This article summarizes many of the key concepts and terms that are used by experienced players. If you think there is a concept that needs addition, please speak up so that this list may be more useful. I intend to keep this glossary up to date. As guidance, newly proposed terms should meet the following criteria, which are subject to change. The proposed term:
1) Must be understood reasonably well in terms of mechanics. This article is not intended to be a list of strange glitches.
2) Must be applicable to multiple situations. Exploits should not be mission-specific because there are a tremendous number of highly specific exploits in the AC series, and including them all would dilute the value of the rest of the list.
3) Must be reasonably precise in definition. This means that most people need to reasonably agree with the definition.
4) Must be sufficiently awesome. "Fighting on a boat" is not a style worthy of mentioning.
5) Must be unusual enough such that it is not be commonly independently discovered/developed. This avoids the case of several people arguing over who discovered or developed something. The hidden blade counter attack in AC1 is a good example of something that meets all other criteria, but not this one.
Likewise, if you think something is too minor to mention, please let me know. And please let me know if you find a broken link, too. Thanks.
Air-to-assassinate in AC1 has the same meaning as "air assassination" in the sequels. Since the maneuver was not documented in the game, many players never learned how to perform air assassinations until AC2.
Area exploit is the term first used by Vanitas to describe the breaching of space that the developers had intended to exclude you from. aurllcooljay gives 2 fine examples in his early death assassination of Al Mualim and Robert de Sable.
Back to the Future exploit refers to the repeat of an assassination mission by leaving the city and returning without stopping by the Bureau first. The exploit often results in unusual behavior in the target, which can be used to create new assassination designs. This was first demonstrated by aurelcooljay in "Madj Addin Quits His Day Job."
Blitz refers to the assassination style where the mission design focuses on eliminating the target as quickly as possible. The first non-trivial blitz was done by stabguy on William de Montferrat, killing him Anonymously in 30 seconds. The name "blitz" comes from the video series by IanXO4 (MB2&3, 4, 5, 6&7).
Bowling refers to the manipulation of a target's position or orientation by propelling other characters or a horse at the target so that they collide. This allows the player to change the target's position or orientation from a distance (for example, to avoid detection or proximity triggering). Bowling was first done by IanXO4 using a horse to achieve a stealth assassination of Kingdom Templar 10. He later threw passersby in a bowling cascade to reorient Jerusalem Rich Templar 2 for a stealth kill.
Breadcrumbs refers to a trail of dead bodies that are used to lure a target or other character to a particular location.
Broken timeline exploit is a way of recording the current status of the game so that it is preserved when you go back to a checkpoint in the past. IanXO4 discovered the effect in AC1 to prevent guards from spawning in an assassination mission. aurllcooljay discovered the effect in ACB to start a checkpoint on a horse and preserve weapon and ammo changes.
Counter to breach is the use of a counter attack in order to phase through a wall or gate or other similar structure. aurllcooljay gives an extremely good example in the early death of Jubair.
Double courtesan blending refers to the hiring of 2 sets of courtesans such that 1 set distracts a set of guards while Ezio remains blended with the others. This allows Ezio to eliminate numerous guards in close quarters while remaining hidden, as first reported by Jack-Reacher.
Dynamic stunt was originally intended to refer to stunts where the assassin and the target are running before the kill, but it is often used to refer to stunts where only the target is running. IanXO4 first performed this on Talal in AC1.
Eagle strike refers to the combination of a grasping a ledge during a great fall and then immediately performing an air assassination. The fall should be from a height that would ordinarily cause death. The name "eagle strike" comes from the name of IanXO4's video where it was first shown.
Eagle's Bruise refers to the challenge of using only fists whenever possible in order to complete the story. This was introduced by FLAE (Fly Like an Eagle) as a challenge in AC1.
Early death refers to the killing of a target earlier than what the developers intended in the game. This was introduced in IanXO4's assassination of Dante Moro. stabguy combined a number of early deaths using a variety of techniques in the classic video "The Nine Lives of Dante Moro."
Extended air assassinations are air assassinations where the range of the kill animation is extended, typically by the fact that the target is running away. This was first performed by IanXO4 on Silvio Barbarigo as he runs up the gangplank. More dramatic versions occur when the kill animation starts with Ezio in a hiding place, such as a haystack.
Exterminations typically involve the complete elimination of all opponents in a certain area. Exterminations where the player remains undetected or unseen throughout the mission are "silent exterminations," which is the name of the videos by IanXO4 that illustrate the anonymous elimination of all guards in King Richard's Citadel (Part 1 and 2)
Get in the huddle is a term used to describe the situation where the character controlled by the player enters a cutscene he isn't supposed to be in. It was introduced in stabugy's video Cheating Gets it Faster. Other notable examples include aurllcooljays's "Castello Exploits" and stabguy's "Bird's of a Feather" video.
