Assassin’s Creed Shadows Guide: Quests, Choices and Tips

I finished Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and honestly, it surprised me. At first, I went in expecting another big Ubisoft checklist. Instead, I got some of the best-looking Japan I’ve seen in a game, a story with choices that actually sting, and Yasuke smashing through castle doors like a wrecking ball.

It’s not perfect, though. I’ll get to the bugs later.

But first, this Assassin’s Creed Shadows guide covers the quests and choices people get stuck on most, from “Justice must be served” to who to accuse in Darkness Falls. Plus the Butterfly Collector, the tournament, New Game Plus, legendary animals, how long it takes, and whether it’s on Game Pass. If you want to see where it sits against the rest of the series, my ranking of every Assassin’s Creed game has the full list.

When Does Assassin’s Creed Shadows Take Place?

Shadows starts in 1579, in late Sengoku-era Japan. That’s the year the real Yasuke arrived in Japan, so the game uses his arrival as its starting point.

In fact, the timing puts it between Revelations and Black Flag in the series timeline. At that time, Oda Nobunaga is trying to unify Japan by force. Meanwhile, a secret group called the Shinbakufu pulls strings from the shadows.

You play two leads:

• Naoe Fujibayashi. A shinobi from Iga and the daughter of Fujibayashi Nagato. She’s fast, quiet and built for stealth.
• Yasuke. An African samurai who serves Nobunaga. He’s slow, loud and built to hit hard.

Naoe Fujibayashi is technically the main Assassin. However, Yasuke was my favorite to play. Sure, stealth works. But nothing beats walking through the front gate as Yasuke and flattening everyone inside.

Should You Pick “Justice Must Be Served” in AC Shadows?

Pick whatever feels right, because the outcome barely changes. The choice comes at the end of Heads Will Roll, after you kill Wada Koretake at Amagasaki Castle. Mitsumune wants a surrendering soldier dead, while Yaya wants mercy.

I chose the justice must be served AC Shadows option. It felt like what Naoe would actually say at that point in her story. Also, it’s the canon pick.

Here’s the thing, though. The soldier dies either way. So the choice mainly changes Yaya’s reaction, not the result.

Can You Still Recruit Yaya?

Yes. Even if you pick AC Shadows justice must be served, you can still recruit Yaya later. Just pick the forgiving answers in her own questline, like forgiving the shrine raiders and forgiving Tetsuo in The Stray Dogs.

Who to Accuse in AC Shadows Darkness Falls?

Accuse Joken Hokkyo. That’s the right answer in Darkness Falls, part of The Wise questline, set during a peace conference at Kofukuji Temple.

First, your three suspects are Joken Hokkyo, Tsutsui Junkei and Akiyama Ayako. Still, the who to accuse AC Shadows choice is less dramatic than it looks. Joken turns out to be The Wise no matter what.

However, if you pick wrong, you get a different scene. Accuse Junkei, and Joken catches Yasuke’s thrown blade and reveals himself. Accuse Ayako, and a big brawl breaks out before you chase Joken down. Either way, you end up fighting him.

Other Big Choices in Shadows

A few other moments stuck with me. Most of them change dialogue or rewards more than the ending. Still, some feel heavy in the moment.

• The Tea Ceremony. You can confront Wakasa or Otama. My advice: don’t rush Otama.
• The shrine raiders. Forgive them if you want Yaya as an ally.
• The Gamemaker. At the end of the Butterfly Collector, sparing her gives you an extra amulet.

What About “I’m a Good Investment”?

This one confuses a lot of players. The “I’m a good investment” AC Shadows line appears in Searching Sakai, the tenth main quest, when Naoe sits down with Imai Sokun in his office.

Your other option is “Your father’s position may be in danger.” Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Both lines complete the quest the same way, so pick the one you like.

How Do You Find the Butterfly Collector in AC Shadows?

Start by finding all 10 butterflies in Osaka. Each one gives clues that unlock the targets for The Butterfly Collector AC Shadows questline.

In total, there are four targets: Richo, Mucho, Shucho and Kacho. After that comes a fifth, the Gamemaker. Kacho leads the group, and you’ll find her at Nishinomaru Garden, next to Osaka Castle.

