Step into the shadows of feudal Japan with Assassin’s Creed Shadows, where the deadliest weapons aren’t just tools-they’re extensions of your will. From Naoe’s swift and stealthy Bloodshade Katana to Yasuke’s overwhelming power with the Boulder Fall Kanabo, mastering the best legendary armaments can turn the tide of any battle. Ready to unleash lethal precision or brute force? Discover which weapons reign supreme and how to claim them in this ultimate guide for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox players. Dive in, and wield your destiny.
As each legendary weapon has a unique gameplay perk – not to mention the usually higher stats – they’re typically more useful than lower-quality weapons. Together with the best armor in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you can mix and match these perks to achieve the perfect loadout for your playstyle, whether you prefer to be a stealthy shinobi or sturdy samurai.
Below, we’ll show to the best weapons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, broken down by the best weapons for Naoe and the best weapons for Yasuke.
Update (April 2): We’ve added additional legendary weapons to round out the list of best weapons.
Best weapons for Naoe
Naoe’s best weapons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows emphasize her agility, stealth, and versatility in combat. For her katana, the Bloodshade stands out due to its unique perk that preserves affliction buildup over time, allowing continuous bleeding and poison effects on enemies, making it ideal for sustained damage. Her tanto, such as Yukimitsu’s Revenge or Call of the Void, excels in stealth and critical damage, with perks that boost damage against marked foes or enhance backstabbing capabilities. For crowd control and aggressive encounters, the Featherstorm Kusarigama is highly effective, offering wide-range attacks and perks that instantly charge posture attacks when hitting multiple enemies, helping Naoe handle groups efficiently. Combining these legendary weapons with their unique perks allows Naoe to adapt to various combat scenarios, from silent assassinations to intense melee battles.
Some of the best shinobi weapons focus on Naoe’s specialty, stealth attacks, but it’s also important to improve her combat prowess when she’s not hiding in the shadows. You might want to combine a stealthy weapon with a kusarigama to clear the field, or perhaps a katana that’ll inflict damage over time. Here are the best weapons for Naoe.
Bloodshade Katana
- Perk: Affliction buildup is not lost over time
- Location: Izumi Settsu, on a ship west of Osaka
With an 18% default bleed buildup, the Bloodshade Katana bleeds your enemies in just six hits. Whereas any other weapon would require quick, consecutive slashes to avoid affliction loss, the Bloodshade Katana allows for complete freedom, as the bleed buildup is never lost. Besides being one of the best weapons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, this katana is also one of the easiest to obtain in early game, but beware that it’s ridiculously easy to miss as it’s hidden in an unmarked spot on a ship west of Osaka.
Yami No Kage Katana
- Perk: Deal 100% damage to the attacker on deflect
- Location: Clear Hiraiyama Fort in the Warfields, eastern Harima
This legendary katana comes with a massive damage boost that works well with almost any other weapon, perk, or armor set as long as it’s not too focused on assassinations and tools. Of course, this weapon truly shines if you’re good at deflecting damage (Naoe’s version of parrying), but you can grab it fairly early in the game, so there’s plenty of time to practice.
Violet Night Katana
- Perk: Trigger poison on deflect
- Location: Complete the Yuki Onna objective (The Yokai) in the mountains of northeastern Omi
Another legendary katana with a deflect-based effect, but this one applies poison whenever you deflect an attack. Whereas the previous katana has a higher direct damage potential, Violet Night works better for affliction builds. It’s absolutely perfect in combination with the Bloodshade’s perk (no affliction loss) and the Noh Masterstroke Mask, which grants extra adrenaline upon affliction buildup – or, in this case, on every deflection with the Violet Night.
Yukimitsu’s Revenge Tanto
- Perk: Afflicted enemies are vulnerable.
- Location: Complete the Ancient Tomb of Nanjokofun in Yamashiro, southwest of Kyoto
This legendary tanto is a must-have for players who use Naoe’s affliction damage. While it doesn’t do anything for affliction buildup or affliction damage directly, it makes afflicted enemies vulnerable, which you can normally only do by parrying, dodging, and deflecting incoming attacks. Vulnerable enemies can’t defend themselves, allowing you to land devastating blows before the vulnerable state ends. Just focus on fast affliction application, and this tanto will constantly trigger the vulnerable state.
