Assassin's Creed 2: Complete Guide

A player's guide to Assassin's Creed 2 on PC: combat and stealth basics, notoriety, making Monteriggioni pay for everything, Leonardo's gadgets, every collectible type and its reward, the sequence outline, and running the Steam version today.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC release (online features retired November 19, 2018). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Online status: Per the Steam store page, as of November 19, 2018 the online features for this game are no longer supported. The single-player campaign is fully playable; online-only extras and rewards tied to old Ubisoft online services can't be relied on.

Quick Start

• Invest in Monteriggioni as soon as it opens. Renovating the villa's shops and buildings raises passive income and gets you shop discounts. Early investment snowballs into all the money you'll ever need.
• Collect your income regularly. The villa's income accumulates in a chest at the villa. Stop by and empty it between missions.
• Counter is your best friend. Hold block and time the counter as an enemy swings. Hidden Blade counters are instant kills once you have them.
• Keep notoriety low. Tear down posters, bribe heralds and kill corrupt officials to reduce it. High notoriety makes guards recognise and attack you.
• Synchronise viewpoints. Climbing a viewpoint reveals the local map, and many collectibles show up once you've bought treasure maps.
• Bring Codex pages to Leonardo. Deciphering them upgrades Ezio's health and unlocks new weapons like the Hidden Gun.
• Hire groups. Courtesans, thieves and mercenaries can distract, lure or fight guards for a few florins.
• Don't worry about missing things. After the story ends you can return to free roam and mop up collectibles.
• Buy medicine. Doctors sell healing potions; carry a full stack.

Running It on PC

• The Steam version launches through Ubisoft Connect (formerly Uplay). Log in once to activate.
• When AC2 first launched on PC it required a constant internet connection. Ubisoft later relaxed this to a check at launch only, and in 2012 removed the requirement entirely (per Wikipedia), so offline play after one-time activation is fine.
• The two cut sequences, The Battle of Forlì and Bonfire of the Vanities, were released as DLC and slot in as Sequences 12 and 13. Check your edition's DLC list to confirm you have them; they're worth playing.

Core Systems

The "Puppeteer" Controls

AC2 maps Ezio's body to four context-sensitive buttons, and a high-profile/low-profile modifier changes what they do.

Button role | Low profile (default) | High profile (modifier held)

Head | Eagle Vision, focus | Eagle Vision

Empty hand | Gentle push, pickpocket, blend | Grab, tackle, shove

Weapon hand | Attack, hidden blade | Assassinate, attack

Legs | Walk, blend with groups | Sprint, free-run, climb

The exact keys are rebindable in the options; learn the four roles and the rest follows. Low profile keeps you unnoticed; high profile is fast but draws attention.

Movement and Social Stealth

• Free-running is context-driven: hold the high-profile modifier and a direction to climb and run across rooftops.
• Blend into crowds and groups to become less noticeable.
• Hay carts, benches, wells and rooftop gardens are hiding spots to break line of sight.
• Swimming is new in AC2, and guards can't follow you into water.
• Throwing money makes crowds scramble for coins and blocks pursuers.

Notoriety

Action | Effect

Tear down wanted posters | Lowers notoriety

Bribe heralds | Big notoriety reduction

Assassinate corrupt officials | Big notoriety reduction

Assassinating in public, fighting guards, killing civilians | Raises notoriety

At full notoriety ("Notorious"), guards attack on sight. Clear it before stealth missions.

Combat

• Block and counter is the backbone of combat. With the Hidden Blade out, counters are often instant kills.
• Disarm (with empty hands) lets you steal enemy weapons.
• Dodge helps against enemies with heavy weapons.
• Brutes and Seekers carry heavy weapons and spears; disarming them is often the fastest way through.
• Agiles are fast and can chase you across rooftops; throwing knives are handy for them.
• Smoke bombs stun groups for free kills.

Weapons and Armour

• Blacksmiths sell swords, maces, daggers and armour. Upgrade armour pieces (arms, chest, legs, shoulders) as you can afford them. Armour degrades in fights and needs repairs.
• Leonardo's inventions come from deciphered Codex pages: the Double Hidden Blade (double assassinations), the Poison Blade and the Hidden Gun.
• Armor of Altaïr is the best armour, unlocked by collecting all six Assassin's Seals.
• Leonardo's flying machine appears in a Venice mission.

Monteriggioni: Making the Villa Pay

The villa is AC2's economy engine.

Upgrade | Why

Shops (blacksmith, doctor, tailor, art merchant) | Discounts at those shop types everywhere, plus income

Buildings (church, well, brothel, thieves' guild, barracks) | More income; some improve the town

Paintings | Buy them from art merchants; they add to villa value and therefore income

Weapons and armour purchases | Displayed in the villa; add to value

Tips:

• Upgrade cheap shops first for immediate discounts. The doctor discount is handy for medicine.
• Buy treasure maps from art merchants to reveal chest locations.
• Collect income frequently. Don't let it pile up untouched.
• By mid-game the villa generates more than you can spend. At that point, buy all paintings for the villa and everything the blacksmith sells.

