It’s been three months since the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and most of you have probably already explored historical Japan extensively and are now hungry for new content. One month after the last update, which mainly improved the parkour mechanics, the Title Update 1.0.6 for AC Shadows is now in the starting blocks.
This time, Ubisoft has put together a somewhat larger bundle for you, as there are not only minor comfort improvements, but also a new story package including a fresh companion and a brand new, crisp difficulty level. Patch 1.0.6 also brings a welcome change for fans of headgear. We’ll tell you what’s in it all.
When will the update be released?
Title Update 1.0.6 for Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available for download from today, June 25, 2025, 16:00 German time.
How big is Title Update 1.0.6?
The download size depends on your platform; the PC and Xbox versions are the largest.
The nightmare begins
The most important new feature of the update is probably the difficulty level Nightmare
which should make Shadows a real challenge. In concrete terms, this means that enemies cause significantly more damage. Blocking, dodging and parrying is now noticeably more difficult; the reaction time window has been shortened. Adrenaline build-up and ability cooldowns now take significantly longer.
Successful sneaking is also more difficult, as assassinations cause significantly less damage. In addition, crouching running and crawling is now louder, so enemies will notice you relatively quickly even in the dark. The enemy AI has also been improved; enemy guards will search for you in groups and adopt a defensive stance more quickly.
The new difficulty level should appeal to all players who found Shadows too easy on release. Our tester Dimi complained at the time that it was far too easy to shake off enemies by simply climbing onto a roof. It remains to be seen whether the changes made are the right ones or just unnecessarily prolong battles.
A new companion
The update also brings a breath of fresh air to the game in terms of story. Because with the Portuguese Rufino, there is a new companion for your Assassin League. The bearded Portuguese is armed with a pistol and has also dedicated himself to hunting down the Templars in Japan. His brand new questline can be started after you have recruited the blacksmith Heiji for your lair and unlocked Yasuke.
The companion is the result of a collaboration with the D&D collective Critical Role . Rufino was originally conceived by American voice actor Robbie Daymond for an Assassin’s Creed one-shot.
The hat stays on
One feature that many fans have been longing for since release is hats, hoods and helmets. With update 1.0.6, you can now set headgear to remain visible during cutscenes instead of magically disappearing. Only some Romance-specific cutscenes are exempt from this, according to Ubisoft.
The corresponding option can be found in the settings menu under the tab Gameplay
.
What else is new with update 1.0.6?
Alarm in the game world: Instead of only in castles and secured enemy building complexes, a regional alarm can now also be triggered in the open game world. This happens when you repeatedly attack civilians or guards. The powerful guards will then close in on you
.
New camera settings on horseback: While riding, you can now switch between three different camera settings. To do this, press the down button on the controller or the X button on the PC.
Performance mode for low-end PCs: A new quality level called Ultra Low Specs
is intended to offer Shadows players with older and low-performance graphics cards better performance. According to Ubisoft, the game already runs on an Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 with 4GB VRAM. However, we dare to doubt whether the historical Japan can unfold its full visual splendor on it.
You can find all other changes in detail in the full patch notes on the second page.
Highlights of the patchSpecial cooperations
Critical Role
For our second special collaboration, we’ve teamed up with Critical Role to develop this new content for Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This includes a new free quest called “A Critical Encounter”, a new ally you can recruit and a new trophy/achievement for your collection.
New free story pack: “A Critical Encounter”
Rufino, an old friend of Tomiko and Heiji, claims a life debt after uncovering a deadly conspiracy. While working as a translator, he has found evidence that a mysterious organization is hiring assassins to eliminate influential citizens.
Now he turns to Naoe and Yasuke for help in combating these assassins.
*Unlock conditions: Complete “The Way of the Blacksmith” and unlock Yasuke as a playable character. This quest line begins in the Hideout.
- Reward: New ally based on the character Rufino from the one-shot campaign “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” by Critical Role, played by Robbie Daymond. You will also receive a banner with the Critical Role logo for your lair.
- New trophy/achievement: ” A Critical Encounter”, which you will receive after completing the questline.
