Summary
- Long Katanas offer unique strengths and abilities for Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with Epic gear sometimes outshining Legendaries in raw stats.
- The Whisper of Muramasa and Claw of the Tides are powerful Long Katanas with distinct engravings tailored to different playstyles.
- The Lethal Lotus Petal and Crimson's Edge are deadly options for Poison- and Bleed-focused Yasuke builds in AC Shadows.
In Assassin's Creed Shadows, players have access to several strong melee choices for both Yasuke and Naoe, each coming with their strengths, unique skills and abilities, dedicated progression trees, and engravings. Among Yasuke's melee weapons, the Long Katana stands as the most well-rounded weapon, embodying the traditional samurai spirit. Efficient in both attacking and defending, the rapid strikes of the Katana can disable and execute single targets, while devastating sheathed attacks catch enemies off guard.
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Players can get several powerful Legendary Long Katanas as Yasuke, unlocking strong engravings to be applied to Epic Katanas as well. Below, we rank the best Long Katana weapons in AC Shadows, highlighting their unique strengths and strongest choices for raw stats in its category.
Only Long Katana weapons obtainable in-game are listed, excluding special Katana variants with powerful perks purchased from the Helix Store or unlocked via Animus Shadows Projects Battle Pass. Additionally, all Yasuke Katanas listed are fully upgraded for the max level 60 with top stats.
6 Epic Long Katana with Highlighted Base Stats
Engraving: Random Melee Engraving
- Weapon DPS: 4,626
- Posture DPS: 19,272
- Ability Damage: 24,889
In Assassin's Creed Shadows, high-level Epic gear isn't inferior to Legendary weapons and can sometimes be a better option. Some rare Epic gear comes with increased base stats, such as Weapon and Posture DPS or Ability Damage. Players should examine their gear before selling or dismantling it, as Epic weapons with highlighted base stats can offer great strengths in raw numbers for players who are willing to push certain values to the limit. Additionally, some Epic Long Katanas may offer rare Afflictions like Daze.
To provide some examples for illustration, the Epic Sturdy Katana of Efficiency for Yasuke has the highest Posture DPS (19,272) in the game, outshining any Legendary Katana (18,282) that players can get. Another Epic Katana, the Simple Katana of Venom, comes with enhanced Ability Damage of 24,889, again outperforming Legendary weapons (24,376), even by a small margin. Nonetheless, Epic Long Katanas with enhanced base stats can serve players well, especially for specific Yasuke builds that can benefit greatly without Legendary engravings applied.
5 Turquoise Zephyr
Engraving: Successful Parries Push Nearby Enemies Back
- Weapon DPS: 4,363
- Posture DPS: 15,789
- Ability Damage: 21,052
- Adrenaline Gain: +42%
The Turquoise Zephyr is a beautiful and unique Legendary Long Katana for Yasuke, which can be endlessly fun in the right hands. Its engraving grants the ability to push all nearby enemies back on parry, staggering them and clearing space around Yasuke, which is useful in many overwhelming combat scenarios. Additionally, the Turquoise Zephyr comes with one of the highest Adrenaline Gain values among its class, allowing players to build Adrenaline and use powerful abilities more often.
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Players can obtain the Turquoise Zephyr in AC Shadows relatively early, as this Long Katana is found in Yamashiro, in a hidden Legendary chest under a bridge in the Eagle's Nest area.
4 Claw of the Tides
Engraving: Instantly Charge Posture Attacks on Hit with a Posture Attack
- Weapon DPS: 3,740
- Posture DPS: 18,282
- Ability Damage: 24,376
- Adrenaline Gain: +36%
The Claw of the Tides is the best choice for a raw damage Long Katana in AC Shadows, allowing players to chain charged Posture attacks in long combos, eliminating, breaking defenses, and interrupting even the strongest foes. Its engraving instantly charges Posture attacks after any successful hit with a first Posture attack, creating a flurry of devastating strikes in combat.
