Discovering New Weapons: A Guide to Expanding Your Arsenal

I used to be the sentimental type in video games. For instance, if a certain character offered you a weapon—a keepsake—I would hang on to that weapon for as long as possible. Something like Naoe’s starting katana would be the kind of thing that I’d stubbornly hold onto for far too long.

But this is a video game and more powerful and better-looking weapons are available to Naoe and Yasuke than what you’ll start with. So let’s take a look at where you’ll find new armaments so you can ditch that old, unsharpened sword to opt for something far stronger.

While most of the weapons and armor you’ll encounter during a standard session may provide a small buff to your stats, like vulnerable damage, the legendary weapons—named weapons with far more power—should always be on your radar. They’re easy enough to acquire on paper, but you’re in for a fight each time you want to open a legendary chest tucked away at the top of a castle, guarded by Guardians and Samurai Daisho.

The game features many, but you’ll want to seek these out in particular:

• Bloodshake (Katana, Coast of Osaka)
• Iga’s Flame (Katana, Mount Nukai in Yamato)
• Yami no Kage (Katana, Haraiyama Fort)
• Artist’s Tear (Tanto, Habayama Camp)
• Masamune’s Thorn (Tanto, Nochiseyama Castle)
• Claw of the Tides (Long Katana, Uchinakao Burrows)
• Lethal Lotus Petal (Long Katana, Miyanoue Fort)
• Time-Honored Crescent (Naginata, Kashiawabara Fortress)
• Venom Pillar (Kanabo, Kajimiya Cemetery)

Of course, that’s a tiny taste of the countless legendary weapons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. There are also legendary bows, legendary teppos, and so many swords of all varieties to hunt down!

Other ways of getting new weapons

While each character’s starting weapons prove reliable when defeating bandits or minor samurai, like those carrying naginata, you’ll inevitably fight more challenging opponents, like the Samurai Daisho protecting each Legendary Chest. When you encounter one, either tactically retreat or ensure you have a more powerful weapon equipped to hold your own.

Thankfully, acquiring new weapons and armor proves relatively easy in Feudal Japan, so long as you don’t mind exploring and fighting, oh, and tackling quests.

• Loot Boxes (the good kind): As you explore the world, you’ll find an astounding number of loot boxes littered about the open world, along the edges of the road, inside bandit camps, and tucked into castle dwellings. Seek these out and open ‘em for resources and, occasionally, a chance to acquire a new weapon or armor set.
• Merchants: Nearly every majority city in the game features a gear vendor or two, and they’ll happily separate you from your Mon. Should you have enough, you can buy weapons and armor—often a level or two ahead of your own—to bolster your power. So it’s worth checking in to see what they have in stock.
• Quests: Most quests in the game—side and main—reward you with XP and equipment upon completion. For the most part, the items you receive will often fare better than standard equipment, with unique buffs and rarity tiers.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now on PS5, Xbox Seres X/S, and Windows PCs.

Order Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Amazon | CDKeys | Best Buy

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