Sword of Altaïr

The Sword of Altaïr

This article is about Altaïr's personal sword. You may be looking for the pair of swords used by Edward Kenway or the sword used by Shay Cormac.

The Sword of Altaïr was the personal sword of significant power wielded by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad through much of his life as an Assassin.

During the Renaissance in Italy and Constantinople, the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze, also made use of the weapon.

Design

The sword was forged from a smooth, silver metal, with its cross guard shaped like an eagle's wings, and the pommel in the motif of an eagle's head. Along with this, the sword's hilt was wrapped in strong, dark brown leather for gripping, and it was also stored in a leather scabbard, although this was only used by Masyaf guards and Altaïr himself.

History

High Middle Ages

Altaïr wielding his sword in combat

Altaïr made good use of his sword throughout most of his early life as an Assassin. He wielded it with great skill and ease during missions such as the quest for the Chalice.

By 1191, Altaïr had reached the rank of Master Assassin and he instead made use of a Syrian sword with a curved blade and a golden hilt. However, this sword was taken from him, along with his armor, other weapons and status after Al Mualim demoted him to the rank of novice for breaking all three tenets of the Creed.

During his progression back into the higher ranks, Altaïr started with a basic sword similar to his personal one, though it lacked a cross guard. After he assassinated the first four of his nine assigned targets, another sword, this time with the cross guard shaped like an eagle's wings, was granted to him until finally, upon the seventh target, his personal sword was returned to him. The leather grip instead was replaced by a silver and light grey color with a tribal design. Altaïr used his sword once more in his battles until he finally rose again to the rank of Master Assassin, and the Syrian sword was awarded to him again.

Renaissance

Ezio with the Armor and Sword of Altaïr

During the Renaissance, Ezio Auditore was able to purchase Altaïr's sword from the blacksmith in Monteriggioni for 45,000 florins. He made good use of the weapon in his battles, especially during his fight with Rodrigo Borgia in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Ezio kept the sword with him and used it to fight off Borgia guards as he escaped the Vatican with his uncle Mario Auditore. After they returned to Monteriggioni, the Borgia attacked the town, and the sword was lost in the resulting turmoil, along with Altaïr's armor and Ezio's weapons that were fashioned from the Codex designs by Leonardo da Vinci.

Some time after establishing the Assassins Guild in Rome, Ezio was able to recover the sword once again after completing all five Guild challenges, although it is possible his recruits retrieved it for him. Equipped with the sword, Ezio wielded it against Cesare Borgia and his forces during the siege of Viana.

Although he did not bring it with him on his expedition to Masyaf, Ezio eventually acquired the weapon yet again some time after he had allied himself with the Ottoman Assassins in Constantinople. The sword became available once he had completed the third series of the Guild challenges, again, possibly due to him having his recruits retrieve it.

Weapon statistics

Era	Damage	Speed	Deflect	Cost	Availability
Third Crusade	3*	3*	3*	N/A	Block 7
15th century Italy	5	5	5	45,000ƒ	Sequence 9
16th century Rome	5	5	5	N/A	Complete Assassins guild challenges
16th century Constantinople	5	3	4	N/A	Complete Assassins guild challenges

*In the Animus 1.28, there were no Damage, Speed or Deflect statistics. Weapon strength was based on ranks, with the Sword of Altaïr being the third out of four.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed
• Assassin's Creed: Identity
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice

Trivia

Physical appearance

• The sword possessed two appearances in Assassin's Creed, which changed as Altaïr rose through the ranks of the Brotherhood. The lower-ranked sword possessed a leather wrapping on the hilt, while the higher-ranked version had black wrapping on the hilt and possessed ornate designs.
  • The sword's appearance in Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, was plain silver, with no designs or texture. However in Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin's Creed: Rogue, it was that of the lower-ranked one, accurate to Assassin's Creed.
• This sword was shorter in comparison to the other longswords Ezio used, with the entire sword being only a little longer than the length of his arm. Despite this handicap, Altaïr's sword was still the strongest weapon available in Italy.

Usage

• In Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag a pair of swords identical to the Sword of Altaïr, called Altaïr's Swords, were obtainable by Edward Kenway after the purchase of the Crusader & Florentine Pack.
• Similarly, in Assassin's Creed: Rogue a sword identical to the Sword of Altaïr and a very similar dagger, called "Altaïr's Sword", was available to Shay Cormac after completing all fleet missions.
• In Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, many if not all of the enemy guards wielded a blade similar to the Sword of Altaïr.
• The sword of Altaïr was an artifact recovered in Assassin's Creed Revelations: Path to Revelations and bore the description, "Holding his weapon in my hands is enough to make me relive adventures of this legendary grand master."
• During the memory "Follow The Money" in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, a guard drew and raised a sword identical to Altaïr's in order to threaten Egidio Troche.
  • Later in the same memory, a Papal Guard was also seen with a similar sword.
• Assassin apprentices in Rome gained a sword that resembled the Sword of Altaïr upon reaching the rank of Assassin.

Other

• Although Altaïr's sword was considered the most effective sword in Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the Syrian Sabre - which was among the least effective weapons in Assassin's Creed II - was the most powerful sword in Assassin's Creed.
• The Sword of Altaïr was found in the "The Bull" stage of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines. It was seen as an ornament in the Kantara Castle's Great Hall.
• After buying the Sword of Altaïr in Assassin's Creed II, it could occasionally be randomly replaced with the Common Sword. In order to reacquire it, the easiest way was to simply go to the Villa's weapon rack and re-equip it.
• During the Cristina memories in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, for all the ones in which Ezio had a weapon, it displayed him with the Sword of Altaïr. This contradicted the Assassin's Creed II timeline, where the sword was only available for purchase from Sequence 9 onwards.
• Upon completion of the third set of the Assassins Guild challenges in Assassin's Creed: Revelations and after the Sword of Altaïr had been acquired, it also appeared during the Memory Seal memories, and replaced the Syrian Sabre.
• In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the Sword of Altaïr was no longer the most powerful sword, being replaced in that function by Yusuf Tazim's kijil, which was unlocked by completing the Master Assassin mission The Deacon, Part 1. With that in mind, Altaïr's sword was displayed as having 5 Damage, 3 Speed, and 4 Deflect.
• In Assassin's Creed: Rogue a replica of the sword could be seen on display in Melanie Lemay's office at Abstergo Entertainment.
• In Assassin's Creed: Identity, the Sword of Altaïr can be purchased as a legendary type weapon in the Heroic shop, costing 7500 Hero tokens.