9: Carnevale

Assassin's Creed II Guide - Walkthrough

Sequence 9: Carnevale

Memory 1: Knowledge is Power

Visit Leonardo at his workshop in Venice to begin this memory. The Codex page contains the design of a pistol modification for the Hidden Blade. Time to test it out; make your way to the green target on the Mini-Map to reach the practice range. There, lock on to one of the target dummies with LT/L2, then hold X/Square until the pointer is extended completely to the dummy. Hold X/Square until this point while aiming the pistol to reach maximum accuracy.

Once you've hit all three practice dummies, return to Leonardo's workshop to trigger a cutscene and complete the memory. Leonardo gives you the Carnevale Mask; while wearing it, Ezio will remain incognito for the duration of Carnevale.

Practice using the Hidden Blade's pistol modification.

Memory 2: Damsels in Distress

Make your way to the memory start point and interact with the highlighted door there to begin. After the cutscene, head outside and start toward the red target on the map. The murderer is holding another girl hostage -- if you get too close, he'll kill her, so you must use the Pistol to take him out from afar. As you near the red target, inch forward so you are just close enough to lock on to the killer. Then, equip the Pistol, hold the X/Square button and ensure that no civilians are in the way before releasing it to kill the murderer and complete the memory.

Memory 3: Nun the Wiser

Return to the brothel to begin this memory. Follow Antonio and Teodora to the square. You must compete in and win four different games to claim the prize. The prize happens to be a golden mask -- just what you're after!

The three memories that follow can be completed in any order.

Memory 4: Ribbon Round-Up

Speak to the man at the memory start point in the northeast corner of the square to begin this memory. All you must do is obtain 25 ribbons within four minutes to complete the memory. This is a very simple game, and you're given more than enough time to beat out the competition.

Pickpocket the groups of women marked on the map to collect ribbons.

To obtain ribbons, you must essentially pickpocket the groups of women marked on the Mini-Map (hold the A/X button while next to them). Do so, and you'll receive a small, medium, or large bundle of ribbons. Each group of women is marked on the Mini-Map by a blue target. Groups with more women will yield a larger bundle of ribbons. The larger groups are mobile and further out from the square.

Memory 5: CTF

Make your way to the memory start point northwest of the square and speak to the man there to participate in this game. You must beat a single opponent at capture the flag. You and your opponent begin on opposite rooftops, and the flag sits in the middle of the square between each starting point. There's just one flag, and whoever gets to it first must bring it back to his starting point, while his opponent must tackle him (hold RT/R2, A/X, and press the B/Circle button when close enough) to steal it. The first to capture the flag three times wins.

The opponent starts off slowly, giving you plenty of time to make it to the flag first and an easy time escaping with it. Each time you score he becomes faster, to the point where making it to the flag first requires a near death-dive from the rooftops. At this point in the game you should have Ezio equipped with a decent set of armour to attain a sizeable health bar and deciphered at least a portion of the Codex pages, so surviving this jump shouldn't be an issue as long as you go at it with full health. Before starting this memory, make sure you're carrying some Medicine and that your armour is completely repaired.

Get to the flag before you opponent does.

Take your time for the first round, just to get a feel for where the flag is and what you need to do to get to it. Sprint across the rooftops and climb down to the square, grab the flag, then quickly climb back up and start back towards home. You're pretty much home free as soon as you're on the rooftops, as the AI doesn't seem to want to or be able to pursue you -- this doesn't appear to change in subsequent rounds, either.

The second round isn't much different than the first, but you'll have to be a bit quicker. At the least, just make sure you're there to tackle the AI if he happens to get to the flag moments before you do. This might require not being as careful as you usually are and taking some fall damage.

Immediately use Medicine (by pressing the left D-pad button) at the start of round three to ensure that you have enough health to survive the jump. Then, run to the other end of the rooftop and leap down to the square, hopefully landing on or right next to the flag. If your opponent happens to get to it just moments before you do, at least you'll be close enough to have some hope of catching him.

Once you have the flag, make a mad dash for home to win the game.

Winning Capture the Flag

Memory 6: And They're Off

Travel to the memory start point southeast of the square and speak to the man there to begin this game. This memory is just like a Race event. In this one, you have two minutes to clear 16 checkpoints.

