How to change seasons in Assassin's Creed: Shadows and why
Changing seasons is a new feature introduced in Assassin's Creed: Shadows. The seasons have surprisingly deep effects on many aspects of gameplay.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the first game in the series to introduce changing seasons and weather conditions. This is something that will happen naturally based on the passage of time, and sometimes as part of certain missions, but you can also change it manually. Each season is more than just an aesthetics change, they have dynamic effects on gameplay, characters, and more. Thankfully, it’s not a challenge to change the seasons, it might just require some patience.
Changing the seasons in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows: How and Why
The ability to manually change the seasons unlocks after the first few missions, so you’ll need a little patience. You can’t jump right into the game and immediately set the seasons. Once you’ve unlocked the ability, open the world map and look in the to right corner. There you will see a compass. The symbol in the center of the compass will tell you what season you are currently in. A snowflake represents winter, a cherry blossom for spring, a sun for summer, and leaves for autumn.
Change seasons with the compass in the top right.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Below the compass, you will see the option to “Change Season.” Press the button, and if the appropriate conditions are met, the season will change. The game will show a short animation presenting the new landscape, and you will be able to return to exploring. If this option looks grayed out, that means the option is currently unavailable. Usually this is because the season has changed too recently to change again. You are not the ultimate arbiter of the weather. You are not Storm from Marvel Rivals. You will have to be a little patient before you can change it again. Watch the bar fill up around the compass, which represents the passing months. After some time, check the compass again to see if the option has returned.
A cold and dark winter night.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Remember, the seasons will also change on their own if enough time passes. This will usually happen when you use the fast travel mechanic or when you return to your hideout. But the season can also change as the result of a story mission.
Arriving at a village in winter.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
But what is the significance of the changing seasons? There are some more intuitive changes such as ponds freezing in winter, making it possible to walk across them. Snow covering grass and the lack of vegetation will also make sneaking harder. Otherwise, a seasonal shift will change the items for sale by merchants, change the behavior of enemies, collectible resources will be refreshed, and the pool of available scouts is restored. Also worth noting, there are some missions that are tied to specific seasons. So, there are more reasons to change the seasons in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows than to avoid the cold of winter.
