the Pazzi during Sequence 4, and were found in Florence and San Gimignano. These guards wear the emblem of the Medici family.
 * Green caps and sleeves meant they were serving the city of Forlì. They aided Ezio in Sequence 12 and were found only in Romagna. These guards wear the coat of arms of the Sforza family.
 * Blue caps and sleeves with gold armor plates meant they served the city of Venice. They had much better armor than any other regular guard in the game, and were only found in Venice. They wear the coat of arms of the city of Venice.
 * Black caps, sleeves and armor plates indicated they served Girolamo Savonarola. They only appeared in Sequence 13, were as heavily protected as Venetian guards, and could be seen fighting Borgia guards throughout the city. Instead of a coats of arms, these guards wore a small portrait of Savonarola himself with 3 red beams, presumably of light, shining down upon him.
 * White caps with red and white sleeves were the guards of the Vatican. They could only be seen in Sequence 14 in Rome, and were the most heavily protected class of guards. These guards wear the coat of arms of the city of Rome.

16th Century
In addition to the guards of the 15th century, there were several new guard types to reflect the changing location and time period. Guards were also more aggressive and had new moves of their own, such as being able to grab Ezio.

Compared to the previous century, there were no Elite-ranked standard guards, Brutes were harder to disarm, Seekers could not be countered with heavy weapons, Agiles were not exhausted by constant attacks and both Militia and Seekers could throw sand at Ezio.

Crossbowmen


Similarly to archers, Crossbowmen patrolled and defended the rooftops, but were more deadly; crossbow bolts caused more damage and were more accurate. Unlike archers, Crossbowmen had no melee weapon and if their enemy closed, would start walking backwards to create some distance. They had increased free-running ability and if investigating, could leap over towards where they had detected Ezio.

Horsemen


Horsemen patrolled the streets of Rome and were deadly at both short and long range, being able to slash at Ezio while on horseback. They could also shoot Ezio with their crossbow, or in some cases, their throwing knives, if he attempted to flee.

Leader-ranked regular guards sometimes mounted horses and acted as Horsemen, but only those that spawned as Horsemen (already on horseback) count towards the Guild Challenges.

The easiest way to kill a horseman was to take a long or heavy weapon and counter attack, or use a spear's special attack; usually this resulted in them being pulled off the horse, where it's easier to finish them off. Otherwise a ranged or thrown weapon would kill them while on the horse.

Arquebusiers


The Arquebusiers were firearm-wielding soldiers who served and protected the pontiff during their tenure. They acted similarly to Crossbowmen, but used more powerful but shorter-ranged rifles. They were usually found on the rooftops near the Pantheon or patrolling in pairs near Guard Posts.

Papal Guards


The Papal Guard were elite soldiers commanded by the Papacy to serve and protect the pontiff during his tenure. The armor worn by these guards was quite heavy, but did not affect their movement (they had the same movement speed and free-run ability as Agiles). They combined the best qualities of all the other guard archetypes and were also able to dual-wield a pistol alongside a medium weapon, though they could not do so with a long or heavy weapon.

Captains


The Borgia Captains were only found leading the guard contingent of Borgia Towers. There were only 12 of them throughout Rome, one for each Tower. They fought similarly to Leaders, but were even more heavily armored, wore a white cape with the Borgia symbol on it and could counter Ezio's attacks. However, some were "Coward" types, and would flee if they detected Ezio.

French Soldiers
Up until the French general Octavian de Valois was killed, French soldiers were stationed in military camps (referred to as Guard Posts) throughout the Campagna district of Rome. These small camps consisted of ten soldiers each. The main French camp was the most heavily guarded and was where Octavian was located before his death.

French soldiers behave exactly the same as Borgia guards in combat, patrols and ranking. However, there were no French arquebusiers outside of the final mission of Sequence 6. Their uniforms were dark blue and white.

Viana Guards
During the Siege of Viana, Vianan soldiers battled the invading army of King John. They would also attack Ezio on sight. These guards behaved the same in combat, patrols and ranking as Borgia guards. Their uniforms were yellowish-green.

Navarre Soldiers
These soldiers served King John III of Navarre and only appeared in Sequence 9 under the command of Cesare Borgia, as he tried to retake Viana Castle from the Count of Lerin. They would attack both Ezio and Vianan soldiers on sight. They behaved exactly the same as any other regular guard in terms of combat, ranking and patrols. Their uniforms were red and yellow.

