How to upgrade weapons and armor in Assassin's Creed Shadows

Assassin's Creed Shadows weapon and armor upgrades are essential for keeping Naoe and Yasuke's overall power at the same level as the enemies they face. Initially, you can use higher-level gear from quests and loot chests to replace your worsening items, but that will only get you so far in Assassin's Creed Shadows. Once you start getting Legendary-rarity items that you won't want to part with, upgrades become vital in order to increase their level, bolster their stats, and unlock engraving slots for bonus effects. However, you can't do all that without a Forge at your Hideout and crafting materials, so I've laid out everything you need to know about for AC Shadows weapon and armor upgrades.

How to upgrade gear in Assassin's Creed Shadows with the Forge

To upgrade your weapons, armor, and trinkets in AC Shadows, you must have a Forge built in your Hideout, but you can't get one without helping Heiji the blacksmith in Sakai in the Way of the Blacksmith side quest first. As our Assassin's Creed Shadows tips say, this is one of the most important early game side quests to complete, so here's what you need to do:

1. Head to northern Sakai and use observe mode (L2/LT) to spot Heiji's blue marker.

2. Kill the bandits menacing the blacksmith.
3. Speak to Heiji to start a conversation where Naoe convinces him to join the league at the Hideout.
4. Fast travel to the Hideout, follow the "Improve Hideout" prompt, and enter Build Mode.
5. Select the Forge from the list of Main Rooms and place it in your Hideout. It costs 40 Crops, 30 Wood, and 10 Minerals to construct.

Now that you have a Forge, which is one of the best Assassin's Creed Shadows Hideout rooms, you can find Heiji and speak to him about upgrading your favourite weapons and armor, and dismantling unwanted gear to get upgrade materials in return. Additionally, you can use Heiji's services at any time of day since he doesn't actually sleep – during the day he should be working the Forge outside but at night, he is usually in his living quarters which are behind the curtain in the Forge.

This standard level 1 Forge lets you upgrade any weapons, armor pieces, and trinkets up to level 20, which will see you through a significant chunk of how long it takes to beat Assassin's Creed Shadows. However, you can also upgrade the Forge to unlock superior gear upgrades in AC Shadows. Select the Forge building in Improve Hideout mode and press the upgrade icon (upwards-pointing chevrons), and you'll be able to purchase the following improvements, provided you have the resources:

• Forge Level 2:
  • Cost: 350 Crops, 260 Wood, and 90 Minerals
  • Benefits: Increases gear level cap to 40 and unlocks non-Legendary engravings
• Forge Level 3:
  • Cost: 700 Crops, 520 Wood, 170 Minerals, and must already be at Forge Level 2
  • Benefits: Increases gear level cap to 60 and unlocks Legendary engravings

Getting your Forge to Level 3 is what lets you create the best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons and best Assassin's Creed Shadows armor as you can upgrade them all the way up to level 60 and can apply Legendary engravings, which are some of the best engravings in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Assassin's Creed Shadows weapon and armor upgrades explained

With a Forge built, talk to Heiji and you can begin upgrading your weapons and armor in Assassin's Creed Shadows to increase their level, improving their stats:

1. Select the item you want to upgrade.
2. Use L2/LT and R2/RT to adjust the level you want to upgrade the item to. You can't upgrade an item to a level beyond your current player level.
3. Hold X/A to apply the upgrade. You'll only be able to do this if you have the crafting resources and Mon to pay for the upgrade – the more levels you add to an item in one go, the more expensive the upgrade.

You won't need to upgrade your weapons and gear in AC Shadows every time you level up but after around 3-5 levels, you'll start to notice your overall damage output drop a lot – that indicates it’s time for a trip to Heiji in the Hideout to upgrade your gear once again.

How to get Assassin's Creed Shadows gear upgrade materials

Only upgrading weapons and armor in AC Shadows when you need to also saves you Mon and upgrade materials. Most of these materials are pretty easy to get anyway, but you should be aware of the specific ones you're after, depending on who you're playing and which weapons you're using:

• Hemp Cloth: Used to upgrade Naoe's armor.
• Ironsand: Used to upgrade any of Naoe's weapons.
• Leather: Used to upgrade Yasuke's armor.
• Tamahagane: Used to upgrade Yasuke's Long Katana, Kanabo, and Naginata.
• Oakwood: Used to upgrade Yasuke's Bow and Teppo.
• Silk: Used to upgrade trinkets for Naoe and Yasuke.
  • Get all of the above by completing contracts and quests, looting chests and dead bodies, and by dismantling items of the corresponding type (for example, dismantle Naoe armor to get Hemp Cloth).
• Gold: A rare material used to upgrade Legendary weapons and armor for either character. One piece of Gold increases an item's level all the way up to your current player level without spending other materials.
  • Get it by completing late-game contracts that offer it as a reward, completing certain quests, and trading with itinerant merchants. The Out to Pasture quest, which you can pick up very early on near Sakai, awards you one Gold upon completion, for example!

With that, you should now know everything there is about upgrading Naoe and Yasuke's weapons and armor. In short, get the Level 1 Forge as soon as you can, then visit Heiji every few levels to bolster your gear with the materials you've gathered.

And while you've been levelling up and earning Assassin's Creed Shadows Mastery Points, make sure you're spending them on the best Assassin's Creed Shadows skills available too.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.