Choosing the best Assassin's Creed Shadows skills for Yasuke and Naoe to get first will make both protagonists extremely deadly as you sneak and battle your way across Japan. Thankfully, both characters have a few great skills available from the start, split across their six unique skill trees. The progression system in Assassin's Creed Shadows forces you to focus on your Knowledge Rank if you want improvements to your existing skills and new abilities, but the early unlocks can set you up nicely. To help you level up Naoe and Yasuke's abilities, I've laid out the best skills to unlock first and prioritize later in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Best Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe Skills to get first
Naoe has some excellent skills in Assassin's Creed Shadows that substantially up her power, making the most of her varied skill trees. She has access to some excellent weapon abilities, and her tools are hugely useful in combat and non-combat situations – one of the big differences between Naoe and Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows is that she has a good mix of movement and stealth abilities that aren't all about being more lethal in combat!
With that said, she has a lot of skills that just improve her existing kit, such as Assassination Damage I – III, Kunai Assassination Damage I – III, and Larger Tool Bag I – III, all of which are well worth picking up, but here are the best skills in Naoe's Mastery Paths that provide new and useful abilities:
- Melee Expert (Katana, Knowledge Rank 1): At its maximum level, this passive provides a 9% damage increase for melee weapons, but this applies to all of Naoe's weapons, so it's a nice boost to have.
- Tidal Wave (Katana, Knowledge Rank 1): This is a reliable and easy-to-use Katana ability that allows for easy Posture attacks. Get this and all its upgrades if you're a fan of the Katana.
- Counter Attack (Katana, Knowledge Rank 2): Adds a little extra damage to each successful perfect deflection you perform with the Katana and generally improves Naoe's defenses with its later upgrades
- Shadow Piercer (Tanto, Knowledge Rank 1): An excellent ranged ability using the Tanto (arguably one of the best Assassin's Creed Shadow weapons) that leaves the target vulnerable for a Posture attack follow-up.
- Shadow Barrage (Tanto, Knowledge Rank 2): A superb defensive ability for the Tanto that grants temporary auto-dodging, letting you focus on wearing down the enemy with rapid slashes.
- Smoke Bombs (Tools, Knowledge Rank 1): Easily the best non-lethal tool, Smoke Bombs are a must have as our Assassin's Creed Shadows tips say!
- Quick Throw (Tools, Knowledge Rank 1): While Quick Throw works well for Kunai and Shuriken, its best application is quickly dropping a smoke bomb at your feet to mask your assassinations or provide an escape opportunity.
- Shallow Water Breathing (Shinobi, Knowledge Rank 1): While it only applies in a few circumstances, breathing in shallow water means ponds become another hiding spot for Naoe.
- Double Assassinate (Assassin, Knowledge Rank 2): A hugely useful skill for quickly getting rid of two enemies in one attack and an Assassin's Creed staple.
- Vigor I (Assassin, Knowledge Rank 3): One of Naoe's major weaknesses compared to Yasuke is that she has only one Adrenaline Chunk by default, so this adds a second one. Get Vigor II and III for up to four chunks.
Best Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke Skills to get first
Yasuke's skills in Assassin's Creed Shadows are laid out quite differently to Naoe's, what with five of his six Mastery Paths being dedicated to specific weapon types. Since loadouts are limited to just two weapons, the best thing to do is put all your Assassin's Creed Shadows Mastery Points into your two favorite weapons, then put all your leftover points into his Samurai path or passives in any of the other weapon paths to get as many boosts as you can – Adrenaline Builder (Long Katana), Regeneration (Samurai), and Stronger, Smarter… (Samurai) are all good passives to max out.
The following are arguably the best skills for Yasuke and you should make unlocking them a priority:
- Sheathed Attack (Long Katana, Knowledge Rank 1): A simple attack that is perfect for breaking an enemy's guard, opening them up for follow-up strikes. This attack can be improved a lot with upgrades, making it a Posture attack and letting it generate Adrenaline.
- Payback (Long Katana, Knowledge Rank 3): A powerful Long Katana ability that deals high damage to a single enemy and restores health.
- Brutal Assassination (Samurai, Knowledge Rank 1): Gives Yasuke a great insta-kill ability that can be hugely useful for taking out a priority target at the start of a fight. It's worth getting all upgrades for this to ensure it remains lethal.
- Vigor I (Samurai, Knowledge Rank 2): Yasuke has some incredibly powerful weapon abilities and being able to use them reliably and frequently with extra Adrenaline Chunks is a massive help.
- Heavy Impact (Samurai, Knowledge Rank 2): Yasuke's War Kick is his default Samurai ability and it's both powerful and fun, so all upgrades should be unlocked to maximize its strength.
- Impenetrable Defense (Samurai, Knowledge Rank 3): This Samurai ability gives Yasuke a temporary auto-counter, which is useful when fighting big groups and even bosses where parrying every attack isn't easy. It's a good safety net that gets better with upgrades. However, you must assign this to replace War Kick as you can't have more than one Samurai ability.
- Clear Mind (Bow, Knowledge Rank 2): A solid ability that makes sniping with the bow much easier by slowing time for 10 seconds. Pairs well with Kyudo Master.
- Silent Arrows (Bow, Knowledge Rank 2): These arrows act as Yasuke's equivalent to Naoe's Kunai, allowing for ranged assassinations, and they can be improved a lot.
Remember, to unlock any of these skills for Yasuke and Naoe, you'll need to first increase your Assassin's Creed Shadows Knowledge Rank, then you can spend any Mastery Points you've earned on adding them to your arsenal.
There are plenty of other ways to bolster Naoe and Yasuke's capabilities, mainly knowing how to upgrade weapons in Assassin's Creed Shadows and building the best rooms for your Assassin's Creed Shadows Hideout.
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