Tips for Each Target

• Richo. Hides in a bamboo grove in Noda Village, north of Osaka Castle.
• Mucho. Waits at the Kojo Ruins. She runs, so act fast.
• Shucho. Sits by the waterside in the Fisherman’s District.
• Kacho. The leader, in the garden by the castle.

When you assassinate the Collector AC Shadows group’s last members, you get a final choice with the Gamemaker. I’d spare her. You get the Butterfly of Benevolence amulet on top of the usual rewards.

To be honest, the AC Shadows Butterfly Collector questline is one of my favorite side stories in the game. It’s creepy in a way the main story rarely is.

How Do You Unlock the AC Shadows Tournament Quest?

You need to clear nine of the 12 Shinbakufu targets first. After that, Gyoji from the Iron Hand Guild offers you the tournament.

So the Assassin’s Creed Shadows tournament quest is late-game content. Don’t go looking for it early. Instead, focus on the main targets, and it’ll show up on its own.

In general, the AC Shadows tournament quest is a great test of Yasuke’s combat. I had a lot of fun with it. Then again, I’d play Yasuke in every fight if the game let me.

Side Quests That Trip Players Up

Some quests aren’t hard, just confusing. Here are the ones I’d flag:

• A Blade in the Dark. This is the first of Yagoro’s four ally quests. Finish it to unlock the rest of his story. A Blade in the Dark AC Shadows fans should know it’s short, but it matters for recruiting him.
• Thrown to the Dogs. A side quest in Izumi Settsu that starts through the Stray Dog contact. AC Shadows Thrown to the Dogs is easy to miss, so check that region’s contacts.
• A Puzzlement. Added in update 1.1.6, this one starts in Wakasa with Kane and Kinu at a locked Isu door. They give you a Riddle Scroll Beacon, which glows near hidden glyphs. Follow it to a swamp in Omi. A Puzzlement AC Shadows players often miss it, because it arrived in an update rather than at launch.

Why Can’t You Talk to Katsuhime?

The can’t talk to Katsuhime AC Shadows problem isn’t a bug. Basically, the game just hasn’t unlocked her yet. You need to finish Showdown in Sakamoto first. After that, her quests open one at a time: Requiem for Rokkaku, Letter From Katsuhime, The Tale of Genin and The Diary of Lady Rokkaku.

Finally, pick “Yes. Join us.” at the end, and she becomes an ally.

Where Are the Legendary Animals in AC Shadows?

There are five Assassin’s Creed Shadows legendary animals, and you paint them as Legendary Sumi-e. They only appear after you finish the story, and each one needs the right season and time of day.

As a bonus, painting all five gets you the “A Rare Occurrence” trophy. If an animal doesn’t spawn, travel about 200 meters away and come back.

Admittedly, this isn’t Odyssey, where legendary animals were proper boss fights. I covered those in my Assassin’s Creed Odyssey guide. In Shadows, the AC Shadows legendary sumi e hunt is calmer. Then again, it’s a great excuse to see every season.

Is There an AC Shadows Interactive Map?

Not an official one from Ubisoft. Instead, most players use fan-made interactive maps from guide sites to track collectibles, shrines and kofun.

In the game itself, the AC shadow map is big. It covers central Japan across regions like Yamashiro, Omi, Izumi Settsu, Iga, Yamato and Kii.

Places Worth Knowing

• Otsu Port. A port town in Omi, on the shore of Lake Biwa. Otsu Port AC Shadows quests sit in that region.
• Nanban Temple. Kyoto’s Christian temple, built by the Portuguese missionaries. Nanban Temple AC Shadows visits make more sense once you know Yasuke came to Japan with the Jesuits.
• Miyataki. A riverside spot in Yoshino, in the Yamato region. Miyataki AC Shadows explorers should go in spring, since Yoshino is famous for its cherry blossoms.
• Nishinomaru Garden. Next to Osaka Castle. Nishinomaru Garden AC Shadows players mostly know it from the Kacho fight.

The Objective Board

The AC Shadows objective board is the investigation board in your Objectives menu. It shows every target, their clues and how close you are to them. So check it often. In short, it saves you a lot of wandering.

How Long Is AC Shadows?

The main story takes about 30 to 40 hours. If you want everything, plan on 80 hours or more.

So how long is AC Shadows compared to the others? Shorter than Valhalla, closer to Origins. Meanwhile, the Claws of Awaji expansion adds its own story on top, on a whole new island.

