The first 10 hours or so of Assassin’s Creed Shadows are pretty linear and don’t give the player too much freedom in how to tackle the first two assassinations. Once you’ve done those, though, things open up considerably as you finally get Yasuke to join the fight.
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While you technically do get a lot more choice in what objectives you want to follow after you can play as Yasuke, there’s still a clear order of Shinbakfu targets you need to take down. Next up on the list is The Fool, and here’s what you need to know to take him down.
The Bad Brother
Where To Find Ise Sadatame
Once you’ve gained control of Yasuke, you’ll find yourself at the Hideout and ready to take on whatever target you want to do next. The Fool is the clear choice since he’s a lower level than the others. Start his first quest, The Bad Brother, and you’ll be told to meet Ise Sadatame at a Byodoin Temple in Yamashiro, which you can find on the map by using Scouts or looking at the image above. Sadatame will then give you several new quests to follow.
From this point on in Shadows, you’ll mostly be able to pick who you want to play as out of Naoe or Yasuke. We’ll note which is better for each mission.
Missing Missive
How To Find The Messenger And His Letter
The first quest Sadatame will give you involves finding a messenger’s missing letter. You can find the quest starting point southeast of Arashiyama next to a bridge, which we’ve marked on the map above. Once you meet the messenger, he’ll direct you to a nearby bamboo grove where whoever stole the letter is residing. Head here to do battle with Gennojo, which makes this a perfect mission to do as Yasuke.
Defeating Gennojo
Gennojo isn’t a tough enemy to take on but he does have some tricky moves that make him worth being careful with. He’s very reliant on doing heavy attacks that require a quick dodge from your character, but he also throws smoke bombs and projectiles at you. When you see him flipping backwards, he’s going to follow it up with shuriken, so make sure you’re ready with a block to deflect them.
Beyond that, you just need to keep whittling away at his health, dodging his heavy attacks, and countering any light sword strikes. He’s not a tough foe, but do keep your eye out for some of the more unique moves that stop him from just being a regular enemy. Once you’ve done that, you’ll get the letter back and be able to continue the quest thread.
Inside Help
How To Find Ujimasa
Your next mission is located in Kiyomizudera Temple and involves you finding someone called Ujimasa for some inside help. Head to the southwestern area of Hills of Meeting, which you’ll see on the image above. You’ll then chat to Ujimasa, who will give you a quest to take down a group called the Twisted Trees.
Ujimasa will give you an option of drinking from one of the temple’s three streams, but don’t worry – it’s just a bit of flavour text with no impact.
The Twisted Tree
How To Assassinate Takahashi Taro And The Twisted Tree
To complete this mission, you’ll need to assassinate a target called Takahashi Taro, who can be found in the upper North area of Kyoto, which is marked by the blue point on the map above. Head here to take him on, which might be best done with Yasuke since Taro is likely too high a level to be killed in one go with Naoe.
Taro is an easy foe who is basically a regular target and nothing to be worried about. Take him out as either Yasuke or Naoe, and then move on to the rest of the Twisted Tree targets. They’re all fairly easy to find as they’re located within Kyoto, but we have a separate guide detailing their assassination on the site for you to follow. Once you’ve done that, return to Ujimasa to get the key to the castle gates.
The Rising Tide
Where To Find Ogura Pond
To start out this very short-lived mission, you need to head to Ogura Pond, which is marked on the map above and easily reachable if you’ve got the Ogura Peak fast-travel point already. Head over to the area marked on the map for a short cutscene that then ends the mission. Yep, it’s really as simple as that.
Lost Honor
Assassinating The Fool
Once you’ve completed the quests above, it’s time for the main event. You’ll start the mission out as Yasuke, who has to kill the castle guards that are marked on the map. At this point in the game and with the enemy’s low levels, this should be an easy task. Just keep in mind to dodge heavy attacks for openings and use your Posture Attacks as much as possible.
After killing all of the enemies, you’ll automatically switch over to Naoe to unlock the inner gate. As always with Naoe, you should be as stealthy as possible and try to avoid fights when you can. The marker clearly shows that you need to head straight North, so head over there without attracting attention. I stuck to the rooftops and only assassinated those who would go down with one hit, which made things easier. Once you’ve done this, you’ll once again switch to Yasuke for some more combat encounters, before the final boss fight of this mission begins.
Defeating Ise Sadaoki
You’re at the finishing line of the mission now, which means that you get to choose between Yasuke and Naoe to defeat Ise Sadaoki, The Fool. This should be an obvious choice, but Yasuke is who you want to go for when it comes to duelling, so pick him for an easier time. Sadaoki will be surrounded by a few enemies when the fight begins, so work on taking them out before you attack him.
Despite being one of the game’s main targets, Sadaoki is a total joke of a boss battle. The only unique moves he has are strings of heavy attacks which are easily dodged and leave him open to being countered. Keep an eye on those and wail on him every chance you get and you’ll easily take him down. For your efforts, you’ll receive the Steel Blossom Legendary Katana for Naoe and an engraving.
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