Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: Complete Guide

A complete single-player guide to Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: liberating Rome from the Borgia, building your Brotherhood of Assassins, running the Rome economy, combat and gadgets, side content, 100% sync tips, and what happened to multiplayer.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Steam PC release (no patches in years); online multiplayer was shut down on October 1, 2022. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Online status: Ubisoft first announced the Brotherhood multiplayer servers would close on September 1, 2022, then delayed it to October 1, 2022. Multiplayer is gone and multiplayer achievements are no longer obtainable. The single-player campaign is unaffected. The Steam version still goes through Ubisoft Connect.

Quick Start

1. Burn the Borgia towers. Each area of Rome is controlled by one of twelve Borgia towers. Kill the tower's captain, then climb and burn it. That unlocks renovation and recruits.
2. Renovate Rome for income. Buy shops and landmarks. They pay into the bank; collect regularly and reinvest.
3. Recruit Assassins early. After a tower falls, rescue citizens under attack by guards to recruit them.
4. Send recruits on contracts. Pigeon coops let you send recruits on missions across Europe for XP and money.
5. Use recruits in fights. Call them in to kill targets for you. At higher Brotherhood levels, you unlock the Arrow Storm.
6. Chain kills in combat. Brotherhood's execution streak lets you kill one enemy after another with well-timed attacks.
7. Learn the crossbow and hidden gun. Both deal with enemies at range quietly or quickly.
8. Chase synchronization. Each memory has an optional full-sync objective; raising your overall synchronization unlocks Ezio's memories of Cristina.
9. Do Leonardo's war machine missions and the Romulus lairs. They are some of the best side content.
10. Horses work in the city. Use them to cross Rome and the Campagna quickly.

Rome: Towers, Renovation and Economy

Borgia towers

Rome is split into districts, each under a Borgia tower (twelve in total). To liberate one:

1. Find the tower and its Borgia captain, usually surrounded by guards.
2. Assassinate the captain without letting him flee (if he escapes, come back later).
3. Climb the tower and set it on fire.

Liberated districts let you buy shops and landmarks, recruit Assassins and reduce guard pressure.

Tower tips:

• Stay undetected on approach. If you are too slow or get spotted, the captain runs; he returns after a few minutes, so leave the area and try again.
• Each tower adds one recruit slot. Your maximum Brotherhood size depends on how many towers you have burned, so towers are the gate for both income and manpower.
• Buildings inside a Borgia zone stay locked until the local tower falls. If a shop shows as unavailable, look for the nearby tower first.
• Rome is split into Centro, Antico, Vaticano and Campagna districts; plan tower runs district by district so you can renovate each area as you clear it.

Renovation and income

Rules of thumb:

• Buy banks and shops first in each district; income compounds.
• Collect from the bank regularly; money does not flow into your pocket automatically.
• Shop quests unlock special gear when you bring items to merchants. Loot guards and chests for materials.
• Rome's recovery is visible on screen as you invest, like Monteriggioni in Assassin's Creed II.

Factions and challenges

The Courtesans, Thieves and Mercenaries each have challenge lists and can be hired to distract or fight guards. Completing faction and guild challenges unlocks rewards and is part of 100% completion.

The Brotherhood

Recruits are the signature feature.

• Recruiting: after liberating a district, look for citizens under attack by guards. Save them to recruit.
• Leveling: recruits gain XP from contracts sent through pigeon coops and from fights. Spend their points on weapons and armor.
• Permadeath: recruits can die on contracts or in combat. Do not send weak recruits on high-difficulty contracts.
• Customization: change their colors and gear.
• Calling them in: assign a recruit to kill a marked target, or call a volley of arrows (Arrow Storm) once you have enough active recruits and upgrades.

Contract strategy: match difficulty to recruit level, and send groups when success chance is low. High-level recruits also make late-game fights far easier.

Managing the guild

Open the guild menu at any pigeon coop. From there you can review each recruit, spend their skill points, change their colors and assign contracts.

Loop that works: keep one or two low-level recruits cycling through easy contracts for safe XP, send your strongest on the risky, high-reward ones, and leave a few home so you can still call for help while you explore.

Rome Income Loop

1. Burn the nearest tower.
2. Buy the cheapest shops in that district; they start paying into the bank immediately.
3. Do nearby side activities and collectibles while income accrues.
4. Return to any bank, collect, and reinvest in the next district's shops, then landmarks.
5. Once the easy purchases are done, spend on armor, health upgrades and shop quest gear.

Combat and Gadgets

• Counter-kills are still strong, but Brotherhood's big change is execution streaks: after one kill, attacking another enemy immediately can chain instant kills.
• Kick breaks guard on blocking enemies.
• Heavy weapons handle armored brutes.
• Crossbow: quiet ranged kills.
• Hidden gun: instant ranged kill, loud.
• Poison darts: make targets go berserk and die without you being spotted.
• Parachutes: from Leonardo, useful for escapes from high points.
• Double hidden blades: double assassinations.

Stealth tips:

• Blend into crowds and hire courtesans to slip past guards.
• Watch notoriety. High notoriety makes guards hostile on sight. Reduce it by tearing down wanted posters, bribing heralds and killing officials.
• Rooftop archers spot you quickly; kill them quietly before running on roofs.

