Spear of Leonidas

The Spear of Leonidas, also known as the Blade of Leonidas, was a Spear of EdenAssassin's Creed: The Essential Guide wielded by King Leonidas I of Sparta at the Battle of Thermopylae. Following his death, Leonidas' now-broken spear was passed on to his daughter Myrrine and then to his granddaughter Kassandra.
During Kassandra's quest to locate her family and destroy the Cult of Kosmos, Kassandra regularly visited the Ancient Forge to enhance the spear's combat efficiency, structural durability, and supernatural power through the use of Isu Artifact Fragments.
==Owners==
*Isu (until 75,000 BCE)Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Timeline
*Mother of Leonidas I
*Leonidas of Sparta (until 480 BCE)
*Myrrine (c. 480 BCE – c. 451 BCE)
*Kassandra (c. 451 BCE – 420 BCE)Assassin's Creed: Odyssey - So It Begins
*Herodotus (from 420 BCE)Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories – A New Horizon
*Alessandra d'Avanzago (1509 CE)Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice – She Spears, She Scores
*Layla Hassan (2018 – May 2020)
*Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane (August 2020)
*Basim Ibn Ishaq (August 2020 – present)Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Modern Day
==History==
The first known human to wield the spear was the first wife of King of Sparta and the mother of Leonidas I. At one point, Leonidas was given the spear by her,Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Fate of Atlantis: Fields of Elysium – A Life for a Life and he would use it until his death in 480 BCE at the Battle of Thermopylae. After being broken during the battle, the broken tip was recovered by the Spartans and handed over to Leonidas' daughter Myrrine.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Battle of 300 (memory) Myrrine would in turn hand down the spear to Kassandra when she was seven years old.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Memories Awoken
The spear lost its powers during the events on the island of Korfu, where its proximity to an equally-strong Apple of Eden caused it to overload, preventing Kassandra from accessing its special abilities. Once its power was exhausted,Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories – Not All Treasure Should Be Found Kassandra left the spear to Herodotus as something to remember her by.
Millennia later during the Italian Renaissance, the Assassin Alessandra d'Avanzago recovered the spear to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Templars. The Assassins then hid the spear in a location where they believed it would not be found for a long time.
The spear was eventually recovered and reburied beneath Herodotus' book Lost Histories, where it laid untouched for centuries until 2018 when both objects were recovered by the Assassin Layla Hassan. Using Kassandra's DNA found on the spear, Layla was able to relieve her memories through the Animus. Once Layla had found Atlantis and met Kassandra, kept alive by the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, she tried offering the spear back to her, only for Kassandra to reply that it was broken and that Layla could keep it.Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Modern Day
==Functionality==
The spear was able to bestow upon its wielder enhanced strength, as well as a myriad of other supernatural abilities. The spear was able to harness its wielder's adrenaline to produce supernatural effects, such as cloaking its user, regenerating health, or harnessing some of the natural elements such as poison and fire. It could even briefly increase the wielder's speed and reflexes, charge arrows with explosive energy, produce shockwaves, and augment arrows so they could phase through walls. While quite literally granting its wielder god-like powers and abilities, with it widely being rumored to contain the strength of the fallen 300 Spartans,Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories the spear did in fact have a finite amount of power and became a normal spear when depleted, though this well of power appeared to be quite extensive as the Spear was liberally used by Leonidas, Myrrine, and finally Kassandra.
==Weapon statistics==
===Animus HR-8.5===
Class 	Rarity 	Attack 	Stun 	Weight 	Speed 	Critical Chance 	Perks 	Availability
Wolf 	Mythical 	97 	124.5 	9.8 	54.7 	114.5 	Increase Attack, Melee Damage, Ranged Damage and Ability Damage when having at lease one filled adrenaline slot 	Loot chest in camp at Dun Ardtreck
Description 	Description 	Description 	Description 	Description 	Description 	Description 	Description 	Description
This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.	This spear as once wielded by King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is said the strength of the 300 radiates from its blade.
===Mobile Animus 4.38===
Tier 	Damage 	Speed 	Miss Chance 	Modifiers 	Requirements
★★★★★ 	4.3k-4.6k 	1.50 	5% 	+30 Attack+190 Defense+190 Health+8% Critical Chance+10% Critical Bonus+5% Dodge 	300,000 Coins210 Damascus steel60 Fine Silk1 Ancient tablet
Enhanced Skills 	Enhanced Skills 	Enhanced Skills 	Enhanced Skills 	Enhanced Skills 	Enhanced Skills
Spear of Leonidas: The power of the Spear of Leonidas empowers this hero's normal attacks.Rank 2: All basic attacks hit for 105% damage. 	Spear of Leonidas: The power of the Spear of Leonidas empowers this hero's normal attacks.Rank 2: All basic attacks hit for 105% damage. 	Spear of Leonidas: The power of the Spear of Leonidas empowers this hero's normal attacks.Rank 2: All basic attacks hit for 105% damage. 	Spear of Leonidas: The power of the Spear of Leonidas empowers this hero's normal attacks.Rank 2: All basic attacks hit for 105% damage. 	Spear of Leonidas: The power of the Spear of Leonidas empowers this hero's normal attacks.Rank 2: All basic attacks hit for 105% damage. 	Spear of Leonidas: The power of the Spear of Leonidas empowers this hero's normal attacks.Rank 2: All basic attacks hit for 105% damage.
