Assassin’s Creed Shadows, out now, is a very good entry in Ubisoft’s long-running franchise. But it’s also a big, complicated game with a lot of different mechanics, systems, features, and options. And Shadows doesn’t always do a great job of explaining how all of this stuff works.
So let us help you out with 25 tips for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Don’t worry, there are no spoilers below, and these tips will be useful both for people just hopping in and for folks who have played a dozen or so hours.
Order Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Amazon | CDKeys | Best Buy
Use Balanced Mode If You Can
If you have a 120hz TV I recommend playing the game in “Balanced” mode. In this mode, Shadows runs at 40FPS instead of the slower 30FPS or super-smooth 60FPS. But on a 120hz display, 40FPS feels great and still lets the game look really sharp. If you can’t use that mode, the 60FPS “Performance” option is a good second choice that loses some clarity in pursuit of smoother gameplay.
Regardless of the mode you pick your HQ runs at 30 FPS
Here’s something weird: Your main base of operations that you update and build over time always runs at 30FPS. I guess this is because of some tech issues involving how you can stuff the base with animals and buildings. But yeah, it’s not just you; the game just runs slower in that area.
Don’t worry about catching up on Assassin’s Creed lore
While there is some modern-day story stuff in here if you look for it, 90 percent of the game is focused on the characters living in feudal Japan and their own goals. So don’t feel like you need to do homework before hopping in.
Use the “Pathfinder” feature
Look, I get it. You probably think you don’t need a floating white line that points you near your objective or map marker. I thought that too…at first. But the large map in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is filled with big swaths of mountain forests which are really annoying to cross.
So instead of doing that, save some time and frustration and just hold Left on the d-pad to activate “Pathfinder” and follow the white line to your next faraway objective or location.
Swap between the two characters often
While you can complete most of Shadows as just Naoe or Yasuke, I highly recommend swapping between them periodically as you play. I think this is a lot more fun, as you essentially get to two different games in one: A sneaky ninja sim and an action-packed samurai adventure.
It’s also helps the very big game feel less tedious in long stretches. Bored of sneaking? Switch! Want to climb more? Switch! Mission too hard? Switch! Don’t get stuck on one when playing both is so much better.
Upgrade Naoe’s Shinobi and Assassin tree ASAP
At the start of the game, the sneaky Naoe is a solid fighter and ninja, but she becomes a force of nature once you unlock her full Assassin toolbox, including the ability to one-hit-kill large enemies, assassinate anyone during a fight, and even the always cool ability to take out two targets at the same time.
Oh, and get her smoke bomb, too!
This is found and unlocked in the shinobi skill tree and will let you escape in a flash, which can be useful if you are surrounded by a large group of angry samurai.
Upgrade Yasuke’s Samurai tree ASAP
He can become a one-man army if you dump points into this tree early on, granting you some powerful boosts to combat, health, and unlocking abilities that you can use regardless of your weapon.
Level up your Knowledge Level by doing side activities
In Shadows, you level up by earning XP, which grants you skill points that can be used to unlock or upgrade new options in the skill tree. But while XP levels you up, it doesn’t grant you access to the later sections of each skill tree. To do that, you’ll need to improve your Knowledge level. This can be done by completing side activities marked with orange icons. These include meditating, finding hidden pages at temples, archery competitions, and more.
Don’t be dumb like me: Click the Knowledge Level icon to see more upgrades
Perhaps the game says this, I don’t know for sure, but it wasn’t until nearly 30 hours into the game that I realized you can CLICK the knowledge level icon in the skill tree menu and see a different universal tree. All the skills here are passive bonuses, and while you shouldn’t dump points into them until later in the game when you’ve maxed out other trees, it’s still good to be aware of it.
Help people in random encounters to earn free scouts
Scouts are useful for gathering resources, finding objectives, and even clearing your wanted status in a region. But you can only use them once and then you have to wait for them to refresh when the season changes (or you can spend 200 gold to refresh them). However, if you are out and about you’ll sometimes see people being abused by guards or robbed by bandits. If you save the day, the person you help can become a free scout for you, or can reveal some valuable loot on the map if you don’t need a scout.
