Top Skills to Prioritize for Naoe in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

In *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, mastering Naoe's unique blend of stealth and combat is key to becoming a formidable assassin. Whether you're sneaking through shadows or engaging in direct confrontations, Naoe's versatility allows for various approaches to eliminating targets. To maximize her potential, here are the best skills to prioritize for Naoe in *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, focusing on skills available up to Knowledge Rank 3, which you can achieve by engaging consistently with the game's open-world activities in the early regions.

Best Skills to Get First for Naoe in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Katana

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• Dodge Attack – Katana Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1 Mastery Point): Enhances your defensive capabilities, allowing you to punish aggressive enemies effectively.
• Melee Expert – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Boosts your melee damage, making you more lethal in close combat.
• Counter Attack – Katana Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Increases your ability to counter enemy attacks, turning their aggression against them.
• Eviscerate – Katana Ability (Knowledge Rank 3, 5 Mastery Points): A powerful finishing move that can end fights quickly, ideal for those skilled in dodging and deflecting.

With these skills, you'll become a defensive force capable of punishing aggressive enemies, leveraging your dodging and deflecting skills to deal significant damage and end fights decisively.

Kusarigama

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• Entanglement – Kusarigama Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1 Mastery Point): Perfect for building afflictions and controlling the battlefield by throwing even large enemies around for extra damage.
• Affliction Builder – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Enhances your ability to inflict afflictions, making your attacks more effective.
• Big Catch – Kusarigama Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Further improves your control over enemies, especially in group situations.
• Multi-Target Expert – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 3, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Allows you to deal with multiple enemies efficiently, keeping them at bay and dealing significant damage.
• Cyclone Blast – Kusarigama Ability (Knowledge Rank 3, 7 Mastery Points): A powerful area-of-effect attack that can clear groups or deal with a single target effectively.

These skills make you a formidable force against both groups and individual targets, leveraging the Kusarigama's unique abilities to control and damage enemies effectively.

Tanto

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• Shadow Piercer – Tanto Ability (Knowledge Rank 1, 5 Mastery Points): Amplifies damage, especially against vulnerable enemies, making your assassinations more lethal.
• Gap Seeker – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Enhances your ability to exploit enemy weaknesses, increasing your damage output.
• Backstab – Tanto Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Increases damage when attacking from behind, crucial for stealthy assassinations.
• Backstabber – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Further amplifies damage when targeting enemies from behind.
• Back Breaker – Tanto Passive (Knowledge Rank 3, 3 Mastery Points): Enhances your ability to deal with armored enemies, ensuring your blade remains effective.

These skills focus on maximizing damage with the Tanto, exploiting vulnerabilities, and ensuring you can effectively target enemies' backs for devastating strikes.

Tools

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• Smoke Bomb – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1 Mastery Point): Essential for escaping or setting up a chain of assassinations when spotted.
• Larger Tool Bag I – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Increases the number of tools you can carry, enhancing your versatility.
• Shinobi Bell – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1 Mastery Point): Useful for luring enemies away from your path, creating opportunities for stealth.
• Enduring Haze – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Extends the duration of your smoke bomb, giving you more time to act.
• Kunai Assassination Damage I – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Increases damage dealt with Kunai, ideal for longer-ranged kills.
• Shuriken – Tools Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Allows you to destroy alarm bells or trigger explosives, manipulating the battlefield to your advantage.

These tools enhance your ability to manipulate guards and clear paths to your targets, offering various tactical options for your missions.

Shinobi

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• Ascension Boost – Shinobi Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 2 Mastery Points): Speeds up climbing, essential for navigating the game's vertical environments quickly.
• Vault – Shinobi Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1 Mastery Point): Reduces fall damage, allowing for more daring maneuvers.
• Igan Roll – Shinobi Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 1 Mastery Point): Enhances your ability to move quickly and quietly, crucial for staying undetected.
• Heighten Senses – Shinobi Ability (Knowledge Rank 3, 5 Mastery Points): Slows down time, giving you a larger margin for error in crowded areas.

These skills keep you out of sight and help you reach your goals without alerting enemies, leveraging your stealth capabilities to the fullest.

Assassin

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• Executioner – Global Passive (Knowledge Rank 1, 1/2/3 Mastery Points): Enhances your assassination damage, making your strikes more deadly.
• Improved Ground Assassinate – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Increases the effectiveness of ground assassinations, crucial for taking down targets silently.
• Double Assassinate – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Allows you to take out two targets simultaneously, doubling your efficiency.
• Assassination Damage I – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 2, 3 Mastery Points): Boosts the damage of your assassinations, ensuring quick and lethal strikes.
• Reinforced Blade – Assassin Passive (Knowledge Rank 3, 4 Mastery Points): Enhances your Hidden Blade's effectiveness, allowing you to take down stronger foes.

Best used with a Tanto, these skills enhance your ability to swiftly eliminate targets, making dual assassinations and dealing with tougher enemies easier. However, be cautious as you progress, as some enemies may require further skill upgrades to be effectively assassinated.

By focusing on these skills, you'll transform Naoe into the ultimate assassinating shinobi in *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*. For more tips and strategies, be sure to check out The Escapist.