Best Abilities Bow Mastery Path Abilities For Yasuke In AC Shadows

Summary

• Yasuke offers unique versatility in combat with his bow, specializing in ranged attacks for precision and impact.
• Upgradeable abilities like Retreating Shot, Kyudo Master, and Poison Arrows make Yasuke deadly effective at range.
• Larger Quiver, Clear Mind, and Marksman’s Shot enhance Yasuke’s bow skills, allowing for greater damage and utility.

With the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, players have been given two very distinct protagonists to play. In addition to Naoe, a ninja in the vein of traditional series assassins, there is Yasuke, the hulking tank of a samurai, who feels as appropriately unique in combat as he does in his adopted home of Japan.

This tank is not without versatility, however, as Yasuke has just as much variability in his tools, weapons, and moves as Naoe. One fun way to mix up Yasuke’s shoulder-tackling melees is with his bow, which may not be as flashy as the teppo but makes up for it with satisfying precision and impact. A few of his bow abilities stand out from the rest, and the very best make Yasuke deadly effective at range.

1

Retreating Shot

An Impressive Looking Flurry

• Shoot 4 arrows at the closest enemy, dealing 10% ability damage each time while evading incoming attacks

Retreating Shot is one of Yasuke’s few active bow attacks and one of the most useful in melee combat. In addition to shooting four arrows in rapid succession, upgradable to six, Retreating Shot gives Yasuke a window of evasion during the whole flurry.

One of the best uses for Retreating Shot is first equipping Yasuke’s poison arrows and using it to begin an encounter with a tough daimyo or other boss. As four to six poison arrows sink into one enemy, the poisoned state is virtually a guarantee, dealing a lot of damage over time.

2

Kyudo Master

The Right Timing Makes Yasuke Lightning Fast

• Release R2/RT when Bow flashes to trigger Kyudo Master, enabling a longer Posture Window and a faster Reload Time for 5 seconds

Right away, players will notice that Yasuke’s main drawback is his speed. The bow takes a while to charge into a stance shot, and though perks like Swift Hand help to speed the process up slightly, Kyudo Master allows Yasuke’s speed to be determined by the player.

By releasing a shot right as the bow flashes, Kyudo Master gives players five seconds of faster reloads and criminally easy posture shots. Even better, this can essentially be chained until arrows are spent, as long as the player’s reaction time is good enough.

3

Silent Arrows

Assassinate While Safely At Range

• Unlock a new Arrow that has 100% Armor Piercing and removes 2 Health Segments with headshots on unsuspecting enemies

In general, Yasuke’s Silent Arrows are his most powerful ammo type. While Poison Arrows and Serrated Arrows may look flashier and contribute more in the long run, Silent Arrows are the best choice to assassinate a target at range instantly.

When fully upgraded, Silent Arrows combine 100% armor piercing with a massive eight health segments in damage. That makes one shot enough for a hidden rooftop Yasuke to eliminate even powerful ronin and samurai with one swift, silent shot.

4

Larger Quiver I-III

The More Poison Arrows, The Better

• Increase maximum capacity for all arrows. +10 Arrow, +3 Special Arrow

Some of the best abilities in RPGs are also the most boring, and Larger Quiver is certainly both. As its name suggests, Larger Quiver increases the size of Yasuke’s quiver, allowing him to carry more arrows, which is important for two major reasons.

Firstly, Yasuke’s main quiver is sorely undersized when first unlocked, at a mere ten. The three levels of Large Quiver bring Yasuke’s quiver up to 40, enough for any castle siege. Secondly, Yasuke’s damage is at its best with special arrow types, and until upgraded, players are only allotted six of each. Upgrading brings the total to a much more usable 15.

5

Clear Mind

A Franchise Staple For A Reason

• Time slows down around you for 10 seconds while aiming

By now, it’s expected for any Assassin’s Creed game to have a bow ability that slows time, and the same is true for many other RPGs that include archery. In the often frenetic chaos that is Assassin’s Creed combat, a window of relative calm to aim and fire off a shot can be an actual lifesaver.

Clear Mind works easily and for an especially long time, simply triggering upon activation and slowing time around Yasuke for ten seconds. Given Yasuke’s lack of speed normally, the feature works wonders in making it possible for players to switch out their melee weapons for a bow and finish an enemy before they cover that last bit of ground.

6

Level-Headed

Upgrade Clear Mind to Maximum Utility

• While Clear Mind is active, Headshots increase the duration by 4 seconds

Level-Headed is actually an upgrade to another ability. It’s the third in a chain that begins with Clear Mind and goes through Effective Mindset, but it may be the most important of them all.

Level-Headed makes it so that successful headshots during Clear Mind extend the duration by four seconds each. Like other Assassin’s Creed games, headshots are relatively easy to pull off in Shadows, meaning that a player with Level-Headed can feasibly fight an entire ranged battle with time slowed just for them. Yasuke’s playstyle feels anything but slow this way.

7

Marksman’s Shot

Make Every Shot Into Two

• When hitting the target’s head with a Posture Shot, fire a second arrow by pressing R2/RT

Marksman’s Shot is a rare ability that is not technically an activated ability, but players will still have to trigger it for it to take effect. It works by giving players a window after any charged headshot, which most will be anyway, in which to fire off a rapid second arrow.

The real gift of Marksman’s Shot is that it does not need to be slotted and activated, but rather is always an option after unlocking. Especially early in the game and with powerful enemies, Yasuke’s headshots often leave the targets with one or two health bars remaining. With good timing, Marksman’s Shot fixes this problem quickly.

8

Marksman’s Stance

Chain Headshots As Needed

• Marksman’s Shot is now a Posture Shot

The direct upgrade to Marksman’s Shot, Marksman’s Stance takes the ability to its logical and extremely powerful conclusion. The perk makes the bonus arrow fired with Marksman’s Shot a posture/charged shot itself, meaning that the bonus shot now doubles Yasuke’s damage.

Marksman’s Stance makes every arrow fired twice as strong, including twice as much poison or bleeding buildup. Further, it is a massive improvement in the utility of Yasuke’s regular shows for assassinations. With appropriately scaled gear, two posture shots in a row should fell any non-boss enemy instantly, or at least in two instants.

9

Poison Arrows

The Best For Damage Over Time

• Unlock a new Arrow type that builds up the Poison affliction

For how hard Assassin’s Creed Shadows pushes Yasuke to be a dismembering, wall-smashing tank, abilities like Poison Arrows make Yasuke also a fun option for stealth and subterfuge. The only thing keeping the high-damage arrows from becoming many players’ default is their low quiver size and refill availability, but that can be addressed.

Once players know the map, invest in the many Kakurega scattered around, and especially if they invest in Larger Quiver, Poison Arrows can easily become their default ammunition. At that point, Yasuke’s every bow ability can utilize the arrows and therefore increases the damage dealt exponentially throughout the entire playthrough.

10

Staggering Blast

A Powerful, Dazing Burst

• Shoot a powerful arrow at the target, dealing 60% ability damage and pushing them back

Staggering Blast is likely to be the first ability many players opt for in Yasuke’s bow mastery path, and rightly so. When fully upgraded, the blast is arguably Yasuke’s most useful overall, and even in its most basic form, its pushback ability can be invaluable.

Done right, Staggering Blast can be used like Yasuke’s melee version of War Kick, sending enemies flying back. This could mean giving the samurai space or it could mean sending tough enemies sailing over cliffs, turning drawn-out battles into instant kills. Once upgraded, it automatically dazes the enemy as well, meaning even those that don’t fly off a ledge are all but dead already.