Best Kanabo Build Guide in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

This guide explores the best Kanabo build that you can use on Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows to easily overpower and defeat enemies.

In terms of combat in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Yasuke has more options and a wider scope when it comes to the weapons. He can choose any two weapons from a pool of five, and your choices will define your overall playstyle in the game. The choices offer a lot of variety, and you can choose between ranged or melee fights and also between slow or fast weapons. Being a brute, the heavy spiked mace-like weapon, Kanabo, is also a choice for Yasuke.

The Kanabo is a slow weapon that hits extremely hard. With the right build, it can be a destructive force that will quite literally crush your opponents and beat them to a pulp. With the right set of skills and weapons, you can make short work of even the toughest boss enemies, like the Yamabushi Impostors in AC Shadows.

This build guide will explore the best Kanabo build for Yasuke that you can use in Assassin’s Creed Shadows to decimate your opponents easily.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Kanabo Build Overview

The Kanabo is a heavy but slow weapon. You unlock it during the mid-game stages, and it can prove to be an effective primary or secondary weapon. This weapon has massive DPS output, but you will require some amount of skill to wield it correctly. It is a pure melee weapon and only works well for close-quarters combat.

On the downside, the Kanabo is a slow weapon, and enemies can often sneak in attacks if you are not careful enough. With the Kanabo, you must be able to block attacks or dodge very effectively, since it will be an integral part of your playstyle. Here are the main pros and cons of the Kanabo in Assassin’s Creed Shadows:

Pros	Cons
Massive damage output Has good crowd-control capabilities Takes less time to kill enemies	Slow weapon Requires some mastery with the timing Melee weapon, does not deal any ranged damage

Best Kanabo Build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Here are the details for the best Kanabo build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows:

• Weapon: Boulder Fall
  • Rarity: Legendary Kanabo
  • Weapon Special Skill: Does more damage to Vulnerable enemies
  • Default Engrave: Attacks cannot be interrupted
  • Secondary Engrave: +8% Adrenaline Gain by consecutive hits
• Headgear: Protector’s Helmet
  • Rarity: Legendary Headgear
  • Default Engraving: Double Adrenaline Gain on Assassinations
  • Secondary Engraving: +60% Adrenaline Gain when hitting vulnerable enemies
• Armor: Defense Master Clothing
  • Rarity: Legendary Armor
  • Default Engrave: Restore 10% Health on the next hit after a Parry
  • Secondary Engrave: Can Parry Unblockable attacks
• Amulet: Scale of The Koi
  • Rarity: Legendary Trinket
  • Default Engrave: +1% Armor Piercing per Mastery Point in Kanabo
  • Secondary Engrave: +6% Armor Piercing with consecutive hits

You can select any other weapon along with the Kanbo on Yasuke to deal damage. However, the Long Katana and the Naginata are generally better when it comes to a full melee build.

Skill Tree for Best Kanabo Build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Kanabo

Knowledge Rank 1	Knowledge Rank 2	Knowledge Rank 3	Knowledge Rank 4	Knowledge Rank 5	Knowledge Rank 6
Devastation	Combo Ender Damage	Ability Master	Infinite Devastation	Damage Reduction	Absolute Showdown
Spine Breaker	Turmoil	Irresistible Force	Unstoppable Strength	Constant Pressure	–
Forward Momentum	Power Surge	Crushing Shockwave	Greater Shockwave	–	–

Samurai

Knowledge Rank 1	Knowledge Rank 2	Knowledge Rank 3	Knowledge Rank 4	Knowledge Rank 5	Knowledge Rank 6
Regeneration	Improved Brutal Assassination	Stronger, Smarter…	Unbreachable Guard	Strength Builder	Absolute Protection
Brutal Assassination	Crash Collision	Assassination Damage 1	–	Assassination Damage 2	–
Link Attack	Vigor 1	Impenetrable Defense	–	Vigor 3	–
Bull Rush	–	Big Impact	–	–	–
–	–	Vigor 2	–	–	–

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Best Kanabo Build Explained

The only major downside of the Kanabo is its slow nature, which leaves it open to interruptions from enemy attacks. Our best Kanabo build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows uses the Boulder Fall, which by default has a passive skill that prevents interruption. With one of the major downsides of the weapon taken care of, here is how our build focuses on other aspects of this weapon:

• Deal consecutive hits.
• Use special skills as much as possible.
• Deal massive damage to Vulnerable enemies.

Here is an explanation of each of these aspects mentioned above:

1) Deal Consecutive Hits

A majority of the Kanabo’s damage comes from consecutive hits. With the secondary engraving on this weapon, you will gain 8% Adrenaline gain per consecutive hit. This will easily allow you to fill up your gauge and use devastating skills like Spine Breaker or Crushing Shockwave. However, there is another additional skill that will greatly increase your damage output here.

The Forward Momentum and Power Surge skills at Knowledge Rank 1 and 2, respectively, are the stars of our best Kanabo build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The former lets you chain your attacks easier, while the latter will increase your damage by 15% per consecutive hit till you hit the combo ender. This will allow you to easily topple even the toughest of enemies.

2) Use Special Skills

Your consecutive hits will directly translate to more special skill usage with our best Kanabo build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. With more adrenaline, you will be able to spam your special skills more easily. Crushing Shockwave can easily render enemies immobile in an AoE (area of effect), which will then allow you to hit a boss or elite enemy with the Spine Breaker.

Spine Breaker also leaves your target grounded for a while, allowing you to hit a special Ground Attack. These deal massive amounts of damage and can often kill enemies directly.

3) Deal Massive Vulnerable Damage

Although the Boulder Fall will avoid interruptions, you will still have to rely on dodges with the Kanabo. Ideally, you should aim to get as many perfect dodges as possible, since this will make an attacking enemy Vulnerable. Once an enemy is vulnerable, your Boulder Fall’s main engraving will allow you to deal more damage to them, while the secondary engraving on your headgear will generate 60% more adrenaline. It’s a win-win scenario for you either way with this best Kanabo build.

How To Use This Best Kanabo Build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

Unlike other weapons like the Long Katana, where you can directly start with a skill move, the Kanabo functions a bit differently. Since this weapon gets a lot of advantage simply from consecutive attacks, you need to prioritize that style with our best Kanabo build guide in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. That said, here is the basic gameplay loop that you should look to follow:

• Start with normal hits, and keep the combo going for as long as possible.
• After the second normal attack, switch to a Posture Attack instead to chain the consecutive hit passive and Posture Attack additional damage.
• At any instance, try to perfect dodge the enemy to make them vulnerable. Here, keep hitting them until the vulnerability goes away, and then prepare to use the Skill Moves.
• By now, you should have your Adrenaline Chunks full. Start with the Crushing Shockwave.
• Select a suitable target for your next move. Ideally, elite enemies or bosses should be your priority. Run up to them and hit them with a Spine Breaker. This will deal an impressive amount of damage but will also open up an opportunity for a Ground Attack.
• Make sure to hit the Ground Attack with your Kanabo instead of swapping to your other weapon, as it does significantly more damage.
• Swap to your other weapon and continue with its combo, or repeat this loop with the Kanabo.

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