Guide: Assassin’s Creed Shadows beginner tips and tricks

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is finally here, and though it may not be too different from the previous few games in the series, it does have a bunch of new mechanics that you’ll need to learn about to be the best shinobi and/or samurai you can be. To help you out, we’ve put together these tips and tricks that’ll be useful to know before you start infiltrating castles and forts all across Japan.

If you’re looking for more information on the game, check out our AC Shadows FAQ for all the information you could want on the game.

Build your base

With the hideout being a place you don’t often need to visit in Shadows, it can be easy to let it slip from your mind, but you shouldn’t neglect developing it. Aside from the obvious benefits like the forge there to upgrade your gear, raising the place to a higher level will also give you a bunch of passive bonuses during gameplay, such as scouts bringing in money, free ration and adrenaline refills, and reduced forging costs.

Sell your gear

If previous games have annoyed you with the inability to sell all the gear you get then you’ll be happy to learn that Shadows finally lets you sell it all to merchants. You’ll want to do that too, as money is an important resource in this game, letting you unlock safehouses that doubles as fast-travel points, replenish your scouts, and buy up any resources you need for building your base.

Check every merchant

While most of the gear merchants sell isn’t particularly useful, you should still check every shop you can find, as many of them will hold quest items that are impossible to come by any other way. In particular, you should buy any tea sets you see, as you’ll need them for one of the sidequests you’ll find about halfway through the game.

Spare your scouts

Scouting locations for your missions can be very useful, as it will give you a narrow area in which to find your target, however, don’t use them automatically. Most quests will give you a rough description of the area your target is in and often those descriptions are specific enough that you can nail down a location without the need to use any scouts, saving you time and money.

Kunai headshots are OP

One of the first tools you’ll get to use is the Kunai, and while they aren’t great in combat, they are excellent when infiltrating bases. At their base, landing a headshot with a Kunai will remove an entire health segment but this can be upgraded, allowing them to remove multiple segments at once and pierce armor. Plus, you can even get engravings that have a chance to replenish them whenever you use them. It makes them an extremely powerful tool that can easily allow you to clear out an area while staying hidden.

Pick up what you throw

Your throwables aren’t gone forever either. While they always have a chance to break, if you walk up to a body that took a Kunai hit, or over to the area where you threw a bell, you can pick them up and use them again without having to find a point to refill your supplies.

Get leads from your hideouts

At all of the hideouts, you can find a station that can give you missions to fill your supplies, but more important are the leads you get from them. They will point you to locations, merchants, and treasures that aren’t obviously marked on the map, helping you uncover more of the world as you explore.

Kill targets and Daisho for skill points

You’ll need a lot of skill points to fill out your trees in Shadows, but thankfully there are many ways to get them aside from leveling up. In particular, killing any of the targets on your objectives board will give you two skill points, and killing any of the Samurai Dasiho that patrol the game’s many castles will give you one. So, if there’s a skill that you desperately need to unlock, then going out and killing some targets is an easy way to do it.

Rooftops are a safe haven

In a weird step back for the series, enemies can’t parkour or climb on rooftops at all in Shadows, so if you happen to get seen during an infiltration it’s hilariously easy for your pursuers to lose sight of you. Just go on a rooftop and hold the crouch button to go prone and eventually, you’ll become anonymous again, with the enemies unable to touch you.

Use Yasuke for fights

Before most story missions you’ll get a chance to pick whether you want to do it as Naoe or Yasuke, and each have their strengths. While Naoe is equipped for most scenarios, if the set up makes it seem like there’s going to be a lot of open combat, pick Yasuke to save yourself a lot of trouble. Not only is he more resilient and can deal more damage, but some of his unlockable skills are extremely powerful, like his ability to parry even the red strong attacks from enemies.