Call of the Void Tanto
- Perk: Deals 30% damage to tagged enemies
- Location: Defeat the Godai of Void in a cave in the Daikichiji Temple, northern Omi
If you want a straightforward, reliable damage boost, this legendary tanto is perfect. All you need to do is tag an opponent, and you will an extra 30% damage with any attack type. It’s a simple but powerful effect that combines well with almost any other perk. If there’s a downside to the Call of the Void tanto, it’s probably the hiding skills of its previous owner’s: You must ride north through the temple (do not go left to the mountain peak) and you’ll eventually see the cave entrance with the legendary chest inside.
Featherstorm Kusarigama
- Perk: Instantly charge posture attacks when hitting multiple enemies
- Location: Inside Kashiwabara Fortress, the northeastern part of Omi (not the main prize – look for the chest in the northern part of the fortress)
Close-quarters combat is usually more Yasuke’s thing, but whenever Naoe is forced into a face-to-face fight, the Featherstorm Kusarigama is her savior. This heavy-hitting weapon comes with a high-range posture attack that smashes all nearby enemies, making it perfect for fighting multiple opponents. What’s more, its perk instantly charges Naoe’s posture attack – which may not seem that spectacular, but in the heat of battle, that one second can make all the difference between an unfortunate interruption and a devastating blow.
Best weapons for Yasuke
Yasuke’s best weapons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows emphasize his frontline, aggressive combat style, blending powerful melee strikes with strategic ranged options. The Crimson’s Edge Long Katana stands out for its high bleed buildup and unique engraving that instantly kills enemies with low health affected by bleed, making it ideal for both duels and group fights. For crowd control and defensive play, the Vengeful Foe Naginata boosts bleed buildup after successful parries, rewarding skillful defense and maintaining offensive pressure. The Dragon’s Wrath Bow offers rapid, fully charged shots perfect for mid- to long-range combat and stealth scenarios. Additionally, the Kanabo club delivers heavy blunt damage but requires careful timing due to its slower swings. Equipping Yasuke with these legendary weapons, each with powerful engravings and perks, maximizes his brutal samurai prowess across various combat situations.
In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, samurai weapons range from massive clubs to sleek naginatas. While you could combine a heavy melee weapon with a lighter one, consider using one of Yasuke’s ranged weapons too; a well-aimed shot will certainly start the battle in your favor. Here’s a list of the best weapons for Yasuke.
Flowing Peace Long Katana
- Perk: Removes 1 health segment after armor break
- Location: Pick up “The Hunters of Kyonyo” quest in Negoroji, Kii, then defeat their leader in Iseji Trails
Dealing extra damage is always nice, and instantly depleting a full health segment upon armor break is certainly helpful against tougher enemies. However, what makes the Flowing Peace long katana particularly useful is its field-clearing potential. Weaker enemies only have a few health segments (if not just one), so as long as you build Yasuke with high armor damage stats and decent armor-breaking abilities, he’ll take them out in a second.
Vengeful Foe Naginata
- Perk: Grants 35% bleed buildup on successful parry
- Location: Complete “The Tournament” quest at the Ominesanji Temple in Yamato
If you’re looking for quick bleed application, the Vengeful Foe is your friend. This legendary naginata makes it ridiculously easy to bleed enemies as you simply need to parry incoming attacks. Of course, 35% isn’t enough to trigger instant bleed, but with a default bleed buildup of 18%, you’re already halfway there. It’s helpful to pair this weapon with the Crescent Strike active ability (and its first passive node), which applies another 35% bleed upon hit.
Shade of Blight Naginata
- Perk: Grants 100% of an adrenaline chunk upon affliction trigger
- Location: Complete the contract on The Messenger at the Kofukuji Temple (northern Yamato)
Active combat abilities offer a massive advantage in battle, but you may not use them all that often, as they require lots of adrenaline. If you’re wielding the Shade of Blight Naginata, though, that calculus becomes a thing of the past. Granting a full adrenaline chunk whenever you trigger an affliction, you just need to boost your affliction buildup to reap the benefits of extra damage and more ability usage. What’s more, the Shade of Blight already has 18% poison buildup by default.
