Ubisoft Details Assassin's Creed Shadows Combat, Including Wandering Ronin, Katanas, and Hidden Blades
Ubisoft has shared a deep dive into combat in the Feudal Japan-set Assassin's Creed Shadows, detailing enemies such as wandering ronin and weapons such as katanas and the iconic hidden blade.
A blog post from Ubisoft promised a huge amount of variety in Assassin's Creed Shadows, which was originally due out in November before being delayed to February 14. "The protagonist you're playing as and the weapon you're using dramatically alters combat," the developer said.
Ubisoft has already outlined the two different characters playable in Assassin's Creed Shadows, including the stealthy assassin Naoe and savage samurai Yasuke. Putting different weapons in their hands will change the playstyle, though Naoe only has three options while Yasuke has five.
Naoe's standard weapon is a katana, a slim sword with a good balance of speed, damage output, and defense. Correctly timed attacks stagger enemies and the katana also allows a nasty takedown through folding doors.
When stealth goes wrong and full combat is required, Naoe may prefer to use the Kusarigama, an extendable ball and chain attached to a scythe which can reach enemies a a distance and push back multiple at once. Once some distance is created, players can use the Rush Assassinate attack to close the distance and take down an enemy up to ten metres away.
Finally, for pure stealth approaches, the Tanto and Hidden Blade combo allows for lightning fast stabs, dubbed "the ideal weapon for that strike-and-retreat, death-by-a-thousand-cuts playstyle." This option unlocks Double Assassinations, the iconic takedown method finally returning in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Yasuke's weapons are fully catered to cutting down enemies in open combat, as his basic weapon is a long katana equally efficient in attack and defense. Also capable of fighting multiple enemies at once is the Naginata, a two metre long pole with blade on the end.
Ubisoft deems the Kanabo the deadliest weapon possessed by Yasuke, however, as this long wooden mace of
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