Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Deep Dive into Progression and Customization

Transmogging and Weapon Customization

Assassin’s Creed Shadows (AC Shadows) offers players extensive customization options, including a robust transmogging system. In a March 1, 2025, blog post, Associate Game Director Julien detailed the game's progression and customization features. The transmog system lets players change the appearance of their weapons while retaining their original stats. This feature unlocks after creating a Forge in the Hideout, accessible from the inventory menu.

Julien explained the Forge's importance in inventory management: "Overall, the Forge plays a key part in managing your inventory. There you can upgrade or dismantle weapons & gear, but we will share more in an upcoming article on the Hideout." Furthermore, players can mix and match weapon components – "The final result could be the blade of one weapon, with the guard of another, and the handle of your newly acquired one."

A New Progression Loop

Building on Creative Director Charles Benoit’s IGN Fan Fest 2025 presentation, Ubisoft provided further insight into AC Shadows' progression mechanics. Julien discussed the impact of having two protagonists: "Having two separate characters with unique archetypes in our feudal Japan world pushed us to rethink how we wanted to approach player progression. Our goal was to stay as close as possible to the philosophy of mastery and martial art."

Mastery, Abilities, and Knowledge Ranks

AC Shadows features unique mastery trees for Naoe (shinobi/assassin) and Yasuke (samurai). Julien stated, "With the unique Mastery trees, we want to give players the freedom to dedicate themselves into a specific weapon, playstyle, or archetype, and ensure they can deepen their mastery of it. The points you invest in a Mastery tree also unlock additional bonuses for that weapon or archetype, further reinforcing your progress."

Mastery trees unlock abilities that enhance gameplay and damage output. However, access to certain abilities and mastery points is tied to the player's Knowledge Rank, increased through non-violent activities such as finding Lost Pages, praying at Shrines, Kuji-kiri Meditation (Naoe), or learning new Kata (Yasuke).

Customizing Your Playstyle

AC Shadows allows for deep playstyle customization. Perks modify, enhance, or specialize equipment, offering stat improvements, affliction influences, and unique gameplay conditions. Despite their initial archetypes, Naoe and Yasuke offer diverse build possibilities. For example, Naoe can be built for aggressive, high-damage ground combat, while Yasuke can focus on stealth and ranged attacks.

The extensive customization options showcased in recent weeks have generated considerable excitement for the game’s March 20, 2025 release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the latest news on Assassin’s Creed Shadows, check out our other articles!