Best Naoe and Yasuke Mastery Skills in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Open up the mastery menu as either Naoe and Yasuke and you’ll see that Ubi aren’t messing around when it comes to skills and passives. There are katana abilities, bow skills, and more for every other type of weapon, then a whole branch dedicated to being a shinobi, then another for the samurai, and plenty more besides. It’s a lot, culminating in well over 100 nodes for you to unlock.

Though Shadows gives you enough opportunities to earn Mastery Points to unlock abilities and passives, getting them all is a time sink, so you’ll want to be selective with how you spend them, especially in the early game. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best skills, abilities, and passives to unlock in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Best Naoe skills and passives

Katana

Skill	Description
Counter Attack	Press Q or L1/LB at the last moment to turn your deflect into a counter attack. Follow up with Swift Step and Hardened.
Dodge Attack	Press right click or R1/RB after a dodge to launch a fast counter-attack and quickly get back to the enemy. Follow up with Generator and No Mercy.
Eviscerate	Strike an enemy, dealing 75% ability damage and pushing them away. Half as effective on large enemies. Follow up with Outclass.
Tidal Wave	An extremely fast strike dealing 25% ability damage and making the enemy vulnerable. Follow up with Second Wave and Third Wave.

Though you’ll principally want to use stealth to fight as Naoe, you’ll invariably find yourself in head-on battles. For these nothing beats the Katana, feudal Japan’s symbolic weapon of choice. A big part of using the Katana is deflecting enemy attacks to follow up with lethal blows. The Counter Attack skill supercharges deflections by letting you follow up with a fast retaliatory strike. Similarly, the Dodge Attack skill gives every successful dodge the same kind of risposting power by following up dodges with a powerful counter-attack that charges you towards the enemy, useful for closing gaps.

Though Tidal Wave can be passed off as an introductory skill to give you a sense of Naoe’s fighting chops, it holds its own as the game progresses. She’ll propel herself towards an enemy dishing a lighting-fast strike that makes them vulnerable, opening the door for follow up attacks. It’s worth investing in the Second wave and Third Wave skills to further improve the ability with three chained swoop-and-strike moves. Eviscerate is a solid complimentary skill to Tidal Wave. Naoe will stab enemies in the gut, pushing them away. With the Outclass passive, you can extend this to large enemies.

Kusarigama

Skill	Description
Feral Outburst	Launch Naoe towards a single enemy and unleash a flurry of 4 strikes dealing 20% ability damage each. Follow up with Exposed Wound and Feral Frenzy.
Cyclone Blast	Swing the Kusarigama in large circles around Naoe, dealing 8% ability damage per hit and pushing back struck enemies. Follow up with Lasting Storm and Enhanced Impact.
Multi-Target Expert	Increase damage when hitting multiple enemies by 3%.

Aside from the Tanto, the Kusarigama is the shinobi’s weapon of choice. Consisting of a bladed sickle attached to a weighted down chain, it works just as well on single enemies as on crowds, making it extremely versatile and reliable way to keep some distance between fragile Naoe and enemies.

Feral Outburst is top skill for one-target attacks, letting Naoe propel forward and dish out four strikes in quick succession. To complement this, you’ll want Cyclone Blast, which sees Naoe spin the Kusarigama in a circle around her, dealing damage to any enemies in its path and pushing them back. So, it’s crowd-control, a gap creator, and a damage dealer all in one, what’s not to like? To supplement Cyclone Blast, invest in the Multi-Target Expert skill, which ups your damage output when hitting multiple enemies.

Tanto

Skill	Description
Gap Seeker	Increase armor piercing by 6%. Follow up with.
Backstabber	Increase damage from behind by 2%.
Backstab	Light Posture attacks that hit an enemy’s back trigger weak point attacks.
Hidden Hand	Sheath your Tanto and extend the Hidden Blade in its classic form to perform an assassination while in combat. Follow up with Hidden Onslaught and Broken Spirit
Shadow Barrage	Naoe will automatically perform a quick evade before getting hit, lasting 20 seconds and up to 7 hits. Does not work on grab attacks. Follow up with Endless Barrage and Contemplation.

Standalone, the Tanto is solid and acrobatically-tuned weapon that’s a lot of fun to play, but when paired with the Hidden Black they become an absolutely devastating lightning-quick, dual-wielding weapon. Your bread and butter here will be the Shadow Barrage skill that more or less makes Naoe invincible for 20 seconds.

However, you’ll quickly want to unlock the Hidden Hand skill that lets you pull off assassinations mid-combat. Gap Seeker, Backstab, and Backstabber not only increase the damage of Hidden Hand, but also works a treat when paired with the Double Assassination skill we’ll cover below, especially against tankier enemies.

Tools

Skill	Description
Larger Tool Bag I	Increase maximum capacity for all tools. +1 kunai, +1 shuriken, +1 smoke bomb, + shinobi bell. Follow up with Larger Tool Bag II and III.
Kunai Assassination Damage I	Naoe removes 1 additional health segment with kunai. Follow up with Kunai Assassination Damage I, II, III.
Quick Throw	Automatically throw the equipped tool at the closest enemy or object.

