Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ultimate Combat Guide

Assassin’s Creed Shadows introduces a new combat system that rewards creative combinations of characters and weapons. Here are some Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ultimate Combat Guide to help you master combat with Naoe and Yasuke.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Ultimate Combat Guide

Basic Attacks and Posture Attacks

Every weapon has light and heavy attacks, which can be chained together.

Posture attacks are charged versions of light or heavy attacks that break through enemy blocks.

Holding a posture attack allows you to move or change targets before releasing it.

Yasuke can chain posture attacks, dealing massive damage.

Enemies will try to interrupt your charge, so time your attacks wisely.

Some abilities enhance posture attacks, like Yasuke’s Sheathed Posture Attack, which grants 50% of an adrenaline chunk at max level.

Defense and Dodging

Both characters can directionally dodge to avoid attacks.

Perfect parries interrupt enemy combos and create openings.

Yasuke can block ranged attacks, but unstoppable attacks will break his guard.

Perfect dodges leave enemies open for counterattacks. Follow up with posture attacks for max damage.

Combat Difficulty

Difficulty settings affect enemy damage, aggression, and teamwork.

Choose wisely based on your preferred combat experience.

Weapons and Abilities

Naoe’s Weapons

Katana: Versatile for offense and defense.

Counterattack passive ability: Turns a perfect parry into a counterattack.

Kusarigama: Great for crowd control.

Entanglement ability: Traps an enemy and drags them.

Hidden Blade & Tanto: Fast weapons for exploiting enemy weaknesses.

Back Stab ability: Highlights weak points.

Escape Strike: Attacks while dodging backward to reset fights.

Shinobi Tools: Useful in stealth and combat.

Kunai: Breaks armor and lands headshots.

Shuriken: Staggers enemies and pushes them back.

Adrenaline Generator passive: Increases adrenaline gain by 3%.

Yasuke’s Weapons

Long Katana: Efficient in attack and defense.

Sheathed Attack: Catches enemies off guard and pierces armor.

Yumi Bow: Ideal for mid to long-range combat.

Clear Mind ability: Slows time for 10 seconds to improve aim.

Teppo Rifle: Powerful but slow to reload.

Teppo Tempo ability: Allows back-to-back shots.

Close Quarter ability: Turns the rifle into a melee weapon.

Naginata: Best for crowd and distance control.

Crescent Strike ability: Covers a large area and pushes enemies back.

Kanabo: Heavy blunt weapon for breaking defenses.

Forward Momentum ability: Speeds up attacks to compensate for its slow swings.

Weapon Swapping and Strategy

Use two weapon slots to create the best combat combinations.

Example: Hidden Blade & Tanto for close range, Kusarigama to create distance.

Experiment with different setups to find what works best.

Mastery Trees and Special Abilities

• Naoe’s skills include:
  • Disorienting Vault: Confuses enemies.
  • Lightning Kicks: Anti-flanking ability.
• Yasuke’s skills include:
  • War Kick & Battle Cry: Staggers and knocks enemies away.
• Skill Reset: You can reset skills anytime to try different approaches.
• Active Abilities: Marked by a diamond symbol, require one adrenaline chunk.
• Enhance adrenaline-related abilities like Naoe’s Invigorating Kill to use them more often.

Knowledge Points and Ranks

• Earn Knowledge Points by completing activities.
• Knowledge Ranks unlock abilities in the mastery tree.
• Progressing in Knowledge Path is always beneficial.

Upgrading Gear and Perks

• Regularly upgrade gear at the Hideout’s Forge.
• Engraved perks boost stats and combat effectiveness.
• Perks are obtained by:
  • Killing targets.
  • Buying from merchants.
  • Finding in chests.
  • Earning as rewards.
  • Constructing a Forge at the Hideout.
• Perks can:
  • Improve stats.
  • Add afflictions.
  • Provide exotic conditions.
• Some weapons can inflict afflictions like:
  • Bleeding
  • Poison
  • Daze
  • Knockout
• Afflictions take time to build up, best used on high-health enemies