Thanks to Assassin's Creed Shadows' dual protagonists, getting your hands on the best weapons takes twice as much work. Naoe and Yasuke have different approaches to combat and, naturally, use different weapons. The shinobi favours agility, choosing from katanas, tantos, and kusarigama, while the samurai warrior gets long katanas, naginatas, war clubs, and even ranged weapons.
Like recent games in the series, Shadows also has a fully-fledged loot system, with weapon quality, tons of stats, accessories, and even unique legendary gear. You can then pair these with the best Assassin's Creed Shadows armour to make builds that suit Naoe and Yasuke's unique approaches.
Best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons
The best weapons in Assassin's Creed Shadows are all legendary quality since these have higher stats and more powerful, unique effects that the standard random weapons don't have.
While this means good loot is few and far between, you can at least guarantee you get them. Plus, since gear generally scales to your level when acquired, and you can upgrade weapons and armour to your current level easily, it's simple to keep your equipment strong as you progress.
Keep in mind that every legendary weapon also has an engraving slot that you'll unlock alongside the weapon, which you can use to add a buff to another weapon back at the blacksmith. These can improve everything from your damage to your health and adrenaline regeneration. This is crucial as you can combine the perks of two strong weapons in the same category to create fantastic synergies.
Best Naoe weapons
Naoe has a total of 24 legendary weapons across her three weapon types, but the best ones are:
Best Yasuke weapons
With Yasuke having five weapon types, he has 40 legendary weapons to collect. The best ones are:
Best weapon types in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Both Naoe and Yasuke have a variety of different weapon types, and these are more distinct than ever this time around. Why? Because each weapon type now has its own skill tree that provides new abilities and effects.
Naoe's weapon types
Naoe can use the following weapon types:
- Tanto: The tanto is a quick, close-range weapon. You need a tanto to be able to use the double assassination skill.
- Kusarigama: An agile chained blade designed to cleave through groups of enemies.
- Katana: A versatile blade that deals high damage with each hit.
Naoe has a much more limited weapon selection, in large part due to her stealthy playstyle. You're not really supposed to be discovered, after all. Of her three weapon types, I recommend using a tanto and katana in your loadout. While the kusarigama is great for applying status effects and taking out groups of enemies (which will likely be the case if you've been detected), I found that its sweeping attacks sometimes attracted even more guards.
The katana deals more single-target damage while being versatile enough to handle groups discreetly. On the other hand, the tanto is the only weapon that can do double assassinations so it's a must-have for stealth.
Yasuke's weapon types
Yasuke can use the following weapon types:
- Long Katana: A hard-hitting sword designed for duelling.
- Kanabo: Slow clubs that pack one hell of a punch.
- Naginata: Glaives with a long reach and wide sweeps.
- Bow: Fast-firing and more stealthy ranged option.
- Teppo: A slow and clunky rifle that deals high damage per shot and has crowd-control potential.
Being the frontline soldier, Yasuke has a whole armoury of weapons up his sleeves, including ranged weapons. I recommend using a long katana and a bow or teppo for your loadout. Yasuke is a brute on the battlefield and these weapons perfectly compliment his approach.
The long katana has high single-target damage and faster attacks than clubs, making it an excellent pick for most fights, especially bosses and elites. It even has a skill that can heal you, conserving your rations. Kanabo are also strong melee weapons, though I prefer the versatility of the katana for duelling. If I'm not using a ranged weapon in my second slot, then I'll often be using a kanabo instead.
Further setting the samurai apart from his shinobi counterpart, Yasuke has ranged weapons. As much as I love the idea of using the teppo rifles (and they have some really fun abilities), they're sadly pretty bad, largely due to the incredibly slow reload speed. The bow is fast, quiet, and just as deadly thanks to its strong weapon skills. The one exception to this is the legendary teppos. When combining various legendary engravings, you're able to make a rifle that reloads fast and deals massive damage.