The Tools skill tree covers all of the ancillary gear and projectiles that Naoe has in her arsenal – kunai, smoke bomb, shinobi bell, and shuriken. Which ever one you favour will detect how you spend Mastery Points here, but we do recommend getting Larger Tool Bag I to increase your tool capacity. Whatever your thoughts on the smoke bomb and other tools, the kunai is a must-use, if only for assassinating targets from afar. With Kunai Assassination Damage I, you’ll increase the chance of you taking out larger enemies in a single throw, while Quick Throw will make actually hitting them a whole lot easier.

Shinobi

Skill	Description
Igan Roll	Press Alt on PC or circle on PS5 before hitting the ground to reduce fall damage. Follow up with Ninja Fall.
Prodigy	Increase damage with abilities by 3%.
Grab	Press E on PC or triangle on PS5 while undetected to grab an enemy. Once grabbed, you can move with them and hold the same button command to knock them out. Follow up with Grab Assassinate and Quick Knock Out.
Vault	Press Alt on PC or circle on PS5 after deflecting an attack to jump over an enemy and make the target vulnerable. Follow up with Destabilizing Vault and High Vault.
Shallow Water Breathing	Allows Naoe to breathe through a reed while remaining still in shallow water.

Shinobi skills cover the more acrobatic and stealthy infiltration portion of Naoe toolkit. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is thick with viewpoints, towering castles, and precarious cliffs all there for Naoe to tumble to her death. Igan Roll is, therefore, a no-brainer, cushioning every big drop or jump by reducing fall damage with a timed roll. Vault pairs well with the focus on deflect we have under the Katana skill tree by giving you the option to vault over and enemy, making them vulnerable for big follow-up damage.

You’ll be using a lot of abilities so invest in prodigy for a nice bump to ability damage for a relatively low Mastery Point cost. Finally, Grab and Shallow Water Breathing are tad situational, but you’ll be glad you have them when they’re called for.

Assassin

Skill	Description
Assassination Damage I	Naoe removes 1 additional health segement with assassinations. Follow up with Assassination Damage II and III.
Shoji Door Assassination	While using a Katana, Naoe can assassinate a target through a shoji panel.
Double Assassinate	While using a Tanto, Naoe can assassinate two targets standing close together with a single attack.
Reinforced Blade	Hidden Blade can now be used against large enemies.

While the shinobi branch is focused on keep stealthy, the assassin tree is all about those gloriously bloody assassinations with the famed Hidden Blade. Get Assassination Damage I early to shave an extra health segment off of enemies and take down enemies without having to scrap after an assassination attempt. Pair it with Reinforced Blade to extend this to larger enemies.

Shoji Door Assassination, other than being dripping in style, is useful when infiltrating castles. Finally, and most importantly, Double Assassinate lets you kill two targets that are in proximity to one another. It synergizes with the Tanto skills above, letting you take out most enemy types, even those tankier brutes with chunky health bars.

Best Yasuke skills and passives

Long Katana

Skills	Description
Riposte	Release Q on PC L1 on PS5 right after blocking a hit to perform an immediate riposte. Follow up with Energizing Defense and Defensive Strike.
Sheathed Attack	Hold Q on PC or L1 on PST and right click on PC or R1 or R2 on PS5 to sheathe the Katana and launch a stronger strike that can break the target’s guard. Follow up with Sheathed Posture and Adrenaline Boost.
Power Dash	Dash to a single enemy, dealing 50% ability damage, then move behind them to make them vulnerable. Follow up with Armor Avoidance and Chained Power Dash.

The Long Katana is the samurai’s weapon of choice and blends beautifully with Yasuke head-first fighting style. Riposte is a little tricky to master, but once you have it will, you’ll use it constantly. It’s similar to Naoe Counter Attack skill in that it follows up any parry with a meaty blow. Other than being ridiculous stylish, Sheathed Attack is a powerful ability to break through an enemy’s guard. Finally Power Dash is Yasuke’s default ability and while a ‘starter’ skill, it never looses its lethal luster as the game progresses, especially due to the follow-up vulnerable state it inflicts on enemies.

Naginata

Skill	Description
Crescent Strike	Jump to an enemy and swing the Naginata in a large arc in front of you, dealing 25% ability damage and pushing them back. Follow up with Deep Cut and Disabling Strike.
Onslaught	Unleash a flurry of 8 strikes on a single enemy, dealing 15% ability damage each. Half as effective on large enemies. Follow up with Broader Onslaught and Ultimate Onslaught.
One Man Army	Increase damage when hitting multiple enemies by 3%.
Far Reach	Enemies hit by the tip of a Naginata take 15% more damage. Follow up with Lethal Reach and Fatal Reach.

The Naginata is the rangier counterpart to the Long Katana, perfect for dealing with multiple enemies with solid crowd-control potential. The Crescent Strike skill covers you for multi-enemy tussles with a surging swing damages in an arc. Onslaught ensures you’ve got options for one-on-one fights thanks to its flurry of strikes. Far Each extends the damage output of the Naginata at range against multiple enemies, while One Man Army ensures the same when swing into more than one enemy.

