The multiplayer component of Brotherhood is a wondrously complex game of cat-and-mouse, and new players can quickly become confused, prey for those towering level 50's. But fear not! Some basic tips will ensure you're assassinating the populace of Renaissance Italy with speed an style in no time!

1) Quality Over Quantity

This is THE MOST IMPORANT tip, and the one which many players never learn. A basic, dirty kill is worth 100 points. Being discreet and running a bit before killing your target increases this by 50%. Being totally incognito makes the kill four times as valuable. Killing from a hiding spot tacks on 200 extra points - the equivalent of two messy kills. The lesson to take away here is that sprinting around and starting chases all the time is never a good idea, even if you get 15 kills or so in a match - your score will remain in the 1500-3000 range. I've gotten 2200-point kills before (granted, with the x2 loss streak), single-handedly bringing me from 8th to 1st. However, don't take this to the extreme. If you must, get a relatively cheap kill. You should almost never begin chases, though.

2) Where Not To Go: The Rooftops (Mostly)

Want a giant "KILL ME" sign? Well, you can't have one, but this is the next best thing. In addition to being visible to anyone, your pursuer is notified that you are above them. Combine with being the only person there, and you're dead, unless you intentionally ambush them with a Smoke Bomb and stun. Not only that, but it's exceptionally hard to identify and tail your target from the roof, and the Incognito bonus is usually out of the question, as is Hidden. So, avoid...

...UNLESS...

• You're playing Manhunt against a group that loves to stun their pursuers repeatedly. A group of four can easily rotate cooldowns and keep a group of hunters stunned while they rack up points. Killing even one can cut their points down drastically, and there is virtually no way to defend from an aerial assassination. Nonetheless, it can be difficult to identify your target, so you may wish to wait until one of your teammates decides to kill one and subsequently get stunned. Kill the stunner. Easy peasy.
• You have no pursuers. I still don't recommend it, though. If you think you can get a Focus bonus (3 seconds with Square over their heads before killing them) and an Acrobatic bonus, it might be worth it.

3) Know the Terrain

Know where to run if you need to, where your target is by the compass alone, and where you can cut off said target, preferably from a blend spot for the extra 200 points. Keep an eye out for glowing chase breakers that cut off pursuers if you run through them - they've saved me more times than I can count.

4) Keep Your Cool - Play Defensive

If you've paid attention to the point tallies for each player at the end of any game, you'll know that you can earn just as many points defensively as offensively. Indeed, if you manage to get to third place or higher in Wanted mode, you'll need to play defensively to be able to do anything. This works for several reasons:

• Stuns give 200 points, a decent score. Don't go out of your way, but if your pursuer walks into your group or something, don't hesitate to Smoke'n'Stun.
• Lure gives 100 points - a great score for practically doing nothing. Walk into a blend group with the Blender perk, and make sure you're in the center of the group or off to the side from where most players would come from. If you don't yet have the Blender perk, it's more difficult, but find a group with your lookalike.
• Chase sequences happen surprisingly often. If you already happen to be in a blend group, stick in there. An easy 100 points. Double or triple escapes are rarer, but give even more.
• Your target is most likely trying to kill one of your pursuers. After all, in first place you will have 3 pursuers - 3/8ths of the players - trying to kill you. Your target isn't after you (or himself...), so that means he's after one of the other six players. There's 50% chance he's after your pursuer, and if not, he's after someone who's after your pursuer. Stick in a blend spot until he's right in front of you, walk out and poison for optimal effect - 800 points (900 with slow poison). You can even try for a Focus Bonus if he's performing a killing animation!

5) What to Use and What to Avoid - Abilities

Most abilities have their place, and shine in certain situations. Nonetheless, there are ones which really stick out, and others which... don't,

