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When Ubisoft chose to make Assassin's Creed in 2007, a significant risk was taken. The pressure was high as it was considered to be the spiritual successor of Prince of Persia, one of the franchises that propelled Ubisoft to prominence at the time. Regardless, Assassin's Creed immediately found success, and the franchise gained a household name with the release of the three Ezio titles.
The franchise has been around for quite some time and has seen its fair share of well or awfully-written protagonists. The main character has always defined the series, whether in the present or the past.
A new protagonist joined the ranks with the latest release, Assassin's Creed: Mirage. On that account, let's take a look at each main character who has appeared throughout the series.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer.
Ranking Assassin's Creed's main characters from the present-day
3) The unnamed self-inserts
Given how the modern-day storyline concluded in Assassin's Creed 3, Ubisoft needed someone who would continue the plot in the present day and help the players fill different gaps in the story. They introduced a group of mute first-person protagonists who had joined Abstergo Industries.
First introduced in Black Flag, these individuals serve as the player's front to the series' present-day storyline until the introduction of Layla Hassan in Origins. It's fair to state that they don't produce anything particularly engaging, and many people think these games' modern-day plots are weak.
2) Layla Hassan
Layla was introduced to the series in Origins, the first of the modern AC titles. She refined the animus technology while working for Abstergo Industries, the modern-day front for the Templar Order. She later goes on the run and becomes an assassin after her employer tries to kill her.
Despite her addition to the games being met with controversies, Layla remained the modern-day protagonist for three games: Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Her journey concluded with the end of Valhalla, and someone new might take her place.
1) Desmond Miles
Desmond Miles was the franchise's face for a while and an assassin in the twenty-first century. He was the man that started it all. He will always hold a special place in the hearts of gamers who have played Assassin's Creed since its release.
His DNA included memories of numerous illustrious Assassins, including Altair Ibn-LaAhad, Ezio Auditore, and others. Players bid goodbye to Desmond in an emotional cutscene after the events of AC III, where he gave his life to save Earth.
Ranking all the Assassins and Warrior Protagonists from the past
13) The Eagle Bearer - Alexios
Assassin's Creed Odyssey allowed players to select between two characters, Kassandra and Alexios. You later learn that both of these characters are siblings. The main character of Odyssey is given the title The Eagle Bearer. Regardless of whom you choose, the game plays out more or less the same.
In contrast to his sibling, Alexios comes across as uninteresting, and his voice acting does little to make him stand out. Compared to the excellent job Kassandra's voice actor does, it feels rather monotonous.
Odyssey's confusing writing also does not help his case. But if you choose Kassandra, Alexios subsequently develops into a much better character—the role he was always destined to play in the narrative.
12) Jacob Frye
Jacob Frye is one of the primary protagonists of Assassin's Creed Syndicate, who is an Assassin from the English Brotherhood during the Victorian era. Compared to his sister, Evie, Jacob comes as arrogant and stupid and a man who only knows how to solve situations with violence.
Throughout the story, the Frye twins are assigned different tasks, Jacob crippling the Templars by taking out key figures and Evie researching a mystical artifact. Jacob does his job but forms a street gang, making many blunders while taking out his targets. It's fun playing as his sibling, Evie, if you want an Assassin experience.
11) Connor Kenway - Ratonhnhaké:ton
Connor Kenway was a patriot during the American Revolution and an assassin from the American Brotherhood. He was raised by Achilles Davenport, the Grandmaster of the Brotherhood, and was a native American tribesman by birth. He also took command of the Aquila frigate.
Connor doesn't change as a character during the course of the game. He continues to be a bitter man with a petty grudge that causes more harm than good. Even after discovering that the guy he believes to be responsible for his mother's death is innocent, he refuses to let go of his revenge, which causes a great deal of trouble for his tribe.
10) The Eagle Bearer - Kassandra
Kassandra is the canon protagonist of Assassin's Creed Odyssey and the elder sister of Alexios. She is a spartan mercenary who fought in the Peloponnesian War. She has been a massive hit with gamers worldwide ever since the trailer for the game dropped. She also plays an integral part in Layla's journey later on in the game.
Even though she kills for money, she is always endearing regardless of your dialogue options, making her the ideal character to play for such a lengthy game. As said earlier, her voice actor, Melissanthi Mahut, does a brilliant job; unfortunately, she suffers from Odyssey's convoluted plot points and weird choice segments the game asks you to make.
9) Basim Ibn Ishaq
Basim was an essential character in the story of Valhalla and is the main character of the latest entry in the franchise, Assassin's Creed Mirage. He was a member of the Hidden Ones (The Brotherhood of the Assassins) during the Abbassid Caliphate. He is a former street thief turned assassin who joined the order after he was saved by Roshan, the master of the Hidden Ones' stronghold in Alamut.
Basim is a legendary assassin who plays a crucial role in Eivor's journey. Throughout Mirage, we see how he slowly becomes a master assassin. It's too early to set him down, but still, compared to the others on the list, it is a fair ranking.
