Complete Guide to Unlocking All Samurai Skills for Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Yasuke stands out as one of the primary characters in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, showcasing a combat style deeply rooted in his Samurai heritage. After completing enough Shinbakufu assassination missions with Naoe, players can unlock Yasuke and access his unique mastery abilities. His fighting technique is prominently defined by the use of a Long Katana, enabling a range of powerful attacks, defensive maneuvers, and devastating combo options.

This comprehensive guide outlines Yasuke’s Samurai skills, detailing how to unlock them and highlighting which abilities are most effective during early and late-game combat encounters.

Overview of Yasuke’s Samurai Skills in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Yasuke unlocks skills through Mastery Points (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Ubisoft)

1) Knowledge Rank 1

The initial rank of Samurai skills serves to establish the core of Yasuke’s combat strategy, focusing on health regeneration, combo enhancement, and crowd management.

Title	Type	Description	Mastery
Regeneration	Global Passive	Recovers 1% of Yasuke’s total health upon enemy kills, increasing up to 6%.	Scales over time
Brutal Assassination	Passive	Allows a powerful assassination technique that removes segments of enemy health.	N/A
Link Attack	Passive	Switches weapons during combos for quick follow-up attacks, extending combo chains.	N/A
War Kick	Ability	A strong kick that inflicts 20% ability damage while pushing the enemy away, less effective against larger foes.	N/A
Bull Rush	Passive	Knocks back regular enemies while sprinting, with impacts powerful enough to break doors; less effective against larger enemies.	N/A

The Regeneration skill is vital for Yasuke’s sustainability in battle, enabling prolonged engagement. Skills like War Kick and Bull Rush serve a significant purpose in crowd control, allowing for tactical openings during combat scenarios.

2) Knowledge Rank 2

The second rank of Yasuke’s skills enhances his effectiveness against stronger adversaries while amplifying his stamina and damage output overall.

Title	Type	Description	Mastery
Improved Brutal Assassination	Passive	Enables Brutal Assassination on larger enemies.	N/A
Heavy Impact	Passive	Enhances War Kick to be fully effective against large foes while increasing its damage by 40%.	N/A
Crash Collision	Passive	Increases Bull Rush’s impact damage by 15% and overall damage by 40%.	N/A
Vigor 1	Passive	Raises Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1.	N/A

The Improved Brutal Assassination skill makes Yasuke’s assassination abilities versatile against larger enemies, while Crash Collision transforms Bull Rush into a more aggressive maneuver. The addition of Vigor 1 increases Yasuke’s Adrenaline capacity, enabling more frequent utilization of special abilities during fights.

3) Knowledge Rank 3

Skills at Rank 3 focus on reducing cooldowns for Yasuke’s abilities, enhancing his assassination power, and fortifying his defense mechanisms.

Title	Type	Description	Mastery
Stronger, Smarter…	Global Passive	Reduces cooldowns for abilities by 3%, scalable up to 15%.	Scales over time
Assassination Damage 1	Passive	Yasuke eliminates two additional health segments through stealth attacks.	N/A
Impenetrable Defense	Ability	Automatically counters enemy attacks for 20 seconds (up to five strikes).	N/A
Battle Cry	Ability	Staggers all enemies within a 10-meter radius of Yasuke.	N/A
Big Impact	Passive	Optimizes Bull Rush against larger enemies, increasing damage by 60%.	N/A

The skill Stronger, Smarter… allows for a more frequent use of powerful abilities due to reduced cooldowns. Assassination Damage 1 amplifies stealth attack potency, and Impenetrable Defense becomes a crucial tool for swift counterattacks.

4) Knowledge Rank 4

At this level, Yasuke’s skills significantly bolster his defensive tactics while enhancing offensive strength when surrounded by foes.

Title	Type	Description	Mastery
Unbreachable Guard	Passive	Upgrades Impenetrable Defense to make attackers vulnerable and increases damage by 40%.	N/A
Defensive Breach	Passive	Doubles damage from enemy collisions.	N/A
Outnumbered	Passive	Boosts Yasuke’s damage by 4% for each enemy affected by Battle Cry (lasts 10 seconds).	N/A
Samurai Stand	Ability	Initiates a frenzy mode, turning all Yasuke’s attacks into Posture attacks for 10 seconds.	N/A

Unbreachable Guard further strengthens defensive capabilities by debuffing attackers. Defensive Breach accelerates damage inflicted when enemies collide, while Outnumbered rewards Yasuke for taking on multiple opponents. Samurai Stand allows him to maximize attack efficacy in heated skirmishes.

5) Knowledge Rank 5

Skills at this rank improve Yasuke’s attack potency, lengthen the duration of abilities, and augment his healing potential.

Title	Type	Description	Mastery
Strength Builder	Global Passive	Increases Yasuke’s damage by 1% for each filled Adrenaline Chunk (up to 6%).	Scales over time
Assassination Damage 2	Passive	Allows Yasuke to eliminate an additional two health segments with stealth attacks.	N/A
Healing Shout	Passive	Battle Cry restores 50% of Yasuke’s maximum health over 10 seconds and boosts damage resistance by 10%.	N/A
Samurai Frenzy	Passive	Killing an enemy prolongs Samurai Stand by three seconds.	N/A
Vigor 3	Passive	Increases Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1.	N/A

The Strength Builder skill greatly enhances Yasuke’s damage potential when his Adrenaline meter is full. Assassination Damage 2 deepens his lethality in stealth. Healing Shout offers crucial recovery during combat while Samurai Frenzy extends the endurance of his empowered state with each successful kill.

6) Knowledge Rank 6

The final rank introduces Yasuke’s most formidable defensive and offensive skills, unlocking his full potential in combat.

Title	Type	Description	Mastery
Absolute Protection	Passive	Impenetrable Defense becomes effective against nearly all unstoppable attacks, excluding grabs.	N/A
Eternal Samurai	Passive	While in Samurai Stance, Yasuke’s health remains at 10%, rendering enemy attacks non-lethal.	N/A

Combining skills like Regeneration and Brutal Assassination early on enhances Yasuke’s survivability and offensive capabilities. War Kick and Bull Rush add to his combat effectiveness by managing enemy groups, while advanced skills acquired through further ranks ensure that players can adapt and dominate in more challenging battles.

How to Unlock Yasuke’s Samurai Skills in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Unlocking skills in Assassin’s Creed Shadows differs from previous entries in the series, requiring players to enhance their Knowledge Rank (KR) through various in-game activities. To gain access to Yasuke’s Samurai skills, players should engage in:

Kata training
Exploration of locations, including Temples, Shrines, and Kofun
Completion of quests, whether main storyline or side missions
Participating in Kuji-Kiri and Hidden Paths

Once the requisite KR level is reached, Mastery Points become available for skill unlocks, which are earned through mission objectives and experience gain. Some advanced skills may require a higher expenditure of these points for activation.

Yasuke’s Samurai skills feature a harmonious blend of aggressive attack capabilities, solid defense, and area damage control. Prioritizing health regeneration, defensive skills, and stealth attack damage will make Yasuke an overpowering force within the game world. Players should aim to unlock and combine specific skills to suit various combat scenarios, thereby fully harnessing Yasuke’s formidable expertise.

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