How To Find And Defeat All Yamabushi Imposters In Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Yamabushi Imposters is a side quest in Assassin’s Creed Shadows that tasks you with defeating some really strong enemies. Nine strange men have disguised themselves as itinerant mountain monks and are committing brutal acts, so your job is to assassinate each one of them.

The quest is really difficult to complete, as most of the imposters are fairly high-leveled and use a Naginata. While you can try to learn their different movesets on the fly, they are still pretty tough. Here, we will guide you on how to find and eliminate each imposter.

How To Start The Yamabushi Imposters Quest

You can find a quest icon at Yoshino in the Yamato region during Act 2. There, you will find Genpaku, who will task you with defeating nine Yamabushi Imposters.

After starting the mission, collect the letter on the body in Kawachi Kaza-ana Cave in the Omi region. There, you may have already defeated Yuki Onna as part of the Yokai questline.

If you are under-leveled, then we recommend that you reach at least level 50 before starting this quest. Most of the opponents will be way too difficult to fight if you can’t kill them in a single assassination attempt.

How To Find And Defeat All Yamabushi Imposters

The River Yamabushi

The River Yamabushi, the first target on your list, can be found in Yoshino in the Yamato region. You can find him in the Mitarai Valley. He will be practicing, so you can go behind him and perform an assassination. As he is level 51, it may be difficult to take him out in a single blow, but if you are overpowered, then it won’t be surprising.

The River Yamabushi uses a Katana, so his moveset won’t be hard to understand. Even if you can’t take out all of his health with the assassination, you can simply defeat him by performing simple combos. Upon defeating him, you will get Susanoo’s Torrent, an Epic Bow, Armor Piercing on Multiple Enemies Engraving, and 700 Data Fragments.

When the opponent’s weapon features a blue light, a chain of attack is coming your way, so make sure to parry everyone. However, if the light is white, it will be only one attack if you successfully parry.

The Clifftop Yamabushi

Getting to this particular Yamabushi is pretty challenging. The only way you can get there is by taking the Path of Chosen. He can be on the Iseji Trails in the KII region.

Once you have reached the imposter, it is time to be stealthy again. Go behind him and perform an assassination. If you can’t take him down in a single hit, you may be in for a little trouble. Naginata users in this game are beasts, so you have to be careful.

Dodge his rapid swings that can’t be parried and use that opportunity to damage him. For us, he didn’t use many attacks that could be parried.

Upon defeating him, you will get 320 Mon and Lustrous Pearl, a legendary Naganita.

The Pathway Yamabushi

The next target on your list can be found south of the Clifftop Yamabushi. Getting to him won’t be difficult, as you can even unlock a fast travel point near it from the map. He will likely be behind a tree, so stealthily approach him and perform an assassination.

He is also using a Naginata, so again, if you fail to kill him in a single hit, the fight may be troublesome. The Pathway Yamabushi also does a lot of chain attacks that can’t be parried. Upon defeating him, you will get Izanagi’s Reach, an Epic Naginata, and 290 Mon.

The Forest Yamabushi

The Forest Yamabushi can be found northwest of Saika Castle and southwest of Wakanoura Bay in the KII region. He will be at the Nyu-Daimyojin Shrine, pretending to be hurt. Go behind him and perform an assassination.

He is also a Naginata user, so do not underestimate him. Even if you have taken out a chunk of his health with the assassination, his one chain of attacks can deplete almost all of your health. Be patient, dodge/parry his attacks, and then perform your combos. You can also use your skills to interrupt his combos.

After defeating him, you will get Izanami’s Salvation, an Epic Naginata, and 320 Mon.

The Pond Yamabushi

The next Yamabushi is in hiding, but you can lure him out. Perform the Kuji-kiri on Mount Hiei near the Three-Trunked Tree in the Omi region, and he will attack you. He uses a Katana, so dealing with him won’t be tough.

The Pond Yamabushi will mostly use a chain of attacks that can be parried. However, if he parries your attack, he will always perform an unparryable attack, so beware of that.

You can also push him off the mountain to kill him instantly.

After defeating him, you will get The Monk’s Amendment, an Epic Long Katana, and a letter revealing that the Yamabushi was reporting to someone.

The Mountain Yamabushi

Initially, we asked you to get the letter on the body in Kawachi Kaza-ana Cave in the Omi region. Due to that, the other Yamabushi’s location will already appear on the map.

As he is already dead, you won’t have to fight him, but there might be another opponent there, Yuki Onna. You don’t have to defeat her, as she is a part of another quest.

The Shadow Yamabushi

The next target on your list is lurking in Iga near the Kasuga Shrine in the Otogi Pass. He will be near the fast travel viewpoint. If you are high-level, then this Yamabushi will go down in a single hit. We were able to take him down in a single assassination attempt, so you shouldn’t have any trouble doing the same.

Upon defeating him, you will get Yomi’s Retribution, an Epic Kusarigama, and 260 Mon.

The Village Yamabushi

The Village Yamabushi is hiding in Mibuno Vale at the Shinobi Training Ground in the Iga region. He will be west of the fast travel viewpoint. This Yamabushi won’t move at all, and you will not get the option to assassinate him. Instead, you will get an objective to investigate the zone.

Highlight the options you need to examine by holding L2. There will be three objects you can interact with, and after doing so, a cutscene will start. After the cutscene ends, you will get Damage After Parry’s engraving.

The Valley Yamabushi

The last target to assassinate is The Valley Yamabushi. He can be found in the Nabari Wilds in the Iga region. Go behind him and perform an assassination. He is a huge guy who swings his Kanabo. The Valley Yamabushi won’t get staggered easily, so if you can kill him with just the assassination, you will save a lot of time.

He can also throw his weapon at you. However, after that, he becomes even more annoying. Do not do more than one or two attacks, as he will throw hands pretty fast.

After you have defeated him, you will get Mountain Bearer, an Epic Kanabo, and 275 Mon.

Yamabushi Imposters Reward

Now that you have defeated all of the Yamabushi Imposters, return to Genpaku in the Mitarai Valley and talk to him. After talking to him, the quest will be finished, and you will receive the Secluded Shinto Shrine, an outdoor cosmetic.