Step into the shadows and transform your hideout into the ultimate ninja sanctuary in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. From forging legendary gear to unlocking powerful buffs, mastering the best rooms and upgrades is key to dominating Feudal Japan’s perilous world. Discover which hideout enhancements will sharpen your edge and accelerate your journey through this stealthy epic.
Our Assassin’s Creed Shadows guide will tell you the best Hideout rooms to build first and the best Hideout upgrades to get first.
Best Hideout rooms to build first in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
When you first unlock the Hideout in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you’ll already have access to the Hiroma (main room) and the Stables. The best rooms to build first are the Kakurega and the Forge. The Kakurega is essential because it unlocks the use of Scouts, which are crucial for gathering resources, finding targets, and unlocking Kakurega Safehouses across Japan-these also serve as valuable fast-travel points. The Forge is equally important early on, as it allows you to upgrade and craft weapons and gear, directly impacting your combat effectiveness. After these, prioritize building the Study, which grants you an additional Scout to further boost your resource-gathering capabilities. While the Jinja and other rooms offer useful bonuses, focusing on the Kakurega, Forge, and Study first will give you the strongest foundation for expanding your Hideout and progressing efficiently through the game.
When you first unlock the Hideout as part of “From Spark to Flame,” you’ll already have the Hiroma (main room) and the Stables. Your first two tasks will be to build another couple rooms: the Kakurega and the Forge.
After those four rooms, though, the only other rooms that will be unlocked are the Jinja (690 crops, 510 wood, 170 minerals, 1,800 mon) and the Study (60 crops, 40 wood, 10 minerals). Build the Study as soon as you can – it gives you an extra scout immediately.
The Jinja is a weird one. It isn’t a shrine itself (you can’t pray there), but it enhances the benefits you get from praying at shrines out in the world. It’s useful to have, but it shouldn’t be a priority.
After that, you’ll have to wait a while to build anything else. Most of the rooms are locked by progression or by meeting people (i.e., starting side quests), though there are some cosmetic ones you can buy from merchants.
A while later, after you recruit your first companion, you’ll unlock two more rooms: the Dojo (350 crops, 260 wood, 90 minerals) and the Nando (440 crops, 330 wood, 110 minerals, 1,160 mon).
Which one you build depends on your priorities and play style. The Dojo is good for training and assigning your allies, but the Nando reduces the cost of refilling your scouts at a kakurega. Since scouts are so useful – especially for bringing in more resources that allow you to build even more rooms – we recommend building the Nando as soon as you can.
Down the line, you’ll be able to unlock Zashiki and Tea Room, which improve your ration efficiency, but you’ll need to make your way through a large part of the main story first, so don’t worry about racing to get those built.
Once you have rooms built, you can get even more out of them by upgrading them.
Best Hideout upgrades in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
The best Hideout upgrades in Assassin’s Creed Shadows focus on enhancing key buildings that boost your gameplay efficiency and resource management. Prioritize upgrading the Stables first, as it enables you to mark stockpiles for scouts to collect resources, significantly increasing your supply intake with each upgrade. Next, focus on upgrading the Forge, which allows you to upgrade your gear to higher levels and unlock powerful engravings essential for combat effectiveness. The Study and Dojo upgrades follow, providing additional scout slots and combat training benefits. Upgrading the Kakurega is also valuable for gaining provincial rumors and other late-game bonuses. These upgrades not only improve your Hideout’s functionality but also unlock passive effects that make your journey smoother and more rewarding.
All of your Hideout’s rooms are useful enough on their own, but they become even more useful as you upgrade them. In the Improve Hideout menu, click on a building, and then choose the top option – the two chevrons pointing up – to upgrade that room.
Just of those first six rooms you can build, there are clear winners and losers for upgrading. Prioritize these three upgrades:
- Stable upgrades reduce the number of scouts needed to retrieve a pallet of resources from an enemy camp.
- Study upgrades add a scout with each upgrade.
- Kakurega upgrades reduce the cost of unlocking other kakurega outposts out in the world. Kakuregas are great for fast travel, but also let you refill your scouts without waiting for a season change.
The other room you have at your Hideout, the Forge, will definitely need to be upgraded eventually, but it can wait. At its first level (when you build it), Heiji can upgrade gear up to level 20, and that will probably last you 15 hours or more since you can’t wield anything higher than your current level. With the second upgrade (350 crops, 260 wood, 90 minerals), that jumps to level 40.
The second level does add the ability to add enhancements, though. These are useful buffs and abilities you can add to your gear at the Forge. That said, you’ll be changing gear constantly – especially early on – so you can probably hold off on upgrading the Forge until you’re close to level 20.
How can upgrading the Forge enhance my gear in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Upgrading the Forge in Assassin’s Creed Shadows significantly enhances your gear by increasing the maximum upgrade level for your weapons and armor, unlocking new features, and allowing for more powerful customizations.
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At its base level, the Forge lets you upgrade gear up to level 20, keeping your favorite weapons and armor viable as you progress.
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Upgrading the Forge to Rank 2 raises the cap to level 40 and unlocks the ability to apply non-Legendary engravings-special perks that add stat bonuses or effects to your gear.
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A further upgrade to Rank 3 allows upgrades up to level 60 (the maximum), and you can now apply Legendary engravings for the most powerful gear enhancements.
Each upgrade requires specific resources (crops, wood, minerals) and mon (the in-game currency). As you improve the Forge, you can keep your preferred gear competitive, customize it with engravings, and maximize its effectiveness throughout your journey.
How does upgrading the Forge improve my weapon and armor stats in Shadows
Upgrading the Forge in Assassin’s Creed Shadows directly improves your weapon and armor stats by allowing you to increase their level, which boosts their core attributes such as damage and defense. Each time you upgrade a piece of gear at the Forge, you’ll see its stats increase-these improvements are displayed in green in the upgrade menu, indicating enhancements over your current stats.
The Forge itself can be upgraded through three ranks:
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Rank 1: Upgrade gear up to level 20.
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Rank 2: Upgrade gear up to level 40 and apply non-Legendary engravings for additional stat bonuses or effects.
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Rank 3: Upgrade gear up to level 60 (the maximum) and apply Legendary engravings for the most powerful enhancements.
However, you can only upgrade gear up to your character’s current level, even if the Forge is at a higher rank. Upgrading the Forge and your gear requires specific resources and in-game currency. As you progress, enhancing your Forge ensures your favorite weapons and armor keep pace with tougher enemies and new challenges by continually increasing their stats and unlocking new customization options.