The how long to beat Assassin’s Creed Shadows answer also depends on who you play. Naoe takes longer if you play full stealth. Yasuke, on the other hand, speeds things up a lot.

Honestly, I never felt it dragged. The seasons kept the world changing, and the story kept pulling me forward. That’s rare for a game this size.

Is Claws of Awaji Worth It?

I played it, and yes, if you liked the base game. It launched on September 16, 2025, for $25, and takes Naoe and Yasuke to the island of Awaji. It also added the Bo staff, which every player later got for free.

Does AC Shadows Have New Game Plus?

Yes. Ubisoft added AC Shadows New Game Plus in update 1.0.7, along with a higher level cap in July 2025.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows New Game Plus keeps your gear and progress and lets you replay the story from the start. Also, it’s a good way to try the choices you didn’t pick the first time.

What Is the Latest AC Shadows Patch?

The last big AC Shadows patch was update 1.1.11, released on June 16, 2026. Ubisoft called it the final major update. After that, Shadows only gets small hotfixes.

So if you’re looking for the Assassin Creed Shadows update today, don’t expect new content. The game is basically finished now. That’s good news if you’ve been waiting for the complete version.

My Biggest Complaint: Bugs and Performance

This is where Shadows let me down. I ran into my share of bugs and performance issues on my gaming laptop.

The most common one? NPCs getting stuck. They’d just freeze in place and stop doing what the quest needed them to do. Then there were the stutters. The game would hitch for a second here and there, which breaks the flow fast.

Nothing game-breaking, sure. But it was enough to pull me out of some great moments, and honestly, that’s frustrating in a game that looks this good.

If you’re on PC, it’s a demanding game. Before you buy, my guide on what nobody tells you about buying a gaming PC covers what kind of hardware a game like this actually needs.

Is Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Game Pass?

No. Assassin’s Creed Shadows isn’t on Game Pass, and Ubisoft hasn’t announced plans to add it.

Will AC Shadows go to Game Pass eventually? Possibly, since Valhalla did. However, there’s no date. For now, Ubisoft+ Premium is the subscription route.

Shadows also runs on Switch 2, which I covered in my guide to Assassin’s Creed on handhelds.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Rating and Player Count

For starters, Shadows scored 82 on Metacritic. As for the age rating, it’s rated M for Mature. So the Assassin’s Creed Shadows rating holds up well for the series, even if critics found parts of it repetitive.

On the player side, it passed 1 million players on launch day. On top of that, the Assassin’s Creed Shadows player count hit 3 million within about a week.

What Do the Steam Charts Show?

The Assassin’s Creed Shadows Steam charts peaked at 64,825 concurrent players on Steam. That beat Odyssey’s Steam peak. Of course, that number covers PC only, not consoles.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Tips and Tricks

These are the Assassin’s Creed Shadows tips and tricks I’d give anyone starting out:

• Use both characters. Naoe for castles at night, Yasuke for anything loud.
• Play with the seasons. Winter freezes ponds, and summer grass gives Naoe cover.
• Upgrade your hideout. It boosts gear and unlocks perks over time.
• Check the objective board. It tracks targets better than the map does.
• Save the tournament for later. You need nine Shinbakufu targets anyway.
• Recruit allies early. Yaya and Katsuhime help a lot in fights.

The Kintsugi Pack in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

The Kintsugi Pack in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a paid cosmetic set from the Helix Store. It’s based on kintsugi, the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold.

It includes armor and headgear for both Naoe and Yasuke, two ceramic katanas, a trinket, an amulet and a mount skin. The full pack costs 2,300 Helix Credits.

Is it worth it? Only if you love the look. After all, it doesn’t change gameplay, and you’ll find plenty of good gear just by playing.

Is Assassin’s Creed Shadows Worth Buying?

Yes, but I’d wait for a sale. I loved the Japan setting, the seasons, the story and Yasuke’s combat. Still, the bugs and performance issues I ran into make full price harder to justify.

With updates now finished, you’ll get the complete game whenever you buy it. So there’s no rush. Grab it when the price drops, and you’ll get one of the better Assassin’s Creed games of recent years.

Also, if you want more big stories after this, my list of the best RPG games has plenty.

Frequently Asked Questions