Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes you to a huge open world in feudal Japan, where you play as two characters: Yasuke and Naoe. After a short tutorial for each one, you’ll mainly play as Naoe for the first 8–10 hours before the game opens up more. The game’s open structure can be overwhelming at first, so we’ve put together this guide of 10 things to do early in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, to help you prioritize what to do early on for the best experience.
Table of Contents
1. Character Specialization Matters
Once you unlock both characters, focus on their strengths—use Yasuke for fighting and Naoe for sneaking around. Naoe can still hold her own in combat with her Kusarigama, and Yasuke can do some stealth attacks if you upgrade his skills, but each is best at what they’re built for: Naoe for stealth, Yasuke for combat.
2. Language Settings
Try out the immersive audio mode, where characters speak in their native languages like Japanese, English, Portuguese, and more. It adds cultural richness and makes the experience feel more authentic in the game.
3. Adjust The Brightness
To help you see better and avoid missing enemies or important details especially when you go inside caves, try turning up the brightness a bit from the default setting.
4. Focus on Companion Abilities
Your companions aren’t just brief combat helpers, they will actually stay and fight alongside you for a while after being summoned. Make the most of their help during tough battles by timing their entrance strategically.
5. Look for Painted Walls
These walls show you where you can climb. This Assassin’s Creed feature makes it easy to spot climbable surfaces so you can move around faster and reach high spots or hidden areas.
6. Synchronize Viewpoints Whenever Possible
The classic Assassin’s Creed synchronization points are back and more important than ever. Each time you synchronize, you will:
- Earn valuable early-game XP.
- Unlock fast travel points on the map.
- Reveal areas of interest nearby.
Japan is huge in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and traveling everywhere on foot or horseback will definitely eat up your playtime. Make synchronizing a top priority whenever you spot a viewpoint.
7. Build Your Forge First
The forge should be your priority building at your hideout for two main reasons:
- It’s required to complete Tomiko’s quest.
- It lets you upgrade weapons throughout the game.
Don’t wait until you’re struggling in combat to build this essential structure.
8. Add a Study and Stable Next
Once your forge is running, focus on these two structures:
- Study: Adds an extra scout to your team and reduces search zones by 25%.
- Stable Upgrade: Cuts the scouting requirement for resource recovery in half.
Together, these improvements dramatically speed up your resource gathering, which fuels all other upgrades.
9. Unlock Kakuregas
While exploring, you’ll sometimes see notifications that you’ve unlocked a Kakurega. These aren’t automatically available, though! You need to:
- Open your map.
- Find the Kakurega marker.
- Spend 800 mon to activate it.
Kakuregas serve as mini-hideouts where you can fast-travel, restock supplies, and upgrade your main hideout. Having this network available early will save you countless hours of backtracking.
10. Clear Katano Castle and Loot Legendary Chest
West of your hideout, you’ll discover the Katano Castle. While castles are challenging, clearing this one early provides exceptional rewards. Inside you’ll find:
- Valuable resources.
- High-quality gear.
- A Legendary Chest containing armor that grants an extra katana throw after assassinations.
11. Choose Between Golden Teppo and Wada Koretake Quests
You’ll have two main quests to choose when you first enter the open world, both giving you rewards connected to Naoe:
| Quest | Reward |
| Golden Teppo Quest | Tanto – dagger |
| Wada Koretake Quest | Kusarigama – chain weapon |
Start with the Golden Teppo quest path for Naoe first. You will be rewarded with a dagger called Tanto, and one of its upgrades allows for double assassinations. This is perfect for Naoe’s stealthy assassination style. But if you lean towards handling multiple enemies simultaneously, the Wada Koretake quest could be more suitable for you. Just pick which one fits your play style more and unlock it first.
12. Find the Kuji Kiris
If you enjoy the narrative, you can try to find the Kuji Kiris. Check the locations on the map we posted below. These meditation spots connect you to Naoe’s memories and add more depth to the character. Each one of the Kuji Kiris grants:
- A Knowledge Point
- XP
- Story insights about Naoe’s past
By focusing on these ten activities early in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you’ll build a solid foundation for the rest of your journey through Japan. The game rewards exploration and preparation, so take your time with these tasks before diving too deep into the main story. Don’t forget to also check the things you need to know before playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows!
