Weapons, Past and Present
I'm not going to talk about combat directly in this topic, rather the tools with which we shall use to triumph in it. First off, I'm going to tackle a valid question: Now that the real life segments will be more substantial, hopefully, it is likely that Desmond will get his only assassination missions to attempt, and with that must come several weapons that can be used to complete the assassinations in a variety of ways, and equipment that can be used to evade guards on the way out and in. However, it wouldn't be an AC game without a few trips in the animus. So our mystery character will have a weapon set comparable to Desmond's real life one. So should the animus character's weapon set be reskinnned exactly from Desmond's? I say no, because it will make your experience as a future assassin seem less futuristic if a person from the past has the exact same equipment with the exact same functionality as you. But the differences should be mainly in things that will not make you feel significantly weaker, like grappling hook distance (yes, I said grappling hook) and giving desmond climbing gloves and a fictionally canon HUD. Here are some ideas for things that can be weapons/equipment, and their modern and past counterparts.
Grappling Hook
Button: Lb
Modern: Longer grappling range- top of a moderately sized building. (must be aimed, will retract when button is let go) Looks like a cable. can use the grappling hook to spear locked on enemies.
Animus: Shorter range, 2/3 of the way up a moderately sized building. (must be aimed, will retract slower) looks like a rope. can use the grappling hook to spear locked on enemies.
The grappling hook is the hidden blade. Both the modern and animus versions of the hidden blade can split in half like scissors, forming the hook.
Hidden Blade
Button: X
Modern: can kill in low profile or high. if moving in low profile you can slice a target's neck without stopping. (animation does not require you to stop moving or control the camera) In high profile it auto stops you. Hidden blade executions can be chained together with the grappling hook. High profile air assasinations have several different animations depending on angle target is facing. Same high profile assasinations on the ground. When high profile assassinating fleeing enemies, the animation should involve your character grabbing the target and then stabbing him.
Animus: ditto.
The Hidden blade will only be on one hand, and when it has been stabbed into someone it can open up like scissors and provide more brutal assasinations (this will happen during high profile assasinations only.) Obviously the hidden blade will look more sturdy, to make it believable that it stays in-tact what with all the grappling and being made of two peices.
The Animus and Modern ones have a few special animations that are unique to them. Desmond's might be more desperate. The animus one might be more brutal, depending on what type of character that it is.
UPDATE 1
Hidden Gun
Aim mode activation: Weapon Hand
Fire (while in aim mode): Right trigger
Aim (while in aim mode): Right stick (configurable)
Modern: In aim mode, hud zooms 1.5x. 20 shots, headshots are only more effective when the rest of the guard's body is armored, some guards may have helmets, on those guards, headshots would be most effective. Two shots to kill an unarmored guard. Clip size is 3. minimum delay between shots is 0.3 seconds. can move while in aim mode, at a normal walk. Aiming is third person still, but aiming is manual with the left stick. hidden gun bullets can be looted from all guards who carry pistols.
In long distance mode, desmond's HUD zooms in 4x, and the hidden gun extends into a longer shape, allowing for long distance kills. 5 shots, one hit kill to armored or unarmored head, one hit kill to unarmored body, 2 hit kill to armored body. 1 shot per clip. Minimum delay between shots is 1.2 seconds. Immobile while using. crowd will notice you and report you to guards if you use it within their sight. Best place to use is on rooftops. Make sure to clear out any possible guys who could ruin your party. Uses AM rated bullets, different from your hidden gun's. AM rated bullets can be looted from rooftop guards (who have guns like your own long distance one, except more obtrusive. also a longer sightline, consequencely.
Animus: LATER!
Ok, rest later.
This is genius!
I already have the box cover!
Or if you replace the grappling hook with webs.... SPIDERMAN! + hidden blade
I'm pretty sure prowler has a hidden blade just like that...
In short: Good idea, but I'm pretty sure its taken/ Ubisoft doesn't want to get sued. The hidden blade idea is better for templars. With Assassins... Stealth>Gruesomeness.
The only similarity with the grappling hook is that it's a grappling hook. In Just Cause 2, you tap it once and you're flying at high speeds anywhere you point it with ease.
With an AC grappling hook, you press to launch it (only upwards for buildings) let go to retract it (realistically, you should be able to walk/run up the line you threw like Batman, but cooler).