The first four checkpoints are on street level, so start by sprinting north and clear each one. The fifth checkpoint is on a stack of boxes, which is the start of a Free-Run sequence. Run up the boxes to grab hold of the sign. Continue across the awning and wooden platform and then to the sixth checkpoint. Immediately after hitting the sixth checkpoint, jump over to the platform on the building across the street. From here, jump onto the post and over to the seventh checkpoint on the wooden platform.

From the seventh checkpoint, turn south and jump to swing around to the other side of the building using the hanging plant there. Run across the posts to hit the eighth checkpoint, and continue over to the ninth on the rooftop. Run across the rope bridges between the rooftops to reach the tenth and eleventh checkpoints. Continue to the twelfth checkpoint at the far end of the rooftop and then jump from the post and dive into the canal below.

Climb out of the water and Sprint east to clear the next three checkpoints. The final checkpoint is on the boat up ahead, so jump from the railing over to the boat to complete the race and win the game.

Beating the speed record

Memory 7: Cheaters Never Prosper

Complete the three previous memories to unlock this, the final challenge. Beat this, and the golden mask is yours. You must beat your opponents with your fists to win this one. Accomplishing this won't be a problem; just mash the X/Square button to pummel your opponents, and Ezio will perform a devastating finisher when their health is low.

After beating the first three combatants, Dante Moro will enter the ring. Again, just mash the X/Square button and he won't even be able to get a hit in. Was that supposed to be a challenge?

Next, four guards armed with swords will enter the ring. Hardly seems fair. Nothing is stopping you from taking out your own sword here, but it would be best to wait to disarm one of your opponents when they strike, since you're facing four Agile guards and they are difficult to hit. To Disarm an opponent, hold RT/R2 and, while unarmed, press the X/Square button just as an enemy's strike is about to connect to stop the attack and snatch his weapon, allowing you to then effortlessly kill him. Be ready to perform Counter Kills to finish the remaining guards, or you can just slash away and they will eventually tire.

Use the guards' own weapons against them.

Kill the rest of the guards to complete the memory.

Memory 8: Having a Blast

Return to Teodora and Antonio to begin. Dante Moro is on his way to the doge's party; you must steal the golden mask he carries before he gets there. Start by making your way to the green area marked on the Mini-Map; Dante is somewhere within this area. You'll need to hire a group of Courtesans in order to steal the mask without being caught. There are several groups of Courtesans in the area, so hire one and head to the small bridge at the north end. Be ready to throw some florins down to fend off the minstrel in the area.

Dante will step out from the yard west of the bridge; a couple of the Courtesans with you will automatically begin to distract him. Walk past Dante while holding the A/X button to nab a few florins -- and, more importantly, the mask. Once you have the mask, you can then head for the doge's party. Only start sprinting once you're out of Dante's sight to avoid detection.

Stealing the golden mask from Dante

When you reach the entrance to the party, proceed through and listen to what Teodora has to say. Move to the middle of the party to trigger a cutscene. Dante shows up, and he's looking for you. You must remain Anonymous for one minute. Look for a group of civilians to blend with and remain there for as long as possible. Guards will eventually break up the group you are blending with in search of you, so leave the group when you see guards approaching and look for another. Also, avoid walking close to guards at any point, as they'll be able to easily identify you if you do so. Even if a guard catches sight of you and begins following you for a closer look, continue walking forward in search of another group of civilians to blend with. The guard will back off as soon as you're blending with another group.

After one minute has passed, your target, Marco Barbarigo, will appear on the boat to the northeast. You must use the Pistol to kill him. Be careful, though, as the guards on the boat alongside him will become suspicious if you are too close. Inch forward, just close enough to lock on to Marco, and then, with your Pistol equipped, hold X/Square to line up the shot. Release the X/Square button while the path is clear to end him.

Assassinating Marco Barbarigo

Once Marco is dead, you must escape the party and return to the brothel to complete the memory. Just jump onto the boat, dive into the water and swim away to escape. The guards remain on high-alert, so try to lose your notoriety by tearing down posters, bribing heralds, or killing corrupt officials on your way to the brothel.