Assassin's Creed Shadows: Which character is better, Yasuke or Naoe?
Here's our breakdown of Naoe vs Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Should you play as Yasuke or Naoe in Assassin's Creed Shadows?Assassin's Creed Shadows offers two protagonists with very different skills - Yasuke the samurai and Naoe the shinobi. Once you unlock the ability to play as both about ten or so hours into the game, you can freely alternate between the duo. Even though you're not locked into your choice, you might be wondering which is the better character.
The answer varies, as each has their own strengths and weaknesses given the situation. The good news is you are not penalised from focusing on one character over the other, and both will gain the same amount of experience and will have their own Mastery points that can be spent on learning or upgrading skills. In this guide, we'll go further in detail, presenting the key differences between Yasuke and Naoe that will help inform your approach.
In this guide:
Yasuke vs Naoe
- If you want to go in loud, play as Yasuke.
- If you prefer to be sneaky and silent, then play as Naoe.
Simply put, Yasuke's better for combat and Naoe's better for stealth. When it comes to exploring the world, sneaking around, and reaching collectibles without any issues, make sure you play as Naoe - you'll be grateful for her grappling hook. When you need to take on a difficult boss or plow through a mob without sacrificing your health bar, switch to Yasuke and take pride in his ability to kick anyone into oblivion. If you want more of a challenge, swap them around.
Yasuke's strengths and weaknesses
Yasuke is a physically strong character best equipped for combat. Clad in hefty samurai armour, he not only has strong defence but starts with a big health bar that can definitely take a beating. He can also hold a maximum of 5 rations to restore his health, which also helps him survive for longer in battle.
Further emphasising his hulking size, Yasuke can smash through wooden doors and other environments when sprinting, and also knock down foes in his path. He can go toe-to-toe with bigger foes, and even has an ability where he can smash his foot into enemies, comically sending them flying into the air.
Yasuke's size works less in his favour when it comes to stealth. He can still hide in hay bales, or go prone in long grass to avoid being detected, but he is lacking Naoe's natural skill at platforming. Although Yasuke can automatically parkour up buildings with holds, he can't grapple up to higher points unless there's already a ladder there. And if you try doing a leap of faith from a high point with him, he'll hilariously topple into the hay bale without much grace.
Yasuke also won't be able to hide in tight spots like wells, and since he lacks the hidden blade, his assassinations are brutal and noisy. If you equip him with a bow though, he at least has a stealth attack option at range.
Naoe's strengths and weaknesses
As a shinobi equipped with the hidden blade, Naoe plays very much like a classic Assassin's Creed character and feels even faster than most of the other protagonists in the series. Her grappling hook makes it easy to reach high places without needing to find a path with handholds, and she can also activate Eagle Vision to highlight nearby enemies, making them appear as red or orange silhouettes through walls.
Naoe has a plethora of ways to stay out of sight, and her small physique allows her to hide in wells or cases, which you can pop out from to deliver a quick assassination. You can also upgrade her assassination skills so that she can kill a target from behind a shoji panel, or even perform a double assassination on two targets standing close together.
Facing the enemy in direct combat is risky, though. That is mostly down to Naoe having a significantly smaller health bar than Yasuke, while she can only carry a maximum of three rations. Her weapons also deal very little damage compared to the heavy strikes of Yasuke's long katana or kanabo. When up against a tough boss, Naoe can easily get decimated in two or three hits, depending on your game's difficulty level.
Ultimately, choosing Naoe means you should focus more on perfecting your stealth, though some targets may be too strong to succumb to your hidden blade, so you may still need to finish them off in direct combat. (Unless of course you turn on the guaranteed assassination option in the menu.) Naoe can at least wield a kusarigama, which allows her to use melee attacks with a little extra distance, and her Mastery skills include a shinobi abillity that lets her jump over an enemy after deflecting their attack, providing another evasive option.
That's about it for our comparison of Naoe and Yasuke in AC Shadows. For more on learning how to switch between these two protagonists, see our guide on how to change characters in Assassin's Creed Shadows. And if you want to practice getting your skills down with both Naoe and Yasuke in combat, see our guide on how to parry and deflect.