How to upgrade weapons and armor in Assassin's Creed Shadows

Assassin's Creed Shadows weapon and armor upgrades are vital to keeping Naoe and Yasuke fighting fit by increasing the level of any gear you're using. Of course, you can keep swapping your gear for higher-level items as you complete quests, loot, and explore in Assassin's Creed Shadows, but upgrades are essential for the best Epic and Legendary-rarity items as you won't want to leave them behind and can improve their stats and perks. That's where the Hideout's Forge comes in, so I've explained exactly how to unlock the Forge and upgrade your weapons and armor in Assassin's Creed Shadows

How to unlock the Forge in Assassin's Creed Shadows

To upgrade your weapons, armor, and trinkets in AC Shadows, you must have a Forge built in your Hideout, but you can't get one without helping Heiji the blacksmith in Sakai in the Way of the Blacksmith side quest first. As our Assassin's Creed Shadows tips say, this is one of the most important early game side quests to complete, so here's what you need to do:

1. Head to northern Sakai and use observe mode (L2/LT) to spot Heiji's blue marker.

2. Kill the bandits menacing Heiji.
3. Speak to Heiji to start a conversation where Naoe convinces him to join the league at the Hideout.
4. Fast travel to the Hideout, follow the "Improve Hideout" prompt, and enter Build Mode.
5. Select the Forge from the list of Main Rooms and place it in your Hideout. It costs 40 Crops, 30 Wood, and 10 Minerals to construct.

Now that you have a Forge, you can find Heiji and speak to him about upgrading your favourite weapons and armor, and dismantling unwanted gear to get upgrade materials in return. Additionally, you can use Heiji's services at any time of day since he doesn't actually sleep – during the day he should be working the Forge outside but at night, he is usually in his living quarters which are behind the curtain in the Forge.

This standard level 1 Forge let you upgrade any weapons, armor pieces, and trinkets up to level 20, which will see you through a significant chunk of how long it takes to beat Assassin's Creed Shadows. However, you can also upgrade the Forge to unlock superior gear upgrades in AC Shadows. Select the Forge building in Improve Hideout mode and press the upgrade icon (upwards-pointing chevrons), and you'll be able to purchase the following improvements, provided you have the resources:

• Forge Level 2:
  • Cost: 350 Crops, 260 Wood, and 90 Minerals
  • Benefits: Increases gear level cap to 40 and unlocks non-Legendary engravings
• Forge Level 3:
  • Cost: 700 Crops, 520 Wood, 170 Minerals, and must already be at Forge Level 2
  • Benefits: Increases gear level cap to 60 and unlocks Legendary engravings

Getting your Forge to Level 3 and those Legendary engravings is what lets you create the best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons. It's not essential to do as soon as possible, but it does help.

Assassin's Creed Shadows armor and weapon upgrades explained

With a Forge built, talk to Heiji and you can begin upgrading your weapons and armor in Assassin's Creed Shadows to increase their level and improve their stats:

1. Select the item you want to upgrade.
2. Press L2/LT and R2/RT to adjust the level you want to upgrade the item to. You can't upgrade an item to a level beyond your current player level.
3. Hold X/A to apply the upgrade. You'll only be able to do this of you have the resources to pay for the upgrade, which is usually an amount of a particular resource and some Mon – the more levels you add to an item in one go, the more expensive the upgrade.

You won't need to upgrade your weapons and gear in AC Shadows every time you level up but after around 3-5 levels, you'll start to notice your overall damage output drop a lot – that indicates it’s time for a trip to Heiji in the Hideout to upgrade your gear once again.

How to get Assassin's Creed Shadows gear upgrade materials

Only upgrading weapons and armor in AC Shadows when you need to also saves you Mon and upgrade materials. Most of these materials are pretty easy to get anyway, but you should be aware of the specific ones you're after, depending on who you're playing and which weapons you're using:

• Hemp Cloth: Used to upgrade Naoe's armor.
• Ironsand: Used to upgrade any of Naoe's weapons.
• Leather: Used to upgrade Yasuke's armor.
• Tamahagane: Used to upgrade Yasuke's Long Katana, Kanabo, and Naginata.
• Oakwood: Used to upgrade Yasuke's Bow and Teppo.
• Silk: Used to upgrade trinkets for Naoe and Yasuke.
  • Get all of the above by completing contracts and quests, looting chests and dead bodies, and by dismantling items of the corresponding type (for example, dismantle Naoe armor to get Hemp Cloth).
• Gold: A rare material used to upgrade Legendary weapons and armor for either character. One piece of Gold increases an item's level all the way up to your current player level without spending other materials.
  • Get it by completing late-game contracts, completing certain quests, and trading with itinerant merchants. The Out to Pasture quest, which you can pick up very early on near Sakai, awards you one Gold upon completion, for example!

With that, you should now know everything there is about upgrading Naoe and Yasuke's weapons and armor. In short, get the Level 1 Forge as soon as you can, then visit Heiji every few levels to bolster your gear with the materials you've gathered.

And while you've been levelling up and earning Assassin's Creed Shadows Mastery Points, make sure you're spending them on the best Assassin's Creed Shadows skills available too.

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