• Disguise: Disguises your character as another persona for 15 seconds. A great ability. Don't be fooled by the fact that you get it at level 2. As a matter of fact, it's so good because so many players neglect it. Break a chase with it, stun your pursuer... the possibilities are endless. However, Disguise is not a game breaker. Do NOT run around, thinking no one will know who you are. They will be able to tell you are a player, and that's enough, usually. Remain incognito. Also, be aware - when you use Disguise, and when it fades, you flash white. Therefore, use it out of line of sight first.
• Sprint Boost: Boosts movement speed by 20% for 5 seconds. I find this ability to be next to useless. Using it to close in on your target means your detection meter will drop, guaranteeing a sloppy, cheap kill. Using it in escapes can be useful, but, frankly, those are easy enough to escape from anyway and the extra hundred points isn't worth an ability slot for.
• Smoke Bomb: Throws a smoke bomb, which explodes after about a second to make opponents withing a 3.2 m range for 3 seconds. Ahhh, smoke bomb. There's a reason so many players use it - it's good. The strategies are nearly endless. Pop it near your target and wait for the Focus Bonus. Pop it near your pursuer and stun. Pop it in a chase with your pursuer in hot pursuit, then turn and stun (and get points for the stun and escape). Pop it to block a Charge. Perhaps the most innovative way to use it is to throw it down in Manhunt while approaching a target blended in a group. Chances are, they'll throw one down, too, and you'll both be coughing. When the smoke ends, you can still kill them. The major disadvantages of the smoke bomb are it's small radius and slight delay - it takes about a second to take effect, and a fast player can run out of the area of effect. Also, try to refrain from using it on a sloped surface, such as a rooftop. I've been killed because my pursuer was on the raised end of the slope, above the area of effect.
• Hidden Gun: Aim at a target by holding the ability button, release to fire. Base hit chance is 10% but increases to 100% after 1.5 seconds spent aiming. The Hidden Gun is decent at lower levels, but absolute trash higher up. Even at low levels, there's usually something better, like Smoke Bomb. Why is it so bad? Because it combines a low-score kill with a long cooldown. The highest kill with a hidden gun I have ever seen is 275 pts. - the vast majority are 100 pts. Combine this with a long, 90-second cooldown, and you should avoid it like the plague.
• Firecrackers: Blinds opponents and scares civilians in a 6 m range for 6 seconds. Opponents farther away will be less affected. Firecrackers are decent. They're similar in effect to the smoke bomb, but, rather than stunning, blind any players. They have a long radius and duration, and a short cooldown. They also cause AI lookalikes to cower on the ground, revealing true players. This, however, is downplayed by the fact that players can still do everything they can normally do, because Firecrackers don't stun. They will most likely throw a Smoke in retaliation, then run as best as their memory of the area allows them to. Sometimes, this works, and for this reason, Firecrackers are not amazing. They absolutely should not be used on defense, however, because your pursuer will probably already have you locked on.
• Morph: Morphs 4 civilians within 3.2 meters permanently into your duplicates. A very useful skill which transforms civilians into your lookalikes. There are multiple ways to counteract this, however, so don't assume you're perfectly safe in your personal bubble of identical twins. Firecrackers, Morph itself, Templar Vision, and Charge all directly counteract this ability. I've always felt Morph was a cooldown which forced others to use their cooldowns and still ended in your death, and thus avoided it. It is a good ability, however, and can find a great home in Wanted mode if you are third place or higher. After all, fewer people pack Templar Vision or Charge on Wanted mode. The primary disadvantage, aside from the ease of countering it, is that your group is wearing a neon sign saying, "HEY, YOUR TARGET IS IN HERE!" Still, to really mess with people, morph a group, then move into a directly adjacent hiding spot. Hilarity ensues.
• Throwing Knives: Slows target to a crawl for 3.5 seconds and causes them to fall if they're climbing. I've never been much of a fan of throwing knives, but they are invaluable if you want to hit one of those pesky rooftop-running morons. They also have a very short cooldown. They can cancel a Charge or Sprint Boost, but it's difficult to do so. They can also make for an easy Escape, but I refer you to the argument I made for Sprint Boost, in that case. If need be, use them to slow a runner, then get a silent or discreet kill. Make note that Knives DO NOT prevent the victim from stunning or killing.
• Templar Vision: Reveals pursuers (who glow red) and targets (who glow blue) within 30 meters for 3.5 seconds. This ability sounds extremely overpowered, but it really isn't, if only for one reason - while your target becomes a giant blue beacon and your enemies red ones, you glow to them a very noticeable silvery color. So you know who they are, but they know who you are. Therefore, try to use Templar Vision around corners or on rooftops, where blended personas rarely look. NEVER, EVER use it defensively, however, as you broadcast your position to your pursuer. I'd suggest avoiding Templar Vision, personally.
• Charge: Charge forward, totally hulking out on any pursuers or targets who happen to be in the way of your fury. You can barely turn while in use, but who needs turning anyway? Good God, I love charge. It's amazing. Despite the speed boost, you never want to use the precious 90-second cooldown for chases or escapes. Instead, charge right into a group you know your target is blended in, and, BANG, instant kill. You don't even need to know who they are, just their approximate location. It works the other way, too - charge at a pursuer and you stun them, without any danger of being killed. The downside is that charge makes your detection meter freefall. Nonetheless, it is entirely possible to charge point-blank into a morphed group and get an Incognito Bonus. If using it against your pursuer, note that it has a start-up time during which you can still die. Thus, don't use it against them at point-blank range.
• Decoy: Sends an NPC running randomly after disguising them as you. A great way to earn the Lure Bonus and shave off a pursuer. Most pursuers will mistake this for you and attack. Combine with a short cooldown, and it's great. Still, be sure to not use it before your enemy has a full radar. An alternative strategy is to use it for offense - in a morphed group, use it on a persona. If the ability doesn't work, that's a player.
• Mute: Instantaneously prevents opponents from using abilities, stuns, or assassinations for 1.5 seconds within a 6 m range.  A decent skill, though I usually skip it. Mute has a massive range, no delay, and prevents enemies from killing, stunning, or using abilities for its' duration. That duration, however, is a measley 1.5 seconds. All of the advantages must be weighed against this one massive flaw. You must be very precise in your timing of Mute, especially if you wish to use it to stun a pursuer. Offensively, there is a little more leeway, and you can use it to help score a Focus Bonus. The mute animation is very subtle, so don't be surprised if you don't notice someone else use it.
• Poison: Poisons the target, causing them to die a short while later for bonus points. If you ask me, the best and most versatile skill. Use it a lot, and when you complete the Pharmacist challenge, switch to Slow Poison. Poisoning a target causes them to die after five seconds (3.5 seconds with Fast Poison and 6.5 seconds with Slow Poison), tacking on 200 extra points for the kill (150 for Fast Poison and 300 for Slow Poison). As if that weren't good enough, the Poison animation is totally invisible to other players, and the Poison Bonus counts toward the valuable Variety Bonuses. There are a few disadvantages, however. Poison requires extreme proximity to your target - much closer than that of a standard kill. Then there's the delay, in which another pursuer may kill your target. This deprives you of that 600-point kill (if Incognito) for a mere 50 point Intercepted Bonus. A strategy which I love to pull off but which is quite hard to do is to poison one target in Alliance or Manhunt, then kill another. The poisoned target cannot stun you, and you just got two great kills within five seconds of one another!

