Struggling to survive the relentless battles in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Your rations-the crucial healing lifeline-start scarce and weak, but with the right strategy, you can expand their capacity and boost their power to stay in the fight longer. Discover how to track down elusive food vendors, unlock special hideout upgrades, and master the art of ration management to keep your shinobi and samurai ready for anything.
Below we explain how to get more rations in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, including how to increase ration capacity, how to refill rations, and how to increase ration efficiency.
How to increase ration capacity in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
To increase your ration capacity in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you need to locate and interact with food vendor NPCs scattered across the game world. These vendors are marked by a bowl and chopsticks icon above their heads and are typically found in major cities and settlements. Each unique food vendor you visit permanently increases your maximum ration capacity by one, allowing you to carry more healing items during combat. To fully maximize your rations, you must find multiple vendors, as each additional slot requires visiting more vendors. Additionally, completing the “Feast for Thought” side quest, which involves finding all 16 food vendors, will raise your ration capacity up to 11 for Yasuke and 9 for Naoe. Besides expanding capacity, you can also enhance ration effectiveness by building and upgrading specific rooms like the Tea Room and Zashiki in your hideout, which requires completing related side quests and gathering resources.
By default, Naoe starts with three rations, while Yasuke starts with five rations. But you can upgrade your rations capacity by looking out for and interacting with food vendor NPCs.
Food vendors are, in our experience, exceptionally rare. These vendors will have a symbol portraying a bowl and chopsticks above their heads (shown below), indicating that they’ll teach you something about Japan’s food. Once they teach you, you’ll unlock a data point in the “Food from Japan” section of your codex.
According to our testing, the first food vendor you talk to increases ration capacity by one, but further upgrades require finding more food vendors. There are 16 total food vendors to find, and when you find them all, Naoe will have nine rations while Yasuke will have 11.
You can find the first food vendor early on at this location a bit east of Sakai in the Settsu province:
Food vendors get marked on your map, but only if you zoom in to the closest zoom level. They’ll also show up on your compass as you get close, so you’ll want to keep your eyes open whenever you’re near a settlement.
If you’re having a hard time seeking them out, you can accept the quest “Feast of Thought” from the NPC Hong in Obama after defeating the Shinbakufu member “The Fox.” Hong will task you with finding these various food vendors, so you’ll also get a hefty sum of XP for finding the vendors you may have already been looking for.
How to refill rations in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
To refill rations in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you have three main options. The most reliable method is to return to your hideout or any Kakurega safehouse, where you can interact with a chest to fully restock your rations and other consumables. You can also find food storage containers in enemy camps, which look like tall, square boxes left slightly ajar; interacting with these will restore your health and refill your rations. Lastly, you can purchase rations from food vendors in major towns and cities, though this method requires more travel since you cannot fast travel directly to them. Additionally, defeating elite enemies may sometimes reward you with rations. Building and upgrading facilities in your hideout can also improve your ration efficiency and capacity over time.
To get more rations, you’ll want to interact with ration refilling stations that are occasionally posted in castles, temples, and anywhere you might be taking on baddies. You can usually find these near sitting enemies – these enemies are taking a break with some snacks, which means there’s gotta be snacks near them, right?
Some enemies will also have rations as loot, so make sure you’re looting the corpses you assassinate to keep yourself topped up throughout the bigger expeditions through castles.
On a safer note, you can always refill your rations and supplies at any kakurega you unlock. Or you can purchase them from (some) merchants.
How to increase your ration efficiency in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
To increase your ration efficiency in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, focus on upgrading your Hideout by constructing the Zashiki and Tea Room. Each of these rooms boosts your ration healing efficiency by 20%, making each ration restore more health when used. To unlock the Zashiki, complete the Iron Hand Guild questline in Izumi Settsu, and for the Tea Room, finish the Tea Bowls for Rikyu side quest in Kyoto. Once both rooms are built, your rations will be significantly more effective in keeping you alive during tough battles. Additionally, you can further enhance ration efficiency by applying the +20% ration healing engraving to your gear, though this will use up one of your gear’s engraving slots.
Outside of just increasing the number of rations you can carry, you can also increase the amount each ration heals by adding and upgrading specific rooms in your Hideout.
Adding the Zashiki(90 crops, 370 wood, 280 stone, and 960 mon) increases ration efficiency by 20%, but you’ll need to complete a side quest involving a Settsu merchant before you can build the room. Similarly, building the Tea Room (640 crops, 480 wood, 160 stone, and 1,670 mon) increases ration efficiency by another 20%, but you’ll need to complete a side quest for a Yamashiro tea master to build it.
