Assassin’s Creed Shadows has an extensive skill tree for each of its two heroes – Naoe and Yasuke. It will prove to be quite a task to decide which skills to work towards, especially in the early game.
This guide is a listing of the best early skills for Naoe and Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Naoe
Naoe initially has some difficulty tackling mobs and large enemies, so the following skills should help mitigate that.
Eagle Vision
Knowledge Rank 1
Hold a button to highlight enemies around you.
A no-brainer, this skill will make it easy for you to see exactly what you are up against, considering how easily Naoe can be overwhelmed by enemies in numbers.
Hidden Blade
Knowledge Rank 1
Press a button to Assassinate regular enemies and remove Health Segments.
Unlock this ability to one-shot most targets, and then build on its efficacy with other skills in the tree.
Kunai
Knowledge Rank 1
Throw a Kunai that deals 400% damage. Headshots on unsuspecting enemies will remove 1 Health Segment.
These throwing knives will eventually be able to one-hit kill most targets, so get them early and work on improving their effectiveness.
Tool Professional
Knowledge Rank 1
Increase damage with Tools by 3%.
Start enhancing the damage dealt by your tools, specifically Kunai, so that you can eventually max it out by rank 3 at 18%.
Larger Tool Bag I
Knowledge Rank 2
Increase maximum capacity for all tools. +1 Kunai, +1 Shuriken, +1 Smoke Bomb, +1 Shinobi Bell.
Having more gadgets at your disposal is always good, especially Kunai.
Double Assassinate
Knowledge Rank 2
While using a Tanto, Naoe can Assassinate two targets standing close together with a single attack.
Being able to assassinate multiple enemies that are near enough to each other can greatly help when outnumbered, which will be more often than not.
Reinforced Blade
Knowledge Rank 3
Hidden Blade can now be used against large enemies.
Initially being unable to assassinate large enemies, Naoe will now be able to dispatch them with ease.
Eviscerate
Knowledge Rank 3
Strike an enemy, dealing 75% ability damage and pushing them away. Half as effective on large enemies.
An exceptionally heavy attack, good for fast takedowns of medium to large enemies.
Cyclone Blast
Knowledge Rank 3
Swing the Kusarigama in large circles around Naoe, dealing 8% ability damage per hit and pushing back struck enemies.
When Naoe finally gets mobbed, this area-of-effect move will force enemies back, giving her some breathing room to either continue attacking or escape entirely.
Hidden Hand
Knowledge Rank 4
Sheath your Tanto and extend the Hidden Blade in its classic form to perform an Assassination while in combat.
Another anti-mob skill, hidden hand should come in handy to quickly dispatch at least one enemy, and even things out a little.
Yasuke
Yasuke is excellent at crowd control, but will be on the receiving end of a lot of damage himself in open combat, so the following skills will help with restoration and dishing out even more damage.
Vigor
Knowledge Rank 2
Increase Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1.
Yasuke is going to need all the adrenaline he can get as he leans heavily on his abilities, so increasing the number of adrenaline chunks is top priority.
Payback
Knowledge Rank 3
Deal 3 powerful strikes to a single enemy, each dealing 35% ability damage and restoring 10% Health.
A restorative skill that returns health to Yasuke as he slices and dices his way through enemies while simultaneously tanking damage.
Regeneration
Knowledge Rank 1
Restore 1% of Yasuke’s maximum Health when killing an enemy.
Slaying enemies will restore a tiny bit of Yasuke’s health initially, and as much as 6% by rank 3 of this skill.
Crescent Strike
Knowledge Rank 1
Jump to an enemy and swing the Naginata in a large arc in front of you, dealing 25% ability damage and pushing them back.
One of the best anti-mobs available to Yasuke, dealing massive damage as well as giving them some air time, while clearing the space around him.
Far Reach
Knowledge Rank 1
Enemies hit by the tip of a Naginata take 15% more damage.
A bonus anti-mob skill that deals even more damage to enemies that are struck while at a particular distance.
Crushing Shockwave
Knowledge Rank 3
A downward strike that deals 90% ability damage, disables the targets, and staggers all enemies in a 3 meter radius.
Basically a ground strike type manoeuvre that deals direct damage to targets, disabling some of them, and even indirectly stunning those that are merely in range.
Clear Mind
Knowledge Rank 2
Time slows down around you for 10 seconds while aiming.
If you are having trouble finding heads to target, or just need that extra breathing room, this skill will slow things down long enough for you to line things up just right.
Reload Speed
Knowledge Rank 3
Increase Teppo Reload Speed by 2%.
Being able to reload your hand cannon just a bit faster will eventually pay off by rank 3 with an increase of 9%.
Explosive Surprise
Knowledge Rank 3
Throw a gunpowder pouch and automatically shoot it to create an explosion that deals 35% ability damage.
Practically a grenade, this skill handles the targeting of a thrown bag of explosives, detonating for heavy damage to those caught in the blast radius.
Those are the best early skills to get for both Naoe and Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