6) What to Use and What to Avoid - Perks

Perks are a lot like abilities - most have their place, but some are garbage.

• Enhanced Autobash: Your first perk, gained at level 20. This increases the number of civilians you can bash without holding O to two before you begin to stumble. Holding O to prevent stumbling does slow you down a little, but hardly enough to justify taking this perk. Use it until you get Wall Runner, then never touch it again.
• Wall Runner: A great perk early on, though higher levels won't find much use for it. The 'slight' increase to wall-running height is actually quite noticeable, shaving maybe a second off climbing times in some cases. In any event, it's definitely better than Enhanced Autobash.
• Resistance: Reduces stun duration from 5 to 3 seconds. This is useful in Wanted, where you don't want to be helpless on the ground for your pursuers to kill, but really shines in the offensive Manhunt round, where you are always hunting your prey. Considering the number of times you're apt to be stunned in a game, this can easily give you an extra 10-15 seconds of effective play time.
• Blender: Morphs one person in a blend group to be your lookalike. This is very powerful - personally my favorite defensive perk. However, you need to be aware of some of the weaknesses of it, as well. First, a morphed lookalike will flash white during the transformation. If a player is nearby, they can still pick out the true player easily by simple process of elimination. Secondly, if the blend group already has at least one lookalike, it won't work. Finally, only one civilian can be transformed at once - that is, if you enter one blend group, transform someone, then enter a second to do the same, the a civilian in the second group will transform, but the original transformed civilian will reappear as their original character. I highly recommend this perk in Wanted, Alliance, and the defensive round of Manhunt.
• Fast Getaway: When hidden from a pursuer, the detection meter lasts on 75% as long. A perk slot would be better suited to Blender, since simply running out of sight and into any blend group will end most chases with it anyway.
• Chase Expert: Increases movement speed by 15% if you engage your target in a chase. Since chases usually only give 100 points, I'd keep away from this perk.
• Overall Cooldowns: Shaves 10 seconds off cooldowns of all abilities. This is particularly strong with short-cooldown abilities, such as Decoy or Throwing Knives, but is effective with 90-second-cooldown abilities, as weel. I personally always have this perk equipped. Paired with a "Rapid Reload" ability type, you can shave 20 seconds off the cooldown.
• Silent Hunt: Useful for the free-running types. It decreases the rate of the detection meter's drop when in High Profile. Using it is often the difference between a Discreet or Silent Bonus, or entering a chase and Discreet. I usually use it in Wanted mode.

7) What to Use and What to Avoid: Streaks

Streaks all have their place - none are useless, but I definitely have preference for some.

