Assassin’s Creed Shadowsintroduces a few interesting twists on the series’ established formula. There are new features like Scouts and a fully upgradable hideout, but the big change is the addition of two distinct protagonists Naoe and Yasuke. Unlike Syndicate, these two characters serve vastly different roles, with Naoe being suited more towards stealth and Yasuke a better fighter. Each one has their own skills to unlock, but just as important is equipping them with the best gear. You will be drowning in loot over your playtime so knowing which is worth keeping and upgrading can be tricky. If Naoe is your preferred character, these are the items you should be using to maximize her potential.
Best Naoe gear
Naoe can hold two weapons, plus armor, headgear, and a trinket. These are the ones we found to be the most powerful for her.
Weapons
For Naoe’s katana, the Bloodshade legendary katana has the most powerful bleed abilities in the game. It obviously inflicts bleed, but its special perk is that bleed buildup doesn’t drain over time so you don’t have to be overly aggressive to get it to proc. You can find this katana on a ship to the west of Osaka on the coast of Amagasaki in Izumi Settsu.
For a secondary weapon, the legendary Tanto Call of the Void is a solid alternative. It is strong on its own, but comes with the perk of dealing 30% more damage to enemies you have tagged. If you’re playing Naoe as intended, every enemy should be tagged so this is an easy way to get a massive damage buff.
Armor
Since you will want to stay out of open combat as much as possible, go for the Tools Master Gear. This will increase tool damage, but also adds in the perk where you will automatically throw a kunai at the nearest enemy after performing an assassination, allowing you to remain undetected while clearing tricky groups.
Headgear
Grab the Swift Shinobi Hood as soon as possible. Its perk slows down time when you get detected so you can either take out the guard who spotted you or make a quick escape to hide as a last resort.
Trinket
Finally, our favorite trinket is the Tatsu’s Triumph trinket. It will increase all vulnerable damage you deal, which pairs great with your weapon options, plus adds 2% tool damage for each point you’ve invested in the Tools skill tree. This stacks with your armor buff, making tools incredibly deadly.