The brand new Assassin’s Creed Shadows Update is here, and it’s massive. We’ve got a higher level cap, new hideout upgrades, a fresh rarity system for gear, and even the Etsio outfit to unlock. There’s also a brand new weapon and some long-requested features finally making their way into the game. Let’s break it all down.
Change the Time of Day
One of the most requested features has finally arrived: changing the time of day. But it doesn’t work exactly like you might think.
You first need to upgrade the Nando building to level 2. After that, you can press up on the D-pad or L on keyboard to make Nawei or Yasuke meditate. The catch? You can only shift the time to 6:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m..
This means you can’t instantly switch to night for those gameplay advantages. You’ll still need to wait around ten minutes for the evening to get truly dark. It’s a middle ground solution, but still a nice addition.
Clear the Fog of War
Another highly requested change: removing the fog on the map. By upgrading Kakura to level 4, once you’ve unlocked all viewpoints in a province, the entire region automatically reveals itself. No more traveling to every corner just to clear the map.
The Study upgrade to level 4 is also interesting. Scouts can now reveal both viewpoints and safe houses when you send them out. This gives them more purpose, especially if you’ve already cleared targets.
Key Hideout Upgrades to Focus On
The update introduces 20 new hideout upgrades, and they will eat up a ton of resources. Not all of them are worth rushing, so here are the ones worth your attention:
- Terra level 3: Increases extra XP gain from 10% to 20%.
- Kagura final upgrade: Adds 30% more crafting resources and materials from contracts.
- Stable rank 4: Provides 30% more from stockpiles.
These upgrades pay off long-term, especially if you’re farming resources. Of course, pushing towards the new hideout max level of 13 also brings additional benefits, especially for the forge.
Forge Upgrades and Gear Enhancement
The forge now has two new levels, and this is where things get very interesting:
- Forge level 5: Lets you upgrade weapons, armor, and trinkets from level 80 to 100.
- Forge level 6: Unlocks the new enhance system for epic and legendary gear.
Here’s how enhancement works:
- At the blacksmith, go to the new Enhance tab.
- Epic gear costs resources, legendary gear costs resources + gold.
- Enhancement adds new sub-levels to gear, letting you push stats even further.
For example, legendary items can eventually reach enhance level 9, which highlights all stats and gives an additional 10% boost on top of normal upgrades. The downside? The resource requirements are brutal. Fully upgrading one legendary weapon can cost 60 gold, plus a mountain of crafting materials.
Right now, it may not be worth the grind unless you’re late-game. For most players, the priority should just be hitting level 100 with your gear.
Unlock the New Etsio Outfit
The update also adds a new Animus project called Sanctuary, which you can activate for free in the menu. Rewards include data files, gold, knowledge points, and keys, but the highlights are the new Etsio-themed items:
- Rooftop Cat: A hideout companion dressed for the occasion.
- Legendary Kusurigama: Deals AoE damage after a rush assassination.
- Legendary Trinket “Charm of Fenza”: Restores 150% of an adrenaline chunk when you kill an enemy with a tool.
- Renaissance Hood: Removes one health segment after a perfect deflect.
- Renaissance Robes: Activates hidden hands after killing with posture attacks.
Collect all pieces and you’ll have the full Etsio outfit, which looks incredible.
If you own the new Colossi DLC (launching September 16), you’ll also get an extra anomaly mission per cycle, speeding up progress in the Sanctuary project.
New Free Weapon for Everyone
Even if you don’t own the DLC, there’s good news. After completing the main story, you’ll unlock a free mission that gives Nawei access to the bow staff weapon and the full mastery tree. Yasuke also gets some brand new abilities on the same date.
The bow staff adds a whole new moveset to play around with, and it’s available to all players.
Other Notable Changes
- Uncapped frame rates for PC.
- Fixes for the shadow piercer ability.
- Nightmare difficulty enemies should now behave properly.
- A new Helix pack is available in the store.
Final Thoughts
This SSQ update is huge. The level cap increase, gear enhancement system, and Etsio project alone add tons of new content to grind for. On top of that, features like time-of-day changes and fog removal make exploration much smoother.
If you’re just diving in, focus first on the key hideout upgrades and getting your gear to level 100 before worrying about enhancements. And don’t forget to keep up with your anomaly missions to secure the new outfit pieces.
What do you think about the update? Do you like the new forge system or is it too resource-heavy? Let me know your thoughts.
