Assassin's Creed Shadows: All recruitable allies
How to call in support with allies in AC Shadows
How do you recruit allies in Assassin's Creed Shadows? Allies are an important force in Assassin's Creed Shadows who will aid your cause to hunt down the Shinbakufu. There's of course Tomiko, who first helps Naoe by giving her a hideout, and you'll also have scouts to help you in your activities. But only recruitable allies can actually be called upon when you're in combat.
Considering you're often outnumbered, allies' abilities can really help even the odds of an encounter. If you build and upgrade the Dojo for your Hideout, you'll be able to call in up to two allies at a time.
While a number of these allies are encountered in the main story, actually getting them to join your league requires a few more steps and quests to follow. This guide will provide information on all the recruitable allies in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Assassin's Creed Shadows: All recruitable allies
Not including characters like Junjiro, who cannot join you in battle, these are all the allies we have found who can be summoned.
All of these allies start at Novice rank. Once you build the Dojo in your Hideout, they can be upgraded to the Initiate and Veteran tiers, giving them extra abilities.
- Yaya: A Buddhist monk who joins you in melee combat and is able to knock back enemies for crowd control. When upgraded to Initiate, she will knock down a single foe as soon as she's summoned, and when upgraded to Veteran, her kicks can send enemies flying away.
- Gennojo: A cocky thief who doesn't physically join you in battle per se, but has tricks to distract enemies when you're in a pinch. He can also be a potential romance for Naoe. Initially he will throw projectiles that distract enemies, but when upgraded to Initiate he can also distract enemies searching for you. When upgraded to Veteran he can make it so that you won't get snitched on by servants if they spot you.
- Katsuhime: A shinobi whose weapon of choice is the Japanese firearm, the teppo. As such, she keeps her distance when summoned as an ally and uses her shots to daze enemies. When upgraded to Initiate, she will use a dazing bomb when joining the fight, and at Veteran rank, her bullets will ricochet after dazing her target. She is also a potential romance for Naoe.
- Ibuki: A non-binary ronin who prefers to be solitary but can be persuaded to join your cause. They are also a melee support who can deal impact atttacks. When upgraded to Initiate, they can shatter enemy armour when first summoned into battle, while at Veteran rank, they can do this multiple times in a fight.
- Oni-Yuri: Sly and knowledgeable with toxins, she specialises in putting enemies to sleep. When upgraded to Initiate, she can also release a toxin that poisons enemies, while at Veteran rank she poisons enemy rations, effectively delaying reinforcements if you have a Wanted status.
- Yagoro: He is an assassin-in-training who has yet to master the hidden blade, but even as a novice, he is capable of assassinating a weakened enemy for you when summoned. When upgraded to Initiate, he is capable of killing another enemy, and when upgraded to Veteran, he can kill an enemy with up to five chunks of health.
How to recruit Yaya
You'll first meet Yaya during the Shinbakufu questline to hunt the Wounded in the mission "The Fatherless Monk". When you reach the end of the questline with the mission "Heads Will Roll", you'll reach a choice that will also warn you, "This will impact Yaya". Make sure you choose the "Killing isn't justice" choice, and you'll stay on Yaya's good side.
Once this questline ends, you will then unlock a side quest called "Find Yaya". This quest will have a few dialogue choices you will need to correctly choose in order to recruit her. For the first dialogue option, select "We forgive him", for the second, "You need to forgive each other", and then finally "Let's work together".
How to recruit Gennojo
You will first come upon Gennojo during the mission "Missing Missive", which is part of the main Shinbakufu questline to hunt the Fool. While you will fight him initially, you can soon recruit him, and even romance him as Naoe. If you choose not to flirt with or romance him however, you will still be able to recruit him as an ally.
After your first meeting, you will encounter Gennojo again through his story quests, which you must play as Naoe to progress, starting with "Lost Honor", followed by "Sake and Sword", "Honor Among Thieves", "Stolen Hearts", and finally "The Godless Harvest". In the final quest, you will need to stop Gennojo from using the explosives, and then afterwards, choose "We make a good team" from your dialogue choices and he will join you.
How to recruit Katsuhime
Katsuhime is first encountered in the mission "Showdown in Sakamoto", part of the main Shinbakufu questline to hunt down the Naginata, which takes you to the region of Omi. After completing the mission "Requiem for Rokkaku", her story quest "Letter from Katsuhime” will unlock. You must play as Naoe for these quests.
Follow Katsuhime's quests all the way to "The Diary of Lady Rokkaku” where afterwards you have the chance to invite her to join the league. If you have chosen to romance her, there will also be an additional mission after this, but whatever your decision here, it won't affect her being an ally to fight for you.
How to recruit Ibuki
Ibuki can be a potential romance for Yasuke, but declining to pursue this romance will not affect your ability to recruit them. You can find Ibuki near Kashiwara Village in Iga, which unlocks the mission "Ambush Interrupted", followed by "Homecoming".
To recruit Ibuki, make sure that you pick the following dialogue options: "I have changed" during "Ambush Interrupted", and "Fight with us, Kyobei" during "Homecoming", while making sure that Kyobei doesn't die in the battle that ensues.
How to recruit Oni-Yuri
Oni-Yuri is quite a late game ally, as she is located in Wakasa, which is one of the points furthest north of the world map. Head to near Sotomo Gate near Tsuruga Castle and speak to her to begin her quest "Sweet Lies", which is followed by "Sweet Revenge". Once this is completed, you can invite Oni-Yuri to join you as an ally.
How to recruit Yagoro
Yagoro can be found in Harima, although his mission "A Blade in the Dark" doesn't unlock until you've killed all of the members of the Shinbakufu. You'll first need to track him down and then challenge him to a duel.
But it doesn't stop there, as you will then need to kill a samurai hiding inside Mitsunodo Hall. Once this is done, you will have the opportunity to invite Yagoro to join the league before completing "A Blade in the Dark".
That's all for this guide on allies in Assassin's Creed Shadows. There's plenty of other guides if you're also looking for the location of Cat Island, or how to get the epic Apprentice Assassin armour set for Naoe. We also have explainers on smuggling resources, changing seasons, and how to transmog gear.