"Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Tools and Upgrade Guide"

In *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, players can choose between Yasuke and Naoe, each offering unique approaches to gameplay. Here’s a comprehensive guide on all the tools available and how to upgrade them to enhance your gameplay experience.

All Tools in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Players will have access to five different tools in the game, with two unlocked through story progression. Here’s a detailed look at each tool:

Grappling Hook

Naoe's Grappling Hook is a vital tool for exploration, allowing you to latch onto structures and climb without handholds. It's perfect for reaching high vantage points quickly and observing enemy movements. You can also use it to swing across large gaps, enhancing your mobility.

Kunai

The Kunai is a sharp throwing knife that deals significant damage. Essential for stealthy eliminations, it can instantly kill common enemies. Upgrades are necessary to penetrate the armor of more formidable foes, increasing its effectiveness in combat.

Smoke Bomb

The Smoke Bomb creates a cloud of smoke upon impact, serving both defensive and offensive purposes. It breaks enemy lines of sight, facilitating escapes or providing opportunities for surprise attacks and quick assassinations during battles.

Shuriken

The Shuriken, a traditional throwing star, is crucial for navigating heavily guarded areas. While less damaging than the Kunai, it can stagger enemies and trigger environmental interactions like sabotaging alarms or detonating barrels. Its silent nature makes it ideal for stealth, and upgrades allow it to ricochet between targets.

Shinobi Bell

The Shinobi Bell is used to distract enemies, drawing their attention away from you. Upgrades can extend its range and add a gold shimmer, making it more effective at diverting multiple enemies, thus clearing paths or setting up crowd control scenarios.

How To Upgrade Tools in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Most tools can be upgraded using Mastery Points through the Tools skill tree, except for the Grappling Hook. Here’s how to upgrade each tool:

Grappling Hook

The only upgrade for the Grappling Hook is found in the Shinobi Tree. For 2 Mastery Points at Knowledge Rank 2, you can unlock the Ascension Boost passive, which significantly speeds up Naoe’s climbing, making it easier to ascend buildings undetected.

Kunai

To maximize the Kunai’s effectiveness, upgrade its damage with Kunai Assassination Damage, which increases the health segments removed per throw. Enhance its armor-piercing capability with the Armor Piercing passive skill, and use Everlast to ensure thrown Kunai can be retrieved without breaking.

Smoke Bomb

After unlocking the Smoke Bomb, upgrade its duration with Enduring Haze, adding 10 seconds to its effect. Further enhance it with Widespread to increase the area of effect, making it more effective at blocking enemy vision.

Shuriken

Upgrade the Shuriken with Bank Shot, allowing it to bounce between targets with increasing damage at each level. Triple Threat enables you to throw three Shurikens at once for the cost of one, offering more options in stealth and combat.

Shinobi Bell

Enhance the Shinobi Bell with Golden Bell to improve its distracting capabilities. Follow up with Louder Chimes to increase its effective radius by five meters, making it more potent at luring enemies away.

This guide covers all you need to know about tools and their upgrades in *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*. For more tips and strategies, visit The Escapist. *Assassin’s Creed Shadows* is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.