Ghost Run refers to a silent run in AC2 and later games, with the additional constraints of remaining unseen (no social status indicators appearing above guards' heads) and no killing of anybody other than the target, if applicable. The term "ghost run" was coined by Jack-Reacher to refer to analogous constraints in his MGS4 videos, even though the term "Ghost" was first used in IanXO4's video on assassinating Marco Barbarigo.
Grab-move is a technique to move characters that were intended to be immobile by the developers. This is accomplished by grabbing a different character and using him/her to push your target about. The effect was discovered by aurllcooljay and first shown in his eagle strike on one of Leonardo da Vinci's dummies.
Grab to breach - An AC1 exploit used to cross a memory wall. While next to a barrier on an elevated surface, the player drops down and grabs something outside the barrier with and
, effectively breaching the barrier. This allows the player to access otherwise inaccessible areas. To get back in, another grab to breach must be performed. Note that breaching a memory wall will lead to immediate desynchronization. Done at Majd's assassination site (just before starting the scene) in Phi's pre-exposed blitz on Majd Addin.
Hole in one refers to surviving a fall of any height by landing in a well that serves as a hiding place. Coined by IanXO4 in his variety pack on Emilio Barbarigo.
Hyperblending is closely related to superblending. It refers to an exploit found by IanXO4 that allows you to remain in a blended state while no longer in a hiding place. It also allows you to air assassinate while blended. Click here for a tutorial.
Jump and bump is an AC1 technique to skip the dialog in a Save Citizen or Informer mission. This is typically accomplished by:
1a) Forcing Altair to jump toward the subject so that the two will collide, OR
1b) Dropping down from above the subject so that two will collide
AND
2) Locking onto the subject while in midair (before the collision).
When the Altair bumps into the subject, the dialog is interrupted.
Kill him where he stands refers to the killing of a fleeing target such that he/she has barely had a chance to flee and his/her dead body rests at the starting point of chase. The name comes from IanXO4's assassination of Talal in this fashion.
Long Shot refers to the use of a ranged weapon from beyond locking distance. Throwing knives can be aimed manually to kill a faraway target, as discovered independently by several players. IanXO4 discovered that the hidden gun and poison darts will maintain their aim on the target as long as the shoot button continues to be held down. Targets can be killed over 200 meters away in this way. The longest shot in a video is by Altair92 at 202 meters. The theoretical maximum distance of a long shot appears to be about 216 meters. In ACR, Jack-Reacher used a longshot bomb to kill the templar leader of the Imperial District. stabguy coined the term "longshot" for categorization of such videos.
Mysterious Death is a style of assassination that typically involves reaching the target, poisoning the target, and leaving the scene without ever being seen (no yellow or red social status indicators), and without killing anyone other than the target. The idea is to leave no evidence of foul play - hence "mysterious death." IanXO4 first applied this style to Emilio Barbarigo.
Obstruction Charm refers to an exploit that causes a target to act as if a path has been permanently blocked, which is useful in order to create a waypoint separation. IanXO4 introduced the obstruction charm in AC1 as part of the video series for "The Turkey Shoot." The obstruction charm has also been shown to work (to a certain extent) in AC2 by Phi in Federico's Early Deaths.
Pathfinding Charm refers to a technique to force pursuers in AC1 to resume chasing Altair instead of throwing stones at him. The Pathfinding charm can be used in combination with the obstruction charm to create a waypoint separation. The pathfinding charm was first reported by IanXO4 as part of the video series for "The Turkey Shoot."
Poetic justice refers to an assassination style where the manner in which the target is killed carries a special meaning in the context of the mission. The name comes from IanXO4's video for the AC2 contract Red Handed, where Ezio encounters a grieving man who is burying his wife, and then uses his shovel to kill her murderer.
Poison punch involves poisoning a character and then punching him/her before he/she dies. The punch will kill the character instantly, but the dead body won't attract the attention of nearby guards. Several people appear to have independently discovered the poison punch. The first mention may have been from shaddowsiner.
Preassassination typically refers to the killing of guards before initiating the assassination mission. Once the assassination mission is started, the killed guards remain missing, which often simplifies the assassination or its escape. The term has also been used to describe "early death" assassinations, but it is no longer preferred.
Punching bag assassinations are ones where you continuously punch the target until he/she dies. These were mainly used in AC1, starting with IanXO4's punching assassination of Abu'l Nuqoud.
Reanimation refers to the techniques used to animate apparently dead or immobile characters. This is usually accomplished by interruption of a kill animation or by a scripted action of the target character. aurllcooljay illustrates several reanimination approaches in "The Undead Collection."
