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The base campaign of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is organized into a Prologue, three acts, and an Epilogue, but it is not a single fixed sequence of missions. The main objective board and character questlines unlock in stages, and many objectives can be tackled in different orders. To finish the base story, defeat all 12 Shinbakufu targets and complete the required Naoe, Yasuke, and Junjiro quests; the final base-game mission is Out of the Shadows. The later Black Tides story is separate.
How to follow the main story
Use the objective board’s requirements and unlock cues as your guide rather than treating the list below as a strict mission-by-mission route. The campaign’s act structure is useful for orientation, but target arcs, protagonist missions, and personal quests can overlap. Some quests are intermissions or character stories, not mandatory steps that must follow every target in sequence.
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows - Limited Edition (Amazon Exclusive), PlayStation 5 | $61.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Assassin's Creed Shadows [PlayStation 5] | $34.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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If your priority is unlocking free switching between Naoe and Yasuke sooner, Ubisoft’s beginner guide recommends prioritizing the Shinbakufu objective board early. You begin exploring with Naoe before free switching is available. For a completion-focused run, pursue newly unlocked required quests as they appear, and return to personal questlines when their next steps become available.
Prologue missions
- The Lord’s Favor
- Spirit of a Warrior
- Flames of War
- Fight the Kakushiba Ikki
- The Onryo Samurai
Quest-name spellings can vary between published guides; use the name shown in your in-game journal when matching an objective.
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- Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments.
- Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles.
- Make information your weapon as you explore the world, and build your own network of spies to be your eyes and ears across locations to hunt down your next target. Along the way, recruit new allies with unique abilities to help accomplish your missions.
- Create a fully customizable hideout for your growing shinobi league as you train your crew, craft new gear, interact with key characters, and choose your base’s layout, decorations, and accessories.
Act 1: Early story and first targets
- Before the Fall
- An Unpayable Debt — an intermission quest that continues later
- Wake Up Call
- From Spark to Flame
- Way of the Blacksmith
- The Wounded quest chain
- The Golden Teppo quest chain
- Friend of My Enemy
- Belly of the Beast — an Act 1 milestone where Yasuke joins the League
- Oda Nobunaga
Follow each chain’s prerequisites when it appears on the board. The Wounded and Golden Teppo are multi-step arcs, so their names represent chains rather than single objectives.
Act 2: Shinbakufu target arcs and main milestones
Act 2 focuses on the remaining Shinbakufu targets and several connecting story missions. The named target arcs include:
- The Mourner
- The Naginata
- The Noble
- The Ox
- The Wise
- The Fox
The Fool also appears among the earlier Shinbakufu quests. Target arcs may unlock additional quests; check the board to distinguish those follow-ups from the target objective itself.
Rank #2
- Experience an epic, historical action adventure in feudal Japan and become a deadly Shinobi assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open game world in chaotic times
- Sneak as a Naoe to not be discovered, use your agility to confuse your opponents and stretch down your opponents with deadly precision and power as a Yasuke
- Use information as weapons and build your own spy network to have eyes and ears everywhere and find your targets easier and recruit new allies on the go with unique skills to help you with your missions
- Create a fully customizable hideaway for your growing Shinobi league, where you train recruits, craft new equipment and interact with important characters; set the room layout, decoration and accessories yourself
Other Act 2 milestones listed in the campaign guides are An Education, Nobutsuna Sensei, Lady of Whispers, Lords of Azuchi, Sake and Swords, Kurai Eikyou, The Two-Faced, and The Horseman. Their prerequisites and availability can vary with your progress, so this is a reference list, not a required linear order.
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Act 3: Character and Junjiro questlines
Act 3 includes personal-story milestones for both protagonists and Junjiro. Some can be pursued independently of the target board, while others count toward the story’s ending requirements.
Naoe
- Secrets of the Blade
- Assassin Outpost missions
- The Meaning of the Blade
Yasuke
- Dark Waves, Black Ships
- My Name is Yasuke
- The Path He Walks
- Fighting for the Cause
- The Silver Queen
- A Promise
- End of the Line
Junjiro
- Raise a Cup
- Eyes on the Future
- A Different Kind of Samurai
- Soup for Sorin
- The Pilgrimage
- Leaving a Mark
Some Junjiro quests wait for a season change. If a questline appears to pause, continue other available objectives and check back after the world’s season changes.
Rank #3
How to reach the base-game ending
- Defeat all 12 Shinbakufu/Onryo targets through their objective-board arcs.
- Complete the required Naoe, Yasuke, and Junjiro personal quests. The board and journal indicate when those questlines are available; not every optional side quest is required.
- When the ending objective unlocks, complete Out of the Shadows. This is the Epilogue mission and the endpoint of the original base campaign.
After the ending: Black Tides
Black Tides is post-launch story content, not a replacement name for the base-game finale. Ubisoft describes it as a free story capper for Naoe and Yasuke with about two hours of content. To access its final mission, complete the main story as well as A Critical Encounter and A Puzzlement. Ubisoft says Claws of Awaji is not required to access Black Tides or understand its story.
New Game+ and what carries over
New Game+ becomes available after the final story mission and credits. Story and objective-board progression, along with discovered locations, reset. Your level, gear, skill points, Knowledge rank, and Hideout progression carry over.
Quick Recap
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