Step-by-Step Guide to ‘The Ideal Present’ Quest in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

“The Perfect Gift” is a main story quest you can find in Assassin’s Creed Shadows in the Izumi Settsu region. It’s available after finding Imai Sokyu during “Searching Sakai” and is a key part of your hunt for the Golden Teppo.

Our Assassin’s Creed Shadows guide will tell you how to start “The Perfect Gift,” where to find the tea merchant, and which gift to choose to complete the quest.

Tea merchant location in ‘The Perfect Gift’

“The Perfect Gift” quest will pop up under The Golden Teppo on the primary targets board of your Objectives menu. You’ll need to find a tea merchant who can teach you the decorum for a tea ceremony at Imai Sokyu’s house.

The tea merchant you need to speak with is in:

Or you can just look at the map above.

You’ll find a tea merchant in the stalls along the norther shore of Sakai’s island. When you talk to him, he’ll introduce you to Sen no Rikyu, who is the person you’re actually looking for. (Sen no Rikyu becomes important later on when unlocking the Tea House for your Hideout, but no need to worry about that right now.)

After a quick conversation, you’ll follow him to his home.

What gift to pick in ‘The Perfect Gift’

When you get to Sen no Rikyu’s house, he’ll start teaching you about the tea ceremony. When you begin, choose to bow halfway — tea ceremony participants are equals.

After some tea and some teaching, he’ll ask you to choose a gift to bring to Master Sokyu’s tea ceremony:

There is no wrong choice, so just pick whichever one speaks to you. (Though for what it’s worth, the bamboo ladle is the canon mode choice.)

Before you can attend the tea ceremony, you’ll need to get a kosode via the “Dress for Success” quest. But if you’ve completed both that and “The Perfect Gift,” you can proceed to “The Tea Ceremony.”