In this modern age of gaming, where AAA game publishers are terrified of potential players not understanding a core mechanic of a particular game, leading to a series of hand-holding techniquesand tutorials, we would argue thatAssassin’s Creed as a serieshas been a major cause for this industry-wide trend.
10 Badly Reviewed RPGs That Are Actually Pretty Good
Critics tend to get most things right, but occasionally, they slip up and doom games to a bleak fate, as seen here.
The game tutorials everything, including the mechanics and systems, play to the lowest common denominator, and the games rarely change what has been the AC formula for many years. But, even in these very hand-holding games, there are some things that slip through the net.
These things can often prove to be very useful to the player. So, we intend to showcase some things that AC Shadows doesn’t signpost quite as well as it could, allowing you to reap the rewards of these lesser-known mechanics and systems.
11Keep An Eye Out For Random Encounters
Help An NPC In Need
While the world is far fromabundant with these encounters, there are random NPCs that you will meet in the game, and depending on how you handle these encounters, you may get a small reward for your efforts. A small but very helpful reward.
These encounters tend to be saving an NPC who finds themselves being attacked by bandits, or a stranger that you’ll need to go through some dialogue with to win favor with. But, no matter what the situation, the path to the reward is hardly ever too taxing.
If you do the right thing, the NPC will eventually offer you the choice of World Knowledge or Scout Intel. The former will reveal a potential side quest on your map, whereas the Scout Intel will refill one of your scout slots.
The World Knowledge tends to be the better option in most cases, and it’s a good way to avoid wasting scouts trying to find a needle in a haystack. So, if you see an NPC in need, stop by and see what you can do to help.
10Contracts Are Great For Getting Hideout Materials
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
While the game does briefly mention what your first building accessed via the Hideout is for, it’s still very easy to overlook or ignore these features. Especially if you just want to get back out there to assassinate more enemies like myself.
However, some aspects of this building are useful, and if you want to invest in making your hideout as functional and aesthetically pleasing as possible, you’ll need to know about contracts.
These are optional quests where you can head out and secure a supply of materials that are useful for crafting/upgrading weapons, and for building structures at the Hideout.
These quests are usually pretty straightforward, and you can pick and choose which ones you want to do based on what materials you’re lacking.
They aren’t super well signposted, but without them, finding the materials you need will be a massive slog, so don’t sleep on these contracts.
9You Can Change Your Gear’s Aesthetic
A New Look
If you’ve played Hogwarts Legacy, you will be familiar with this feature, as the gear system in AC Shadows works more or less the same way. Players will acquire random drops from chests and enemies of varying stats, levels, and aesthetics, and sometimes, your most deadly weapon isn’t all that visually appealing.
So, if you’re sick of looking at a particularly ugly piece of gear, you may enter the gear menu and access the visual customization screen. Then, from here, you can change the visual attributes of your gear to any other piece of gear you’ve collected so far, but critically, you get to keep all the perks and stats attached to the weapon in question.
It’s a loot system I can admit I’m not all that keen on, but being able to customize the look of your loadout is a nice touch.
8Praying Gives You An Adrenaline Buff
A little Help From The Gods
If you’re someone who leans into head-on combat instead of stealth, then this tip will be super beneficial to you.
For those unaware, AC Shadows employs a system where the player needs to build up adrenaline to use their special abilities tied to each weapon type. These adrenaline nodes are built up by landing successful blocks and light attacks. However, on harder difficulties, this can be a rather slow process.
To remedy this, around the world of AC Shadows, you’ll occasionally come across shrines that will give you a temporary buff to your adrenaline gain if you pray at them. Much like NPC encounters, they aren’t in frequent supply, but if you find one, this buff can prove very useful when clearing out a castle.
7Daisho Samurais Give One Mastery Point Per Kill
Unlock The Lot
By a country mile, the best way to build up Mastery Points fast in AC Shadows is by killing Daisho Samurai, who are often found in castles and strongholds. They are tough, elite enemy types, but they are worth seeking out.
This is not only because killing all of them in a particular area will grant you access to a legendary chest hidden away in a locked area of the fortress but also because these enemies, when killed, offer one Mastery Point each.
This essentially makes killing these enemies the most efficient way of farming these points and unlocking new skills. So, if you want to unlock everything on Naoe and Yasuke’s skill trees, taking these guys down is the way to do it.
6Kakuregas Offer Another Means Of Fast Travel
A Home Away From Home
As the game begins, it seems for all the world like the most means of fast traveling around the map is embracing the Ubisoft staple of clamping up to a vantage point and discovering new areas of the map.
This is certainly one option, but the player does have access to a number of contacts that can be discovered in various build-up settlements across the map. These contacts are known as Kakuregas, and if you pay 800 Mon, they will serve as another fast travel point.
But not only that. These fast-travel points are effectively like little mini-hideouts where you will be able to access your storage, refill your scouts, and more.
It’s good to have a few of these dotted around the place for easy access to certain regions. Plus, there’s very little else worth spending your Mon on. So, don’t hesitate to purchase the services of some Kakuregas.
5There Is A Wanted System
Depending on your playstyle, this may come as no surprise to you, but I personally only discovered this about fifteen hours into the game. So, it’s fair to say that I won’t be the only one who misses this feature.
When infiltrating camps and fortresses, there is a possibility that you may get spotted, and an enemy could sound the alarm. If they do this, you will be a wanted criminal within the region, and in areas where the guards would usually be indifferent to you, they will turn hostile.
The only way to lower this wanted level is to wait for the changing of the seasons. This can either be altered by triggering it within the map menu, or you can simply wait it out. Plus, each character has a separate wanted status, so if one gets caught, you can always switch to the other.
4You Can Find Keys In The Wild
A Lucrative Glitch
While I find the monetization and microtransactions utterly detestable in a full-price game such as this one, I do want to do my bit to ensure anyone who doesn’t want to spend more cash can engage with these features if they want to.
Keys are essentially the V-Bucks of the AC Shadows world, alongside Helix Credits and Data Fragments. But, unlike the Helix Credits, you can actually earn them via natural play. You can either get keys via the Data Fragment meets battle pass system, or you can find them in the wild.
The game never tells you this is an option, but you may encounter keys floating there like little Animus glitches in the simulation. These pickups reward the player with 30x Keys, which isn’t life-changing, but if you can find enough of them, you’ll be able to unlock something cool.
3You Can Respec Masteries
Give Yourself A Re-Do
This one is a little more obvious, but it bears mentioning anyway, especially if you’ve made a blunder and unlocked a skill on one of the character’s skill trees that you don’t want.
In the Mastery tab, you can swap between various categories, such as Shinobi, Assassin, Katana, and so on. And, if there’s one category where you feel like you could rejig your points to get a better outcome, you can reset this by pressing Square/X on console.
This will give you all your points back, and if you want to do this for every skill category, you are welcome to do some and redistribute as you choose.
2Kusarigama Is The Best Weapon Class
The Old Ball & Chain
While all the weapon classes are viable within AC Shadows, it’s very apparent as soon as you use one just how overpowered the Kusarigama is.
This is basically a blade on a rope that you can swing and toss at enemies, allowing you to attack multiple enemies at a time with an area of effect. Not to mention, you can attack without getting up close and personal.
This weapon is ideal for most situations, and it also makes taking out tougher enemies that can pack a punch much easier, as they often can’t get close enough to get neat you. So, if you want to make each fight a cakewalk, this is the weapon class you’ll want to invest in.