Shock and awe is a fighting technique to achieve kill streaks in AC1. It is based on the demoralization of opponents to achieve rapid kills, which further demoralizes the remaining opponents. IanXO4 first demonstrated the technique on opponents in Arsuf.
Silent is the term used for remaining undetected, typically throughout the mission. The term comes from ogkdr's assassination of Garnier de Naplouse.
Skipping refers to the process of using archived savegame files in order to rapidly replay certain parts of the game. Skipping was critical in AC1 and AC2, where there was weak/non-existent support of a replay function. "Skipping" is the abbreviated name of the original video by IanXO4 that detailed the concept, "Skip Repetitive Parts of Assassin's Creed on PS3." Analogous processes exist for XBox and PC.
Smoke bomb spook. Some targets will flee from you when you throw down a smoke bomb. If you do this out of their view, the target will start to flee, but with 2 unusual effects:
1) The distance restriction from the target is not enforced. This allows the target to be separated from you at great distance. This is typically applied to achieve a long shot assassination of the target. This was first demonstrated by IanXO4 to achieve a hidden gun long shot assassination on Silvio Barbarigo.
2) Throwing down a second smoke bomb while the target is fleeing will cause him/her to stop. This can be used to position the target. Altair92 first demonstrated this to immobilize Bernardo Baroncelli.
Spring-loaded air assassinations are air assassinations with highly accelerated kill animations. This can be accomplished by locking onto a target and climbing up to 20 meters almost directly above the target. IanXO4 discovered this type of assassination on Marco Barbarigo.
Stunt assassinations involve falling from a great height and landing near the target right before the kill. The height of the fall should be sufficient to cause injury. stabguy pioneered this technique, starting with a "parlor trick" on William de Montferrat.
Superblending refers to an exploit found by IanXO4 that allows you to remain a blended state while no longer in a hiding place. Click here for a tutorial.
Superfast blitz differs from a normal blitz in that it's a near-instant kill. This means that the player is already in killing range of the target when he gains the ability to assassinate, as opposed to a blitz, where the player has to make his way towards the target first.
Superjumping refers to the use of an air tackle or air assassination as a means to jump farther than ordinarily possible. This was first used by aurllcooljay to gain entry into Doge's Palace. aurllcooljay used reanimation in combination with superjump in order breach Garnier de Naplouse's hospital in AC1.
Teleportation exploit refers to the use of the brief cutscenes from bribing heralds or ripping down posters as a means to teleport Ezio. The exploit was uncovered by aurllcooljay, originally as a means to remove Ezio from major cutscenes. It might also be possible to use other cutscenes (for example, pigeon coops) in a similar fashion.
There is no spoon (TINS) refers to the removal of an object from the game. This is usually accomplished by travelling away from the object (and looking away from it) so that the game engine stops modeling it. The approach can be used to "assassinate" a target that is standing on an object that is later removed. This was first demonstrated by IanXO4 on Dante Moro and Silvio Barbarigo. The targets drown after the ship they had boarded was removed from the game. This particular assassination was titled, "There is no spoon," in reference to the movie "The Matrix," where the protagonist learns that he can mentally bend a spoon by realizing that it doesn't actually exist. Some examples of objects that can be removed by this technique include the floor, cliff, stairs, bridge, gates, and even characters.
Tripwire refers to a style of shooting a running target. Typically, you need to determine the path for a fleeing target and then get ahead of him/her so that you can aim the hidden gun across his/her path (without locking on). When he/she crosses the aiming line of the gun, you shoot the target, giving the appearance of an assassination by tripwire. Despite the name "tripwire," the technique requires careful timing because you are not locked onto the target. This was first demonstrated by IanXO4 on Checco Orsi.
Turkey shooting is an assassination style that typically involves immobilizing the target so that he/she is no longer responsive, as illustrated in IanXO4's video "The Turkey Shoot." The original meaning of "turkey shoot" comes from a famously unsportsmanlike activity from ca. 1800 where a turkey is tied to the ground and shot.
Variety Pack describes a video that applies a variety of techniques for the assassination of a particular target. The first variety pack was arranged by IanXO4 for Al Mualim.
Waterlogged exploit refers to the way to prevent Ezio from teleporting (usually at the beginning of a cutscene) by placing him in water. This was discovered by Vanitas and first shown in a stabguy's "Nine Lives of Dante Moro."
Waypoint separation is the general technique of immobilizing a target by isolating him/her so that he/she cannot reach its waypoint. With nowhere to go, the target becomes immobile. Waypoint separation was introduced by IanXO4 to isolate most of the targets in the "The Turkey Shoot" video.
Miscellaneous techniques that do not have formal names are listed for reference below:
An opponent who blocks your grab attempts can be grabbed by throwing sand at him/her. Reported by DarkAlphabetZoup, and shown in "The Nine Lives of Dante Moro."