Oh yeah, you can use scouts to clear your wanted status
I didn’t realize this until way too many hours into the game, but you can burn two scouts to clear your wanted status in a providence of the map. Seriously, I had no idea this option was in the game.
It can be spotted at the bottom-right corner of the map screen and will tell you to press a certain button depending on your platform. This can be useful if you need to play as a certain character in a region where you got in trouble and guards attack on sight.
The seasons and weather can be helpful
Don’t assume the change of seasons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is purely cosmetic. Some weather conditions and seasonal changes can help you sneak into an area easily without being spotted. For example, deep snow can hide you if you go prone, and heavy rainstorms can help conceal you as well, especially at night. Speaking of…
Wait until nighttime to find more sleepy guards
During the night you’ll spot sleeping guards more frequently. These guards can’t see you and can be easily taken out. Just remember loud noises can still alert them instantly.
Use the left trigger / focus mode!
Shadows, by default, doesn’t give you specific map or in-game markers to go to. Instead, quests and tasks provide some hints about where to go and then a general area to search in. This can be annoying at times, but make sure to use your focus mode a lot and look for blue dots to find quest-related NPCs or items. This will save you from running around for 20 minutes trying to find the person you need to kill.
Use Naoe’s grappling hook to climb pagodas quickly
I suspect a big reason Ubisoft added the grappling hook at all was to help you quickly and easily scale pagodas, which can be annoying to scramble up normally.
Yasuke can’t climb ropes hanging across gaps
Trust me. The rope will break and you’ll come crashing down to the earth. You can leap off high points into piles of hay, but the haystack will be destroyed and Yasuke will make a loud noise that will alert guards.
When attacking bases, destroy all bells
Bells can be spotted easily as they are found on towers with ladders. These bells can be shot from afar or sabotaged by hand close up by either Naoe or Yasuke. And you should do this as it will stop enemies from ringing the bell, calling reinforcements, and making whichever character you are playing as wanted in the providence.
Don’t ignore your HQ / Assassins base
You don’t have to decorate it or anything if you don’t want to, but periodically return (I tried to do so each time the seasons changed) to upgrade your favorite gear at the blacksmith and expand the HQ. I recommend building any facility that helps you earn XP faster and upgrading buildings to unlock new features, including the ability to create loadouts.
Use currency to unlock more safehouses around the map
These locations are extremely useful for fast travel, can refill your tools and rations for free, and you can refresh your scouts there, too. And if you unlock the Assassin building at your HQ and upgrade it, even more of them will pop up on the map and all of these hideouts will now cost less to unlock.
Focus mode can help you locate Samurai leaders and their chests
When infiltrating a castle to kill its samurai leaders, use focus mode (pull the left trigger on consoles) to quickly find and mark them. The leaders will be marked as white dots. Even Yasuke, who doesn’t have fancy Eagle Vision like Naoe, can target them through walls using focus vision.
Once all the samurai leaders are dead, don’t forget to open the big red chest in the castle—also marked by a white dot—for some really good loot.
Hit the deck! (Go prone)
It’s a very useful new move that both Yasuke and Naoe can pull off and it can make sneaking around much easier. If an enemy starts to see you and there’s not a bush or wall nearby, try going prone. That will often be enough to help you escape without being seen.
Use shadows, too!
They are new to Assassin’s Creed, powerful, and worth using, especially as Naoe. Try blowing out candles and knocking over lamps to make environments darker and better for sneaking around.
You can roll-hop up most surfaces
Okay, this is not by design and it might get patched, but I discovered that if you quickly mash the roll and climb/jump buttons while pushing up, you can climb most steep cliffs and “unclimbable” slopes. This helped me cheese a few puzzle areas and dodge some castle defenses more efficiently.
Don’t try to assassinate samurai who are on alert
Samurai are well trained and can’t be assassinated from the front if they are on high alert and are searching for you. Even if you come at them from the shadows, it won’t be enough. They’ll catch your blade and knock you back.
Order Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Amazon | CDKeys | Best Buy
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