How to get pets for your Hideout in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Good news: You can pet the dog in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. When you pet an animal, you’re rewarded with a really cute cinematic — apparently, even strange cats are ready to leap into Naoe’s hands for scritchies. Less advertised is the fact that you can add any animal that you meet to your Hideout where it will live as your pet forever.

This is an incredible leap forward for the Assassin’s Creed franchise. But it wasn’t immediately obvious that adding animals to your hideout was possible, so read on to find out how to get pets in Assassin’s Creed Shadows and how to add them to your Hideout.

How to find pets in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

After you unlock the Hideout during the “From Sparks to Flame” quest, Naoe is unleashed (no pun intended) into the open world. If you meet animals in the open world, you’ll add them to your Codex — and once an animal is in your Codex, you’re able to put it in your Hideout.

There are a few different ways to encounter animals in the open world:

1. Dogs and cats are the most straightforward. When you approach a dog or cat, you will be prompted to pet them. Each time you pet a different type of cat or dog, it gets added to your Codex (e.g. a black Akita, a golden Akita, and a Black Akita puppy are all distinct entries).
2. Wild animals can be added by completing optional Sumi-e objectives. As you explore the world as Naoe, you’ll occasionally be prompted to sneak up on animals and paint them doing their thing. Once you do so, that animal will also be added to the Codex as a new Sumi-e entry.
3. You can also purchase some pets from certain traders, and there are more in the in-game store.
4. Finally, you can get some special pets through quests. The first one you’ll encounter is during the “Thrown to the Dogs” quest, which will result in the beat-up but good-hearted Tsuki-maru being added as a unique pet.

How to add pets to your Hideout in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Okay, now you have a Codex full of cats and dogs — but how can you see them running around your Hideout?

In your Hideout, access the table with the model that lets you improve the Hideout. From here, open the Build menu. On the final tab of the Build menu, represented by an image of a dog’s head, you’ll find your pets.

It’s here that you can add every animal you’ve catalogued to your hideout. You have to place them on an empty square outside, but once placed, they’ll free roam around the place. It’s actually really delightful and, along with the human companions you bring in, makes the hideout feel like a living village.

You should be able to add each kind of animal as many times as you like — with the exception of special, named pets like Tsuki-maru, who you can only place once. 

Once you place even a traditionally wild animal like a wild boar, you should be able to pet them, too. So enjoy turning your hideout into a zoo, shinobi!

To get the most out of your home base in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, here are the best Hideout upgrades, plus explainers on how to unlock the Zashiki and Tea Room.