• Streak Bonus +100: Whenever you kill any three people without dying, you gain this bonus. It adds 100 to every kill until a contract is lost (not necessarily by death). Use it as soon as you get it at level 5, but swap out to the Silent Streak Bonuses when you get them - they give more points for the same amount of kills, with the only added constraint of performing them silently or incognito.
• Streak Bonus +300: Exactly the same as the +100 bonus, except it gives 300 points per kill and is only acquired with Silent or Incognito kills, which you should be performing anyway. I recommend this one for Wanted all the way to level 50, since the chance of getting the much higher 5-kill Silent Streak is extremely hard in Wanted.
• Streak Bonus +250: Kill five targets without dying to get this one. No silent or incognito kills necessary. I recommend against using this one, as five kills in Wanted without dying is hard to pull off, and it gives only 50 less points than the +300 Streak.
• Streak Bonus +750: The ultimate Manhunt streak bonus! Use this when playing offensively, and so long as you get at least five Silent or Incognito kills without killing yourself, you'll see this pop. I only recommend it for Manhunt offense, though - five silent kills anywhere else borders on impossible.
• Loss Streak: Extra Precision: Makes your compass more accurate after losing a contract (again, not necessarily by death) 3 times in a row. All loss streaks are cancelled after a single kill is made. This is a surprisingly useful streak, but I'd still switch it out after getting any of the other three loss streaks.
• Loss Streak: Reset Cooldowns: After losing a contract 3 times in a row, you will have refreshed abilities every time you die. This is extremely valuable when playing the defensive round of Manhunt, and good for most other situations until you get the x2 loss streak.
• Loss Streak: x2 Score: The mother of all loss streaks, in my opinion. It doubles the score of your next kill. I've gotten 2200-point kills with this. Make sure you make a kill under the effect of this a good one - Incognito, Slow Poison, Hidden and Variety alone can net you 2200 points, and more if you get Greater or - God forbid - Extreme Variety. There is one drawback - rather than three contract losses, this one requires five.
• Loss Strak: Boost Cooldowns: This one also requires five contract losses in a row, and reduces the cooldowns of all abilities by 33%. This isn't that great because it doesn't affect abilities already on cooldown until you use them next, and it is usually bested by Reset Cooldowns or x2 Score in most situations anyway.

7) The Line of Sight Trick

Is there a pesky morphed group which contains your target? Do you not have an ability equipped to dispose of him with certainty? No problem! Simply walk around a corner and pay very close attention to when the compass stops flashing - that indicates you went out of line of sight of your target. Using this, you can pinpoint your target in a group... I won't say always, because some groups are very clustered... but a good deal of the time. A word of caution - don't make it obvious that you're strafing the wall. Your target can see you, and more than likely will deduce what you're trying to do.

8) Mimic the AI

Pay attention to how the AI acts. Usually, simply moving into a blend group causes you to mimic them, complete with walking patterns, but if you aren't in one, stay on the path which most AI civilians walk along. Note that when the civilians wish to enter a blend group, they pause, then turn and walk into it. This may not seem like much, and in the lower rankings it really isn't, but you need to master your stealth higher up. Try throwing in a few pauses and turn-arounds - sometimes the AI does that too. Don't just walk without pausing or turning though - that's a great way to stick out to a very discerning player. Try to power-walk (that is, holding x in low profile) sparingly, as well.

9) A Game of Wits

Even with all these tips, Brotherhood is largely a psychological game. What I mean is that what your pursuer or target thinks is everything. Say you're on a rooftop (I know I said try to avoid them, but, hey, it will happen) and a suspicious player is power-walking towards you. For one thing, you can bet your ass he's your pursuer, but I digress. Say, instead of running, you want to ambush him and smoke or charge him. Facing your character to or away from him can make all the difference. You can always face your camera towards him, but pretend your character is looking at something else. If you turn right at him, there's a good chance he knows that you know he's trying to kill you, and if he manages to dodge that smoke or charge, you're screwed. Turn away from him, and he might still be cautious, but the chances are lower. For added effect try running along the edge of a building or something like you're looking for a target - anything to throw him off. That's just one example, though.

Even if you're completely incognito, not power-walking, and sticking to the AI's path, a single character walking around is suspicious. Stick to a moving blend group that's heading towards your target - they won't see what's coming for them, and you get a Hidden Bonus.

Pretty much, ask yourself "What would fool me?", then do whatever that is to other players and don't fall for it yourself. Think outside the box.

Well, I'm not done with this, but I figure that's enough for now. Enjoy!