An opponent who blocks your grab attempts can be grabbed by sufficiently injuring him/her.
You can remain undetected to a grabbed opponent by using a smoke bomb beforehand - IanXO4
You can remain undetected to an opponent that is held as a human shield by using a smoke bomb beforehand - aurllcooljay
You can cause some targets to flee from you by demoralizing them, e.g., by killing all of their associates and disarming him/her.
Coins can be used to distract guards, even if there are no civilians around to collect the coins.
Taunting an opponent can shift his/her targeting from another NPC to the player. Swing a punch to shift opponent's targeting.
Revision history:
Nov21 - Updated with new definitions for area exploit, kill him where he stands, skipping. polished up some text and added some new video references. added the use of horses and people for positioning targets. clarified credits for aurel and daz.
Nov 22 AM - Updated with terms for bowling, waterlogged exploit. Added jack for poison punch. Polished some text, added video references.
Nov 22 PM - Updated with grab move, adjusted credits for poison punch. Polished some text.
Nov 23 5:10 PM EST - Updated with shock and awe, removed credit to Ian for longshot throwing knives , added TINS cliff vid reference. Polished text and references.
Nov 23 8:10 PM EST - Updated with Eagle's Bruise.
Nov 25 2:55 PM EST - Updated with hole in one, obstruction charm, pathfinding charm, silent, ghost run, superfast blitz, variety pack. Adjusted video references and text. Created a misc category at the end.
Nov 25 5:55 PM EST - Added eagles' bruise reference.
Nov 25 9:45 PM EST- Polished ghost run text, added air to assassinate in ac1. Modified intro.
Nov 27 7:23 PM EST - Added to reanimation, modified ghost, added guidance in intro.
Nov 28 9:47 PM EST - Updated with double courtesan blending, added longshot naming reference.
Dec 3 - Updated with longshot bomb.
Jan 14, 2012 - Updated with "counter to breach" and "jump and bump."
Jul 31, 2012 - Updated with "grab to breach" and "back to the future."
Aug 2, 2012 - Updated with "breadcrumbs."
I saw this topic 13 seconds after it was posted.
I think you forgot to frontpage it.
I may not have been the first to discover this, but I liked to use reanimation as the word to describe the technique. Don't forget that reanimation sometimes happens as part of the game (targets like Maria and Rodrigo are reanimated to survive an assassination). I just looked at the vids on the frontpaged and the first examples of reanimation where it's not meant to be a part of the game are Kill Them Again Where They Stand, Where is Jacopo and Uberto Alberti Preassassination (kill him again).
For the throwing sand to grab someone that would normally block your grab, I believe if not being one of the first to discover it, that I was THE first. I'd still like some confirmation though. I'm pretty sure it was me but if anybody else wants to claim it, that's fine too.
EDIT: VERY FREAKING NICE AWESOME GREAT GOOD SWEET DELICIOUS POSt!
Leo K on YouTube // Guides, No HUD Gameplay
This gets me thinking, have been any of these techniques or even similar ones been discussed anywhere else? I have never seen any other AC site that even gets to discuss this kinds of exploits.
That may be because (not to self-flatter this community) but The Hidden Blade is PROBABLY the most hardcore Assassin's Creed site on the interwebz. Juss' sayin
Leo K on YouTube // Guides, No HUD Gameplay
Well, assassinscreed-maps of course. That was our home base before the launch of THB.
One time I tried to start documenting these assassination styles on Assassin's Creed Wiki. The site admin was cool with it but one of the Council Members flipped out and screamed "original research!" (i.e. something created by a fan and not by Ubisoft). Ian had a lengthy debate with him but my article was eventually deleted. AC Wiki is the place to go if you want to know in which year Sofia Sartor was born. What little information on gameplay they have is inadequate. Their members keep posting misinformation such as "All guards in the Kingdom are Informed at all times."
You won't even feel the blade.
Well Stab I forgot to include "other than acmaps". Also its kind of cool to know about that episode with the AC Wiki.
Yeah, AC Wiki and TheHiddenBlade are kind of like two sides of the same coin in my opinion. They're both very useful when you read them in tandem kinda. Although I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend most of my time here rather than Wiki
Leo K on YouTube // Guides, No HUD Gameplay
Superblend and hyperblend are technically exploits, no? So now you've listed exploits by themselves and under a different technique (positioning).![Smile Smile](http://test.thehiddenblade.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/smile.png)
I think it'd be good to make a list of exploits found thus far as well.
