Memory Block 2

The Masyaf Traitor

Investigation

After Mualim's scolding, head out into the city and start tracking down the traitor. You've been stripped of your weapons, so you'll need to take a more stealthy approach. This section of the game is primarily intended to introduce you to the three primary modes of investigation that you'll be using in all future assassination missions.

Eavesdropping

Begin by following the waypoint here to the village market. When you find your target, walk to one of the nearby benches and sit on it by moving towards it. When that's done, follow the prompts on your screen to lock onto one of the eavesdropping targets, then hit the indicated button to eavesdrop on your target.

Pickpocketing isn't too bad, so long as you don't get the attention of your target.

Pickpocketing After eavesdropping on the civilians, move to the next waypoint and begin the pickpocketing minigame. It's not difficult to pull it off.

Interrogation

You can find Masun near the center of the village, giving a speech. Despite the fact that he's basically admitting his guilt, no one seems to react. After starting the minigame, wait for his speech to end, then follow him for a bit. When he reaches a secluded space, start beating him down. You can throw him to the ground and wait until he gets up to beat him from behind.

Off To Damascus

With Masun's execution, Mualim will ask you to head off to Damascus to begin your next assignment. He has a list of nine men that need killin', and wants you to start in that city, although your journey will take you far afield of it in time.

View Points are an easy way to extend your health meter and uncover the map.

Head through Masyaf, picking up flags if you like, until you reach the main gates. A horse will be waiting for you there. Hop onto it and start galloping towards the Kingdom point on your map. When you reach the external Kingdom area (which acts as something of a no-man's-land between major cities), you'll come to a large tower on your left. Climb to the top and activate your Eagle View to clear a bit of the map around the area and reveal hiding spots.

There will be more Templar soldiers in the field here; Masyef was distinctly more friendly than any other area of the game will wind up being. Be sure to use your "blend" ability to walk past soldiers (your synchronization meter will beep if they're suspicious of you), or simply fight them. There are also some villages around, wherein you can find some of the 100 King Richard Flags that are scattered about. There are also going to be at least three more view points in between you and Damascus, so feel free to climb them and add them to your little collection.

Damascus: Poor District

On the outskirts of Damascus, you'll encounter your first imperiled citizen. These folks will help you if you rescue them from their soldier interlocutors. Do so by hopping off of your horse and starting the minigame, then fighting off the soldiers! It'll be more difficult to do so now than it was before, since you lost some of the moves that you previously had when you were demoted (especially the handy countering move), but still, it's possible to kill three soldiers without breaking too much of a sweat if you keep your block up and spam attacks when no one's attacking you. You can also, again, throw them to the ground (or into each other) and kill them when they try to get up, and can't block your blows.

Scholars are handy for getting past guard posts, but we usually preferred to just run through and kill anyone who dared follow us.

With the civilian saved, you'll be able to hide in the group of Scholars and make your way in through the gate. As soon as you do so, you'll be in the Poor District of the city, where your first investigation and assassination will take place. You won't be able to move to the other districts just yet.

Side Activities

You have two types of repeatable activity here. There are nine View Points to find, and 12 citizens to rescue (not including the one outside the gates). Completing all of these actions is a good thing, as each one you do will count towards your synchronization, meaning that you'll eventually earn another lifebar section for doing them. They'll also help flesh out your map and help you run away from guards and the like in the future.

View Points

There are nine view points in the Poor District of Damascus, all of which are denoted on your map, or will be as you walk around. Find them, climb to the top, and use your eagle view to synchronize your map. That'll give you much more detail on it, and will point out nearby investigative activities.

Rescue Citizens

There are 12 citizens in this quadrant of the city that are being harrassed by the guards. To rescue them, find them on your map, walk near them, and use your left trigger while looking at them or the guards to start fighting. If you kill all of the guards, you can speak to the citizen and gain a particular bonus. Usually a group of vigilantes will appear where you perform the rescue: these guys will harrass guards that become hostile to you, making these choke points a good spot to lose pursuers. Sometimes a group of scholars will appear if you happen to be close to a gate.

If you can throw your foes off of tall buildings, they'll often die instantly.

Fighting off five or six guards by yourself can be tough, so you'll usually want to start by using your hidden blade, getting close to one of the guards, killing him stealthily, then quickly targeting one of his friends for a high-profile kill before the rest of them have a chance to react. With that done, try to run for a ladder or otherwise get to the rooftops; the remaining guards will follow you up

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