Assassin’s Creed Shadows introduces a robust transmog system, empowering players to preserve powerful weapon stats while fully customizing their visual appearance. Dive into the game’s deep progression mechanics and discover how extensive character and weapon customization shape the player experience.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: A Deep Dive Into Progression
Transmogging and Weapon Customization
Assassin’s Creed Shadows (AC Shadows) offers a comprehensive look at its progression system, highlighting a standout transmog feature that blends aesthetic freedom with strategic stat optimization. On March 1, 2025, the official AC Shadows website unveiled detailed insights into player progression and customization, shared by Associate Game Director Julien. She outlined the team’s vision for a flexible, player-driven experience rooted in personal expression and mastery.
At the heart of this system is transmogging—allowing players to retain the stats of a high-performing weapon while applying the visual style of another. This functionality becomes available once players construct a Forge within their Hideout, unlocking direct access through the inventory menu.
Julien emphasized the Forge’s central role: "Overall, the Forge plays a key part in managing your inventory. There, you can upgrade or dismantle weapons and gear—we’ll share more in an upcoming article focused on the Hideout." Players can further personalize their arsenal by combining components from different weapons. As described in the post, "The final result could be the blade of one weapon, the guard of another, and the handle of your newly acquired one," enabling truly unique designs.
A New Progression Loop
Following earlier insights from Creative Director Charles Benoit at IGN Fan Fest 2025, Ubisoft has expanded on the game’s progression mechanics. The latest update provides a deeper understanding of how dual protagonists shape the gameplay journey.
Julien discussed the design challenge of balancing two distinct characters in feudal Japan: "Having two separate characters with unique archetypes pushed us to rethink how we approach player progression." She added, "Our goal was to stay as close as possible to the philosophy of mastery and martial art."
Mastery, Abilities, and Knowledge Ranks
Each protagonist—Naoe, the shinobi assassin, and Yasuke, the samurai—features a dedicated Mastery tree tailored to their combat identity. These trees allow players to specialize in a specific weapon, archetype, or playstyle, deepening their expertise over time.
Julien explained, "With the unique Mastery trees, we want to give players the freedom to dedicate themselves to a specific path and ensure they can deepen their mastery of it." Investment in these trees unlocks powerful bonuses tied to weapons or archetypes, reinforcing player progression.
Abilities are integrated directly into the Mastery system, offering new tactical options and increased damage output. However, access to advanced nodes depends on the player’s Knowledge Rank—a separate progression layer advanced through non-combat activities. These include discovering Lost Pages in temples, praying at Shrines, performing Kuji-kiri Meditation as Naoe, or mastering new Kata forms as Yasuke.
Customizing Your Playstyle
Assassin’s Creed Shadows empowers players to craft a personalized playstyle through a dynamic blend of perks, abilities, and equipment enhancements. Perks allow for deep customization of gear, modifying stats, enabling status effects, or creating unique combat conditions that encourage creative strategies.
While Naoe and Yasuke begin with distinct archetypes, the game supports hybrid builds for players seeking versatility. The official post showcased potential builds: Naoe can adopt an exotic combat style, excelling in ground-based attacks with enhanced mobility for quick engagements and retreats. Meanwhile, Yasuke can be optimized for stealth and ranged combat, leveraging perks that boost archery precision and stealth efficiency.
With each reveal leading up to launch, anticipation continues to build. Fans eager for a fresh, deeply customizable Assassin’s Creed experience won’t have to wait much longer.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches on March 20, 2025, available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the latest updates and in-depth coverage, check out our dedicated article below!