EDIT: FLAE said Jack figured poison punch out.![Smile Smile](http://test.thehiddenblade.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/smile.png)
https://thehiddenblade.com/combo-and-sidestep-kills-made-easy
_________________
"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
i feel acomplished i created the first concept of Area Exploit i need to upload more videos >.< aruel is stealing my thunder *shakes fist*
what about the water exploit the one u used in the 9 lives of Dante moro i suppose a good name for that one wld be Waterlogged exploit although i have yet to see more than 2 or 3 uses for it :/
My goal is to basically create a glossary of advanced terms and concepts, but some of them don't have names yet. Most of the unnamed concepts are related to positioning, so I've listed them under that heading until somebody can think of a name for them.
Did you come up with the name? If so, I can credit you. The actual concept for area exploits is very old, and it is not unique to the AC series. BTW, "waterlogged" is fantastic name for the exploit. I've added it to the list.
Well you came up with that term, but before that it was simply known as infiltration. I think the first example was one of the ways to enter the Doge's palace (forgot the name of the guy who found it out).
Poison punch was mentioned before that.
https://thehiddenblade.com/sudden-death-poisoning
But since so many people independently figured it out we don't know who was the first.
A few more things. Stabby first mentioned poetic justice in his video Execute the Executioner: Majd Addin.
https://thehiddenblade.com/execute-executioner-majd-addin
The grabbing exploit I called Grab and Drag. Ian called it Grab Move, which I like better. For herald bribing I thought to call it the Teleportation Exploit (because it teleports you out of scenes so you are no longer affected by them). I also used a poster for the exploit once and suspect a pigeon coop could also be used.
OK, we'll call it Grab-Move.
In my mind, the exploit is that you teleport to the original location of the herald. You can choose to use this exploit to teleport out of a cutscene, but you are not limited to this application. I'm not sure what you mean when you say that a poster or pigeon coup can be used (i.e., for teleportation? or to get out of a scene?). Can you clarify?
area Exploit i did come up with but i only first used it in the San Pietro exploit wayy back when i didnt have a recorder i just posted loads of mobile photos of me doing it :3
Here is what I mean.
And you are right that the exploit isn't just used for teleporting out of scenes. In my Upward Mobility vid I use it to stay hidden from guards that would otherwise fight me. I guess the exploit can have different names depending on how it's used. Someone in chat called it Unseen Assassin, which sounds really cool to me.
EDIT(just read the updated topic).
Carnefice Assassination Variety Pack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XbKkrQqsxw
I was actually gonna ask you if you could put links to the different things you can make disappear.
I actually discovered it before that. It first happened when I grabbed someone and just happened to move him by someone on a bench, causing him to move slightly.
just found out something while fighting the masked guards *the ones with big health bars* if you hve your fists equiped if you counter steal them then immedetley try to punch then it will almost always perform a kill animation *with fists* sometimes is dosent work but u can more of less punch them to death from thare lol obviously this is in revelations ill make a vid of it later ill just call it for Thief Bash
Gonna test this out tomorrow. I put Oblivion in my PS3 after 100%ing ACR but I am always looking for an excuse to play the Creed of the Assassin.
Leo K on YouTube // Guides, No HUD Gameplay
Yes, but my opinion is that this mention is not closely related to how "poetic justice" assassinations have been performed since then. Let me know if you disagree.
---
I still need help. I mentioned earlier that the list is biased toward my own findings, not only because those are the ones I'm familiar with in terms of technique and history, but also because they are easier for me to recall... But I don't want it to be that way - I'd like this list to be more comprehensive. So, honestly, if anybody has any ideas to add to this list, please speak up. I want to keep this list focused well-developed ideas, so I won't add Thief Bash yet.
I'm also thinking about just clustering all of the little tricks into a separate category outside of the main glossary.
Figured I'd do my homework for THB.![Smile Smile](http://test.thehiddenblade.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/smile.png)
Air to assassinate vs. Air assassination. I consider the former to be an advanced AC1 technique.
Also, obstruction charm and pathfinding charm aren't in there.
The difference between a normal blitz and a superfast blitz. Maybe add a name for the type of kill Aurel did on Garnier? He called it a 'superfast cheating kill', but that doesn't really sound great.
The definition of 'variety pack' doesn't have to be in there, does it?
Adding 'ghost run' (no kills, no yellow status indicators) and 'silent run' (never exposed) to the list, maybe. Silent is noted at 'extermination', but only in passing. If anyone would want to look it up, it should have it's own item.
Double Courtesan blending, maybe? Also, 'kill him where he stands'. Perhaps 'kill him again' as well, referring to a story-kill immediately followed by a non-story-kill or the other way around. 'Get in the huddle' as a style or something. Parachute eagle strike needs to be defined as well.
Does the detection exploit on the banker Aurel did have a name yet?
Also, assassination of non-target characters should have a name (DaVinci's AC2 Disappearance, Federico's Early Deaths). Early death seems appropriate since everyone dies sooner or later.
