Allies in Assassin's Creed Shadows are recruitable characters who provide Naoe and Yasuke with unique Active and Passive Abilities. These allies offer distinct combat advantages, such as direct offensive support, enemy distractions, or special utility perks that can significantly impact stealth and combat strategies. By completing a series of League Quests, players can unlock and enhance an ally’s effectiveness, strengthening their overall arsenal.
Each ally in Assassin's Creed Shadows progresses through three ranks. They begin at Novice upon recruitment, granting access to a single Active Ability. Upgrading them to Initiate or Veteran requires Mon and a properly upgraded Dojo within the Hideout. Higher-ranked allies provide more powerful abilities that further diversify tactical approaches. However, certain choices made in Ally Quests can lead to an ally’s permanent loss, preventing access to their abilities for the remainder of the game.
THIS PAGE WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS FOR CERTAIN ALLY QUESTS.
Ally Ranks and Abilities
By completing a series of League Quests for a certain Ally, you can recruit them to the League and gain access to their suite of Ally Abilities. There are a total of three Ranks for Allies in ACS:
- Novice
- Initiate
- Veteran
All Allies in Assassin's Creed Shadows will start at the rank of Novice when they are recruited. This will give you immediate access to their Active Ability. Some Allies like Gennojo and Oni-Yuri have powerful single-shot Abilities that will stun, kill, or disorient tagged enemies. In contrast, others like Yaya or Ibuki have Abilities that summon them to the field to aid either Naoe or Yasuke in combat.
To go from Novice to Initiate, it costs 1250 Mon, whereas going from Initiate to Veteran costs 2850 Mon. To increase an Ally's Rank, you will need to build the Dojo Building within the Hideout, which will also let you use two Allies at once you have upgraded the Dojo to Rank 2.
Unavailable Allies
Some decisions or choices in specific Ally Quests can result in the featured Ally's death. This will stop you from recruiting them as an Ally for the League, locking you out of using their Abilities for the rest of the game. If an Ally does die, they will remain on the League Board but won't be a usable Ally.
The Allies you can miss out on having include:
- Gennojo
- Katsuhime
In Canon Mode (the version of Assassin's Creed Shadows with canonical decisions and no main story choices), Gennojo will always die during his final quest, The Godless Harvest. This means that you will be unable to use Gennojo as an Ally during a Canon Mode playthrough.
All Allies in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Tomiko
Tomiko is a hardened, war-stained survivor with a desire for change. She's committed to do whatever will help the League.
Junjiro
Once a monk's apprentice and an artist in training, this 10-year old is a bundle of relentless positivity.
Katsuhime
Rokkaku Katsuhime is a teppo-toting daimyo's daughter with a fascination for new things. She trained with the shinobi of Koga, but now fights beside Naoe for the good of the league.
Yagoro
This young man fabricated his own hidden blade and trained himself in the ways of the shinobi.
Gennojo
Gennojo is a womanizing thief and saboteur determined to unleash chaos upon the world.
Ibuki
As fierce as they are cultured, Ibuki is a solitary ronin who follows their own personal moral compass.
Yaya
Yaya is a powerful Buddhist monk in both mind and body with a strong desire for peace.
Oni-Yuri
This skilled orphan girl used to live by the seas. She specializes in poisons.
League Ally Quests
Ally |
Icon |
Starting Location |
Prerequisite |
Quests |
Unlocks Ally Ability |
| Gennojo |
 |
Ogura Pond, Yamashiro | Assassinate The Fool (Shinbakufu) |
|
The Godless Harvest |
| Ibuki |
 |
Kashiwari Village, Iga | N/A |
|
Homecoming |
| Katsuhime |
 |
The Shimmering Fields, Omi | Assassinate The Naginata |
|
The Diary of Lady Rokkaku |
| Oni-Yuri |  |
Tsuruga, Wakasa | N/A |
|
Sweet Revenge |
| Yagoro |
 |
Engyoji, Harima | Reach the Fall of the Shinkabufu |
|
A Blade in the Dark |
| Yaya |
 |
Osaka, Izumi Settsu | Assassinate The Wounded |
|
The Stray Dogs |
All Assassin's Creed Shadows Ally Abilities
Gennojo
Mischievous Sabotage (Novice)
Gennojo throws a startling projectile.
Over Here! (Initiate)
Draws the attention of an enemy about to spot you.
Calming Presence (Veteran)
Servants do not inform enemies of crimes they see.
Ibuki
Petals in the Wind (Novice)
Ibuki joins the fight and deals impact damage.
Strike of the Ronin (Initiate)
When joining the fight, Ibuki shatters the armor of nearby enemies.
Blade of Fujin (Veteran)
Ibuki will often use Strike of the Ronin while fighting.
Katsuhime
Teppodo (Novice)
Katsuhime joins the fight and deals Daze damage.
Explosive Entrance (Initiate)
When joining the fight, Katsuhime throws a dazing bomb.
Bullet Ricochet (Veteran)
Bullets hitting a Dazed target ricochet to another target.
Oni-Yuri
Sleep Dart (Novice)
Oni-Yuri puts an enemy to sleep.
Increased Dosage (Initiate)
Releases a toxin cloud that envenoms people.
Poison the Rations (Veteran)
Reinforcements are delayed in the event of an alert.
Yagoro
Assassinate (Novice)
Yagoro kills an enemy with 3 or fewer health chunks.
Chain Assassination (Initiate)
Yagoro kills an extra enemy.
One with Death
Kill enemies with up to 5 health chunks.
Yaya
Rikishi (Novice)
Yaya joins the fight and performs pushback actions.
Oshitaoshi (Initiate)
When joining the fight, Yaya will Knock Down an enemy.
Inner Strength (Veteran)
Yaya uses a powerful kick to send her enemies flying back.
Best Assassin's Creed Shadows Allies
Best Allies for Naoe
Gennojo
His Active Ability works great for distracting enemies while Naoe is in stealth, while Get Over Here! helps make up for any mistakes you may make as you're sneaking around. Having Gennojo as one of your active Allies just makes stealth much easier, making him the perfect partner for Naoe.
Oni-Yuri
Sleep Dart is great as both a panic-button Ability if you're going to be spotted or as a set-up tool, allowing you to neutralize key targets such as snipers or brutes that may make sneaking in more dangerous.
Yagoro
Assassinate simply acts as an on-command stealth kill on any target, allowing you to better play routes through dangerous areas or dispatch pesky targets more easily while remaining in stealth yourself. When Yagoro reaches higher ranks, his lethality just increases, making him even more valuable both in and out of stealth.
Best Allies for Yasuke
Ibuki
Having Ibuki out on the field will draw aggro away from Yasuke while also constantly opening up opponents to hit Vulnerable targets. Ibuki also makes dealing with Armor easier, allowing Yasuke to wield the Long Katana or Naginata more effectively.
Katsuhime
Several of Yasuke's Active Abilities generate Daze, synergizing perfectly with Katsuhime's abilities and allowing her to deal more damage by ricocheting her bullets more often. Additionally, more consistent Daze allows Yasuke to take on larger groups without as much worry.
Yaya
Yaya's Active Ability will push opponents away, allowing Yasuke to focus on a smaller number of targets without the fear of being attacked by a blindspot.
