Assassin’s Creed Shadows Yasuke Long Katana Skill Tree Mastery Guide: Knowledge Level, Passive, and Active Abilities

Yasuke’s Long Katana Skill Tree allows players to mold him into a classic samurai from Feudal Japan. So, let’s explore it in detail.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke Long Katana Skill Tree Mastery Guide: Knowledge Level, Passive, and Active Abilities
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Yasuke Long Katana Skill Tree Mastery Guide (Image via Ubisoft)

When we think about samurai or Japanese culture, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic katana. It is a traditional Japanese sword that prioritizes precision and finesse over force. Since Yasuke is the Samurai character in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the developers decided to give him his own Katana Skill Tree. However, Nobunaga’s trusted swordbearer does not have the standard version of the Japanese blade; instead, he holds a Long Katana, befitting his massive physique.

If you want to build him around this iconic weapon, you might find this article helpful, because in this guide, we will take a deep dive into Yasuke’s Katana Skill Tree in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Yasuke’s Long Katana Skill Tree in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Explained

Yasuke has a total of six different Mastery Trees, five for his weapons and one for his techniques. Each tree presents a choice to the player and gives them full control of our brute samurai’s progression. However, today, we will be only talking about Yasuke’s Long Katana Skill Tree.

It has six different tiers, with a mix of global passive, weapon active, and weapon passive abilities. Furthermore, you will find many standalone abilities as well as ones that are connected in each of the tiers. So without further delay, let’s dive in.

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 1 Skills for The Long Katana

Rank 1
Sheathed Attack in Rank 1 (Image via Ubisoft)

The first tier in Yasuke’s Katana Skill Tree holds three abilities. So, naturally, all of these skills will be the base upon which you build your samurai combat style. In the following list you will find more information regarding it:

Ability NameFunctionStagesType
Sheathed AttackHold LB/L1 and press R1/RB or R2/RT to sheath the Katana and launch a stronger strike that can break the target’s guardOnly one stageLong Katana Passive
Power DashDash to a single enemy, dealing 70% ability damage, then move behind them to make them VulnerableOnly one StageLong Katana Active
RiposteRelease LB/L1 right after blocking a hit to perform an immediate RiposteOnly one stageLong Katana Passive

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 2 Skills for The Long Katana

Rank 2
Energizing Defense in Rank 2 (Image via Ubisoft)

Rank 2 in Yasuke’s Katana Skill Tree has only two abilities in it. In addition to that, this tier, along with Rank 6, hosts the lowest number of abilities in the entire Long Katana Mastery Tab. However, that does not mean that these skills can be taken lightly or players can skip them. Because one of them is a Global Passive and the other one has a branch that leads to the upper tiers. So, here are the abilities in Rank 2:

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Combat ExpertIncrease Damage with Melee Weapons by 9%Three StagesGlobal PassiveNo previous branches
Energizing DefenseRiposte now restores 5% Health.
Increase Riposte damage by 40%
Two StagesLong Katana PassiveRiposte in Rank 1

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 3 Skills for The Long Katana

Rank 3
Payback in Rank 3 (Image via Ubisoft)

Yasuke’s Long Katana’s third tier features three abilities, similar to Rank 1. Moreover, it has two standalone and one ability connected to a branch. Let us now take a look at it to gain a better understanding:

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Adrenaline Builder Increase Adrenaline Gain by 15%Three stagesGlobal PassiveNo previous branches
Sheathed PostureSheathed Attack can now become a Posture Attack by holding R1/RB or R2/RT.
Increase Sheathed Attack damage by 20%
Two stagesLong Katana PassiveSheathed Attack in Rank 1
PaybackDeal 3 powerful strikes to a single enemy, each dealing 49% ability damage and restoring 10% HealthOnly one stageLong Katana ActiveNo previous branches

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 4 for the Long Katana

Rank 4
Overrun in Rank 4 (Image via Ubisoft)

Knowledge Rank 4 in Yasuke’s Long Katana Skill Tree is placed on the higher tiers. So, it would be safe to assume that from this point onward players will encounter much stronger and potentially game-changing abilities. With that said, here are all of the abilities in the fourth tier of the Long Katana:

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Samurai ShowdownTaunt up to 3 different enemies and attack them, dealing 15% ability damage to eachOnly one stageLong Katana ActiveNo previous branches
Armor AvoidancePower Dash now has 100% Armor Piercing
Increase Power Dash by 40%
Two stagesLong Katana PassivePower Dash in Rank 1
OverrunIncrease Payback damage by 1% per 1% Health missing.
Increase Payback damage by 40%
Two StagesLong Katana PassivePayback in Rank 3
Defensive StrikeRiposte now has a 100% Critical Chance when performed against a Flurry Attack.
Increase Riposte Damage by 60%
Two StagesLong Katana PassiveEnergizing Defense in Rank 2

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 5 for the Long Katana

Rank 5
Unstoppable in Rank 5 (Image via Ubisoft)

Rank 5 in Yasuke’s Long Katana Skill Tree includes four abilities similar to its predecessor. It is the second-highest tier in the Mastery Tree. But most of the abilities in it have branches. So players cannot skip other Ranks and unlock the fifth tier directly. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at all of the abilities in the fifth tier:

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Melee Weapon Armor DamageIncrease Armor Damage with Melee Weapons by 3%Three stagesGlobal PassiveNo previous branches
Adrenaline Boost Sheathed Attack generates 50% of an Adrenaline Chunk on hitTwo stagesLong Katana PassiveSheathed Posture in Rank 3
ShatterIncrease Samurai Showdown Armor Damage by 50%Two stagesLong Katana PassiveSamurai Showdown in Rank 4
UnstoppablePayback can no longer be blocked or parriedTwo stagesLong Katana PassiveOverrun in Rank 4

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 6 for the Long Katana

Rank 6
Call of Honor in Rank 6 (Image via Ubisoft)

The sixth tier is the last and final rank in Yasuke’s Long Katana Skill Tree. It has a total of only two abilities. However, many players might find those to be the strongest skills in this guide. So, let’s take a comprehensive look at our final Rank:

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Call of HonorSamurai Showdown can now taunt up to 4 different enemiesTwo stagesLong Katana PassiveShatter in Rank 5
Chained Power DashPower Dash can now be chained a second timeTwo stagesLong Katana PassiveArmor Avoidance in Rank 4

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