Frequently Asked Questions

Why do guards always chase me, even when I'm not doing anything bad?

Because you are notorious. In the upper-left corner of the screen, there is a ring around the assassins logo that fills up red as you perform high-profile crimes. If the ring is completely red, guards will need nothing more than to see you to trigger a chase. If you want the guards to leave you alone, reduce your notoriety by pulling down wanted posters, bribing heralds or assassinating officials.

How do I buy more Leonardo upgrades?

You meet Leonardo as part of the mission An Unexpected Visitor and get the chance to buy upgrades, like the climb leap jump and double hidden blade. You get to pick one upgrade to buy during the mission, but you can still get the others. To buy more of Leonardo's wares, bring up your map and look for white "L" icons (not black "L" icons). These icons point you to benches that, when sat on, let you shop Leonardo's upgrades. You can replay the sequence An Unexpected Visitor and buy the other pieces without having to wait for the game to bring Leonardo out, since Leonardo only shows up after certain events. You don't have to wait for Leonardo, just replay the mission.

How do I equip the dual / double hidden blades?

You lose dual hidden blades at the start of the game, but you can get them back later. During the mission An Unexpected Visitor, you meet Leonardo who lets you buy the dual hidden blade.

How do I pull off execution streaks / strings?

While Ezio is in the middle of a kill animation, make sure you're doing the following:

1. Let go of the block button. We had problems with stringing executions until we realized that you can't hold the block button while you do it. If you're playing a smart, defensive game of counter attacks, it's natural to hold the block button during the execution but it'll prevent you from performing a streak.
2. Point the Left Analog Stick toward an adjacent enemy. He should light up a little, letting you know which enemy you're targeting.
3. Mash the attack button. You don't need good timing or anything to pull off an execution string, so just hammer the attack button until it happens.

How do I collect feather #09 from your feathers map?

To get feather #09, you need to make a running jump from the top of the nearby arches toward a pillar to the north. In order to grab onto the pillar, you need to manually tap the grab button—CIRCLE on PlayStation 3, B button on Xbox 360. If you don't manually tap the grab button, Ezio will fall past the pillar without grabbing.

How do you get your own personal assassin?

You get assassin recruits as part of the story, during Sequence 04. If you haven't reached Sequence 04 yet, you won't have assassin recruits...so just wait.

How do I get to the viewpoint / synchronization spot atop the broken aqueduct?

You need to find a nearby architect and pay him to repair the aqueduct. With the aqueduct repaired, you can climb a ladder that's further down the aqueduct and run to the sync point.

Where do I find the five hidden artifacts in Monteriggioni?

You need to pause the game, leave the Animus and explore Monteriggioni as Desmond. The five hidden artifact locations are detailed in the side missions section of this guide.

How do I get the Sword of Altair?

You earn the Sword of Altair as a reward for completing all of the Assassins Guild challenges.

I received a message about promoting my assassin recruit, what do I do?

You need to go to the Tiber Island hideout for a quick promotion ceremony cut scene. You can easily get to the Tiber Island hideout via any of the tunnel entrances around Rome.

Will there be another Assassin's Creed game after this?

Yup. As of December 2010, Ubisoft is planning another Assassin's Creed game to be released in 2011.

Who are the jerks that randomly attack me? They call me fatboy.

Occasionally you'll be accosted by robbers. They just appear randomly in the world and will attack you for money.

I can't start Sequence 05, and Sequence 04 says it's 88% synchronized. What do I do?

Try going to Ezio's hideout on the map. There's a quasi-mission The Plan that you need to do to close out Sequence 04.

Where is the Romulus Lair entrance in the Compagna district?

The icon on your map leads you to the center of a small camp...with no entrance in sight. Go just east a bit to find an underground tunnel that'll bring you to the entrance directly under the camp.

How do I get smoke bombs?

Visit an operational tailor and check out the available pouches. You need to buy the smoke bomb pouch in order to use smoke bombs.

I'm stuck outside the Animus as Desmond, what do I do?

You should be able to go to the underground command room, walk up to the Animus and press any button to re-enter. If that doesn't work for you, you may have encountered a bug.

I finished The Truth puzzles, what do I do in this red wireframe world?

You just keep running forward. After a while, you'll collect a floating item and get reset in the level. Just keep replaying the last part of the wireframe level until you collect all of the floating items and the scene will end.

How do I get the Romulus Treasure?

After you've collected all six keys by completing all of the Romulus Lairs, go to the yellow Romulus Treasure icon on your map. You need to find a nearby underground entrance. The treasure is in underground cage and can only be opened when you've got all of the keys.

I unlocked cheat codes, how do I activate them?

Cheats can only be activated when replaying memories. Pause the game, go to DNA and you can pick a past memory from any sequence you've played. During the mission replay, you can pause the game and enable cheats. Cheats are automatically disabled when you end a replay.

How do I unlock more of the map? It says the area is restricted.

Playing further into the main story quests will gradually unlock more of Rome. Syncing with viewpoints around the city will put new areas on your map but it does not unlock new areas to visit. All of the map should be unlocked by the time you reach Sequence 07.

What do I do with a glyph once I've found it?

In Assassin's Creed 2, simply looking at a glyph with eagle vision would unlock the next Truth puzzle. In Brotherhood, however, you need to not just spot the glyph with eagle vision but also find a way to climb into it. Once Ezio climbs into the glyph, the next Truth puzzle cluster will unlock.

How do I unlock and use the parachute?

The parachute is a reward for completing all of Leonardo's War Machines missions. After you've unlocked the parachute, jump from a high building and, with no weapons equipped, tap the attack button to pull out a parachute and glide. You have a limited number of parachutes, but you can replenish your supply by visiting a tailor.

Can I go back and do side missions after beating the game?

Yes! After you complete the core memory sequences, you're left in Rome with the ability to go back and play all side missions, Romulus lairs, and collect feathers, flags and treasures. However! There are at least two things that you cannot do, both because of the same limitation: Once you've finished the core memory sequences (in fact, halfway through Sequence 08) you can no longer visit Monteriggioni in present time—the "Leave Animus" option disappears. Because you can't play as Desmond in Monteriggioni, you can't find the 5 hidden artifacts and you can't access Desmond's e-mail to earn the "Mailer Daemon" Achievement / Trophy.

How do I complete the Courtesans Guild Challenge with the crossbow?

The description states that you must kill enemies stationed at guard posts, which means enemies that are not patrolling around. You can find stationed guards during the missions "French Kiss" and "Trojan Horse" during Sequence 06.

What's the deal with the red footsteps / footprints in modern-day Monteriggioni?

As far as we can tell, there's nothing to do with the red trail Desmond finds outside the Villa. It likely references a previous scene from Ezio but doesn't appear to hold any valuable secrets.

How do I get back to the secret location "The Halls of Nero"?

While "The Halls of Nero" is a Romulus lair like the other secret locations, it is not listed on the "Secret Locations" part of the DNA menu. Instead, you'll find it listed under Sequence 2 as the seventh memory.

Where do I find Aconite for the Doctor's shop quest?

You have to get it from one of the fleeing Borgia messengers that randomly appear in the game. Chase them down, tackle them and you'll get a random item. Hope that it's Aconite.