Also, in general I think Early Death should be added to the assassination styles or whatever. There are so many videos on it.
_________________
"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
I was thinking of calling it "reanimated kill".
I was thinking it was worth it to record killing important characters in the game. For Leonardo alone there are more than a few opportunities. Also there was some discussion about Early Deaths in chat.
Good stuff, Phi!
I thought of another one: "Hole in One" for surviving a fall of any height by landing in a well.
You won't even feel the blade.
I do that for fun all the time! I gotta make a video.
PSN: JoeyFogey
Steam: JoeyFogey
Instagram: thatsketchyhero
I'll do some writing.
Silent is the term used for remaining undetected. A 'silent run' is a run where the player is never detected.
), this leads to Altaïr teleporting to the target and performing a kill animation. The only assassination to employ this technique is Aurel's kill on Garnier de Naplouse (second video).
Ghost Run refers to a silent run in AC2 and later games, with the additional constraints of no status indicators appearing above guards' heads and no kills. The term 'ghost run' was coined by Jack-Reacher in his ghost run of Outgunned in AC:B, even though the term 'Ghost' was first used IanXO4's video on assassinating Marco Barbarigo.
Kill him where he stands is used to indicate the assassination of a fleeing target with the target moving very little, if at all. First used by IanXO4 in his video on killing Talal where he stands. Isn't there a THB article on this?
Kill him again refers to a non-story assassination immediately followed by a (scripted) story-assassination, or the other way around. First used in hit468's video on killing Uberto Alberti again.
Get in the huddle is a term used to describe the situation where the character controlled by the player enters a cutscene he isn't supposed to be in. First used in Stabugy's video Cheating Gets it Faster. Other notable examples include Aurel's Castello Exploits and Stabguy's Bird's of a Feather video.
Parachute Eagle Strike describes an Eagle strike where, instead of dropping/jumping from a viewpoint, one drops from a parachute. The fall from the parachute should at least be high enough to kill Ezio.
Obstruction Charm is a technique to enforce waypoint separation. The player blocks the NPC from heading towards their waypoint, which eventually leaves the AI unable to determine a path to it, which achieves waypoint seperation. Coined by IanXO4, here. The obstruction charm has also been shown to work (to a certain extent) in AC2 by Phi in Federico's Early Deaths. It may also work in AC:R, but I haven't tested thoroughly yet. I'll have a video up soon.
Pathfinding Charm is a technique to enforce waypoint separation in AC1. Someone should test this in later games. When Altaïr enters a non-standing position, pursuing NPC's will start to throw stones. By jumping straight up, the guards will be brainwashed into finding a path towards Altaïr. The player has to jump continuously to achieve a long-lasting effect. After the pathfinding charm is succesful, waypoint separation may be achieved by an obstruction charm. First reported by IanXO4, who explains it in this video.
Superfast blitz differs from a normal blitz in that it's a near-instant kill. This means that the player is already in killing range of the target when he gains the ability to assassinate, as opposed to a blitz, where the player has to make his way towards the target first.
Reanimated kill is a kill in AC1 where the target undergoes an Early Death, and then is reanimated. This leaves the target at 0 health points. After the cutscene before the cutscene (pre-assassination cutscene
It's also the only way known to perform a truly instant kill. Why not call it a 'reanimated assassination'?
Hole in one refers to surviving a fall of any height by landing in a well in AC2 and later games. Coined by IanXO4 in his variety pack on Emilio Barbarigo.
Superjumping refers to the use of an air tackle or air assassination as a means to jump farther than ordinarily possible. This was first used by aurllcooljay to gain entry into Doge's Palace. Aurel also showed an example in AC1 for his Garnier de Naplouse's early death.
I hope my writing was clear. I think the definition of 'ghost run' could be improved, but I don't see how. Also, this is going to be frontpaged eventually, right?
Left to do:
- Double Courtesan Blending
- Detection Exploit with sword
- Air to Assassinate vs. Air assasination
- Check if definitions are clear
- Check for grammar/spelling issues
- Frontpage!
_________________
"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
What about "variety pack"? Although it seems pretty self-explanatory, if one of the reasons for this list is to give newer members ideas of things they can try, that would be a really good one.
EDIT: As far as grammar/spelling, I think you can lose the "he/she" and "him/her". It's clunky. I'm all for equal opportunity but we're really only talking about pixels here. Pretty sure they won't complain.
"Now you shall get an earful of my beloved sword! Behold, Pillow Talk! Let's rock, baby!"
Woo hoo!!! Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm starting to feel like this is getting close to the end.