What hidden locations should I explore to find more food vendors in Shadows
To find more food vendors in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you’ll want to explore a series of hidden and sometimes tucked-away locations scattered across the game’s expansive map. These vendors are key to collecting local dishes that increase your maximum rations, a vital resource for healing during combat. Here are the top hidden spots and regions to focus on:
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Izumi Settsu Region (Sakai and Takatsuki)
Start near Sakai, on the outskirts to the east, where you’ll find a vendor offering Natto. This area is visited early in the game, making it an accessible first stop. Then, head northeast to Takatsuki, a castle town where a vendor sells Shiitake near the Kakurega-just south of the castle. These vendors are somewhat off the beaten path, requiring careful exploration of town outskirts and castle-adjacent roads. -
Harima Region (Miki, Kakogawa Estuary, Himeji)
Harima hides three vendors: one near the Miki Docks north of Nakayama Peak, offering Onigiri; another at the Kakogawa Estuary close to Horikawa Dock, selling Tako; and a third in Himeji, southeast of the Brewery and Guild Storage, where you can get Somen noodles. These coastal and dockside locations are less obvious and reward thorough map exploration. -
Yamashiro Region (Northern Kyoto)
In the northern half of Kyoto, just southwest of the Kakurega or southeast of Kubo Sama Old Residence, you’ll find a vendor with Yohi Mochi. This vendor is tucked near key landmarks but off the main paths, encouraging players to explore the city’s quieter corners. -
Omi Region (Nagahama)
Nagahama’s vendor is right on the riverbank, offering Miso Soup. This location blends natural scenery with urban elements, requiring you to scout river edges rather than central streets. -
Iga Region (Ichinomiya)
The Simple Rice vendor is found in Ichinomiya, a less prominent town in Iga, encouraging players to venture into smaller settlements. -
Yamato Region (Yoshino)
Tofu is available from a vendor in Yoshino, a region with sprawling natural landscapes and hidden paths, making the vendor’s location a rewarding find. -
Kii Region (Kumano Sanzan and Sazae Oni Shores)
Two vendors here: one in Kumano Sanzan offering Udon, and another near Sazae Oni Shores at the town of Gobo selling Kai Awabi. These coastal and shrine areas are scenic but require deliberate searching. -
Tamba Region (Kameyama North and South, Miyazu Bay)
Tamba is home to three vendors: Yokan in Kameyama South near Seirinji Temple, Sekihan in Kameyama North just past the castle, and Namasu in Miyazu Bay by the river’s western side. These vendors are nestled near temples, castles, and waterways, blending cultural landmarks with hidden vendor spots. -
Wakasa Region (Obama and Sotomo Gate)
The Narezushi vendor is in Obama, where the quest begins, and Persimmon is found near Sotomo Gate. These locations are more remote and tied closely to quest progression.
Why explore these hidden locations?
Each vendor provides a unique local dish essential for the “Feast for Thought” side quest, which not only enriches the game’s cultural tapestry but directly upgrades your ration capacity. The challenge lies in uncovering them, as they often sit off main roads, near docks, temples, or castle outskirts-places that reward patient exploration.
Advantages:
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Unlocking all 16 vendors fully upgrades your rations, enhancing survivability.
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Exploring these hidden spots deepens immersion in the game’s world and lore.
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Vendors remain accessible even after the main story, allowing flexible exploration.
Drawbacks:
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Some vendors are in remote or less-traveled areas, requiring time and map zooming to locate.
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The markers only appear when zoomed in closely or after quest activation, which can make discovery tricky.
By methodically venturing into these regions and seeking out vendors near landmarks like Kakurega, docks, temples, and castle outskirts, you’ll steadily gather all local dishes and maximize your rations, turning the tide in your favor in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Which lesser-known areas in Shadows hide hidden food vendors I haven’t found yet
Some lesser-known areas in Assassin’s Creed Shadows that hide hidden food vendors you might not have found yet include:
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Remote corners of the Kakurega safehouses: After building the Kakurega in each of the 9 main provinces, you can discover new small safehouses (Kokuraga) that often reveal vendors nearby. These safehouses are scattered and sometimes off main roads, so zooming in on the map and exploring these locations helps uncover hidden vendors.
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Hidden caves and secret spots near waterfalls: For example, near the hideout in Izumi Settsu, walking through a waterfall leads to a secret cave with a shrine. While not always directly linked to vendors, such hidden locations encourage thorough exploration that may reveal nearby food vendors.
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Less-traveled towns and outskirts in regions like Iga, Yamato, Wakasa, and Kii: Vendors in these areas are often tucked away near docks, temples, or quiet town edges rather than in central marketplaces, making them easy to miss without careful scouting.
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Using the map filter for food vendors: The game’s map has a filter to highlight food vendors, which can help reveal those you have not yet collected from, especially if you have one local food left uncollected.
In summary, thoroughly exploring remote safehouses, hidden caves, and quiet town outskirts in the 9 provinces, combined with using the in-game map filter, will help you find the lesser-known food vendors you haven’t discovered yet.