8) Eivor Varinsdottir
Eivor Varinsdottir was a Viking shield-maiden who raided the coasts of England alongside her foster brother, Sigurd. She eventually becomes a Jarl and settles down in England. Like its predecessor, Odyssey, Valhalla also allows you to choose a gender. The female one is canon, and as for the male one, the game slowly reveals it to you.
Eivor's story is very well written in the saga that is Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Throughout the game, the player's choices determine her and her family's fate. She also meets Basim, who tries to induct her into the Hidden Ones. Obviously, she refuses. Nonetheless, Basim gives her a hidden blade, which she uses in various battles.
7) Evie Frye
Assassin's Creed Syndicate allows you to swap between the Frye twins. Where Jacob Frye is the hotheaded gang leader, Evie is the calm and calculated blade in the shadows.
Her job in the game was to investigate the mysterious artifact called the Shroud of Eden and fix up the mess created by her brother's rash actions. Many players prefer Evie's charming and determined behavior and stealthy combat style, which surpasses her brother's qualities.
6) Arno Victor Dorian
Arno was a master assassin operating in Paris during the French Revolution. He joined the Brotherhood after escaping from the Bastille fort alongside his future mentor and master assassin, Pierre Bellec.
Arno is one of the most well-written protagonists in an Assassin's Creed game. He is genuinely sympathetic, a flawed yet good man. At times, he loses his cool, and this works against him. He meets several vital historical figures throughout his journey, including Marquis De Sade, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Georges Danton.
5) Shay Patric Cormac
Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed Rogue for the PlayStation 3, which also happened to be the last game of the franchise for the console. Rogue told the story of Irish Assassin turned Templar, Shay Patric Cormac.
Assassin's Creed Rogue suffers from having a small campaign, but it tells a solid story nonetheless. Shay Cormac was the first protagonist in the franchise to explore the gray part. It showed us that the Assassins, the good guys of the franchise, can also be wrong.
Shay is at the helm of the story, where he hunts his former comrades throughout the Atlantic while sailing his ship, The Morrigan. The game also features the return of several characters from previous games.
4) Altair Ibn La-Ahad
"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted." By misunderstanding these words, which is the tenet of the brotherhood, once a young Syrian Master Assassin challenged his adversary, which led to many casualties in his village. His punishment? Losing his honor and his rank and having to start all over again.
Altair Ibn La-Ahad was this young assassin, and as we travel through Damascus, Jerusalem, and Acre, we see him becoming more mature and wise. Altair is the protagonist of the first Assassin's Creed game, released in 2007.
The game ends in a cliffhanger, and we learn bits and pieces about Altair in AC II. However, Assassin's Creed Revelations shows us much of Altair's life after the end of the first game. He is the father of the modern Assassin Brotherhood.
3) Bayek of Siwa
Loss rules Bayek's life. He was an Egyptian medjay who guarded his village of Siwa under Ptolemy XIII's rule. But after his son was murdered by The Order of the Ancients, an earlier incarnation of the group that would later become the Templar Order, his life took an abrupt turn. He set out to find the Order throughout Ancient Egypt, swearing retribution.
Bayek and his wife Aya, who will later become the legendary assassin Amunet, form the order of the Hidden Ones. Throughout his journey in Assassin's Creed Origins, he becomes more sympathetic towards the people of Egypt and swears to free them from tyranny.
2) Edward Kenway
Edward Kenway was a Welsh sailor, a pirate, and, most importantly, an Assassin. Starting as a poor farm worker, he decided to become a sailor under the British flag to elevate his social status. He joined a buccaneer crew and set sail for the Caribbean. Kenway became a deadly pirate and joined with the likings of Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, Stede Bonnet, and Anne Bonny, to name a few.
He was inducted into the Order of Assassins by fellow pirate James Kidd. Edward spent most of his life hunting for gold, but after slowly losing his closest friends, he became an active Assassin.
He sailed the ship Jackdaw and was close friends with his quartermaster Adewale, a slave who escaped with him once. Adewale later becomes an Assassin in America. Edward is also the grandfather of Connor Kenway.
1) Ezio Auditore De Firenze
Charming, intelligent, deadly. These words can be used to describe the Grandmaster of the Italian assassin order during the Renaissance, Ezio Auditore himself. The man who got three Assassin's Creed video games dedicated to him and, without any doubt, the community's favorite.
Ezio Auditore was an Italian nobleman whose life got turned upside down when, in a nefarious plot, his brothers and father died, and he had to leave his home city of Florence. He trained under his uncle Mario Auditore and fought countless battles against the Templar Order throughout Italy before becoming a Master Assassin and, ultimately, the Grandmaster. He built back the Roman Brotherhood as well.
Ezio's story didn't have a happy start. Like all Assassin's Creed protagonists, he lost much. His resolve and determination, however, kept him going, and in the end, he passed away a happy man in his garden surrounded by his family.