I'm not a fan of improving the hidden blade so much that it can become 2 blades in 1 to make the hook. I think the hook should be an entirely different item in the inventory, but still be able to tap LB/L2 to use it.
Interestingly, there's a new game coming out called Inversion in which the main weapon is a grappling hook. As soon as I saw it I thought of Just Cause 2 but it still looks cool. its all to do with defying gravity by the looks of things:
http://kotaku.com/5385870/namco-bandai-defies-gravity-with-inversion/gal...
I wouldn't be surprised if they did have a grappling hook in one of the next games. In the ds Assassins creed game they did as well as other things that were put in ac2 and Brotherhood such as a crossbow and smoke bombs.
I think the main concern here will be about guns. I don't really think that Desmond will be usings swords or crossbows (although CoD has proven otherwise) or any short range weapon. I think that instead of focusing on the use of gadgets or hidden blades, the series will focus more on the use of gunfire. Let's think realistic for a second. As much as I want AC to stay on the simpler times with less technology, how could they work around the fact that the most you will see of a knife in the present is a tactical knife for CQC. Templars will not use batons or anything like that anymore now that they have seen how much of a threat the Assassins are. They'll now use handguns, SMGs, snipers, frags, kevlars. OR if they don't want to draw attention they'll still use silenced weapons.
It was even featured in AC after an Animus session that assassins and templars now fight each other with gunfire.
Then, will this mean that the future of AC will be somewhat like Splinter Cell? I hate to think about it, yet I still don't find any way in which modern warfare tactics won't affect the combat in future games.
ROB_88 wrote:
[On the meaning of BAMF]i figured it was something similar to a MILFBabes Await My..............Flap-a-doodle
I wouldn't mind giving Desmond 1 hidden blade, a silenced pistol (small enough to be hidden, so not very much ammo), and giving him a short shiv or knife wouldn't be necessary, as he's already got a hidden blade.
I never understood why the modern templar guards used batons anyway. They looked pathetic with them. If their aim was to kill, you'd bring a pistol at the very least (or at least Vidic probably would) and perhaps even something more powerful. If you wanted to capture or injure someone (like Lucy and Desmond) you'd probably have a gun just in case it all got out of hand (which it did).
Luckily for Desmond, the Templar guards are complete morons.
Ubisoft can just rename splinter cell into Assassins creed 3. Seriously, them making that game took away most of the ideas for Ac3 and futuristic assassins. Since they already made splinter cell, they can't make a clone of the game and call it Ac3.
They can at least limit gun use in the game. It's not like every guard will have a gun, so close combat would still work. 
My idea was for Desmond to have a gun on his other arm. The grappling hook will be very different from the one from Just Cause 1 and 2, mainly in the physics of it. The Just cause grappling gun pulled you directly toward where you launched it, had ridiculous range, and moved you very fast. It could embed itself in any surface. The AC hook would be different in that it would just stab enemies through, instead of unrealistically pulling them back towards you, that it could be used in freerunning for more stylish movement, that it would not have as much thrust as a jet fighter when retracting you, and that it could not embed into anything. It would also look way cooler.
One thing I'm thinking about for the hidden gun is it should take a bit to go into aim mode, since it requires rolling up your sleeve a bit, so guards with obvious guns will always be faster on the draw than you, making stealthing them a necessity even if you have your gun. (In open combat, aim mode will always be on and target locked on foes automatically) I also think that manual aiming should be required, so that the gun does not become as easy to clear a room with as the crossbow in AC:B. On the flip side, it should have a lot of ammo, and also be able to fire pellets that are mini smoke bombs or flashbangs. (no grenades, it's a stealthy gun) Movement while aiming should be in. Assassinations should be rethought to allow for creative using of these tools.
EDIT: VERY LIMITED smoke bombs/flashbangs, obviously.
I like Fogey's "Hidden Silencer" idea. That coupled with Calvar's assessment of the essentials of stealth-shooting could make a cool limited-range gun. Also, I'd like it with just 3 shots.
Stealth shoot (silenced) guard, swing from balcony down to air-assassinate on the ground, shoot two guards in front of you. There's four kills that could be done within 5 or 6 seconds, and wouldn't be very high-profile in my opinion. I hope Desmond has some kind of hidden 3 Cap pistol, or barrel somewhere. I loved the shock value of being "man-who-throws-fire" to everyone else haha!