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

Yasuke’s Samurai Skill Tree in Assassin’s Creed Shadows allows players to build the ultimate warrior. Let’s dive into it.

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

Assassin’s Creed Shadows features two separate protagonists. Yasuke is one of them, and he is a Samurai. With that in mind, the developers at Ubisoft Québec included the Samurai Skill Tree in Yasuke’s Mastery System. It is a new way of progression, and players will be able to unlock various techniques and upgrade them in order to make Yasuke the best warrior in all of Feudal Japan.

We will take an in-depth look into this Skill Tree in this article and discuss all of the abilities players can unlock to create a Samurai Build to their liking.

Yasuke’s Samurai Skill Tree in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Explained

Ubisoft has implemented a total of six mastery trees for each of their protagonists in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Yasuke’s Samurai Tree is one of them and has six ranks of its own. There are many passive and active abilities in each of these tiers that you will be able to unlock by acquiring Knowledge Points throughout the game. In addition to that, you will also have to spend Mastery Points to get the skills associated with each rank.

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 1 for the Samurai Tree

Yasuke's Knowledge Rank 1 for the Samurai Tree
Regeneration in Rank 1 (Image via Ubisoft, Deltias Gaming)

The first rank in Yasuke’s Samurai Tree has five abilities in total. All of them are basic abilities, so naturally, none have branches.

Ability NameFunctionStagesType
RegenerationRestore 6% of Yasuke’s maximum Health when killing an enemyThree stagesGlobal Passive
Brutal AssassinationPress R1/RB to perform Yasuke’s own version of an Assassination and remove Health SegmentsOnly one stageSamurai Passive
Link AttackSwap weapons with the Right D-Pad during a combo to transition into a quick attack while switching to your alternate weapon, extending your comboOnly one stageSamurai Passive
War KickPerform a powerful kick on an enemy, dealing 28% ability damage and pushing them away. Half as effective on large enemiesOnly one stageSamurai Active
Bull RushWhile sprinting, regular enemies will be knocked back and some doors will break on impact. Half as effective on large enemiesOnly one stageSamurai Passive

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 2 for the Samurai Tree

Yasuke's Knowledge Rank 2 for the Samurai Tree
Improved Brutal Assassination in Rank 2 (Image via Ubisoft, Deltias Gaming)

The second tier in Yasuke’s Samurai Skill Tree reduces the number of abilities and brings it down to four. From now on, many abilities will be tied to other ones, so keep an eye out, or you can just check out the list below:

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Improved Brutal AssassinationYasuke can now perform his Brutal Assassination against large enemiesOnly one stageSamurai PassiveBrutal Assassination in Rank 1
Heavy ImpactWar Kick now has its full effect on large enemies.
Increase War Kick damage by 40%
Two stagesSamurai PassiveWar Kick in Rank 1
Crash CollisionBull Rush can now deal 30% ability damage on contact.
Increase Bull Rush damage by 40%
Two stagesSamurai PassiveBull Rush in Rank 1
Vigor IIncrease Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1Only one stageSamurai PassiveNo previous branches

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 3 for the Samurai Tree

Yasuke's Knowledge Rank 3 for the Samurai Tree
Assassination Damage I in Rank 3 (Image via Ubisoft, Deltias Gaming)

Rank 3 has the highest number of abilities in Yasuke’s Samurai Skill Tree. It features six skills, with standalone and branch abilities together.

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Stronger, Smarter…+15% less Cooldown with AbilitiesThree stagesGlobal PassiveNo previous branches
Assassination Damage IYasuke removes 2 additional Health Segments with AssassinationsOnly one stageSamurai PassiveImproved Brutal Assassination in Rank 2
Impenetrable DefenseImmediately counter every attack received for 20 seconds and up to 5 hitsOnly one stageSamurai ActiveNo previous branches
Battle CryStagger all enemies within 10 meters of youOnly one stageSamurai ActiveNo previous branches
Big ImpactBull Rush now has its full effect on large enemies.
Increase Bull Rush damage by 60%
Two stagesSamurai PassiveCrash Collision in Rank 2
Vigor IIIncrease Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1Only one stageSamurai PassiveVigor I in Rank 2

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 4 for the Samurai Tree

Yasuke's Knowledge Rank 4 for the Samurai Tree
Unbreachable Guard in Rank 4 (Image via Ubisoft, Deltias Gaming)

The fourth tier takes a step backward when it comes to quantity and holds four abilities. We have provided all of them below so you can gain a better understanding.

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Unbreachable GuardImpenetrable Defense now makes attackers Vulnerable.
Increase Impenetrable Defense damage by 40%
Two stagesSamurai PassiveImpenetrable Defense in Rank 3
Defensive Breach+100% damage on enemy collisions Two stagesSamurai PassiveHeavy Impact in Rank 2
OutnumberedFor each enemy affected by Battle Cry, increase damage by 4% for 10 secondsTwo stagesSamurai PassiveBattle Cry in Rank 3
Samurai StandEnter a frenzy, turning all your attacks into Posture Attacks for 10 secondsOnly one stageSamurai ActiveNo previous branches

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 5 for the Samurai Tree

Yasuke's Knowledge Rank 5 for the Samurai Tree
Healing Shout in Rank 5 (Image via Ubisoft, Deltias Gaming)

The second-highest tier is Rank 5 in Yasuke’s Samurai Skill Tree. It reverts to the structure we saw in the first tier and has five abilities in it. You will find an in-depth look in the following list.

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Strength BuilderIncrease damage per filled Adrenaline Chunk by 1%Three stagesGlobal PassiveNo previous branches
Assassination Damage IIYasuke removes 2 additional Health Segments with AssassinationsOnly one stageSamurai PassiveAssassination Damage I in Rank 3
Healing ShoutBattle Cry now also restores 50% of maximum Health over 10 secondsTwo stagesSamurai PassiveOutnumbered in Rank 4
Samurai FrenzyWhen killing an enemy, Samurai Stand duration is increased by 3 secondsTwo stagesSamurai PassiveSamurai Stand in Rank 4
Vigor III Increase Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1Only one stageSamurai PassiveVigor II in Rank 3

Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 6 for the Samurai Tree

Yasuke's Knowledge Rank 6 for the Samurai Tree
Eternal Samurai in Rank 6 (Image via Ubisoft, Deltias Gaming)

The sixth and final rank in Yasuke’s Samurai Skill Tree has only two abilities, the lowest number in this guide. However, some players might like this quality-over-quantity approach. So, take a look at the list below and decide for yourself.

Ability NameFunctionStagesTypeBranches From
Absolute ProtectionImpenetrable Defense can now work against all Unstoppable Attacks, except Grab AttacksTwo stagesSamurai PassiveUnbreachable Guard in Rank 4
Eternal SamuraiWhile in Samurai Stand, Health is locked at 10% causing all enemy attacks to be non-lethal Two stagesSamurai PassiveSamurai Frenzy in Rank 5

AC Shadows logo [Source: Ubisoft]

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