Best Mastery Skills to target first for Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Yasuke is one of the two playable protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows alongside Naoe. While you don't get to play as Yasuke until midway through the game, he is still a fully fleshed-out character and you're able to acquire Mastery Skills for him.

Of course, Yasuke's Mastery Skills are a little different than Naoe's, so here are the best skills to target first.

Best Mastery Skills for Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows

Yasuke is quite different from Naoe in Assassin's Creed Shadows. He doesn't have too many assassin-like qualities, but he can wield a variety of different ranged weapons and has access to other powerful skills that utilize his brute strength.

Since his Mastery Skills are so much different from Naoe's, it can be tough to know which are best. Fortunately, we have selected seven Mastery Skills for Yasuke that you should unlock before any others. The skills are in no particular order.

Brutal Assassination (Samurai)

One of the major downsides to Yasuke when you first start playing as him in Shadows is that he can't assassinate opponents. While this doesn't play too big of a factor since Yasuke is so strong, you'll often miss the ability to deal with an enemy quickly. Fortunately, the Brutal Assassination Mastery Skill offers the chance to make Yasuke a little more like Naoe.

The skill is used in the same way as Naoe's assassination attempts. You just press the dedicated button when you're near an enemy. Assassinations aren't guaranteed to kill enemies, but they remove health segments if you can't get a full kill. You can upgrade the Brutal Assassination down the line to remove more health segments and allow Yasuke to assassinate enemies from different angles.

Regeneration (Samurai)

Next up is another Mastery Skill from Yasuke's Samurai tree, Regeneration. This is a passive skill that simply allows Yasuke to regenerate health after killing an enemy. While Yasuke has a much higher tolerance for damage than Naoe, you still need to watch out for enemy attacks and keep an eye on your health bar.

Unlocking the Regeneration skill allows you to save rations as Yasuke with free heals. It's not the flashiest skill in Shadows, but it does give you the chance to be even more lethal with Yasuke as he's obliterating every enemy in sight.

Marksman's Shot (Bow)

One of the benefits of playing as Yasuke in Shadows is that he has access to some new ranged weapons that Naoe can't use. The bow is one of those ranged weapons and it can be a great tool to take out enemies silently or deal massive damage to enemies that aren't within melee striking distance. To improve the bow's effectiveness, you can unlock the Marksman's Shot skill, which rewards you with a second arrow after hitting a headshot with a Posture Shot.

The second arrow can be activated by clicking the fire button again and allows you to deal more damage at no extra cost. You can chain these headshots together to continually fire off arrows at your helpless enemies.

Clear Mind (Bow)

We're staying in the bow skill tree and unlocking the Clear Mind skill next. This is a classic Assassin's Creed skill for the bow and Yasuke can utilize it well in Shadows. The skill allows you to slow down time for 10 seconds while aiming with the bow. This gives you extra time to line up a precise headshot and maximize damage to an enemy.

You can only use this skill sparingly, so you want to utilize it properly when you have the chance. Use Clear Mind when you know you need to hit a headshot or you're dealing with a strong enemy who you have some distance on.

Riposte (Long Katana)

From the get-go with Yasuke, you don't have access to a ton of Mastery Skills in the Long Katana tree. One you want to ensure you unlock, though, is called Riposte. This skill allows you to hold and release the parry keybind after blocking an enemy's attack to immediately perform a counterattack. Riposte can deal some serious free damage onto an enemy and you're able to chain it together to essentially never get hit and continually deal damage without pressing the attack button.

Steady Hand (Teppo)

The Teppo is the other ranged weapon that Yasuke can equip in Shadows alongside the bow. While it takes longer to load and shoot, the teppo is a terrific long-range weapon that can kill enemies with a single headshot and take off a chunk of an enemy's armor (yellow health bar). You have access to a basic teppo skill right off the bat, and you can also pair it with the Steady Hand passive skill.

Steady Hand allows you to remain perfectly still when aiming and zoom in more on an enemy. If you hit an enemy while Steady Hand is active, you deal an increased 10% damage. You don't normally want to stay perfectly still in combat, so this skill is better when you're not near a group of enemies.

Link Attack (Samurai)

Finally, rounding out the list is another Samurai Mastery Skill called Link Attack. Link Attack allows Yasuke to swap between his primary and secondary weapons during an attack combo. The way it works is you initially attack with your currently equipped weapon and then during a combo, you press the weapon swap button to quickly transition to your alternate weapon. With your alternate weapon, you extend the combo and deal more damage to an enemy.

For this to work, you'll need two melee-focused weapons equipped. If you have a ranged weapon equipped, it's more difficult to pull off a quick attack, as you have to aim with it. Equipping a long katana and another melee weapon is the best way to make full use of the Link Attack skill.

And that wraps up our list of the best Mastery Skills to target first with Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows. He's a powerful samurai by default, but these skills make you even tougher to defeat while playing as him.

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