Altaïr is dressed for mobility, to some extent, but he does have some armor. On his left arm, he wears a leather vambrace with metal splints going down the outer side. He also appears to wear a leather kidney belt around his waist. Because of this limited armor, he must focus on parrying and dodging blows. He uses his mobility to put his opponent in an awkward position, giving himself the time and position to strike a lethal blow. According to Patrice Désilets, Altaïr's fighting style is one of "openings, dodging, attacking, and counters of the NPCs." While fighting, he also uses his arms and legs to attack the enemy. One such example is a counter where Altaïr turns his opponent around by the arm, and kicks them forward, taking them out of combat for a few seconds. The control scheme follows the main control scheme of the game: a button for the head, weapon hand, free hand, and feet. The feet button is for kicks, the free hand for grabs and throws, the weapon hand for attacks and counters.
Altaïr fights with his longsword in his right hand in the standard fashion. His short scimitar he also holds in his right, but with the blade on the ulnar side of the hand. Altaïr is also adept at fighting unarmed and appears to fight with a basic fighting stance using a variety of punches and throws, although not much unarmed combat has been shown. Finally, his hidden wrist-blade only seems to be used when killing someone who cannot defend themselves. Some examples are when Altaïr stabs a guard unaware of his presence in the back, and jumping onto his targets, such as during the pursuit of the slave trader Talal, before they have their weapon ready.