Many perks in supporting engravings in Assassin's Creed Shadows can further boost the potential of Posture attacks, allowing for truly strong combinations of engravings on this weapon. In addition to its strong engraving, the Claw of the Tides also comes with a very high Ability Damage value, enhancing every Long Katana ability in Yasuke's arsenal.
Players can find the Claw of the Tides in Wakasa, inside the Legendary chest hidden in the Uchinakao Burrows area, east of the Tsuruga settlement of Sotomo Gate region.
3 Whisper of Muramasa
Engraving: Riposte Makes Enemies Vulnerable
- Weapon DPS: 4,363
- Posture DPS: 18,282
- Ability Damage: 21,052
- Adrenaline Gain: +36%
The Whisper of Muramasa is another strong contender for the most powerful Long Katana for sheer damage in AC Shadows. With highly decent Weapon and Posture DPS stats, the real highlight is its engraving for players who have mastered the Riposte ability for Yasuke in the Long Katana progression tree. To execute Riposte (not a parry), players need to release the block button right after a successful block. This attack has increased damage and critical chance, and restores 5% of Yasuke's health. With the Whisper of Muramasa, each Riposte will also make enemies vulnerable, allowing players to quickly finish them off with a charged Posture attack.
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The Legendary Long Katana Whisper of Muramasa takes some effort to obtain in Assassin's Creed Shadows, serving as a bonus reward for fully completing the Kurai Eikyou quest board, by eliminating all five agent targets across Japan.
2 Lethal Lotus Petal
Engraving: 50% Chance to Kill Enemies Below Two Health Segments with Poison
- Weapon DPS: 4,570
- Posture DPS: 14,958
- Ability Damage: 19,944
- Poison Buildup: 18%
The Long Katanas are the best choice for Yasuke builds relying on Afflictions like Poison and Bleed, which are the strongest in AC Shadows, as enemies in the game very rarely have resistances to status effects. That's why the Lethal Lotus Petal is easily one of the deadliest melee weapons for Yasuke, with its strong Poison buildup and an engraving that grants a 50% chance to kill an enemy below two health segments with Poison.
In practice, with some additional investment in Poison through other equipment and passive skills, players can easily achieve incredible Poison damage values, adding the Poison status to every enemy in three hits on average. All that's left is to wait for the enemy to die either immediately after that or very shortly after being Poisoned. Not the way of a samurai, for sure, but it's too effective to pass up. The Lethal Lotus Petal in Assassin's Creed Shadows can be looted from the chest in Miyanoue Fort in Harima after players defeat all the Samurai Daisho in the castle.
1 Crimson's Edge
Engraving: Bleed Kills Enemies Below Two Health Segments
- Weapon DPS: 4,155
- Posture DPS: 15,789
- Ability Damage: 21,052
- Bleed Buildup: 18%
The Crimson's Edge is essentially a stronger version of the Lethal Lotus Petal and hands down the best Long Katana for Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows. Trading Poison for Bleed means players find it harder to boost damage values through other gear, as Bleed status effects are rarer. However, the Crimson's Edge engraving doesn't have a 50% chance to kill an enemy below two health segments with Bleed; it guarantees it.
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With the Crimson's Edge in hand and additional investment in Affliction passives, at level 60 on max difficulty (Expert), players can expect to finish most weaker enemies (with two to three health segments total) in a couple of strikes for Bleed to build up. Tougher high-level enemies usually require further attention, but even then, the Crimson's Edge's unstoppable nature makes each combat encounter feel like a breeze. Coupled with the Crimson's Edge's signature jagged appearance, it's a deadly thing of beauty.
The Crimson's Edge's powerful nature is also reflected in how the weapon is acquired in AC Shadows. This Long Katana is a reward for completing the Nobutsuna's Students quest board, requiring players to face some of the strongest optional bosses in the game, relying on specific weapons during each duel. Fortunately, the effort is well worth it, as the Crimson's Edge is the best Katana for Yasuke.
Assassin's Creed Shadows
- Released
- March 20, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Quebec
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