Rage of Red Mist Kanabo
- Perk: Grants 100% of an Adrenaline chunk after armor break
- Location: Loot from the Grave of Buried Hopes, northern Yamashiro
Another excellent weapon to regain adrenaline is the Rage of Red Mist. All you need to do is break the opponent’s armor by depleting the yellow bar above their HP – no problem when you’re handling a heavy kanabo. Yasuke has plenty of armor-destroying abilities too, which basically means you can use adrenaline to destroy the armor before instantly gaining it back. To top that off, this kanabo is relatively easy to obtain as it lies unguarded in one of the first regions.
Boulder Fall Kanabo
- Perk: Attacks cannot be interrupted
- Location: Defeat the Katsuragi Agent in the Gokenin Manor in Katsuragi, western Yamato
Does this really need any explanation beyond “your attacks cannot be interrupted?” More than just an extremely destructive heavy weapon, the Boulder Fall is an unstoppable heavy weapon. The risk of interruptions used to be the sluggish kanabo’s main weakness, but this overpowered Yasuke weapon just eliminates that problem. If you aim to smack everyone and everything in your way, the Boulder Fall is for you.
Venom Pillar Kanabo
- Perk: Instantly charge posture attacks by alternating attack types
- Location: In the Kajimiya Cemetery, southwest of Sakamoto, Omi province
Regardless of perks, the kanabo is one of the most powerful weapons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. True, it can be a bit slow, but its blows have an incredibly high damage potential. If you wield the magnificent Venom Pillar Kanabo, you can trigger a light attack followed by a heavy attack (or vice versa), to perform an instantly-charged posture attack. This combo will quickly overpower even the toughest enemies, without allowing them to recover and interrupt your charged strike. Granted, Venom Pillar isn’t as strong as the Boulder Fall, but you can grab it very early on (just find the chest – it isn’t guarded).
Dynasty Ender Teppo
- Perk: Suppress firing noise
- Location: Inside Genbao Fort, northern part of Wakasa
Teppo rifles deal fantastic damage, but they have a few drawbacks: They’re slow, they lack range, and, most importantly, they’re loud enough to alert an entire castle to your presence. Any teppo with a perk to negate those downsides is a welcome addition to your armory, but especially the Dynasty Ender, as it hardly makes any noise when fired. Instead of just an opening move, the teppo becomes Yasuke’s best stealth weapon, allowing you to fire it multiple times without detection.
Dragon’s Wrath Bow
- Perk: Instantly charge arrows
- Location: Defeat the Tsutsui Agent in Koriyama Castle
There are several perks you can use to boost Yasuke’s archery damage, but only one that improves the draw speed. The Dragon’s Wrath bow is extremely handy when you’re playing a stealthy archer as you can kill all nearby enemies before they realize what’s going on – and quickly finish the job if one arrow per enemy isn’t enough. Dragon’s Wrath is particularly unmissable, however, if you want to shoot enemies in open combat – you simply won’t have enough time to charge your shots without it.
Which legendary weapon in Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers the highest damage potential
The legendary weapon in Assassin’s Creed Shadows with the highest damage potential is the Venom Pillar Kanabo. Despite its slower attack speed, its strikes deliver incredibly high damage, and its perk allows instant charging of posture attacks by alternating attack styles, enabling swift and overwhelming blows that can incapacitate even the toughest enemies quickly. While the Boulder Fall Kanabo is more powerful overall, the Venom Pillar Kanabo is notable for its early-game accessibility and devastating damage output.
Is the Venom Pillar Kanabo the most damage-dealing legendary weapon in Shadows
Yes, the Venom Pillar Kanabo is considered the highest damage-dealing legendary weapon in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It boasts immense damage potential with a Weapon DPS of 4570 and an Ability Damage of 19,944 at max level, making it one of the most formidable melee weapons in the game. Its unique perk instantly charges posture attacks by alternating attack styles, allowing for rapid and devastating strikes that can quickly overwhelm enemies. While other Kanabos like the Boulder Fall have strong perks, the Venom Pillar stands out for its raw damage output and early-game accessibility.
