The best weapon in Assassin's Creed: Shadows doesn't really exist, here's why
When it comes to weapons, Assassin's Creed: Shadows has a complex, and even counterintuitive system. Ultimately, be ready to swap out the old for the new.
What is the best weapon in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows? There is an easy answer, but it’s also not any singular weapon. Both Naoe and Yasuke prefer and specialize different weapon types, and the weapons themselves have distinguishing factors that will impact their usefulness. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows isn’t a game where you start with one weapon and use that through the rest of the game. Be prepared to swap out weapons, upgrade them, and find ones that work best for your playstyle.
Weapons can get complicated in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, be ready to upgrade or swap
Weapons in Shadows have two important distinguishing factors: rarity and level. The rarity is a sliding color scale. In order from most common to rare, it goes gray, green, blue, purple, and gold. It might make sense to think that the gold weapons are the absolute best, but that’s not the whole story. Weapons also have levels. Each weapon requires a certain level for your character to reach before it can be used. A weapon’s rarity can determine useful perks, but level will determine its damage. Even a gold weapon will be quickly outdone by lower rarity weapons of a higher level after just a few level ups.
Comparison of uncommon and legendary.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
For example, take a look at the above picture comparing two tantos. One is green rarity, while the other is gold. But the green tanto is level 26, while the gold is level 23. Even with just a few levels of difference, the uncommon weapon vastly outdoes the legendary tonto. Most of the time, even the legendary perks aren’t worth the drastic drop off in damage. This might seem counterintuitive on some level, but this is how the system works. So, the easy answer is that the best weapons are the ones the closest to your current level. But of course, that’s not the most specific answer.
Weapon forge.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
If you find a weapon you like, you can upgrade it in your hideout. Upgrading weapons is expensive, and you won’t have enough resources to constantly upgrade all your equipment, so it’s best to focus on one or a few pieces you like and simply replace the rest with new ones as you come across them. It doesn’t take long for weapons to be outclassed as you level up, so you have to be ready to exchange your gear.
Earn a gold weapon for completing this mission.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
New weapon types are unlocked through side missions, main quests, and buying them in the shop. Once you’ve found something in one of those three ways, that weapon type will begin to appear in chests and other places in the wider world. For example, if you’re early in the game looking for a kusarigama, you’ll need to either buy one from a vendor or complete the last mission of The Wounded thread, the first main objective of the game. After one of those is completed, kusarigama will start appearing as loot in the rest of the world. This is how all weapons work. If you can’t find a weapon in any of the shops, try progressing a few missions. Naoe has three weapon types while Yasuke has five.
Naoe's loadout.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
We can at least give you some points on what works well with each of the protagonists. For Naoe, there are two recommendations. The tanto is an easy winner. It’s key for performing double assassinations and is Naoe’s best option for taking out and fighting single enemies. When Naoe finds herself up against greater odds, the kusarigama is an excellent choice. It can keep enemies at a distance and knock down entire crowds. This will be very helpful to get out of a dangerous situation cleanly. Naoe has no option for taking out so many enemies at once. Additionally, later in the game, you can unlock a perk that will let you use the kusarigama to perform stealth attacks and pull unsuspecting enemies towards you. Once this weapon takes on both the stealth and crowd role, it starts to feel like cheating.
Yasuke's loadout.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Yasuke, on the other hand, is more ambiguous. The best weapon for the samurai will depend on your preferences. We do recommend equipping one melee and one ranged weapon. Using a bow or teppo will help alleviate Yasuke’s general slowness, both running and climbing. When assaulting an enemy base, it can be helpful to use a ranged weapon to take out alarm bells from a distance. When it comes to melee, Yasuke is truly a one-man army with any weapon. Even the naginata with its wide swings that should prove to be a weakness, handles single targets well. Yasuke unlocks new weapons slower than Naoe, so by the time you’ve unlocked everything, you’re bound to have found something that works with your preferences.
Weapon stats.Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
While there’s no simple answer, no one weapon that outdoes all the rest, it is exciting to think that every player might have a slightly different combat experience. One player might prefer using the slow naginata with Yasuke, while another might continually upgrade their kanobo after seeing how brutal it was in some of those early Assassin’s Creed: Shadows trailers. In some ways, I find this weapon system to be freeing. I don’t need to be on constant lookout for the best of the best, I can use one weapon for a few missions and then move on to something else.
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