Byzantines
After driven from Italy by Ezio, the Templars seized control of the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine Templars wore small grey capes over their shoulders and had dark red and white uniforms, as well as bearing the Palaiologos Dynasty emblem on their uniform, most noticeably across their chest. They were always suspicious of Ezio, except in Cappadocia. They were enemies of the Ottomans, and would attack them on sight. The Byzantines did not have Agiles, but had Almogavars, Varangians and Gunmen as their equivalent of Brutes, Seekers and Arquebusiers, respectively.

Militia
The Byzantine Templars consisted mainly of Militia, who carried a large variety of weaponry, including swords, maces and axes. They had slightly different clothing depending on their rank, such as some having longer robes, capes or different helmets.

Varangians


The Varangians were the equivalent of Seekers in Italy, as they fought with halberds and spears. They also wielded pistols that they could use when disarmed or when Ezio was out of their reach.

Almogavars


The Almogavars were comparable to the Brutes in Italy. They fought with heavy weapons, were rather slow compared to other enemies, and wore thick armor. They were resistant to being grabbed like their Italian counterparts, but very vulnerable to the effects of Datura Bombs.

Ottomans


The Ottomans were the rulers of Constantinople during the 16th century. They were neutral towards the Assassins, only attacking them if they had committed criminal acts or were in a restricted area. They were enemies of the Byzantines, and would attack them on sight.

The Ottomans consisted mainly of Elites, who carried a large variety of weaponry, including swords and maces. They were immune to being grabbed and could break defenses with a kick. The Ottomans did not have Militia or Seekers, but had Agiles, Janissaries (Papal Guard equivalent) and Gunmen. Ottoman Agiles could dual wield throwing knives alongside short blades. They also had Bombmen, rooftop guards equipped with short blades and Thunder Bombs.

Janissaries


Elite soldiers and guards to the Sultan, Ottoman Janissaries were highly trained soldiers. During the early 16th century, Ottoman Janissaries wore golden masks covering all of their face. Their uniform consisted of colorful robes with many patterns embroidered on them. Janissaries also wore hats over their masks.

Taunts
The following are examples of taunts that Ezio uses to anger the guards, and to provoke them into an easily countered attack:
 * "It's a fight, fesso (fool)! Start fighting for a change!"
 * "Come now! You bore me!"
 * "Come on! There's only one of me!"
 * "I'm right here!"
 * "Hit me again!"
 * "That is your best?"
 * "Aw, no stamina! You should train more!"
 * "Are you afraid?"
 * "Bring it on!"
 * "Don't be shy!"
 * "Let's finish this!"
 * "You can't hit me!"
 * "Ha, I can't be that good!"
 * "Big mistake!"
 * "Your mama can't help you this time!"
 * "Hurry up! I need to meet a lady friend!"
 * "Shall we dance?"
 * "Fatti sotto! (Come on!)"
 * "You want it in the gut? Or the head?"
 * "I'm wasting my time!"
 * "What are you waiting for?"
 * "Can you not fight?"
 * "Ai attento (be careful), I'm here!"
 * "I'm right here!"
 * "Su, non essere timido. (Come, don't be shy)"
 * "Che cosa aspetti? (What are you waiting for?)"
 * "Che schifo! (That sucks!)"
 * "That is your best?"
 * "I hate these awkward moments! Should you come to me, or should I go to you?"
 * "Generally they are made for swinging at people, yes?"
 * "Never had to actually use it?!"
 * "They send bambini (children) to do a man's work?"
 * "Run! I'll give you a head start."
 * "Are you ready to die?"
 * "Your end awaits!"
 * "Your nonna (grandma) is calling".
 * "Come on, coglione (asshole)!"
 * "Hai paura?" (Are you afraid?)
 * "Sai, le arme serve a duellare!" (You know, weapons are made for fighting!)
 * "What, diarrhea got you stuck? Try leeches!" (only to Brutes)
 * "Hey! Fat man!" (only to Brutes)
 * "Fatti sotto, porco! (Come on, you pig!)" (only to Brutes)
 * "The bigger they are..." (only to Brutes)
 * "Let's see what you've got, metal man!" (only to Brutes)
 * "Can you see anything in there?" (only to Brutes)
 * "Can you even hear me in there?" (only to Brutes)
 * "Come on, you fat pig!" (only to Brutes)
 * "Well, you're certainty well fed!" (only to Brutes)

Modern era


Desmond only encountered the Abstergo Guards twice; when escaping from the Abstergo Building with Lucy and upon leaving the Hideout. They were armed with asps, which could be disarmed for Desmond's own use. They fought similarly to Militia-ranked regular guards, but never retreated from battle and fought to the death or until they were unconscious.