Collectibles and Rewards

Collectible | Count | Reward / notes

Feathers | 100 | Delivered to Ezio's mother at the villa; complete set unlocks a unique cape

Glyphs | 20 | Each unlocks a puzzle in "The Truth"; solving them all unlocks a secret video

Assassin's Seals (tombs) | 6 | Platforming tombs; all six unlock the Armor of Altaïr

Codex pages | 30 | Delivered to Leonardo; health upgrades and weapons; displayed in the villa

Statuettes | 8 | Found in Monteriggioni; displayed in the villa

Treasure chests | Many | Money; locations revealed by treasure maps

Viewpoints | Many | Reveal the map and give synchronisation

Collectible tips

• Glyphs are on the walls of major landmarks. Activate Eagle Vision near buildings to see them.
• Feathers are often high on rooftops and in awkward corners, and they aren't well signposted. Use a checklist per district and sweep one district at a time.
• Tombs are extended platforming levels hidden in landmarks, catacombs and caves. Do them as soon as they're available; the Armor of Altaïr is the best defensive gear, and it's kept in a concealed sanctuary under the villa once you have all six seals.
• Tomb technique: tombs are route-finding platforming puzzles, some with timed sections. Stop and look around before each climb, read the lighting for the intended path, and make each jump deliberately rather than holding free-run and hoping.
• Codex pages come from story progress and from guarded locations around the cities. Take each one to Leonardo to decode it.
• Buy every treasure map from art merchants; revealed chests are worth the price many times over.

Sequence Outline (Spoiler-Light)

The story has 14 sequences. Rough outline:

• Sequences 1–4: Florence and Monteriggioni. Ezio's family is betrayed; the Pazzi conspiracy; you meet Leonardo da Vinci and your uncle Mario, and the villa opens.
• Sequences 5–6: Tuscany and Romagna. San Gimignano and Forlì; the hunt for the Templar conspiracy widens.
• Sequences 7–11: Venice. The canals, Carnival, the Barbarigo family, the flying machine, and a much larger city.
• Sequences 12–13 (DLC): The Battle of Forlì and Bonfire of the Vanities. Forlì and a return to Florence under Savonarola.
• Sequence 14: Rome and the Vatican. The finale.

After the finale, the game drops you back into free roam to finish collectibles and side activities.

Side Activities

• Assassination contracts at pigeon coops: quick targets for money.
• Courier missions and races.
• Beat-up missions (roughing up unfaithful husbands and similar targets).
• Tombs (Assassin's Seals) are the best side content in the game.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Ignoring the villa. Everything costs money, and the villa is the easiest way to get it.
• Fighting every guard. Many missions are easier if you blend, hire courtesans, or swim away.
• Letting notoriety max out before a stealth mission.
• Forgetting to repair armour. Broken armour protects nothing.
• Skipping tombs and missing the Armor of Altaïr.
• Buying expensive weapons early before the villa is producing income.

Advanced Tips

• Counter-kill with the Hidden Blade for instant kills on most enemies.
• Double assassinations with the Double Hidden Blade take out pairs of guards silently.
• Use Eagle Vision constantly to spot targets, glyphs and guards.
• Air assassinations from rooftops avoid a fight entirely.
• Hire thieves to distract rooftop archers so you can move freely.
• Use smoke bombs in big fights to set up free kills.

FAQ

How long is Assassin's Creed 2? Around 20 hours for the story; 30+ for full completion.

Are Sequences 12 and 13 included? They were cut from the base game and released as DLC (The Battle of Forlì, January 2010, and Bonfire of the Vanities, February 2010, originally on console) and slot in right before the final memory sequence. Check your edition's DLC list.

Can I miss collectibles permanently? No. You return to free roam after the story ends.

Does the Steam version need Ubisoft Connect? Yes, it launches through Ubisoft Connect.

How do I get the Armor of Altaïr? Collect all six Assassin's Seals from the tombs.

What's "The Truth"? Solve the puzzles unlocked by all 20 glyphs to see a secret video.

Should I play AC1 first? It helps with story context, but AC2 stands on its own.

Does multiplayer or co-op still work? AC2 is a single-player game. Per the Steam store, online features for it were retired on November 19, 2018; the campaign is unaffected.

What should I play next? Ezio's story continues directly in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (Rome) and Assassin's Creed Revelations. Your villa progress doesn't carry over, but the Monteriggioni opening of Brotherhood picks up minutes after AC2 ends.

Sources

• Assassin's Creed 2 on Steam
• Assassin's Creed II on Wikipedia