Shadows is built around a split that most Assassin's Creed games only gesture at: Naoe and Yasuke are not two skins on one moveset. One is a shinobi who avoids fights; the other is a samurai who ends them. The map is designed for both, and four collectible types are locked to one or the other.
The two characters
Where to start
- Izumi Settsu is the opening province and the gentlest introduction to how the map is laid out.
- Iga is Naoe's home ground and rewards the stealth toolkit early.
- Yamashiro — Kyoto's province — is one of the densest regions in the game at 48 collectibles (only Omi, at 49, has more), so it is worth saving until you have both characters and their upgrades.
- Kii is another heavy one at 45, mountainous and slow to cross.
- The remaining provinces — Omi, Harima, Yamato, Wakasa and Tamba — fill in around those.
What to know before you commit
Four types are character-locked
Kuji-kiri and Hidden Trails are Naoe's; Katas and Horse Archery are Yasuke's. A completionist run means swapping deliberately rather than favouring one.
Kuji-kiri are a rhythm game
Each is a sequence you press to a repeating chime, and the prompts fade as it goes until you are working from memory. Each gives 1 Knowledge Point, and there are 22.
Knowledge Points gate abilities
That is what makes the meditation spots worth the detour rather than flavour.
Legendary Chests are the gear
Yamashiro alone holds ten of them, which is another reason to come back to it late rather than early.