Assassin’s Creed Shadows offers diverse skill trees for players to explore and master. To efficiently level up your Samurai and Shinobi characters, focus on maximizing XP gains. Here's a strategic guide to accelerate your progression.

Table of Contents

XP Sources in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Explained | Fast Castle XP Farming Guide | Maximizing XP Through Assassinations

XP Sources in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Explained

Assassin’s Creed Shadows rewards XP through multiple gameplay elements: defeating enemies, completing missions, and engaging with side content. While all activities contribute to progression, XP yields vary significantly—prioritize high-reward tasks for optimal leveling efficiency.

View XP values for quests and activities by hovering over them in your map or objectives menu. Notably, castle conquests and optional assassination contracts deliver the fastest XP gains.

Fast Castle XP Farming Guide

Japan's castles in Assassin’s Creed Shadows present prime XP opportunities. These fortified locations house standard guards, elite warriors, and key Samurai Daisho targets. Eliminating the required Daisho unlocks high-tier loot chests.

Castles serve as exceptional XP hubs. Base completion rewards thousands of XP, while each enemy kill contributes additional points—elites and Daisho yield approximately 250 XP each. Synchronizing viewpoints within castles also grants several hundred XP while unlocking fast travel options.

Though challenging, castles become efficient XP farms with proper strategy. These tactical approaches will optimize your gains:

Character selection matters for castle assaults. Naoe's Eagle Vision quickly identifies Daisho targets—stealth assassinations outpace direct combat but require optimized assassination damage through mastery upgrades and engravings.

Lower-level players should utilize Yasuke for castle clearing. Trigger alarms intentionally to draw enemies into concentrated melee battles, eliminating multiple foes efficiently.

Executing these methods can yield over 4,000 XP within minutes—making castles the fastest XP sources when mastered.

Maximizing XP Through Assassinations

Assassin’s Creed Shadows features optional assassination contracts beyond main story targets. Discover these through NPC interactions and scout reconnaissance. Strategically placed fast travel points near targets enable rapid deployment—approach via mount for swift executions.

Each successful assassination awards 2,000-3,000 XP as a quest completion bonus, plus additional XP equivalent to elite enemy kills. Completing entire assassination chains and reporting to quest givers yields approximately 5,000 XP per sequence.