Den Defense

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Whenever the Templar Awareness Meter is in the Aware status, performing actions that lead to meter increases may provoke a Templar attack on an Assassin Den. This shifts the status of the Den to Contested. The region surrounding it will be populated with Templars, and Marksmen booths will be occupied by Gunmen. You must infiltrate the Restricted Area and interact with the front door of the Den to trigger the Den Defense minigame and attempt to repel the assault.

Successfully completing a Den Defense leads to monetary rewards, crafting ingredients, XP for Ezio’s Assassins, and unit unlocks for future Den Defense scenarios. Failure will cause the Den to switch back to Templar control, and Ezio must once again kill the local Captain and light the Signal Fire to reassert Assassin dominance in the region.

If you have a particular penchant for this minigame, the quickest way to trigger a Den Defense is to fill the meter by any method you deem appropriate, then enter a Templar Den and kill a few Templars in open conflict. If all Dens are under Assassin control, you’ll just need to pick on Ottomans instead.

If you would prefer to avoid Den Defense situations, assigning an Assassin to a Den and completing both parts of his or her Master Assassin training will cause that Den to become “locked”, rendering it immune to future Templar attacks.

Defense Strategy

Preparations and Opening Tactics

Before the battle, study the varieties and numbers of each enemy type you will face during the siege. This will enable you to decide which units to choose using the Edit function. Consult the reference tables for advice on the relationships between different Assassin and Templar units.

When the battle begins, a slightly risky opening strategy will pay off over the course of the engagement. Depending on how many Morale points you start with, position at least two Leaders on rooftops immediately, then quickly position a handful of affordable Crossbowmen on the rooftops close to the first Templar wave. Aim to have all available rooftops occupied by a Leader after a couple of waves to maximize Morale generation: each one contributes two points every ten seconds, which soon stacks up.

This tactic leaves you with very few units for the first few waves, so it’s pivotal that you fire Ezio’s Pistol constantly to support your Crossbowmen. If an early wave should feature a large group of opponents, use a single Cannon burst to destroy them as they arrive.

As soon as you can afford it, drop your best Barricade to create a choke point close to your troops, but a few steps back to create an area where opponents can be slaughtered before they reach the barrier. Barricades with weaponry will always be much more efficient. As a rule, try to save upgrades until a Barricade is damaged, as each one will instantly replenish its health gauge.

Midpoint Tactics

Whenever you are not positioning units, constantly use the Pistol to shoot opponents and sweep the screen to loot enemy corpses (press the Empty Hand button) to gain Morale bonuses. Focus Pistol fire on enemies that your troops are weakest against, or those that present the greatest danger to your defense.

Pay close attention to the display in the upper right corner of the screen, as it reveals which types of unit are incoming. This is especially useful for identifying Stalkers in advance, as these can cut through rooftop units at a ferocious rate. It will also enable you to be ready for enemy Bombmen, as they represent a huge threat to Barricades: these can be worth a Cannon attack if they appear before the final third of a battle where you face a Siege Engine.

As units closest to the position where Templar forces arrive are most vulnerable to attack, you should generally position cheaper Assassins on these rooftops, such as Crossbowmen and Air Assassins. Fill the remaining rooftops around your principle choke point with more powerful units (especially Riflemen), and you will rarely encounter any difficulties during the middle part of a battle.

Create a second choke point with a Barricade and begin to fill the nearby rooftops with additional troops. For battles where you face a Siege Engine, you may wish to take this preparation even further.

Be liberal in your use of the Cannon during the first half of each Den Defense, then allow the gauge to recharge in the second half of the battle if the Templars have a Siege Engine. Fire it in single bursts: the big area-of-effect attack that empties all three segments of the gauge isn’t nearly as efficient as three individual blasts.

Endgame

If your build order is sound, you will accumulate more Morale than you need or can use. If you have a surplus, consider selling your weaker units to replace them with those more appropriate to the final third of the battle. If an enemy Siege Engine is due to arrive, for example, you can replace Air Assassins and Crossbowmen with the significantly more effective Splinter Bombers.

Once a Siege Engine appears, hit it with Cannon blasts. While you wait for the meter to recharge, attrition is always the best tactic. Place Barricades armed with the best weapons available to you at tight intervals to slow its advance and, if possible, replace your barriers as soon as they are destroyed.

Reference Tables

Assassin Units

Icon	Name	Morale Cost	Health Points	Melee Damage	Ranged Damage	Notes
	Leader	10	150	50	-	Generates morale every ten seconds. Place these on every rooftop early in the battle.
	Crossbowman	10	150	150	34	Position these close to where enemies arrive. This way, Templar Stalkers and Riflemen will attack them first, and they're cheap to replace.
	Rifleman	15	150	50	90	Great against armored foes; powerful but slow. Having a number fire in unison will often cause weaker opponents to break and flee. A staple unit type.
	Splinter Bomber	25	150	50	50	Good against large groups (has a 2.9 meter radius), and more likely to hit multiple opponents if used in conjunction with a Caltrop Bomber. A good choice of replacement for units that don’t inflict damage on Siege Engines if you position them just before the Templar machines arrive.
	Caltrop Bomber	15	150	50	25	These slow down Templar forces within a 2.9 meter radius. Most efficient when positioned just in front of your main Barricade choke point and combined with Splinter Bombers.
	Bruiser	10	150	150	-	The best unit to place behind Barricades, with a 25% resistance to enemy damage. However, with a solid defensive strategy, these are more of a luxury than a necessity; note that they are easily squashed by Siege Engines, and so are best sold in advance of their arrival.
	Air Assassin	10	150	50	Kill	Only effective against human enemies, but will kill up to two of them instantly. Position them on rooftops closest to where Templar forces arrive.

Assassin Barricades

Templar Units

Templar Siege Engines