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 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

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 Name | Function | Stages | Type |
Regeneration | Restore 6% of Yasuke’s maximum Health when killing an enemy | Three stages | Global Passive |
Brutal Assassination | Press R1/RB to perform Yasuke’s own version of an Assassination and remove Health Segments | Only one stage | Samurai Passive |
Link Attack | Swap weapons with the Right D-Pad during a combo to transition into a quick attack while switching to your alternate weapon, extending your combo | Only one stage | Samurai Passive |
War Kick | Perform a powerful kick on an enemy, dealing 28% ability damage and pushing them away. Half as effective on large enemies | Only one stage | Samurai Active |
Bull Rush | While sprinting, regular enemies will be knocked back and some doors will break on impact. Half as effective on large enemies | Only one stage | Samurai Passive |
Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 2 for the Samurai Tree

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 Name | Function | Stages | Type | Branches From |
Improved Brutal Assassination | Yasuke can now perform his Brutal Assassination against large enemies | Only one stage | Samurai Passive | Brutal Assassination in Rank 1 |
Heavy Impact | War Kick now has its full effect on large enemies. Increase War Kick damage by 40% | Two stages | Samurai Passive | War Kick in Rank 1 |
Crash Collision | Bull Rush can now deal 30% ability damage on contact. Increase Bull Rush damage by 40% | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Bull Rush in Rank 1 |
Vigor I | Increase Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1 | Only one stage | Samurai Passive | No previous branches |
Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 3 for the Samurai Tree

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 Name | Function | Stages | Type | Branches From |
Stronger, Smarter… | +15% less Cooldown with Abilities | Three stages | Global Passive | No previous branches |
Assassination Damage I | Yasuke removes 2 additional Health Segments with Assassinations | Only one stage | Samurai Passive | Improved Brutal Assassination in Rank 2 |
Impenetrable Defense | Immediately counter every attack received for 20 seconds and up to 5 hits | Only one stage | Samurai Active | No previous branches |
Battle Cry | Stagger all enemies within 10 meters of you | Only one stage | Samurai Active | No previous branches |
Big Impact | Bull Rush now has its full effect on large enemies. Increase Bull Rush damage by 60% | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Crash Collision in Rank 2 |
Vigor II | Increase Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1 | Only one stage | Samurai Passive | Vigor I in Rank 2 |
Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 4 for the Samurai Tree

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 Name | Function | Stages | Type | Branches From |
Unbreachable Guard | Impenetrable Defense now makes attackers Vulnerable. Increase Impenetrable Defense damage by 40% | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Impenetrable Defense in Rank 3 |
Defensive Breach | +100% damage on enemy collisions | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Heavy Impact in Rank 2 |
Outnumbered | For each enemy affected by Battle Cry, increase damage by 4% for 10 seconds | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Battle Cry in Rank 3 |
Samurai Stand | Enter a frenzy, turning all your attacks into Posture Attacks for 10 seconds | Only one stage | Samurai Active | No previous branches |
Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 5 for the Samurai Tree

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 Name | Function | Stages | Type | Branches From |
Strength Builder | Increase damage per filled Adrenaline Chunk by 1% | Three stages | Global Passive | No previous branches |
Assassination Damage II | Yasuke removes 2 additional Health Segments with Assassinations | Only one stage | Samurai Passive | Assassination Damage I in Rank 3 |
Healing Shout | Battle Cry now also restores 50% of maximum Health over 10 seconds | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Outnumbered in Rank 4 |
Samurai Frenzy | When killing an enemy, Samurai Stand duration is increased by 3 seconds | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Samurai Stand in Rank 4 |
Vigor III | Increase Yasuke’s Adrenaline Chunks by 1 | Only one stage | Samurai Passive | Vigor II in Rank 3 |
Yasuke’s Knowledge Rank 6 for the Samurai Tree

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 Name | Function | Stages | Type | Branches From |
Absolute Protection | Impenetrable Defense can now work against all Unstoppable Attacks, except Grab Attacks | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Unbreachable Guard in Rank 4 |
Eternal Samurai | While in Samurai Stand, Health is locked at 10% causing all enemy attacks to be non-lethal | Two stages | Samurai Passive | Samurai Frenzy in Rank 5 |
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