How To Get Knowledge Points In Assassin's Creed Shadows
Levelling in Assassin's Creed Shadows is done through two different progression currencies. Mastery Points are used to unlock skills on your preferred trees, the classic RPG skill point system.
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But on top of this, you also need to improve your Knowledge rank, which will unlock the higher mastery tree tiers, which house the strongest skills available in the game. So how can you get Knowledge Points?
Knowledge Ranks
There are six Knowledge ranks in Assassin's Creed Shadows, each requiring you to get 10 Knowledge Points to level up to the next. Each level unlocks its respective line in all Mastery trees, as evidenced by the Japanese symbols on the left side of the trees.
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.Unlocking a Knowledge Rank will let you access all skills in the line, as long as you have already unlocked previous connected skills, and if you've met the story requirements for some of those skills.
How To Get Knowledge Points
There are seven activities that award you with a single Knowledge Point once completed:
- Hidden Trails
- Horse Archery
- Kata
- Kofuns
- Kuji Kiri
- Shrines
- Temples
All these activities are marked with orange icons on your map, letting you know at a glance that they will award you with Knowledge points.
Hidden Trails
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.Hidden Trails are a Naoe-only activity in Assassin's Creed Shadows. They are essentially a parkour challenge, and they require use of the grappling hook, which Yasuke does not have access to.
Open the chest at the end of trail, and you'll precious loot on top of a Knowledge Point.
Horse Archery
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.Yasuke also has his exclusive activities, and Horse Archery is one of them. As the name implies, you are to shoot targets while riding a horse.
You don't actually control the horse here, so you can focus exclusively on aiming, while your horse moves forward by itself. Hit all the targets on the challenge and you'll get a Knowledge Point.
Kata
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.The second and last Yasuke exclusive activity is the Kata. This is essentially a Quick Time Event challenge that requires Yasuke to perform a specific training routine.
Just press the buttons that show up on time, complete all the groups with no mistakes, and you'll get a Knowledge Point. If you mess up in the second or third groups, you can retry that specific group only, you don't need to do the entire Kata again.
Kofuns
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.Kofuns are mini dungeons which loot spread throughout them, with a big chest at the end. They are often labyrinthine in nature, and require some puzzle solving to reach the end.
Despite being available to both characters, which Kofun can only be completed by either Yasuke or Naoe.
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You'll know this immediately by how you can enter the Kofun. If you need to break down a wall with a barrel, it is a Yasuke Kofun. If you need to squeeze through an opening on the rocks, it is a Naoe Kofun.
You can also check through the icon on your map, as the item rewarded will be for the character that is able to complete the Kofun.
Kuji Kiri
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.Kuji Kiri is Naoe's version of Kata. It is a meditation spot where you have to complete a rhythm mini game. A combination of button prompts will appear, always a mixture of DPAD buttons and face buttons (on a controller, we haven't tried it on keyboard+mouse).
At first, the game will show you the inputs and the circle closing to tell you the rhythm. As you progress, both the buttons and rhythm circle will fade, forcing you to memorize the two facets of the mini game.
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Completing the Kuji Kiri will award you with a Knowledge Point. Your first four Kuji Kiris will also serve as flashbacks for Naoe's personal story, but from the fourth forward, you simply have to complete the minigame.
Shrines
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.Shrines can be completed by both protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows. You simply have to walk into them and fight the altars at which you have to pray.
To do so, simply hold L2/LT to Observe, and the altars will be highlighted with a white circle. After playing at all of them, you will receive a Knowledge point.
Temples
Image credit: Ubisoft. Screenshot by Blast.Temples are another activity that can be completed by both Naoe and Yasuke. These are also places of worship, but they nearly always require some sort of combat.
To complete these, you need to find all Lost Pages throughout the temple. Simply Observe with L2/LT and look for all white circles. These pages can often be on top of roofs, so search above you too.
Once you've found all pages, you'll get your Knowledge point.
