Assassin’s Creed Shadowsisn’t the first game in the series to feature dual protagonists, but the new system doesn’t work exactly like any that have appeared before. The shinobi Naoe and samurai Yasuke share the spotlight with two distinct playstyles, building on the idea of character-swapping introduced inAssassin’s Creed Syndicate. It’s possible to freely swap between them at many points during the game, but some scenarios require a specific character or a specific choice between the two for the duration of a story mission.
UnlikeSyndicate’s Jacob and Evie,Naoe and Yasuke have distinct advantages and disadvantageseven before investing in any skill tree upgrades. Naoe’s strengths focus on agile movement and subtle infiltration, while Yasuke hits harder in combat but sacrifices skills in stealth and parkour. Either can be great for most of the activities found throughout the game, but there are significant reasons to think carefully when choosing between the two.
How Assassin’s Creed Shadows' Dual Protagonist System Works
Everything To Know About Swapping Between Naoe & Yasuke
Despite being a big selling point ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows, thedual protagonist systemtakes a while to properly show up in-game. The prologue provides discrete gameplay segments for each character before switching to a focus on Naoe, who serves as the only playable character for the first main stretch of the game. Once Yasuke re-enters the story,it’s possible to switch between the two characters through the Inventory screen.
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Changing characters is somewhat dependent on gameplay context, and attempting to switch in a scenario where it isn’t available will pop up a message disallowing it. This will happen in hostile enemy territory, which is designated by a red bar at the top of the screen, along with any scenarios where enemies are actively fighting or tracking Naoe or Yasuke. Character swapping is also disallowed when the characters are engaged in complex actions and animations, like climbing, rolling, or swimming.
Main story missions frequently feature the choice to play as either Naoe or Yasuke, which is typically offered after a character briefly describes what to expect. Choosing one or the other doesn’t always mean that they’ll be the only playable character throughout the mission, as some quests feature several opportunities to switch, but swapping on the fly through the normal process isn’t allowed in this context.Certain missions and side activities are only available for one character,which is delineated through the Objectives menu or map and mentioned if the other character attempts to start them.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Level Cap Explained
you’re able to level up in Assassin’s Creed Shadows all the way to level 60, which is slightly higher than past Assassin’s Creed installments.
Naoe and Yasuke share Mastery and Knowledge points for upgrades, but they each feature six distinct skill trees to spend them on. Several of these trees focus on their individual weapons, while others focus on tools and character-specific strengths. Each character uses a separate set of equipment, and chests opened while playing as Naoe might very well contain armor that only Yasuke can use, or vice versa.
How Naoe Works In Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Naoe Is A Classic Stealth Character
As a stealth-focused shinobi, Naoe is a good gameplay choice for anyone accustomed to classicAssassin’s Creedgames like the Ezio trilogy or the recent throwbackMirage.Naoe is the most nimbleAssassin’s Creedcharacter yet in some key regards, with an intense running speed, responsive parkour, and a grappling hook that allows her to climb up to overhanging roofs or swing between platforms. She’s also quiet, so enemies often fail to notice her running across rooftops or sneaking up behind them as long as she’s out of sight.
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Naoe also sports the traditionalAssassin’s Creedhidden blade, which she can use for quick assassinations.The hidden blade opens up assassination opportunities like striking from above or stabbing from below, and when Naoe pairs the hidden blade with a tanto, she can use double assassinations to eliminate two characters in close proximity at once. Even with the hidden blade, Naoe can’t take down certain beefy enemies in one strike by default, but skill tree upgrades, gear perks, and even a toggle to turn off this mechanic altogether can overcome the limitation.
As a counter-balance,Naoe is somewhat underpowered in open combat, similar toBasim inMirage. Her agility still gives her the ability to hold her own against multiple enemies, with fast rolls and flurried strikes making it easy to outpace enemy blows. Her attacks don’t deal significant damage numbers, though, so chewing through several tanky enemies could leave her exposed for quite a while. Naoe can use a traditional katana, a tanto knife, or a chained kusarigama blade, and her ranged options include kunai throwing knives and shurikens alongside some tools for distraction.
How Yasuke Works In Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Yasuke Excels In Open Combat
Yasuke is significantly more powerful than Naoe when engaged in open combat, but he takes a serious hit to stealth and parkour to compensate.The optimal Yasuke gameplay style should feel familiar to those who tend to brawl their way throughAssassin’s Creedgames, especially more recententries likeOdysseyandValhalla. Yasuke’s attacks are capable of easily tearing through enemies, including bosses. Although he doesn’t strike as quickly as Naoe, he can still keep up the pace when using a long katana.
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As a samurai with a code of engagement, Yasuke doesn’t engage in the traditional approach to assassination, insteadalerting an enemy before deploying a Brutal Assassination. This is still a one-strike kill against most enemies, but it isn’t as surreptitious, and he lacks options to stay behind cover while assassinating or attack from above or below. While he’s capable of performing all the basic parkour moves, he’s slow and noisy when doing so, and he lacks a grappling hook to navigate overhanging rooftops.
Thanks to Yasuke’s strength, he can move crates and explosive barrels that Naoe can’t lift, and he can carry fallen enemies without struggling under their weight, which slows Naoe down.
In addition to his long katana,Yasuke can use a naginata polearm or a heavy kanabo bat. The naginata can do wide-ranging damage to multiple enemies in brawls, while the kanabo hits exceptionally hard but swings slowly. At range, Yasuke has a bow and a teppo, a Japanese arquebus that deals more damage but makes more noise. While he’s not the best choice to run around mountaintops or sneak through castles, Yasuke pulls his weight as the damage-dealing half ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows' dual protagonist system.
