Assassin’s Creed Shadows features transmogging to let players keep stats while using their preferred cosmetic look on their weapons and items. Read to learn more about what the game provides players in their progression and how deep its customization is.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Provides A Deep Dive on Progression
Transmogging and Weapon Customization
Assassin’s Creed Shadows (AC Shadows) gives players an in-depth look at the game’s progression, which includes the ability of players to transmog their chosen weapons to better suit their aesthetic and stats. AC Shadows posted on its website on March 1, 2025 a detailed summary of how player progression and customization work in the game. AC Shadows Associate Game Director Julien shared the team’s vision and outlook for the game while detailing its customizability.
The game has a transmog feature where players can modify the stats of the weapons they have, so if a player likes the stats of the weapon but dislikes its look, they can change the look of that weapon while keeping the original stats. This feature can be unlocked by creating a Forge in the Hideout, and once done, this can be accessed directly in the inventory menu.
Julien elaborated, "Overall, the Forge plays a key part in managing your inventory. There you can upgrade or dismantle weapons & gear, but we will share more in an upcoming article on the Hideout." Furthermore, players can mix and match the overall look of their weapon. The post read, "The final result could be the blade of one weapon, with the guard of another, and the handle of your newly acquired one."
New Progression Loop
Previously, AC Shadows’ Creative Director Charles Benoit shared on IGN Fan Fest 2025 the game’s combat mechanics and progression. In the new post, Ubisoft presented a deeper dive on how player progression works and the different mechanics behind it.
Julien talked about how the team handled having two protagonists for the game and said, "Having two separate characters with unique archetypes in our feudal Japan world pushed us to rethink how we wanted to 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
AC Shadows provides a unique mastery tree for the game’s two main protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. Each mastery tree is designed to focus on their main archetypes, with Naoe being a shinobi and assassin and Yasauke being a samurai.
Julien explained, "With the unique Mastery trees, we want to give players the freedom to dedicate themselves into a specific weapon, playstyle, or archetype, and ensure they can deepen their mastery of it." She continued, "The points you invest in a Mastery tree also unlock additional bonuses for that weapon or archetype, further reinforcing your progress."
Additionally, abilities are found in the Mastery trees, and when unlocked, these abilities give players new gameplay twists and deal greater damage to enemies. However, certain abilities and points in the Mastery tree can only be accessible once the player has reached certain levels in their Knowledge Rank. This can be increased by doing "non-violent activities such as finding Lost Pages in temples, taking time to pray in Shrines, doing some Kuji-kiri Meditation for Naoe, or learning new Kata for Yasuke."
Customizing Your Playstyle
Building the ultimate playstyle can be achieved as AC Shadows gives players different features to customize how they want their characters to play in the game. Perks allow players to "modify, enhance, or specialize a piece of equipment." The enhancements it can provide range from stat improvements, influence afflictions, or create different conditions pushing players to play differently.
Despite having initial archetypes, Naoe and Yasuke can still be played differently if the player wishes. The post provided possible builds for each character, showing how much customization the game gives the players. Naoe can have an exotic combat style, dealing more damage on ground attacks and giving her room to engage and disengage enemies quickly. On the other hand, Yasuke can be played with a more stealthy and range build. Some perks and abilities can help improve Yasuke’s stealth prowess and archery for players to play this style.
With how much AC Shadows has shown the past few weeks to the lead up to its release, fans can’t wait to get their hands on the game, which they have anticipated for a long time.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to be released on March 20, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. To stay up to date with the latest information on Assassin’s Creed Shadows, check out our article below!
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Assassin's Creed Shadows - Deep Dive Into Progression
