With Friends Like These

Follow Jacope through Florence, using Eagle Vision and stealth to uncover Templar secrets. Learn combat tips and how to handle guards in this Assassin's Creed II walkthrough.

Alright, let's get this mission, 'With Friends Like These,' done. Your main goal here is to tail a guy named Jacope. He's going to lead us to some more Templars, so we need to stick to him like glue. When you start, you'll see a bunch of people leaving a building. Whip out your Eagle Vision to spot Jacope in the crowd – he'll get a blue arrow above him, making him easy to track from now on.

The best way to do this is to stay up high. Keep following Jacope as he moves through the city. It's pretty straightforward, but keep an eye out for archers on the rooftops and take them out before they spot you. Jacope will pause at one point to check out a dead archer on the ground, but don't worry, he won't notice you. If you lose sight of him, or if something blocks your view, a timer will pop up. If that timer runs out, you'll fail the mission, so make sure you can always see him.

Eventually, Jacope will meet up with a friend, and they'll head off on a long trek across the city. They'll eventually reach a main gate. Instead of trying to fight your way through the guards there, which is a bad idea, find the ladder on the side of the building and climb up to get over the wall.

Once you're on the other side, look for a group of people who are following Jacope. Blend in with them. Keep blending and following Jacope. He's going to lead a bunch of guards to a secret meeting spot. Wait until the guards turn their backs, then try to climb over the walls to get into the secret area. Once you step into the marker, you'll trigger a cutscene.

After the scene, Ezio gets discovered, and some guards grab him. When the prompt appears on screen, hit [Square] to take down one of the guards. A fight will break out, but don't worry, it's not too tough. Countering is your best friend here. You'll face a Brute and a guard with a spear. It's a good idea to disarm the spear guy right at the start and use his weapon against the others. Honestly, this fight shouldn't give you too much trouble at this point in the game.

Once all the guards are down, go over to Jacope. He's somehow still standing after being stabbed multiple times, including in the neck! Finish him off with your Hidden Blade. That's the end of this mission and Sequence 5.

Sequence 6 Recap:

You'll find yourself back in Florence. If you want to head back to the Villa, you can do the usual routine of collecting money and dropping off those feathers you've been finding. Just remember, you haven't decrypted your Codex pages yet if you've picked them up. Since we're in Florence, Leonardo is nearby if you want to wait for him. If your Villa chest is getting pretty full, it might be worth heading back to cash in.

Speaking of Codex pages, there's one near your next objective. Look for the marker on your map – it's at a grey building to the north. Just south of that building, you'll find the Codex Page marker (assuming you've synchronized the viewpoint to see it). The entrance is on the east side and, of course, it's guarded. Instead of always relying on courtesans, thieves, or mercenaries, try getting creative. You could distract some guards with money, then use a Poison Blade, or perhaps deploy Smoke Bombs. It's up to you how you want to approach it, but make sure you get inside and grab that Codex Page.

There's another Codex Page located near the northwest corner of the city. Climb the viewpoints in that area to reveal it. It's a bit east and slightly north of the west gate of Florence.

After you've grabbed those, proceed to the main mission marker.