Assassin’s Creed Shadows Naoe Tanto Skill Tree Mastery Guide: Knowledge Level, Passive, and Active Abilities

The Tanto is a traditional Japanese blade that Naoe can use in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Here are all of the skills related to it.

The word “Tanto” translates to “Short Blade.” It is a traditional Japanese knife used by many different classes in Feudal Japan, including the Samurai. Naoe is a shinobi in the game, but she can still equip the Tanto as her primary weapon. It is the shortest blade in Naoe’s armory, but despite the lack of range, the Tanto’s speed and accuracy create a blade that is perfect for an assassin. In addition to that, this specific weapon also enables Naoe to perform double assassinations in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

So, in this article, we will tell you everything about Naoe’s Tanto Mastery Tree, including all of the active, passive, and global passive skills.

Naoe’s Skill Tree for the Tanto

Similar to Naoe’s other two weapons, this short blade has six tiers in its Mastery Tree with both passive and active abilities. You unlock each tier or rank by gathering the required amount of knowledge points in your playthrough. So, without further delay, let’s take a deep dive into Naoe’s Tanto Skill Tree in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Naoe’s Rank 1 Skills for the Tanto

The first tier in the Tanto Mastery Tree has three skills. Naturally, all of these are base abilities with no previous branches. However, Rank 1 still provides variety with a mix of global and weapon passive abilities, as well as active abilities. So, we will list them below to make things easier for you.

Ability Names	Functions	Stages	Types
Gap Seeker	Increase Armor Piercing by 3%	Three Stages	Global Passive
Leap Strike	While holding R1/RB or R2/RT press B/Circle toward the enemy to leap toward and strike	Only one stage	Tanto Passive
Shadow Piercer	Throw the Tanto, then dash forward to stab the target and make them Vulnerable, dealing 40% ability damage with each strike	Only one stage	Tanto Active

Naoe’s Rank 2 Skills for the Tanto

Rank 2 in Naoe’s Tanto Mastery Tree is the only tier that has four different abilities. This is also the first time that players will deal with a branching skill in this specific skill tree. So, let’s take a look without delay:

Ability Names	Functions	Stages	Types	Branches From
Backstabber	Increase damage from behind by 2%	Three Stages	Global Passive	No previous branches
Escape Strike	While holding RB/R1 or RT/R2 press B/Circle to perform a strike and backward dodge	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Leap Strike in Rank 1
Shadow Barrage	Naoe will automatically perform a quick evade before getting hit, lasting 20 seconds and up to 7 hits. Does not work on Grab attacks	Only one stage	Tanto Active	No previous branches
Backstab	Light Posture Attacks that hit an enemy’s back trigger Weak Point Attacks	Only one stage	Tanto Passive	No previous branches

Naoe’s Rank 3 Skills for the Tanto

The third tier in the Tanto Skill Tree goes back to three abilities in a rank structure. Every single skill in this mastery tree has branches, so you cannot skip the previous rank and jump directly to Rank 3. So, with that said, here are all of the abilities in the third tier:

Ability Names	Functions	Stages	Types	Branches From
Blood Rush	Leap Strike and Escape Strike generate 25% of an Adrenaline Chunk on hit	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Escape Strike in Rank 2
Invigorating Kill	Shadow Piercer generates 80% of an Adrenaline Chunk on Kill	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Shadow Piercer in Rank 1
Back Breaker	Posture attacks performed behind an enemy now have 100% armor-piercing	Only one stage	Tanto Passive	Backstab in Rank 2

Naoe’s Rank 4 Skills for the Tanto

Now, we are entering the upper half of Naoe’s Tanto Mastery Tree. So, you will notice a lot of game-changing skills from this point onward. Most of them are tied to previous ranks, but still, there are some good standalones. Therefore, here are all of the fourth-tier Tanto skills:

Ability Names	Functions	Stages	Types	Branches From
Hidden Hand	Sheath your Tanto and extend the Hidden Blade in its classic form to perform an Assassination while in combat	Only one stage	Tanto Active	No previous branches
Shadow Reach	Increase Shadow Piercer throw distance by 10 meters	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Invigorating Kill in Rank 3
Endless Barrage	Each kill while Shadow Barriage is active increases all damage by 5%	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Shadow Barrage in Rank 2

Naoe’s Rank 5 Skills for the Tanto

Rank 5 is the second-highest tier in Naoe’s Tanto Mastery Tree. Similar to the rank before, it has a total of three abilities, two with branches and one standalone. For a more in-depth view, please check the following list:

Ability Names	Functions	Stages	Types	Branches From
Critical Thinker	Increase critical chance by 1%	Three Stages	Global Passive	No previous branches
Hidden Onslaught	+1 Health Segment removed when used against unaware enemies	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Hidden Hand in Rank 3
Contemplation	Increases Shadow Barrage duration by 10 seconds or up to 3 additional hits	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Endless Barrage in Rank 4

Naoe’s Rank 6 Skills for the Tanto

Despite holding only two abilities, Rank 6 in Naoe’s Tanto Mastery Tree is the highest tier. It might have the lowest number of skills in the entire Tanto tree, but because it is the final rank, those skills might turn out to be the most important ones for you in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Take a look at the following list to get a better understanding:

Ability Names	Functions	Stages	Types	Branches From
Broken Spirit	Hidden Hand cannot be blocked or parried	Two Stages	Tanto Passive	Hidden Onslaught in Rank 5
Healthy Sting	Weakpoint Attacks triggered from behind an enemy restore 5% of health	Only one stage	Tanto Passive	Backbreaker in Rank 3

And that concludes our guide for Naoe’s Tanto Skill Tree in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

---

We provide the latest news and create guides for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Meanwhile, you can check out the following AC Shadows articles or catch us playing games on Twitch and YouTube:

• Assassin’s Creed Shadows: PS5 and Xbox Performance and Quality Modes Explained
• Can You Do One-Shot Assassinations in Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
• How To Get Assassin’s Creed Shadows Slash of Sprecher for Free
• Who Are the Assassin’s Creed Shadows Protagonists? Everything We Know About Yasuke and Naoe
• Can You Play Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Steam Deck
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows Release Time Countdown for All Regions