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Assassin's Creed Shadows (AC Shadows)

Best Tanto

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Best Tantos Tier List

Scarlet Fate and Artist's Tear are the best tantos in Assassin's Creed Shadows (AC Shadows). Read on for a tier list of all legendary tantos in-game including explanations for each of their ranking placements.

Best Tanto Tier List

Rank Katana Ranking Explanation
S Tier Scarlet FateScarlet Fate One of the best legendary Tantos since it gets inherent Bleed buildup (which is easy to trigger) and it has a very useful legendary engraving that greatly increases your Tanto's capacity to interrupt and stagger enemies in combat.

Similar to the Artist's Tear, this Tanto is very versatile since its default legendary engraving synergizes well with a ton of other Tanto engravings in the game.
ArtistArtist's Tear Arguably one of the best legendary Tantos since it has the highest Weapon DPS stat and one of the highest Ability Damage stats. Pair it with Scarlet Fate's legendary engraving and you'll have one of the best light attack spam setups in the game.
A Tier WarriorWarrior's Garden Since Shadow Piercer is such a good Tanto skill, this legendary makes it to A-tier by virtue of its useful engraving; it also doesn't hurt that it gets decent Weapon and Posture DPS as well as bonus Vulnerable Damage.

Its stat spread makes it an ideal recipient of the Scarlet Fate or Artist's Tear engravings that buff Tanto attacks.
YukimitsuYukimitsu's Revenge This will be your go-to for Poison buildup. It only loses out to Scarlet Fate since Bleed is so much better than Poison.

Alternatively, you can use its legendary engraving in Scarlet Fate for that extra Vulnerable trigger.
Call of the VoidCall of the Void Very useful for stealthing castles since you'll be tagging everyone before killing them anyway. Plus, it has the highest ability damage scaling out of all legendary Tantos, making it ideal for players who like spamming Tanto abilities in combat.

Loses out against the top 2 since those are easier to use in both stealth and open combat.
B Tier MasamuneMasamune's Thorn Its engraving that removes +2 Health Segments on Double Assassinate isn't really useful since you can never guarantee getting a double kill unlike other assassination methods. Even with its very high ability damage stat, this Tanto loses out to others because of its lackluster engraving.
C Tier Igan SunsetIgan Sunset Its engraving isn't really good if you don't use tools for more damage in open combat. The slowed down time gives you a lot of openings, but the fact that you're putting space between you and your enemy on Escape Strike just means you're using that time to either close the distance again or spam tool damage.

This is also 1 of 2 legendary Tantos with the lowest stat scalings.
ShinobiShinobi's Fury This Tanto has one of the lowest stat scalings for legendary Tantos alongside Igan Sunset. Despite having a slightly higher Vulnerable Damage scaling than other Tantos, you're better off using its legendary engraving in a Tanto with better stats.

Best Tantos

Use Scarlet Fate for Bleed Buildup

Scarlet Fate Stats

Scarlet Fate is one of the best Tantos you can equip since it has inherent Bleed buildup. With how quick these weapons attack, Bleed triggers are easy to get, allowing you to chunk enemy HP with ease. Pair it with the engraving of Yukimitsu's Revenge and you get a Tanto that can reliably trigger Vulnerable as well.

Use Artist's Tear for Light Attack Spam

The Artist's Tear is your go-to if you plan to spam light attacks since it has the highest Weapon DPS out of all legendary Tantos in the game. Give it increased attack impacts with Scarlet Fate's engraving and you can easily shred enemies in close range.

How to Get Artist's Tear

Assassin's Creed Shadows Related Guides

AC Shadows Wiki

Assassin's Creed Shadows Wiki

AC Shadows Recommended Guides

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