Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Update Adds Critical Role and Harder Difficulty

Critical Role comes to the world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Assassins Creed Shadows Critical Role

Ubisoft has partnered with Critical Role to bring a new Story Pack to Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This is a part of the special collaborations revealed in the year one roadmap. Title Update 1.0.6. also brings a new Nightmare difficulty that will truly test players’ ninja and samurai skills. Ubisoft has added other quality-of-life improvements and neat details that will further immerse players in the world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

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The new Story Pack mission, A Critical Encounter, features a new ally, Rufino, played by Robbie Daymond who starred in Critical Role’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ one-shot. In this mission, players assist the translator in uncovering a group of assassins targeting high-profile figures. The rewards for this include a Critical Role banner for the hideout and a new trophy/achievement. Ubisoft has also added a Critical Role Weapon pack to the store.

The other major addition is Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ new Nightmare difficulty. New challenges await players, impacting both combat and stealth. Enemy AI is smarter, faster, and more aggressive and players must adjust their tactics. Player options, such as defense and stealth, have been nerfed as well. Finally, resources like adrenaline, rations, and more are harder to find.

In addition to this, new quality-of-life changes have been implemented. This affects VFX, headgear in cutscenes, camera presets, and PC specs. Ubisoft has also targeted numerous bugs and issues with fixes to improve the overall experience. For a full list of everything included in Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Title Update 1.0.6. patch notes, continue reading below.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Title Update 1.0.6 Patch Notes

Assassins-Creed-Shadows-Title-Update-1.0.6
assassin’s creed shadows title update 1.0.6.

Critical Role

  • For our second special collaboration, we partnered with Critical Role to bring this new content to Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This includes a new free quest called “A Critical Encounter”, a new Ally to recruit and a new trophy/achievement to add to your collection.

New Free Story Pack: “A Critical Encounter”

  • Rufino, an old friend of Tomiko and Heiji, calls in a life debt after uncovering a deadly conspiracy. While working as a translator, he discovered evidence that a secretive organization has been hiring assassins to eliminate influential commoners.
  • Now, he turns to Naoe and Yasuke for help in stopping these killers.
  • *Unlock conditions: Complete “Way of the Blacksmith” and unlock Yasuke as a playable character. This questline will start in the Hideout.
  • Reward: New Ally based on Critical Role’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows One-Shot campaign character, Rufino, played by Robbie Daymond. You will also get a banner in the hideout with the Critical Role logo.
  • New Trophy/Achievement: “A Critical Encounter”, received upon completion of the questline.

New Nightmare Difficulty Setting

  • We are adding a new Difficulty Setting (Nightmare) that will introduce additional challenges to your journey. This mode will impact both combat and stealth, requiring more tactical planning and greater attention to your surroundings. Prepare for tougher enemies and a more intense overall experience.

Here is a tease of some changes you can expect from this new difficulty:

  • Player defensive options are less effective, and enemies deal greater damage at all levels.
    • E.g., Parries now require perfect timing to deflect the hit – imperfect parries will only partially block incoming damage.
  • Enemy AI is smarter, faster, and more aggressive in a variety of circumstances, including detection.
    • E.g., Even while crouching, Naoe now generates some sound! And even while in the shadows, she can be seen while moving!
    • E.g., Enemies will no longer become vulnerable from dodges or parries – only abilities can put them into a vulnerable state.
  • Combat resources (like adrenaline, rations, and shinobi items) are harder to come by, making their use even more vital.

Toggle Headgear in Cutscenes

  • We’re excited to introduce a highly requested feature: players can now choose to show headgear, whether it’s a hood, helmet, headband, or more during cutscenes. Now your style can shine through dialogue scenes too!
  • You will find the option available in the in-game settings.
  • Note that headgear will not be displayed in cinematics or in some specific instances where a rule overrides this setting (romance-specific cutscenes).

VFX Toggles

  • Players can now disable/enable specific VFX to further customize their experience. These include the ability to hide or show the loot on dead bodies, the last known position of the player, the special attacks indicators of the enemies, and more.
  • All will be accessible in the Interface option menu.

Open World Alarm

  • We have expanded the Regional Alert System available in Castles to the whole Province. Now by repetitively attacking Civilians or Military units outside Castles, the alarm can be triggered, and a group of Guardians will hunt you in the world.

Horse Camera Presets

  • You can now toggle between 3 different camera presets while riding on your mount (hold the down button on controller/’X’ key on keyboard while riding) allowing for a more cinematic experience to take in the full beauty of Japan.

Ultra Low Specs for PC

  • We are adding a new visual quality level, the Ultra Low mode. This will allow PC players with a limited GPU configuration to experience the game in better framerate conditions.

Addendum

  • Multi-Select in shops and vendors has been re-added to the game with Title Update 1.0.6.

Bug Fixes

General

  • Fixed an issue where the Onryo Mask remained visible despite selecting the option to hide gear.
  • Fixed an issue where players were unable to earn Mastery Points.
  • Fixed an issue where Mastery Points were not returned after resetting the Mastery Tree.
  • Fixed an issue where players could not switch characters anymore even without gameplay context restrictions.
  • Fixed an issue where allies could be trained to veteran rank without upgrading the dojo to level 3.
  • Fixed an issue where Gennojo did not immediately appear in the hideout after recruitment. He was busy washing his hair!
  • Fixed an issue where sometimes a player remains stuck in a Red Zone, without being able to fast travel anywhere, by allowing them to fast travel to the hideout.
  • Fixed an issue where the Oni Drawing remains stuck on screen after completing the “Vision of the Realms” quest.
  • Fixed various localization issues.

Quests

  • Fixed an issue where players could not progress in the “A Chance Encounter” quest when following Fuyu.
  • Fixed an issue where players could not complete the quest after defeating all Kabukimono.
  • Fixed an issue where Lady Oichi’s letter became unavailable after the Fuji-maru cutscene.
  • Fixed an issue where players were unable to talk to Katsuhime in the crop field when she was sitting on the ground. She just wanted some peace and quiet!
  • Fixed an issue where tracking the “Temple Stories” quest only showed a progress bar with no text.
  • Fixed an issue where Genzaburo’s Teppo Master was missing from the Kaya Shrine.
  • Fixed an issue where Yagyu Munetoshi revealed a later plot point too early in the “Nobutsuna’s Students” quest.
  • Fixed an issue where players could not assassinate the Godai of Void because the NPC was missing. He took his name too seriously.
  • Fixed an issue where players could not complete the “Diary of Lady Rokkaku” quest after dodge rolling and dropping Katsuhime.
  • Fixed an issue where players could not complete the “Diary of Lady Rokkaku” quest when there was no immediate option to carry Katsuhime.
  • Fixed an issue where players glitched through an anomaly in the “Heads Will Roll” quest, making Animus activities unavailable.
  • Fixed an issue where players could not progress in the “Lost Honor” quest because the game failed to switch to Naoe.
  • Fixed an issue where players could not progress through the Tournament after dying.

Visuals & Graphics

  • Fixed some minor visual issues.
  • Fixed misplaced visual elements with the Dark Woods Kusarigama.
  • Fixed an issue where all NPC horses appeared as identical.
  • Fixed a clipping issue with Naoe’s Sekiryu outfit.
  • Fixed an issue with the “Bloodshade Katana” being visible out of the sheath when transmogged.
  • Fixed a movement physics issue with the Dead by Daylight Oni’s armor.

Audio

  • Fixed an issue where footstep audio occasionally ceased when opening the map while moving.