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"Quick XP Gains and Leveling Up in Assassin’s Creed Shadows"

by Audrey May 23,2025

In *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, mastering the art of the Samurai and Shinobi hinges on your ability to earn XP quickly. Here’s your guide to accelerating your level-up journey.

What Awards XP in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Answered

In *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, XP can be earned through a myriad of actions, from eliminating foes and assassinating targets to completing quests and diving into side content. The XP rewards vary significantly depending on the activity, so it's wise to focus on those that offer the best returns on your time. You can easily preview the XP potential of any quest or task by hovering over it in the map or objectives tab. For the fastest XP gains, zero in on castles and the optional assassinations.

How to Get Fast XP from Castles in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Sakamato Castle awards 3,000 XP in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.In *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, castles scattered across Japan serve as prime XP farming spots. Each castle is a fortress of enemies, including basic guards, elites, and Samurai Daisho, whose defeat is crucial to accessing the castle's chest, brimming with high-tier loot. Completing a castle can net you several thousand XP, with additional XP gained from each enemy vanquished, particularly the elites and Daisho, who can offer up to 250 XP each. Moreover, synchronizing at the castle's high points not only adds a few hundred XP but also unlocks these locations as fast travel points.

Conquering these castles can be challenging, but here are some strategies to streamline your XP farming:

  • Choose Your Protagonist Wisely: Naoe’s Eagle’s Vision is invaluable for swiftly locating and tagging the Samurai Daisho, allowing for stealthy and efficient assassinations. Enhance Naoe's assassination damage through mastery and engravings to ensure one-hit kills on Daisho.
  • Combat Approach: At lower to medium levels, Yasuke can clear castles quickly by engaging enemies in open combat. Intentionally trigger the castle's alarm to draw out most of the enemies, making it easier to rack up kills and XP.

With these tactics, skilled players can amass up to 4,000 XP or more in just a few minutes at each castle.

Assassinating Targets Nets Large XP Bonuses in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Naoe perches to assassinate an enemy from above, Image via UbisoftBeyond the main storyline's required assassinations, *Assassin’s Creed Shadows* offers numerous optional assassination targets. These can be uncovered by interacting with specific NPCs and using scouts to track targets. With a map dotted with fast travel points like Kakurega, you can quickly reach a target’s vicinity, ride in on your mount, and execute the assassination with haste.

Each assassination yields a substantial XP bonus, typically between 2,000 and 3,000 XP, in addition to the XP gained from eliminating the target, akin to defeating elite enemies. Completing an entire group of assassination targets and returning to the quest giver will further boost your XP with a reward of around 5,000 XP.