All Long Katana skills for Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, and how to unlock them

The Long Katana skills of Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows dictate his aggressive and relentless combat style. Unlike the finesse and accuracy of typical samurai fighters, Yasuke wields a Long Katana, which is appropriate for his monstrous power. Ubisoft has built a complete Katana skill tree from this sword, giving players a set of skills to master, ranging from devastating slashes to counterattacks while on defense.

If you want to unlock and upgrade Yasuke's Long Katana skills, this guide will break down each of his available skills in his Long Katana skill tree, including all the Knowledge Ranks and how to unlock them in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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All Long Katana skills for Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows

The Long Katana skill tree (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Ubisoft)

Knowledge Rank 1

This first tier introduces three core abilities that form the foundation of Yasuke’s katana-based combat style.

Ability Name	Function	Nodes	Type
Sheathed Attack	Hold LB/L1 and press R1/RB or R2/RT to sheath the katana and launch a powerful strike that breaks an enemy’s guard.	1	Long Katana Passive
Power Dash	Dash towards a single enemy, dealing 70% ability damage, then reposition behind them to make them Vulnerable.	1	Long Katana Active
Riposte Release	Release LB/L1 right after blocking an attack to perform a fast counterattack.	1	Long Katana Passive

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Knowledge Rank 2

Rank 2 introduces two abilities, one focusing on overall melee damage and the other enhancing Riposte’s defensive power.

Ability Name	Function	Nodes	Type
Combat Expert	Increases melee weapon damage by 9%	3	Global Passive
Energizing Defense	Riposte restores 5% health and increases Riposte damage by 40%	2	Long Katana Passive

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Knowledge Rank 3

Rank 3 introduces three abilities, including a stronger Sheathed Attack and a three-hit combo move.

Ability Name	Function	Nodes	Type
Adrenaline Builder	Increases Adrenaline gain by 15%	3	Global Passive
Sheathed Posture	Holding R1/RB or R2/RT after a Sheathed Attack turns it into a Posture Attack. Increases Sheathed Attack damage by 20%	2	Long Katana Passive
Payback	Delivers three consecutive powerful strikes, each dealing 49% ability damage while restoring 10% health	1	Long Katana Active

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Knowledge Rank 4

From here, Yasuke’s abilities become more powerful, introducing armor-piercing attacks and devastating counterattacks.

Ability Name	Function	Nodes	Type
Samurai Showdown	Taunt up to three enemies and deal 15% ability damage to each	1	Long Katana Active
Armor Avoidance	Power Dash now has 100% armor piercing and deals 40% more damage	2	Long Katana Passive
Overrun	Increases Payback damage by 1% per 1% missing health and boosts total Payback damage by 40%	2	Long Katana Passive
Defensive Strike	Riposte now guarantees a Critical Hit against Flurry Attacks and deals 60% more damage	2	Long Katana Passive

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Knowledge Rank 5

At Rank 5, Yasuke’s abilities offers armor-breaking attacks and Adrenaline boosts.

Ability Name	Function	Nodes	Type
Melee Weapon Armor Damage	Increases armor damage with melee weapons by 3%.	3	Global Passive
Adrenaline Boost	Sheathed Attack generates 50% of an Adrenaline Chunk on hit	2	Long Katana Passive
Shatter	Increases Samurai Showdown’s armor damage by 50%	2	Long Katana Passive
Unstoppable	Payback can no longer be blocked or parried	2	Long Katana Passive

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Knowledge Rank 6

The last two abilities of Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows lets him taunt more enemies and chain his Power Dash attacks.

Ability Name	Function	Nodes	Type
Call of Honor	Samurai Showdown can now taunt up to four enemies	2	Long Katana Passive
Chained Power Dash	Power Dash can now be chained a second time	2	Long Katana Passive

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How to unlock skills in Assassin's Creed Shadows

Unlocking Long Katana Skills for Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows involves boosting his Knowledge Rank (KR). In contrast to older Assassin's Creed games based on XP, Shadows employs KR levels, and you can improve these by doing:

• Kata activities, Temple, Shrine, Kofun, Kuji-kiri, Hidden Path
• Main quests and side quests

Once you reach the needed KR level, you must use Mastery Points in order to open up skills. These are rewarded with XP and by finishing goals, with a few skills costing more than one point to complete.

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