Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a roleplaying game, and while a bit light on the RPG mechanics compared to some other Assassin’s Creed games, it’s still enough of an RPG to include some genre staples, like leveling up and gear with variable stats. As your protagonists level, so to will the gear you find, meaning old gear will eventually become obsolete… but this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, as a blacksmight can upgrade your gear in various ways, or dismantle it, if you succumb to the inevitability of its obsolescence. To do this, however, you will need a Forge, and this page will cover how to unlock and build a Forge and how upgrading, engraving and dismantling gear works in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Page Breakdown¶
Unlocking and Building the Forge¶
After reaching Tomiko’s Homestead during From Spark to Flame and establishing the Hideout, you’ll get some quests to recruit allies and improve the range of services offered at the Hideout. One of these is the side quest Way of the Blacksmith, which tasks you with rescuing the blacksmight Heiji and bringing him to the Hideout - no sense in building a Forge unless you’ve got someone who can work it, right? Once done, return to the Hideout and build the Forge for 40x Crops, 30x Wood and 10x Minerals, then talk to Heiji to peruse his services.
(1 of 2) After you rescue Heiji, return to the Hideout and build a Forge,
After you rescue Heiji, return to the Hideout and build a Forge, (left), after which Heiji will offer you his services as a blacksmith. (right)
Upgrading¶
As your protagonist levels up, so will most enemies, although enemies in lower-level areas tend to have the courtesy to scale a few levels below you. Sense of progression, and all that. Fortunately, the gear you’ll find also levels with you, so you’ll be well-equipped to meet the dangers that lie ahead. Your old gear, however, will remain static, and a weapon can become awfully obsolete after several levels, which can be a bit of a bummer, especially if you’ve got some sweet, early-game legendary you’ve grown fond of.
Enter the blacksmith, who can upgrade gear for you… for a price. In addition to Mon, upgrading requires the following crafting materials:
Upgrade Costs¶
| Gear Type | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Naoe Weapons | Ironsand |
| Yasuke Melee Weapons | Tamahagane |
| Yasuke Ranged Weapons | Oakwood |
| Naoe Armor | Hemp Cloth |
| Yasuke Armor | Leather |
| Trinkets | Silk |
You can find crafting materials by looting chests, completing [Contracts], dismantling gear or by buying it from merchants. If you’re doing side content and not upgrading everything you find - just your favorite arms and armor - you shouldn’t have to worry about crafting materials too much. Upgrading a weapon a few levels can make a massive difference and isn’t terribly expensive - a worthwhile investment, indeed. All the stats of a weapon or armor will increase when upgraded, save for any special abilities, but keep in mind that by default the Forge can only upgrade gear to Lv20 - you must upgrade the Forge before it can upgrade gear to Lv40 and eventually Lv60.
(1 of 2) The primary function of a blacksmith is to keep your gear upgraded.
The primary function of a blacksmith is to keep your gear upgraded. (left), This normally costs crafting materials and Mon, but a rare chunk of gold can be used instead. Best saved for big upgrades. (right)
Dismantling¶
Not every bit of gear is worth holding onto, and once you’ve decided an item has outlived its usefulness, you have two choices: sell the gear, or dismantle it. In the former case you’ll get some Mon, which is always useful, but dismantling a weapon, piece of armor or trinket will give you some of the materials that it would normally cost to upgrade it (see the table above). Compared to the crafting materials you can get from Contracts, this is a fairly minor source of crafting materials.
You can dismantled unwanted gear at the blacksmith - this will earn you crafting materials based on what was dismantled.
Engraving¶
Once you upgrade the Forge to Lv2 you can start adding engravings to gear, which gives them a proper of your choice… limited by what engravings you’ve found, of course. These will also start dropping more regularly once you actually have a Forge Lv2, so it makes good sense to upgrade your Forge early so you can start getting engravings sooner. Engravings can give your gear all sorts of effects, from simple stat boosts (armor piercing, crit chance, damage, damage reduction, and many more conditional ones like damage with abilities, damage at night, etc.) to unique properties like releasing poison clouds when enemies investigate corpses and making it harder for enemies to detect noises you make. Engravings cost Mon to add to gear, but they are not consumed upon use, can be applied to multiple different types of gear and can be overwritten - a small cost to make your gear more potent.
Upgrade the Forge to Lv2 and you’ll be able to add engraving to gear, adding new stats and abilities to them.
All in all, the blacksmith will make your weapons more killy and your armor more protective. Definitely worth getting the Forge to Lv2 early so engravings start dropping more regularly. When you find gear you like, don’t be shy about returning to the Hideout to upgrade it every two or three levels. Your life will be much easier if you do!
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