Recent updates
24/03/2025: After collecting additional gear for Naoe and Yasuke, more of the best AC Shadows armour pieces have been added to each character's section so you can grab them for yourself.
Naoe and Yasuke take equal footing in Assassin's Creed Shadows as dual protagonists that you can swap between whenever you want. The shinobi and the samurai require different armour pieces though, so this makes getting the best armour that much more time-consuming.
Similar to its predecessors, Shadows also has a full-on loot system, including legendary armour. Naturally, these unique gear pieces are the best you can find across feudal Japan. Pair these with the best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons and you'll be well on your way to having a build that can take on the hardest regions of the map.
Best Assassin's Creed Shadows armour
When it comes to the best armour in Assassin's Creed Shadows, they're all legendary quality. These gear pieces have higher stats and unique effects that the standard, random armour pieces don't. In other words, you can all but completely ignore any armour that isn't legendary.
Legendary gear generally scales to whatever level you are when you earn it, too, and you can easily upgrade weapons and armour, meaning you can keep using it as you progress through the game.
All legendary gear pieces come with an engraving slot and you can attach a buff to each gear piece by visiting the blacksmith at your hideout. These can improve everything from your damage to your health and adrenaline regeneration.
Below you'll find the best armour for both Naoe and Yasuke. However, you might notice that some armour is only available from the Exchange, the game's premium store. Keep in mind that you can earn keys to spend in the Exchange by completing Shadow Projects, so you can actually get these items for free.
Best Naoe armour
Naoe has 40 legendary armour pieces (including 10 trinkets shared with Yasuke), but the best ones are:
Armour | Type | Source | Effect | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tools Master | Chest armour | In a legendary chest Katano Castle in central Izumi Settsu | Throw a kunai at the closest enemy after an assassination | Want to get double assassinations without needing the perk? Here you go. It even stacks with the tanto's perk to give you triple takedowns |
Master Assassin Gear | Chest armour | Complete the Out of the Shadows epilogue quest | Assassinations remove extra health segments | Lets you more reliably assassinate high-level enemies and tougher enemy types that would normally survive and ruin your stealth |
Hidden Servant Kosode | Chest Armour | In a legendary chest in Kameyama Castle, Tamba | Increased adrenaline generation in restricted locations | Most key areas like castles and camps are restricted so you'll get frequent use of this perk. Pairs well with the matching headgear |
Peasant Clothes | Chest armour | In a legendary chest in Osaka Castle in Izumi Settsu | Attacks have 3% chance to remove one health segment on a hit | This helps Naoe with both stealth and full-on combat, even if the chance is low |
Peasant Hat | Headgear | In a legendary chest in Tatatsuki Castle in northern Izumi Settsu | +100% of an Adrenaline Chunk upon entering combat | Lets you use abilities more often, including initiating combat |
Hidden Servant Hat | Headgear | In a legendary chest in Takeda Castle, Tamba | Assassinating an enemy generates an adrenaline chunk | This lets Naoe generate adrenaline much more often since she generally wants to avoid combat |
Last Dance of the Onryo Mask | Headgear | In a legendary chest in Yaobikuni Cave, southwest Obama | Using an ability restores some of your health | Naoe has significantly less health and fewer rations than Yasuke, so this armour helps with her more restricted survivability |
Mamushi Snake Hood | Headgear | In a legendary chest in Omizo Castle in the Ado River Valley, Omi | Decreases the cooldown of ally abilities by 33% | Great for stealth and combat, depending on your equipped allies |
Otakemaru's Battlecry | Trinket | In a legendary chest in Koriyama Camp in the Muggy Lands, Izumi Settsu | +1% health per mastery point in the shinobi skill tree | This will likely be where you invest most of your skill points for Naoe, so you'll get a big health boost in return |
Okubi's Laughter | Trinket | In a legendary chest in Hitsugatake Cache, southern Yamato | Increased damage to vulnerable enemies per mastery point spent in the assassin tree | Naoe has several ways of making enemies vulnerable and this effectively improves the already powerful damage boost of the buff |
Oni's Fury | Trinket | In a legendary chest in the Teratsutsuki Den in Kawachi Heights, Izumi Settsu | +15% damage per non-legendary gear equipped | You grab this early on before you'll have full legendary gear equipped, letting you max out the buff |
Best Yasuke armour
Despite having almost double the number of legendary weapons, Yasuke also has a total of 40 legendary armour pieces (including that handful of shared trinkets) like Naoe. His best ones are:
Armour | Type | Source | Effect | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Protector's Armour | Chest armour | In a legendary chest in Nijo Palace, Yamashiro | You can now parry unblockable attacks | Lets you react to unblockable attacks like any other. Pairs well with certain skills and the matching helmet |
Defense Master Clothing | Chest armour | In a legendary chest in Himeji Castle, Harima | Parrying enables your next hit to restore health | Gives you a reliable source of healing outside of rations, especially if you're not using a long katana for its healing skill |
Samurai Daimyo Armour of Legend | Chest armour | In a legendary chest in Kanki Castle, Harima | You deal more damage but your health is limited | Besides looking badass, this massively increases your damage at the cost of survivability. It works well in a glass-cannon build |
Armour of the Undead | Chest armour | Bought from the Exchange | Create a poison cloud on a parry | Parrying is your main form of defence, and this turns it into a weapon as well |
Protector's Helmet | Helmet | In a legendary chest in Hanazono Castle in Yamashiro | Deal 50% damage to the attacker after a parry | Turns your humble parry into a good source of bonus damage |
Elegant Samurai Hat | Helmet | In a legendary chest in Yama Camp in Takatori, Yamato | Reduce damage taken by 5% per enemy in conflict | Charge right into the thick of it and be rewarded for it by taking significantly reduced damage |
Destroyer Samurai Helmet | Helmet | Defeat Kimura Kei in the Fighting for a Cause quest exploring Yasuke's past | The lower your health, the more damage you deal | Perfect for a glass-cannon build with the Samurai Daimyo armour, giving you an incredible damage boost for playing it risky |
Extravagant Kabukimono Headgear | Helmet | In a legendary chest north of Narutaki Falls, south of Yakami, Tamba | Parrying triggers an automatic weakpoint attack | You should be parrying often anyhow so this is easy to take advantage of and gives you a strong counter in return |
Kitsune's Trickery | Amulet | Assassinate The Fool in the Lost Honor quest in Izumi Settsu | +1% health per mastery point in the samurai skill tree | Samurai is Yasuke's main skill tree, so you'll gain lots of extra health from this amulet |
Howl of the Dragon | Amulet | Complete the A Promise quest in Kameyama Castle, Tamba | +2% critical damage per mastery point in the long katana skill tree | Make the tried and true long katana even more deadly |
Dragon Tooth | Amulet | Bought from the Exchange | +100% critical chance on the next hit after a finisher | Guarantees a massive attack on your next target |
These gear pieces are spread across the map in high-level castles and many are rewards for main quests later in the story. In other words, it'll take you some time before you're fully kitted out. In the meantime, wear what you have and upgrade it frequently, otherwise you'll die in just a few hits.
Remember that you can also use the transmog system to customise the appearance of armour. For example, I love the design of the Samurai Daimyo Armour of Legend gear for Yasuke, but I'd rather use different perks so I simply change the appearance of my gear to look like it instead. It's still worth collecting all the armour pieces for Naoe and Yasuke, even if it's just to play dress up.
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