Trivia

 * The Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood E3 trailer features the only known example of a militia guard wielding an arquebus.
 * The quickest way to defeat any guard is to counter kill with the hidden blade. This requires reflexes and timing, however, as the counter kill window is only a fraction of that of a sword or dagger, unless you are playing Brotherhood, where it is much easier to counter kill.
 * The amount of counter attacks needed to kill a guard does not affect counter kills with heavy weapons, long weapons or the hidden blade. For all of these, the guard being countered is unable to block or parry.
 * In Assassin's Creed II, the taunts Ezio says to brutes are different from the taunts he says to the other guards, mainly insulting them about their weight. For example, the taunt, "Well, you're certainly well fed!"
 * In Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles, there is another guard archetype which is the shield guard.
 * In the mission "Play Along," Ezio assassinates an Agile so he can disguise himself as a guard, but instead of having an Agile's outfit, he wears the outfit of a Leader guard.
 * In the memory "The Cowl Does Not Make The Monk", the guards were disguised as monks. The guards fight like normal militia guards.
 * Similarly in the mission French Kiss from Brotherhood, Ezio kills twenty guards of different archetypes. However, in Trojan Horse (the mission after) the mercenaries are equipped with only Leader suits of armor, while Ezio wears one similar to a Borgia Captain (albeit in French colors despite the fact that no such guard was ever encountered).
 * In the cut scene where Ezio's Flying Machine crashes on the Doge's Palace in Venice, you can see a Brute and a Seeker stationed on the rooftop. They are the only guards who can't climb, or free run.
 * In the mission "Clothes Make the Man", Ugo tells Ezio that the thieves are to impersonate the archers. Yet in the next mission, "Everything Must Go", after Ezio kills the archers on the rooftops, the thieves wear the armor of Leader guards instead of archer armor.
 * In Florence, Borgia guards are often seen guarding treasure. If you go up to them and start a fight, then run into a group of Medici guards, the two groups will start fighting each other, making this an effective escape tactic. The Borgia guards will nearly always win, unless there is a massive number of Medici guards fighting them. After the fight, they will then return to guard the treasure (Borgia) or patrol the city (Medici).
 * In PlayStation home, you can purchase the design of a Seeker for your avatar, which also comes with a spear.
 * On Xbox Live, you can purchase the outfit of an Agile.
 * In Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations, Ezio can successfully loot dead rooftop guards even if they slide off the roof; as long as Ezio begins looting when the guard is still on the roof, this can be done on any deceased body.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, there are several guard archetypes never encountered in any other game of the series. I.e. the duelists, the unnamed archetype carrying large shields (similar to modern riot police), a mysterious masked shirtless archetype and another shirtless archetype wearing a robe and carrying maces.
 * In early concept arts for Assassin's Creed II, Abstergo guards were shown with the company of guard dogs.
 * In Brotherhood, an extremely rare glitch occurs with a group of four guards. They will stand in place and will not pay any attention to you, even if you killed someone nearby. You are free to attack them, in which case an execution will be performed, but it will not kill them. Instead they will simply stand back up. You can do this until eventually the guards will begin to die from your attacks. This glitch usually ends in the game freezing, and has a danger of crashing the entire console system.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles, Altaïr disguises himself as a guard to gain access into the Crusader camp that is besieging Acre.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the guards in the French camps are French, but speak with Italian accents.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, rooftop guards can use thunder bombs.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Revelations there are two entire different variant skins for the regular Guards, Byzantine and Ottoman, like the original game where there were Crusader and Saracen skins.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Ottoman and Byzantine soldiers fight each other on contact, provided they are given a reason, for example a nearby guard corpse.
 * On the minimap the Ottoman Guards appear as a yellow dot while Byzantine soldiers appear as a red dot on the minimap, this is because Ottoman guards are not your direct enemies and will only attack if you break the law, even with a full Templar awareness bar, however, the Byzantine soldiers work for the Templars and will attack you on sight regardless.
 * For a reasonable gameplay experience in Cappadocia, Byzantine guards will only attack if you anger them, because they are the only guard faction present.
 * In Revelations, Janissaries behave and fight exactly like Papal Guards. They run faster than Ezio and are able to catch him. They wield pistols and can shoot Ezio. They also can't be killed with a single counter.
 * In Revelations, Ezio no longer has the ability to taunt guards due to the projectile attack button replacing the taunt button.
 * Despite being Spanish, the guards in Viana use the same dialogue as Italian guards during combat.
 * This also applies to the French guards who appear during sequence 6.