In the immersive world of *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, mastering Naoe's skill set can significantly enhance your gameplay, whether you're sneaking through the shadows or engaging in direct combat. Naoe's toolkit is versatile, allowing players to tailor their approach to their preferred playstyle. Here's a detailed guide on the best skills to prioritize for Naoe, ensuring you maximize her potential up to Knowledge Rank 3.
Best Skills to Get First for Naoe in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
To quickly advance in the early stages of the game, focus on the following skills within the first three Knowledge Ranks. These can be unlocked by actively engaging in the open world activities available in the starting regions.
Katana
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- Dodge Attack – Katana Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1 Mastery Point): Enhances your defensive capabilities, allowing you to counterattack after dodging.
- Melee Expert – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Increases your melee damage output, making every strike count.
- Counter Attack – Katana Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): A powerful tool for turning enemy aggression into your advantage.
- Eviscerate – Katana Ability (Knowledge Rank 3, 5 Mastery Points): A devastating ability to finish off foes with a flurry of blows.
These skills transform Naoe into a formidable defensive fighter, perfect for players who excel at timing their dodges and counters, enabling them to deal significant damage and end fights quickly with Eviscerate.
Kusarigama
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- Entanglement – Kusarigama Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1 Mastery Point): Ideal for building affliction, making your attacks more effective.
- Affliction Builder – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Enhances your ability to stack affliction effects on enemies.
- Big Catch – Kusarigama Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Allows you to control larger enemies, throwing them around for additional damage.
- Multi-Target Expert – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 3, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Increases your effectiveness against multiple foes.
- Cyclone Blast – Kusarigama Ability (Knowledge Rank 3, 7 Mastery Points): A powerful area-of-effect ability perfect for clearing crowds.
These skills make Naoe a versatile combatant, excelling in both crowd control and one-on-one engagements. Entanglement and Big Catch are particularly useful for managing larger foes, while the other skills help you handle groups with ease.
Tanto
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- Shadow Piercer – Tanto Ability (Knowledge Rank 1, 5 Mastery Points): Boosts your damage output, especially against vulnerable targets.
- Gap Seeker – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Enhances your ability to find and exploit enemy weaknesses.
- Backstab – Tanto Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Increases damage dealt from behind, perfect for stealth kills.
- Backstabber – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Further amplifies backstab damage.
- Back Breaker – Tanto Passive (Knowledge Rank 3, 3 Mastery Points): A critical skill for dealing with armored enemies by targeting their vulnerabilities.
With these skills, Naoe becomes a deadly assassin, capable of swiftly eliminating even the most armored targets by striking from behind. Utilizing the R2/RT spin attack ensures you can consistently target enemy backs for maximum damage.
Tools
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- Smoke Bomb – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1 Mastery Point): A versatile tool for creating distractions or escaping.
- Larger Tool Bag I – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Increases your carrying capacity for tools, enhancing your tactical options.
- Shinobi Bell – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1 Mastery Point): Lures enemies away, creating opportunities for stealth kills.
- Enduring Haze – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Extends the duration of your smoke bombs, giving you more time to maneuver.
- Kunai Assassination Damage I – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Enhances the damage of your kunai, making them lethal at longer ranges.
- Shuriken – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Useful for disabling alarms or triggering explosives, adding to your strategic arsenal.
These tools are crucial for manipulating guards and creating opportunities for assassinations. Whether you're using the Shuriken to disable threats or the Smoke Bomb to escape or chain assassinations, these skills offer flexibility in various scenarios.
Shinobi
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- Ascension Boost – Shinobi Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Speeds up your climbing, essential for navigating the game's vertical environments.
- Vault – Shinobi Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1 Mastery Point): Reduces fall damage, making your movements more fluid and less risky.
- Igan Roll – Shinobi Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1 Mastery Point): Enhances your mobility, allowing for quick escapes and repositioning.
- Heighten Senses – Shinobi Ability (Knowledge Rank 3, 5 Mastery Points): Slows down time, giving you a tactical advantage in crowded areas.
These skills are essential for maintaining stealth and mobility, ensuring you can reach your targets without being detected. Faster climbing and reduced fall damage are invaluable, and slowing down time can be a game-changer in tight spots.
Assassin
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- Executioner – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Increases your assassination damage, making each strike more lethal.
- Improved Ground Assassinate – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Enhances your ability to perform ground assassinations, crucial for stealth kills.
- Double Assassinate – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Allows you to take out two targets simultaneously, a must-have for crowded areas.
- Assassination Damage I – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Further boosts your assassination damage, ensuring one-hit kills.
- Reinforced Blade – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 3, 4 Mastery Points): Strengthens your Hidden Blade, making it effective against tougher enemies.
These skills are particularly effective when paired with a Tanto, enabling Naoe to execute swift and silent assassinations. Double assassinations and improved ground kills are invaluable for dealing with multiple or heavily armored targets. Remember to upgrade your skills as you progress to handle enemies with higher health pools.
By focusing on these skills, you can unlock Naoe's full potential as the ultimate shinobi assassin in *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*. For further assistance and tips, be sure to check out The Escapist.
