Assassin’s Creed Shadows stands out in the series with its blend of stealth and combat, featuring two protagonists: Naoe and Yasuke. While Yasuke starts off a bit lackluster in combat, he becomes much more enjoyable to play once you unlock certain abilities. Yasuke is ideal for head-on confrontations, but enemies often swarm him. To handle this effectively, equipping the Naginata and mastering the Crescent Strike ability is crucial. This move clears surrounding enemies by sweeping the Naginata, pushing foes back and giving you space to breathe.

Another key ability for the Naginata is Impale, which allows Yasuke to reposition and pin enemies to walls. If the enemy survives the initial strike, they’ll be knocked down, leaving them vulnerable to a fatal follow-up. Pairing these abilities with the Combat Expert skill from the Long Katana Mastery tree and the Increased Armor Damage skill from Teppo Mastery significantly boosts their effectiveness. Additionally, the Vigor abilities in the Samurai Mastery tree provide extra Adrenaline, letting you use these skills more frequently.

If you prefer using the Long Katana or Kanabo, there are equally impactful abilities to explore. The Sheathed Attack and Sheated Posture are indispensable for the samurai’s signature weapon. The charged sheathed attack can knock down guarding enemies, setting them up for a lethal grounded attack. Even if it doesn’t knock them down, the sheated posture attack is strong enough to take out weaker enemies in one hit. Meanwhile, the Kanabo benefits from the Devastation and Forward Momentum abilities, making it one of the most powerful weapons in the game.

Devastation unleashes a deadly combo finisher, while Forward Momentum speeds up attacks when executed perfectly, allowing Yasuke to deliver devastating blows more frequently. These abilities work well together and amplify the damage from the Combo Ender Damage skill, further enhancing the Kanabo’s lethality in combat.