Phi- Thanks for all the writing! youve clearly done your homework and put some thought into this. I really appreciate it. I had already started writing some of the same entries, but I like how you phrased certain things, so I incorporated some of your text. Here are some other comments for you:
i left out reanimated kill because reanimation is already defined.
i left out kill him again because i don't think it requires a definition. the first case might be the early death of dante followed by the story assassination.
i left out parachute eagle strike because i dont think it requires a definition (an eagle strike from a parachute). similarly, ive left out parachute stunt and parachute air assassination.
kill where he stands already exists as an entry.
Please let me know if you disagree with anything. I'm open to discussion.
EDIT: some other things: i dont think kill him where he stands on talal was an article on thb.
since its been mentioned a few times, I'll front page this article when I think it's largely complete. we're getting close.
http://forums.assassinscreed-maps.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1438
Today was the first time I logged into the old site in about a year. Oh the memories... I never posted the update for the final memory block(s?) because when writing it for almost an hour and a half my login session timed out and I lost all my work. Anyway, I found the original topic, so here you go.
Also, do you have a term for initiating Carlo Grimaldi's E3 panic mode during his assassination in AC2? I have a topic about it on here somewhere on the site but I'm too lazy to hunt for it right now...
Live by the creed, die by the creed!
Pussy, money, weed, that's all a n*gga need!
Ian, I'm fine with the changes you've made, although I think the instant kill part deserves a mention at reanimation.![Tongue Tongue](http://test.thehiddenblade.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/tongue.png)
Lisa, I had no idea that was even in there.
FLAE, here it is.
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"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
What accuracy are you asking for? I can say for sure that your video was the first to use the term "Ghost" for that method. That's why I've always called it "The Ghost Method" since I heard about you guys.
PSN: JoeyFogey
Steam: JoeyFogey
Instagram: thatsketchyhero
ok thx joey. i have a vague recollection that jack mentioned ghost running well before his outgunned video, but im not sure. maybe jack will comment.
I actually came up with ghost running for my MGS videos, im pretty sure I did them long before Outgunned. Outgunned was just me trying to give my MGS fans something to watch, I also did a cross over in my MGS4 videos where I dress up as Altair ( yes you get the costume in that game) and do assassin challenges for my AC viewers.
It's currently stickied under Site Help, which is a good place for it. I was thinking about making it a "page" like About or Contact. It should be somewhere that new users can find it and refer to it. Front-paging it would only help for a month or so before it scrolled off.
You won't even feel the blade.
VAULTING.
That is all.
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"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
Jump and bump: The thing you do after a Save Citizen (also before and after Informer) to skip the dialogue.
Red rover: Running at a guard post and tapping the
button to jump through a gap. This works on both Suspicious posts (they won't shove you) and Open Conflict posts with their swords drawn over their shoulders like baseball bats.
The names are my suggestions but I didn't invent either move.
You won't even feel the blade.
Damn, stab, those names are awesome!
From Jubair Al-Hakim's Early Death:
TPWFTEIVA/This Person Is Awesome Exploit - Glitching through a closed door by use of a counter-attack.
We also need a name for the exploit used in Superfast Blitzes (remaining in a non-standing position to prevent the scene from starting).
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"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
Is Vaulting the move than Granjow called Flanking?
You won't even feel the blade.
Yep, it is. Technically it's a lazy vault (in parkour terms) , so I figured vaulting would be a good name.
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"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
How about just TPIA for short?
And we need names for other forms of glitching through walls. Right now it's simply known as OOB (out of bounds). And don't forget other techniques involved, like using grab and punch to move yourself to prevent falling (Stab called it "wall punch" once in chat).
We should really get AKHeon to name them, since he was (in my memory) the first to discover them.
I prefer something long and weird like TPWFTEIVA, just to mess with people, but since you're the discoverer, I really have no right to name it.
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"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
I thought up a name for the glitch I used to get in ghost mode.
and
, effectively breaching the barrier. This allows the player to access otherwise inaccessible areas. To get back in, another grab to breach must be performed. Note that breaching a memory wall will lead to immediate desynchronization.
Grab to breach - An AC1 exploit. While next to a barrier on an elevated surface, the player drops down and grabs something outside the barrier with
Done at Majd's assassination site (just before starting the scene) in Phi's pre-exposed blitz on Majd Addin.
TPIA/Counter to breach - An AC1 exploit. While in open conflict and in combat with enemies on the other side of the barrier, the player performs a counter-attack, effectively breaching the barrier. Demonstrated by Aurel in Jubair's Early Death.
Effectively I'm proposing to call every type of breach a [method] to breach. It's short and sweet and covers the meaning exactly.
_________________
"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
Thanks for the suggestions. here are my comments... I'm open to discussion:
vaulting - i think this is disqualified on the basis that it is not sufficiently awesome. it looks neat, but there are sparingly few practical uses. It cannot be performed in any of the AC sequels, and, from what I can tell, nobody misses it.
