Every Assassin's Creed Assassin Ranked By Skill

“Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” (2018)

While they’re both great characters and Kassandra has been wildly popular ever since she was first revealed, you can’t deny that neither is a very good assassin. “Odyssey” was criticized by many for straying too far from the “AC” formula, with many saying it’s a great game but it’s NOT an “Assassin’s Creed” game. The biggest problem is that you can’t assassinate anybody who isn’t a low-level, generic enemy. Even brute enemies have enough HP to withstand an attack, and you’ll almost definitely need to fight those cultists head-on. Plus, they don’t even have a hidden blade, though we can forgive it a little because the game pre-dates the founding of the Hidden Ones.

“Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” (2020)

The game did bring back the ability to toggle instant assassinations on or off, which was both a great accessibility option and a great way to win back “AC” purists. But you still have the problem of Eivor not really being an assassin. Though it turns out they ARE innately connected to the lore, they still spend most of the game as a Viking homesteader trying to build up a village, and it’s this motivation that drives a lot of the plot in the beginning. And though the iconic hidden blade did return after a conspicuous absence, Eivor doesn’t even wear it correctly! They strap it to their outer arm instead of the inner arm, and if you want, you can go through the whole game without using it. You can just engage people in traditional fights instead of sneaking around, which is no way to be an assassin.

“Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” (2013)

We know everybody loves Edward and he may well be many people’s favorite assassin of all, but the fact remains that he actually isn’t an assassin for most of “Black Flag”. It does turn out that many of his pirate allies are working with the Brotherhood, but the game begins with him hunting down and killing one of the few genuine assassins we meet and stealing his dirty clothes. Though there were plenty of annoying tailing missions and segments where you have to crawl through tall grass, “Black Flag” marked the beginning of Ubisoft’s departure from the “AC” formula. It’s difficult to be a stealthy assassin when you’re sailing a pirate ship and stealing plunder from Europe’s biggest navies.

“Assassin’s Creed Origins” (2017)

Yet another case of a main character who isn’t really an assassin, we give Bayek a lot of leeway because he was one of the founders of the Brotherhood. He does have a list of targets he wants to take out, the Order of the Ancients, a precursor to the Templars responsible for the death of his son, but he doesn’t have to actually “assassinate” many of them. While many are taken down stealthily, “Origins’s” focus on its brand-new combat system meant you were encouraged to engage in boss battles and brawls. Bayek wasn’t really interested in being stealthy, nor did he have any political machinations behind his targets; he wanted to avenge his son which, while admirable, isn’t what the creed is about.

“Assassin’s Creed Syndicate” (2015)

He’s popular for his charisma and many dapper outfits, but Jacob definitely loves chaos more than he loves doing his job properly. Eventually in “Syndicate”, the Frye twins have a big falling out because Evie spends more time cleaning up Jacob’s messes than doing anything else. While Jacob does enjoy taking his time to properly assassinate targets, he does so in elaborate and theatrical ways, inevitably drawing attention to himself. He even kills Dr. Elliotson in front of an entire room of people if you go for the unique assassination. He does not keep a low profile and never really changes, which definitely makes him more of a liability.

“Assassin’s Creed Unity” (2014)

He peaks as an assassin early in the game, proving his loyalty to the Brotherhood after escaping from the Bastille. He even kills his mentor Bellac because Bellac has betrayed the Brotherhood, putting the organization’s interests above his father figure. But the reason Arno doesn’t rank higher is that he does, like Jacob, favor a very theatrical approach, and also partly ditches the Brotherhood to team up with his Templar girlfriend. Don’t get us wrong, Élise is great and in a lot of ways a better, more interesting character than Arno, but it’s still not a good look for an assassin and a Templar to be involved with each other. It WAS with the goal of ultimately saving Paris and the fragile peace between groups, but can the Templars and assassins ever really be at peace?

“Assassin’s Creed Origins” (2017)

We don’t get to play as her too much in “Origins” thanks to Ubisoft executives believing people wouldn’t buy the game if she had as much playtime as Bayek, but she’s definitely a better assassin. To start, she’s actually the one who wants to use her skill to get involved in Ancient Egyptian politics and help the people, something the Brotherhood generally does. AND she performs some notorious assassinations, killing not only Cleopatra with snake venom, but also beginning the lethal attack on Caesar during the Aides of March. And she’s the primary founder of the Hidden Ones at the end of the game, making her the original assassin in a lot of ways.

“Assassin’s Creed III” (2012)

His brooding nature has led to Connor being unfairly maligned, especially compared with the fun, loud personality of Ezio. But Connor’s a good character nonetheless, and more importantly, he’s a good assassin. Though at first, he’s resistant to what Achilles is trying to teach him and does want to do things his own way, he pretty much single-handedly wins the American Revolution for the Patriots. He also has the responsibility of taking out the Templars’ chief agent in the Americas, Haytham, who just so happens to be his own father. It takes a guy very dedicated to the job to dispatch his father for his bosses.

“Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation” (2012)

She often goes forgotten in the roster of assassins, but she’s got some unique traits that make her one of the most effective Brotherhood agents in the entire franchise. Namely, she can don a variety of disguises. Some other characters, like Ezio, will wear disguises in some missions, but Aveline can change disguise regularly to manipulate New Orleans’ rigid class system. There are three main disguises, the assassin outfit, slave outfit, and lady outfit, and they each have some benefits and drawbacks. The lady can’t use all her weapons but she can go places where the assassin and slave cannot, and vice versa. It added an extra layer to “Liberation” that’s often overlooked and shows Aveline’s dedication to the cause.

“Assassin’s Creed Syndicate” (2015)

Of the two Frye twins, Evie is the one who takes her duties as an assassin deathly seriously. She believes in the Brotherhood and its creed and is dedicated to following in the footsteps of their father, himself a prominent assassin. She doesn’t assassinate too many targets herself, instead focusing her efforts on tracking down the Shroud of Eden, but she does show compassion for London’s working class. Many assassins don’t seem to care for the general public at all, despite the public being the people they’re trying to protect from the Templars in the first place, so it was nice to see Evie actively helping people AND caring about the cause.

“Assassin’s Creed” (2007)

The original assassin, Altaïr had the responsibility of introducing us to this world, its dense lore, and strange science. Because of that, he’s a pretty straight-down-the-middle protagonist. He’s cocky and we see his fall from grace, and his eventual rise back to the top of the Brotherhood. But the reason he isn’t our top pick despite his obvious skill is simple: everybody in the game knows who he is. As he assassinates his targets, the citizens and soldiers of the Holy Land inevitably learn what he looks like, how he dresses, and that they should try to kill him. This is so that the game has a rising challenge, but it does mean that clearly, Altaïr isn’t THAT stealthy.

“Assassin’s Creed Rogue” (2014)

It couldn’t be anybody else; Shay is the most powerful, most dedicated, most intelligent, and all-round greatest assassin.

Obviously, we’re just kidding; he can’t be the best assassin, he’s a Templar! Now for our REAL #1…

Various

Not only is Ezio still the fan-favorite assassin as a character, he’s also definitely the best at his job. Though he’s reckless in “AC II”, in “Brotherhood” he’s grown into a Master Assassin and is the leader of the Italian Brotherhood. He spends his time evenly between hunting down Pieces of Eden and going after the Borgias, and much of “Revelations” focuses on Ezio trying to understand more of Altaïr’s legacy and Assassin history. Ezio is also the only assassin we see actually train new recruits through a minigame in “Brotherhood”, AND he assassinates his big targets without being seen at all. Hands down, he’s the most professional of them all.