Games
The series reinvents itself once again and provides a breath of fresh air with the Japanese setting. Our guide offers the best tips and tricks for getting started.
The time has finally come: Assassin's Creed Shadows has finally been launched after several postponements. The new adventure about the protagonists Naoe and Yasuke takes you to feudal Japan. But it's not just the setting that's fresh. A lot has also changed from a gameplay perspective. Our Assassin's Creed Shadows guide provides the best tips and tricks to get you started.
01
Utilise the kuji-ins and katas
Both Naoe and Yasuke can pursue special, customised activities within the vast open world of Assassin's Creed Shadows. In the case of the young shinobi Naoe, these are kuji-ins – hand sign meditations designed to harmonise body and mind.
Samurai Yasuke, on the other hand, favours katas. These are sword choreographies that fulfil a similar purpose. Within the game world, you will come across symbols marked in orange where you can start these activities. It's worth stopping there whenever you find them.
This is because the activities not only reward you with knowledge and experience points, which you can use to level up and become stronger. You will usually also learn more about the backgrounds of the two main characters in a playable memory sequence.
02
Expand your hideout
A new game mechanic in Assassin's Creed Shadows is building and expanding your own hideout. And this goes much further in the latest instalment than in the previous parts of the series. You can not only place new buildings but also attract different pets or create paths.
You can also unlock entire side quests or crafting workshops in your base, making it much easier for you to progress. Relatively, at the beginning of the game, for example, this is the blacksmith, where you can improve your equipment. In addition, scouts join your followers, who you use to find mission objectives.
Unused scouts also collect materials and resources for you, which they deposit in the loot chest of your hideout when the season changes. It is, therefore, worth upgrading and expanding your base as quickly as possible and adding new businesses and people.
03
Keep your equipment up to date
As in most (action) role-playing games, you will also be showered with new equipment in Assassin's Creed Shadows. However, this is not necessarily better in many cases than the katana or assassin hood you currently have equipped. Even if it may be at a higher level than your current gear. So what should you do?
Simple: pay a visit to your hideout and go to the blacksmith. The blacksmith is able to upgrade items. This is recommended if you have found rare or unique items that are significantly below your character level.
Compared to the standard items you find in the game, rare items sometimes come with powerful additional abilities. You can increase the level of the items at the blacksmith and thus improve damage, armour and other stats, for example.
Pro tip: If you want to improve several levels at once, you can do this using the R2 button (PlayStation) or RT button (Xbox).
04
Knowledge and talent points
Assassin's Creed Shadows offers a two-stage progression system with which you can level up your character. This is divided into the following categories:
- Knowledge points: Knowledge points are awarded for completing certain objectives, which you invest in powerful new abilities in the knowledge menu.
- Talent points: You receive classic talent points for levelling up and eliminating high-level objectives. You can spend these in various talent trees (individually for both characters).
So while knowledge points are quite difficult to obtain, you get significantly more talent points. Both Naoe and Yasuke each have six unique talent trees in which you can acquire new skills or increase your stats.
05
Utilise the seasons
Assassin's Creed Shadows features a dynamic seasonal system that has a noticeable impact on gameplay: In summer, for example, some bodies of water are freely accessible and can be used as camouflage, whereas in winter, they are frozen over, making dives impossible.
Important: The change of seasons does not happen automatically but is linked to certain time cycles.
The change of seasons can be forced by fast travelling or switching between characters. You also have the option of changing the season in the map menu.
Changing the seasons also has a few other advantages. For example, your desired level is reset, deployed scouts return for the next mission, and you receive additional resources. You can also use the seasonal changes to your advantage: infiltrating a heavily guarded castle could be noticeably easier during a snowstorm that covers your steps.
06
Naoe: Make use of the eagle eye
Shinobi Naoe brings back the classic Assassin's Creed gameplay. After all, the young lady is a master of stealth and sneaking. While you no longer have an eagle at your disposal in Shadows to spy out areas from a great distance unobserved, Naoe uses a comparable tool: the eagle eye.
At the touch of a button, you are able to uncover enemies, treasures or hiding places in your surroundings. Enemies are highlighted in red, treasures in gold and hiding places in white.
You can also mark enemy positions, which are then highlighted on the screen. This is particularly useful in heavily guarded areas.
07
Access the Animus Hub
Shadows brings another exciting new feature: the Animus Hub, previously known as Assassin's Creed Infinity. Within the new spin-off, you will find a launcher that connects all Assassin's Creed games. Of course, you can also directly launch other games in the series (Memories).
However, the projects are much more exciting. These are missions that can be found within Assassin's Creed Shadows. If you complete them, you can look forward to new in-game content, such as
- Armour
- Weapons
- Encrypted data
- Keys
The keys can also be found in feudal Japan. They serve as in-game currency for the rewards area of the Animus Hub. Among other things, powerful equipment with sometimes unique abilities or cosmetic items awaits you here. As the rewards change regularly, it's worth checking the hub again and again.