Jump and bump - added... does anybody know the discoverer? or a good example in a video?
Red rover - I suspect that this is commonly independently discovered. Also, I don't think it is sufficiently awesome, but maybe that's just because I've been doing it for so long. I'd like to hear what others have to say about this.
Grab to breach - I think this will be a very nice addition. Is there another example outside of the Majd mission? I strongly suspect that there is, but I want to make sure that this is not mission specific.
Counter to breach - I had to think a bit for this one before adding it. This effect has been independently discovered several times, but it is not been commonly independently discovered. Aurel's recent vid is an extremely good example, but it is not a first case. I recall stabguy and I talked about this exploit years ago.
In my experience, not all memory barriers kill you if you breach them. For example, at the very first viewpoint of AC I, there's a memory barrier that I jumped through without issues. However... maybe this warrants more testing too at some point.
I tend to call the wall breaching jump "momentum jump" or "glitched momentum jump" because at its core the effect seems to be just an unnatural build up of momentum. Also, you can do other things with it too than just breach walls... you also zip through air, cut corners, etc. The new tactic with it is basically the same jump, but it turns more powerful by grasping ledge to Altair's back.
(a strange fact: I only noticed this behaviour of grasp ledge when starting a new save in AC II, testing differences in the game engines. It might be useful in that game too, in that you can prevent fumbling against a wall if you do a bad jump... but that might be all.)
The variation where you use a horse to create an acute angle is sort of its own thing, a setup to the actual momentum jump. Might not warrant its own entry.
Aurel went into ghost-mode in his latest video. I believe that suffices to make it a technique.
_________________
"Betraying the Assassins is never good for one's health."
"Well, neither is drinking liquor, but I'm drawn to its dangers all the same."
Just updated with back to the future and grab to breach. Is there anyhting else that I've missed while I've been gone? I'm still trying to think of a good way to describe ghost mode.
Breadcrumbing is where you lure a target or guard(s) a sizable distance with a trail of dead bodies (often civilians). The target leaves his position/patrol to inspect the first dead body, which brings the second dead body into his line of site. He then inspects the second dead body and so on.
I originally suggested breadcrumbs as a way to lure the eleven man guard post away from Majd Addin for a silent assassination but it didn't work. Breadcrumbing became more practical in AC2 with the addition of the ability to move bodies. A good example of the technique is Ian's "Complex Stunts" on both Port Authority and Surgical Strike. I'm not sure if it appeared in any videos prior to this one.
You won't even feel the blade.
One advanced technique that's worked in some of the AC games. In places where you cannot perform certain actions there is a brief moment where you can perform all your regular abilities, usually after scenes.
In AC1, underneath Solomon's Temple after nearly every scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SfjHoP6tx-Q#t=39
In AC2, during the fight with Rodrigo Borgia (right after the loading screen).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5mCvh1dbROo#t=185
In AC4, after the introduction to the Templars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=esMcnBQjcNY#t=241
In ACR, right before the scene in the third Altair Memory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DCGtIMXzdsM#t=103
In AC Unity, right before the scene with Elise in Sequence 1 Memory 3 High Society.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PltkZIbS8nE#t=16
Now to give this exploit a name. I was thinking either "second to spare" or "window of opportunity". Altair Auditore did use the term "quick window of opportunity" to describe it.
This is the first time I've seen this topic, would have made tagging some of my techniques/kills a bit easier if I had this to base it on![Tongue Tongue](https://www.thehiddenblade.com/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Roving/tongue.png)
Some of them are quite interesting. I loved that back to the future exploit for instance. Are there any more videos of it? Typing it into the search bar doesn't yield any (relevant) results, and I don't think it is listed as an assassination style.
All the Back to the Future videos so far (spoiler tag inserted to save space).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKrs0HyY7hg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay-Bmgt6Sd8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WChyupk-afE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJlv36uWC8c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tww7kpXiA8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaikxWTUYVI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boj32as8Iaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=893anT8UDjA
Also similar to the BTTF exploit (not required to leave the city and restart mission for this one):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apmob4kOYug
Confessor refers to manipulating an AC1 guard faction (Saracen, Crusader, Assassin, and other mission based guards/targets) into attacking another faction. This is achieved by getting into combat with one faction and hiding behind a wall. When an enemy from another faction observes the former dealing damage to Altair without noticing him, he will react the same way to that character as if Altair had performed an illegal action that results in combat mode.
Also why I chose Confessor as the name of the exploit. Something like Mind Control sounds too generic. Employee of the Month isn't serious enough. TPIA (This Person is Awesome) is too obscure. And Reconciliatory Yoga is waaaaaaay too serious!