In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Knowledge Points are the keys to continuing your progress by unlocking new rows in your skill trees — both for Naoe and Yasuke. Every time you level up your Knowledge Rank which is done by collecting Knowledge Points, you’ll open up a fresh set of skills in all six skill trees for each character (that’s 12 trees in total between them).
Once these rows become available, you then need Mastery Points to buy the skills in them. However, later abilities get pricey, some requiring five or more Mastery Points to activate. So, to level up your playstyle and unlock the valuable perks, you need to prioritize Knowledge Points early and consistently. Here’s how to get Knowledge Points in AC Shadows.
How to Increase Your Knowledge Rank in Assassin’s Creed Shadows: The Tasks to Focus On to Gain Knowledge Points
Ubisoft Quebec has introduced a variety of side activities across Japan’s open world of AC Shadows that reward Knowledge Points. You can see them on your map as orange-red hexagonal icons, but the type of activity depends on the symbol inside that hexagon. A few of these are linked to specific characters (Naoe or Yasuke), while others can be done by either.
- Praying at Shrines (Naoe or Yasuke): One of the easiest ways to grab Knowledge Points is by praying at Shrines. These are everywhere on the map, usually near towns or at quiet corners of the wilderness. To complete a Shrine, find and pray at 2 to 4 prayer spots within the Shrine’s radius. Once you hit them all — one Knowledge Point in your pocket. Use Eagle Vision to highlight prayer locations with little white glowing dots if you can’t spot them.
- Collecting Scrolls in Temples (Naoe or Yasuke): Temples are similar to Shrines but with a twist. Instead of prayers, you will be looking for Lost Pages, aka scrolls, hidden throughout the temple grounds. Expect to search rooftops, trees, ponds, and hard-to-reach areas. Some temples will test your parkour or grappling hook skills if you have mastered the moves playing as Naoe.
- Exploring Kofun Tombs (Character Specific): Kofun tombs are dark, maze-like corridors with a loot chest waiting at the end. Completing these earns you a Knowledge Point, but some Kofun are only accessible to either Yasuke or Naoe or both, depending on the design. If you pick the wrong character, you’ll need to swap out.
- Kuji-Kiri (Naoe Exclusive): Only available to Naoe, Kuji-Kiri are meditation quick-time events. You follow button prompts that test your reflexes and memory. Once you pass a Kuji-Kiri challenge, you’ll get two rewards: a fragment of Naoe’s backstory (flashback sequence) and a Knowledge Point. Later Kuji-Kiri challenges even ramp up in complexity, hiding prompts after a few rounds, so stay sharp.
- Hidden Trails (Naoe Exclusive): Hidden Trails are parkour-heavy obstacle tasks that usually take place in mountainous or rural areas. You’ll need to use Naoe’s grappling hook to go through treacherous paths and tricky jumps. You need to reach the other end with a treasure chest that contains rare gear.
- Kata Combat Training (Yasuke Exclusive): Only when playing as Yasuke, you’ll come across Kata activities. It involves quick-time events where Yasuke runs through a series of weapon techniques. Nail all three sequences in a Kata challenge and you’ll earn yourself a Knowledge Point.
- Horseback Archery (Yabusame – Yasuke Exclusive): It includes shooting targets while riding the horse. Yasuke will auto-ride along a fixed path, and you’ll need to fire arrows at bullseyes along the course. Land enough successful shots, and complete the course to get a Knowledge Point.
How to Get More Knowledge Points Fast
From what I have understood after playing some hours in AC Shadows, Shrines, and Temples are best to focus on for steady, higher Knowledge Point farming early on. They’re located around settlements and don’t require much character-swapping hassle.
But as you progress and find it tough to access easy-to-reach Shrines or Temples, you can try more Kuji-Kiri, Hidden Trails, and Kofun activities as well. Don’t forget that Naoe and Yasuke share Knowledge Points and Knowledge Rank, so you don’t need to double-grind them separately. But Mastery Points are separate for them and both characters need their own collection.
Here’s a quick breakdown of points to increase ranks:
- For Knowledge Ranks 2, 3, and 4: you’ll need 10 Knowledge Points each.
- For Knowledge Ranks 5 and 6: the cost increases to 15 points per rank.
So it means to complete dozens of these side activities throughout the game, but don’t sweat it — Ubisoft placed way more of them in Japan than you need to hit Rank 6.