Kanabo

Skill	Description
Forward Momentum	When you hit an enemy press right-click on PC or R1/R2 on PS5 to chain your next attack faster. Follow up with Power Surge and Constant Pressure.
Crushing Shockwave	A downward strike that deals 90% ability damage, disables the targets, and staggers all enemies in a 3 meter radius. Follow up with Greater Shockwave and Absolute Shockwave.
Devastation	Switch attack type at the end of a combo to trigger and additional combo ender. Follow up with Turmoil and Infinite Devastation.
Ability Master

The Kanabo may be slow, but dishes out massive damage, making it a solid pick for those hankering for a barbarian style of play. To mitigate some of the weapon’s sluggishness, Forward Momentum allows you to chain attacks faster. Crushing Shockwave isn’t just a reliable damage dealer but also offers some much-needed crowd-control with a massive ground strike that disables and staggers all nearby enemies. Finally Devastation is another solid pick to mitigate the Kanabo slow speed by adding an extra hit to any combo.

Teppo

Skill	Description
Steel Bullets	Unlock a new bullet type that makes the target vulnerable. Follow up with Concussion Bullets and Shrapnel Bullets.
Armor Buster	Reload the Teppo and follow up with a shot that deals 100% ability damage and breaks the target’s armor. Follow up with Radial Effect and Deep Impact.
Large Pouch I	Increase maximum capacity for all ammo. +4 ammo, +2 special ammo. Follow up with Large Pouch II and III.
Teppo Tempo	After a successful dodge, hold shift and right-click on PC or hold R2 on PS5 at the end of the dodge to shoot at the attacker. Follow up with Target Vulnerability and Quick Aim.

Courtesy of the Portuegues poking about in Japan, Yasuke has access to the Teppo, a refined rifle that excels at both long range and close range, if played right. Steel Bullets along with Concussion and Shrapnel Bullets unlock new bullet types, giving you more situational options. Large Pouch I is a must-have as it boost ammo’s maximum capacity. Teppo Tempo is the guns’s equivalent of Naoe’s Dodge Attack, letting you follow up a dodge with a powerful shot. Lastly, Armor Buster makes the most of reload times by throwing a follow up shot that carves through armor.

Samurai

Skill	Description
Brutal Assassination	Press F on PC or R1 on PS5 to perform Yasuke’s own version of an assassination and remove health segments. Follow up with Improved Brutal Assassination, Assassination Damage I and II.
Regeneration	Restore 3% of Yasuke’s maximum health when killing an enemy.
Stronger, Smarter…	+15% less cooldown with abilities.
Vigor I	Increase Yasuke’s adrenaline chunks by 1. Follow up with Vigor II and III.

The samurai tree is a bit of a miss-match of skills that cover suvivability, assassinations, defence, and non-weapon abilities. Top of the list to get here is Brutal Assassination, Yasuke’s own twist on Naoe’s Hidden Blade assassination, which works a treat when stealth is favoured over all-out combat. Regeneration adds a spot of survibility to Yasuke’s build, regenerating 3% health when killing an enemy. Yasuke is an ability-focused characters, meaning you’ll want to minimize cooldown times with Stronger, Smarter… Finally, Vigor adds an extra adrenaline chunk, giving you more options to unleash abilities as as fight progresses.

Bow

Skill	Description
Poison Arrows	Unlock a new arrow type that builds up the Poison affliction.
Serrated Arrows	Unlock a new arrow type that builds up the Bleed affliction.
Silent Arrows	Unlock a new arrow type that has 100% armor piercing and removes 2 health segments with headshots on unsuspecting enemies. Follow up with Silent Arrows II and III.
Clear Mind	Time slows down around you for 10 seconds while aiming. Follow up with Effective Mindset and Level-Headed.
Larger Quiver I, II, III	Increase maximum capacity for all arrows. +10 arrow, +3 special arrow. Follow up with Larger Quiver II and III.
Swift Hand	Increase draw speed by 15%.

Last but not least, we have Yasuke’s trusty bow, an asymmetrical longbow that’s both light, fast, and versatile, making it particularly well suited to medium-range combat. As first port of call, grab the Poison Arrows, Serrated Arrows, and Silent Arrows passives, especially the latter to introduce a spot more stealth to Yasuke’s lumbering, all-in fighting style. You’ll regularly run out of arrows so invest in Large Quiver I as soon as you can spare the Mastery Points.

Clear Mind is you’re got to ability with the bow, slowing down time to let you pick off multiple targets in quick succession. You’ll also want to invest in Swift Hand to reduce draw speed and make sure you can chain arrow shots quicker.

That about covers it. Again, this is merely suggestive and I do recommend testing out different skill combinations to find what works best for your playstyle. If you enjoy the Naginata, then invest most of your points in that tree. Conversely, if you’re more inclined towards stealth, then Naoe’s shinobi and assassin trees are where you’ll want to spend most of your Mastery Points. Remember that you can reset masteries in the Mastery tab in the pause menu at any time, so there’s no cost to experimenting.