Naoe and Yasuke take equal footing in Assassin's Creed Shadows as dual protagonists that you can swap between whenever you want. The shinobi and the samurai require different armour pieces though, so this makes getting the best armour that much more time-consuming.
Similar to its predecessors, Shadows also has a full-on loot system, including legendary armour. Naturally, these unique gear pieces are the best you can find across feudal Japan. Pair these with the best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons and you'll be well on your way to having a build that can take on the hardest regions of the map.
Best Assassin's Creed Shadows armour
When it comes to the best armour in Assassin's Creed Shadows, they're all legendary quality. These gear pieces have higher stats and unique effects that the standard, random armour pieces don't. In other words, you can all but completely ignore any armour that isn't legendary.
Legendary gear generally scales to whatever level you are when you earn it, too, and you can easily upgrade weapons and armour, meaning you can keep using it as you progress through the game.
All legendary gear pieces come with an engraving slot and you can attach a buff to each gear piece by visiting the blacksmith at your hideout. These can improve everything from your damage to your health and adrenaline regeneration.
Below you'll find the best armour for both Naoe and Yasuke. However, you might notice that some armour is only available from the Exchange, the game's premium store. Keep in mind that you can earn keys to spend in the Exchange by completing Shadow Projects, so you can actually get these items for free.
Best Naoe armour
Naoe has 40 legendary armour pieces (including 10 trinkets shared with Yasuke), but the best ones are:
Best Yasuke armour
Despite having almost double the number of legendary weapons, Yasuke also has a total of 40 legendary armour pieces (including that handful of shared trinkets) like Naoe. His best ones are:
These gear pieces are spread across the map in high-level castles and many are rewards for main quests later in the story. In other words, it'll take you some time before you're fully kitted out. In the meantime, wear what you have and upgrade it frequently, otherwise you'll die in just a few hits.
Remember that you can also use the transmog system to customise the appearance of armour. For example, I love the design of the Samurai Daimyo Armour of Legend gear for Yasuke, but I'd rather use different perks so I simply change the appearance of my gear to look like it instead. It's still worth collecting all the armour pieces for Naoe and Yasuke, even if it's just to play dress up.
