Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a sprawling open-world game with deep gameplay mechanics, including dual character progression, customizable Hideout settlement building, a gear system, scouts, and more. While the game’s tutorials attempt to cover all the basics, some of its systems and mechanics might feel overwhelming or unclear, particularly for players new to the Assassin’s Creed series or action RPGs with robust systems like those in Shadows.
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This is where AC Shadows players might encounter the message “Equipping Gear Is Currently Restricted” and find themselves unable to equip or use newly discovered weapons or armor. Fortunately, in many cases, the explanation for this is far simpler than it might seem. This guide addresses all instances when this message appears, along with potential solutions for each.
What Does the ‘Equipping Gear Is Currently Restricted’ Message Actually Mean?
One of the most obvious reasons for this message to appear in the lower-right corner of the gear screen, as shown in the image above, is when a gear’s level exceeds the mastery level of a character. To put it simply, Naoe or Yasuke is under-leveled for the item they’re trying to equip.
In this case, the message “Equipping Gear Is Currently Restricted” is an oddly worded phrase that doesn’t clearly convey this straightforward issue to players.
On any gear’s icon, there’s a number in the top-left corner indicating the item’s level. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, much like in Odyssey, characters with a lower level can’t use gear that exceeds their current level. Since players can upgrade equipment via the Forge to raise its level but not lower it, the only solution here is to gain a few levels to meet the item’s requirement and equip it.
Other Reasons the ‘Equipping Gear Is Currently Restricted’ Message Might Show Up
If your character’s level matches or exceeds the gear’s level, like in the image above, you should be able to equip it, unless you’re attempting to do so mid-combat, while swimming, jumping, or during any other active animation that’s paused. Once again, Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t do a great job of explaining this to players, but in most cases, changing equipped gear is only possible outside of combat and when the character is standing still.
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One final reason for the message to appear is when Assassin’s Creed Shadows players try to equip two similar weapon types in different slots (for example, Katana (slot A) + Katana (slot B) instead of, say, Katana+Kusarigama), which the game doesn’t permit. Additionally, players might accidentally attempt to equip a weapon that’s already equipped, triggering the message to show up as well.
‘Equipping Gear Is Currently Restricted’ Could Be a Specific Bug with Tanto Weapons on PC
If none of the reasons mentioned above apply to your situation, it’s quite possible that you’re dealing with a frustrating bug. Several players have already reported encountering this irritating message and conditions that prevent them from changing their equipment for no apparent reason, locking the entire gear screen.
Some have suggested this might be tied to Naoe’s Tanto weapons when playing on PC. We can’t fully confirm this, as, in our experience, we couldn’t reproduce the bug while actively using Tanto in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. According to players, reloading a recent save can sometimes help, or fully restarting the game, though some note that the bug might still persist even after that.
Nevertheless, if such a bug truly exists in the game, the Ubisoft team is already aware of it thanks to many players’ reports, so a fix for the issue may already be in progress. Fortunately, once the next patch is released, the unwarranted “Equipping Gear Is Currently Restricted” message should no longer appear.
- Released
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March 20, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong
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