The prologue offers a glimpse of what it’s like to play the powerhouse that is Yasuke, and then the early game revolves around Naoe. It’s a taste, a teaser of what’s to come, what with his ability to smash through doors and gates, lift enemies off the ground, and slam opponents like paper dolls. But once you unlock more of Yasuke’s best early game skills in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you’ll find you don’t want to return to Naoe. It’s too much fun playing the giant yokai of a man!
As his build may suggest, Yasuke is the complete opposite of Naoe. Where she’s nimble and stealthy, the brazen samurai relies on brute force and violence to accomplish his goals. You’ll become an unstoppable charging bull in a China shop with the right abilities.
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Like Naoe’s Tidal Wave, Yasuke’s Power Dash allows the giant samurai to dash at a single enemy with his long katana, dealing 50-percent ability damage, incurring Vulnerable, and positioning you behind your foe. If you’re quick, you can turn and follow up with a few light strikes to finish the job.
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I wasn’t entirely sold on using the naginata, dubbing it far too unwieldy and large for my preferable light strike-oriented focus, but unlocking Crescent Strike changes everything. It’s a powerful ability that deals 25-percent ability damage, staggers enemies, and swipes in a large arc, hitting multiple foes at once, which pairs nicely with our next ability!
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With Far Reach, using Crescent Strike to hit multiple enemies means dealing additional damage to all of them. Every enemy hit by the tip of your naginata will endure a further 15-percent damage, allowing you to make quick work of groups.
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Naoe may be the assassin here, but Yasuke can hold his own on and off the battlefield. Using his size and strength as an advantage, Brutal Assassination allows you to smack that right bumper on your controller when approaching an enemy to deal a…well, brutal assassination move. It’s not uncommon for Yasuke to spear an enemy with his sword, lift them off the ground, and toss them aside like a doll.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC.
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