Assassin's Creed Shadows walkthrough: How to complete The Perfect Gift main quest

A still from Assassin — Sometimes learning proper etiquette can get you into places where you shouldn't be in Assassin's Creed Shadows (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Ubisoft)

The Perfect Gift is a main quest in Assassin's Creed Shadows. Early in the story, Naoe must learn proper tea etiquette from a tea vendor to infiltrate a ceremony. As a young Shinobi, she wasn't exposed to this social gathering and had to learn the ropes quickly to achieve her goal. This main quest is on the shorter side and doesn't involve much combat.

We cover everything you must know about this main quest, such as which merchant to speak to and which choices to make.

Disclaimer: This article may feature major story spoilers for Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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How to start The Perfect Gift main quest in Assassin's Creed Shadows

The mission will provide you with a few options on whom to approach first (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Ubisoft)

The Perfect Gift is a prerequisite to hunting down the Golden Teppo. Naoe will use her skills as an assassin to get into places she shouldn't be, and this is one of two missions to reach her target. Your first objective is to find and talk to a tea merchant. You have three options in separate locations:

Western Settsu.
Northern Sakai
Outdoor stalls

Your best bet is to head to Northern Sakai, where you will meet a vendor by the stalls. Approach him and start a conversation until he introduces you to Sen No Rikyu, who is famously known as the master of the tea ceremony. Initially, Rikyu is not interested in teaching Naoe proper tea etiquette but has a change of heart. He will lead you to his home, where he can teach you everything you need to know.

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Follow him to his home and start your tea etiquette training. This training montage is brief, and everything Sen No Rikyu will teach you must be applied in later missions.

Learning basic tea etiquette from the master himself

Sen No Rikyu is the best teacher you could ask for in this regard (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Ubisoft)

Proper tea etiquette in Assassin's Creed Shadows doesn't require much work, and some of your choices in this section will not affect future events. You will be presented with a few options related to the said activity and Sen No Rikyu will comment and give his feedback.

Bowing is meant to be a display of respect and humility (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Ubisoft)

Sen No Rikyu starts your training by asking how you would bow to him. You have three options for this part:

Bow head
Bow halfway
Bow deeply

If you bow too deeply, Rikyu will comment that it will be too much and the guests will begin to treat their hosts as servants. The right answer here is to bow halfway, which shows equal respect for your guests and yourself.

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After teaching you the proper way of bowing, Rikyu will teach you how to turn your tea bowl. This bit doesn't require any player input, but it is worth noting that the correct way of doing it is to face your bowl to your guests as a sign of respect. Lastly, Rikyu will tell you that it is customary to offer a gift after each ceremony.

There are a few things you should consider before picking the perfect gift (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Ubisoft)

Sen No Rikyu will present you with three items to end the main quest:

Gold-trimmed teapot
Tea-leaf jar
Bamboo ladle

While there is no incorrect option in this part, you should be aware of a few things in future missions. As mentioned, some of your choices will not affect future outcomes, but this part will have a few unique consequences. If you prefer to stay in line with the canon, you can gift the bamboo ladle to Imai Sokyu during the Tea Ceremony main quest.

If you go for either the tea-leaf jar or the gold-trimmed teapot, the other guests will make a few side comments at a later main quest. Regardless, these items will still be accepted. After you pick the perfect gift, you will receive 1000 XP points for your efforts, Sen No Rikyu will wish you luck, and this wraps up the main quest.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.

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