The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

Finally, 101 Borgia Flags collected! I turned Xbox Notifications on in order to record the Capture the Flag Achievement pop-up at the end. I kept my fingers crossed that there wouldn't also be "FLAE has logged in" while recording.

There are three missable cutscenes in this Lair. The first occurs at 0:52 after Ezio enters the Lair. One drunk asks the other, "Did you see that white knight?" You've probably already seen this one. If you jostle one or both of the drunks before opening the trap door, they run off and the cutscene never happens. After Ezio returns from the Lair during story mode, the drunks return for a follow-up cutscene (even if you missed the first one).

The scene after mass at 1:34 can be frustrating. This Lair has a time limit of 8 minutes and we're off like a herd of turtles waiting nearly 2 minutes for the cardinal to leave the room. I don't know of any way to speed up the process so I try to amuse myself to pass the time. You don't need to use Eagle Vision if you instead get up close to the target, so that's the first thing I do. The cardinal pauses two or three times while making his rounds, but not always in the same places. It's okay to poison the guard at 3:15 because he's still alive when the next cutscene begins.

Flag #99 requires some dexterity to reach. Position Ezio near the edge of the balcony and do an Advanced Wall Run with right kick. If you set up far enough to the right, Ezio will automatically grab the obelisk. You may want to do a Catch Ledge straight ahead just to play it safe. Remember to release so that you don't accidentally do a Catch-Ledge right and fall to your death.

The second missable cutscene starts at 5:10 when the cardinal slips and falls on the wet roof. You will only miss this cutscene if you're too slow in reaching the ladder because the target will have moved on to his next waypoint. A funny thing is that you can trigger the cutscene without actually climbing the ladder. Running up the wall near the ladder is good enough. Ezio then climbs the ladder during the cutscene.

Flag #100 can actually be collected early from "the blind side" by bumping into the wall on your left while free-running to the beam where I briefly pause at 6:57. This may be faster. Collecting an unseen flag didn't make for good video.

The one thing I wish I had done differently is at 7:04. Instead of turning toward the ladder, you can climb that stack of bricks(?) next to the workman and back kick off the wall onto the posts. It gives you a better view of the cardinal and the context of the next cutscene.

You may have never seen the final missable cutscene at 7:45. By grabbing and throwing the cardinal over the rail you get this neat bonus scene. Kill him any other way and Ezio simply rolls the body over to loot the key. If you're in a hurry to meet the 8 minute deadline, one shot with the Hidden Gun is the recommended method of assassination.

There are three Borgia Flags inside each Lair. If you are looking for a specific Flag refer to this index:
Flag 99 - 4:54
Flag 100 - 7:00
Flag 101 - 8:00