Side Content

Lairs of Romulus

The lairs are platforming dungeons, and each has its own full-sync condition. Collect the Romulus scrolls from all of them to open the treasure room that holds the Armor of Brutus and matching weapons.

Lair tips: the timed ones reward knowing the route, so do a first run for the scroll and replay for sync. Several lairs have treasure chests off the main path, so explore on the first run.

Leonardo's war machines

Each machine has two parts: a War Plans memory where you kill the overseer holding the plans, then a memory where you use the machine and destroy it.

The War Plans memories have their own sync conditions, such as using smoke bombs, the pistol, or a kick on the overseer, so read the brief before you engage. Finishing Leonardo's machine missions unlocks parachute plans, after which tailors sell parachutes.

Cristina memories

These flashbacks show Ezio's relationship with Cristina Vespucci. They unlock as your overall synchronization climbs, so playing side content and replaying memories for full sync both count. Gamepressure's guide covers five, unlocking at 15%, 30%, 45%, 60% and 75% synchronization, each with its own sync condition.

DLC

• The Da Vinci Disappearance: eight single-player missions set in 1506, before the final sequence of the main story, about Leonardo's disappearance. The PC version includes it free (activated through Ubisoft's launcher); its multiplayer content no longer works.
• Copernicus Conspiracy: eight optional missions (courier, assassination and protection) with the astronomer Copernicus. Originally a PS3 exclusive, it was added to the PC version by a patch on May 23, 2017.

100% Sync and Walkthrough Tips

The campaign is split into Sequences of memories. Each memory has an optional full-synchronization condition (don't get detected, only use a certain weapon, finish within a time limit, and so on).

• Read the condition before starting. It appears in the memory briefing and on screen.
• Replay memories from the Animus menu if you miss one. There is no need to restart the game.
• Do side content between sequences. It is easier with more gear, money and recruits.
• Upgrade armor and health with Rome income before hard sequences.
• Use recruits on target-kill memories where the sync condition is about not being seen; they can kill for you.
• Common condition types: time limits, health limits (lose no more than a set number of health squares), "don't get detected", and "use a specific tool" (smoke bombs, pistol, kick). Health-limit runs get easier with better armor, so come back later if needed.
• Take the fail early. If you break a condition, restart the memory right away rather than finishing it, and try again with a better route.

Sequence outline

Before the last sequences, finish towers, lairs and Leonardo's machines while the whole city is open. You can still free-roam and replay memories after the credits.

Achievements

• Multiplayer achievements are permanently unobtainable since the October 2022 server shutdown, so 100% on Steam is no longer possible.
• The single-player achievements are tied to story progress, full sync and the side systems covered above, and memory replay covers most misses.
• A practical order: story plus towers as you go, then lairs and Leonardo's machines, then full-sync replays, then collectibles and renovation cleanup with the money you have saved.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping towers. Without them you have no income and no recruits.
• Forgetting the bank. Income piles up at the bank until you collect it; visit whenever you pass one.
• Letting captains flee. Approach towers from rooftops and kill the captain quickly.
• Sending low-level recruits to die. Permadeath is real.
• Ignoring the crossbow. It trivializes many stealth sections.
• Fighting brutes with counters only. Use heavy weapons, kicks or ranged tools.
• Trying to play multiplayer. Servers closed in October 2022.

Advanced Tips

• Execution streak openers: start a fight with a counter-kill, then chain executions on the nearest enemies.
• Recruit rotation: keep some recruits on contracts and some available to call. Leveling several at once avoids having only weak ones.
• Horse assassinations: mounted kills are quick and useful in the Campagna.
• Parachute escapes: jump off a tall building with a parachute to shake pursuers.
• Full-sync prep: equip poison darts or the crossbow before stealth-condition memories.

FAQ

Is Assassin's Creed Brotherhood multiplayer still online? No. Ubisoft shut down Brotherhood's multiplayer servers on October 1, 2022. Multiplayer achievements are unobtainable.

Do I need to play Assassin's Creed II first? Strongly recommended; Brotherhood continues Ezio's story directly.

How long is Brotherhood? Ubisoft advertised 15+ hours of story; completing Rome's side content takes much longer.

What is the best way to earn money? Liberate districts, buy shops and landmarks, and collect from the bank regularly. Recruit contracts add extra income.

How do I get the Armor of Brutus? Complete all six Lairs of Romulus to collect their scrolls, then open the Romulus treasure room, which holds the armor and weapons.

How many recruits can I have? One per Borgia tower you have burned, so burn all of them to reach the maximum.

How do I unlock parachutes? Finish Leonardo's war machine missions; the parachute plans then let tailors sell them.

Is there a remaster? The Ezio Collection (PS4/Xbox One on November 15, 2016; Switch on February 17, 2022) includes Brotherhood with updated visuals.

Is the Copernicus Conspiracy DLC on PC? Yes. It started as a PS3 exclusive, but a May 23, 2017 patch added it to the PC version.

Sources

• Steam store page — Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
• Wikipedia — Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• Gamepressure — Assassin's Creed Brotherhood guide (side quests)
• Gamepressure — Romulus Lairs
• Gamepressure — Leonardo's Machines
• Gamepressure — Assassin Guild
• Gamepressure — Borgia's Towers