Description 	Description 	Description 	Description 	Description 	Description
The legendary Spear of Leonidas destroyed during the battle of 300. The weapon was eventually reworked into a smaller one handed blade by Kassandra. Said to be of Isu descent.	The legendary Spear of Leonidas destroyed during the battle of 300. The weapon was eventually reworked into a smaller one handed blade by Kassandra. Said to be of Isu descent.	The legendary Spear of Leonidas destroyed during the battle of 300. The weapon was eventually reworked into a smaller one handed blade by Kassandra. Said to be of Isu descent.	The legendary Spear of Leonidas destroyed during the battle of 300. The weapon was eventually reworked into a smaller one handed blade by Kassandra. Said to be of Isu descent.	The legendary Spear of Leonidas destroyed during the battle of 300. The weapon was eventually reworked into a smaller one handed blade by Kassandra. Said to be of Isu descent.	The legendary Spear of Leonidas destroyed during the battle of 300. The weapon was eventually reworked into a smaller one handed blade by Kassandra. Said to be of Isu descent.
==Behind the scenes==
===Gameplay===
The Spear of Leonidas features in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (2018), where it substitutes for the traditional Hidden Blade used for assassination gameplay in the series. A feature new to Odyssey is the command to "confirm kill" upon assassinating a quest target, such as a Cult of Kosmos member, and the Spear of Leonidas is used for this function. Unlike the Hidden Blade, the spear can be thrown using the "Rush Assassination" ability, which with upgrades enables chain assassinations to be performed on up to three additional enemies. Apart from the opening scene where the player plays as King Leonidas I at the Battle of Thermopylae, the spear cannot be utilized as an independent weapon because the main protagonist, the Eagle Bearer, uses it as a parrying dagger at all times after it is broken at the shaft.
The spear can be upgraded at the Ancient Forge on Andros to a maximum level of 6 using Artifact Fragments recovered from killing Cultists. Access to the Ancient Forge is gained during the memory "Memories Awoken", and upgrading the spear increases the player's health regeneration, expands their adrenaline gauge, and unlocks higher ranks for ability upgrades. The spear's appearance also changes to reflect each upgrade, becoming more and more resplendent. Despite this, the spear always appears in its Level 1 state in the cutscenes of some crucial story memories, including "A Mother's Prayers", "The Conqueror", and "Where It All Began", no matter its actual level.
In the mobile game Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (2018), the two character options for the protagonist in Odyssey, Kassandra and Alexios, feature as separate heroes with distinct skill kits that directly reference the abilities from Odyssey. Kassandra's are drawn from the Assassin branch of the ability tree in Odyssey—Hero's Strike, Rush Assassination, Revelation, and Venomous Attacks—while Alexios' are drawn from the Warrior branch—Spartan Kick, Ring of Charos, Second Wind, and Flaming Attacks. In addition, both have a passive skill empowering their base attack damage that is itself called Spear of Leonidas. Kassandra's Time Dilation skill, where her dodge chance is increased at low health, may also be a reference to Slow Time, another ability from the Assassin branch, although this skill is shared by several other heroes in Rebellion.
In the crossover event between Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, events in the memory "Not All Treasure Should Be Found" from the Odyssey questline "Those Who Are Treasured" result in the Spear's power being rendered inert, preventing the Eagle Bearer and the player from accessing its combat abilities for the rest of the expansion. Although the spear is functionally inert for the sake of the plot, with the story explaining how and why the spear was made inactive by the time the Assassin Layla Hassan had uncovered it in the modern day, players will have their abilities restored for open world gameplay once they watch the post-credits scene after the memory "A New Horizon". Meanwhile, Valhallas questline titled "A Fated Encounter" has players travel to the Isle of Skye as Eivor, who obtains a fully-intact Spear of Leonidas from a treasure chest as a usable legendary weapon, though the canonicity this acquisition has not been explained.
===Design concept===
The spear takes inspiration from the Pieces of Eden encountered in past installments as an endgame quest item. However, the developers' impetus was to let players wield an Isu artifact throughout the game rather than just at the end of it. It also provides a lore justification for the supernatural abilities of the main protagonist, the Eagle Bearer."Create Your Own Creed". Ed. by Andy McNamara. Game Informer, September 2018. Retrieved on 11 September 2018. According to Gabriel Blain in The Art of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, the spear's design is said to be based on the Spartan but mixed with Isu influences and driven by the desire to "hint the Assassin's logo in the shape design".
The fundamental gameplay concept of the Spear of Leonidas is similar to that of the Dagger of Time from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, another Ubisoft property that is regarded as the spiritual predecessor to Assassin's Creed.
==Gallery==
ACOD Leonidas' Spear Concept Art 1 - Gabriel Blain.jpg|Concept art
ACOD Leonidas' Spear Concept Art 2 - Gabriel Blain.jpg|Concept art
ACOD Leonidas' Spear Concept Art 3 - Gabriel Blain.jpg|Concept art
ACOD Leonidas' Spear Concept Art 4 - Gabriel Blain.jpg|Concept art
ACOD Spear of Leonidas 01 - Pierre Fleau.jpg|Concept art
ACOD Spear of Leonidas 02 - Pierre Fleau.jpg|Concept art
Spear of Leonidas Level 2.PNG|The upgraded Spear
ACOD Memories Awoken Leonidas Death Spear.png|The broken Spear laying beside the recently deceased Leonidas
ACOD Ancient Forge Spear of Leonidas mold.jpg|The Spear's mold in the Ancient Forge
ACReb - Spear of Leonidas.png|The Spear as it appears in Rebellion
ACOD Not All Treasure Should Be Found 23.png|The Spear rendered inert
Spear of Leonidas Replica.jpg|Prop replica of the fully upgraded spear
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Odyssey 
**The Fate of Atlantis
*Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
*Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice
*Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories
*Echoes of History 
==References==
ru:Копьё Леонида
fr:Lance de Léonidas
Category:Spears
Category:Long weapons
Category:Pieces of Eden
Category:5th century BCE weapons
Category:9th century weapons
Category:Personal weapons
Category:Spears of Eden