As part of this collaboration, we are also releasing a Critical Role weapon pack inspired by the Critical Role universe, available for purchase in the game store! This pack contains two weapons for both characters: a tanto and a katana for Naoe, and a kanabo and a teppo for Yasuke.
New difficulty level “Nightmare”
We are adding a new difficulty level (Nightmare) that will add additional challenges to your journey. This mode affects both combat and stealth, requiring more tactical planning and greater awareness of your surroundings. Get ready for tougher enemies and a more intense experience overall.
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the changes you can expect in this new difficulty level:
- Players’ defense options are less effective and enemies deal more damage at all levels.
- For example, parries now require perfect timing to deflect the blow – incomplete parries only partially block the damage.
- Enemy AI is smarter, faster and more aggressive in a variety of situations, including detection.
- For example, Naoe now makes noises even when crouched! And even in the shadows, you can see her when she moves!
- For example, enemies no longer become vulnerable through evasive maneuvers or parries – only abilities can put them in a vulnerable state.
- Battle resources (such as adrenaline, rations and shinobi items) are harder to come by, making their use even more important.
This is just a glimpse of how the new difficulty level will affect the game. Feel free to share your most intense moments with us by posting your clips on Discord or X with the hashtag #AssassinsCreedShadows.
Hide and show headgear in cutscenes
We’re excited to introduce a highly requested feature: Players can now choose to display headgear such as hoods, helmets, headbands and more in cutscenes. Now your style can shine in dialog scenes too!
The option can be found in the in-game settings.
- Please note that headgear will not be displayed in cinematics and in certain cases where a rule overrides this setting (romantic cutscenes).
VFX settings
Players can now disable/enable certain VFX to further customize their gameplay experience. This includes the ability to show or hide loot on corpses, the player’s last known position, enemies’ special attack indicators, and more.
All options are available in the “Interface” menu.
Open World Alert
We have extended the regional alert system available in castles to the entire province. If you repeatedly attack civilians or military units outside of castles, the alarm can be triggered and a group of guards will hunt you down in the world.
Preferences for the horse camera
You can now switch between three different camera settings while riding your mount (hold down the down button on the controller/“X” button on the keyboard while riding) to enjoy a more cinematic experience and experience all the beauty of Japan.
Ultra-low system requirements for PC
We’re adding a new graphics quality: ultra-low mode. This allows PC gamers with a limited GPU configuration to enjoy the game with a better frame rate.
List of bug fixes
General
- Fixed an issue that caused the Onryo mask to remain visible despite selecting the option to hide equipment.
- Fixed an issue where players could not earn Mastery Points.
- Fixed an issue where Mastery Points were not returned after resetting the Mastery Tree.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from switching between characters even without in-game restrictions.
- Fixed an issue where allies could be trained to veteran rank without the dojo being upgraded to level 3.
- Fixed an issue where Gennojo would not immediately appear in the hideout after being recruited He was busy washing his hair!
- Fixed an issue where a player would sometimes get stuck in a red zone and be unable to fast travel by allowing them to fast travel to the hideout.
- Fixed an issue where the Oni drawing would get stuck on the screen after completing the Vision of the Realms quest.
- Fixed various localization issues.
Quests
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to progress in the quest “A Random Encounter” 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 was no longer available after the “Fuji-maru” cutscene.
- Fixed an issue where players could not talk to Katsuhime on the field when she was sitting on the ground.
- Fixed an issue where only a progress bar with no text was displayed when pursuing the quest “Temple Stories”
- Fixed an issue where Genzaburo’s Teppo Master was missing from Kaya Shrine.
- Fixed an issue that caused Yagyu Munetoshi to reveal a later storyline too early in the quest “Nobutsuna’s Disciple”.
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to assassinate the Godai of Void because the NPC was missing He took his name too literally
- Fixed an issue where players could not complete the quest “Diary of Lady Rokkaku” after dodging Katsuhime and dropping her.
- Fixed an issue where players could not complete the quest “Diary of Lady Rokkaku” if there was no immediate option to carry Katsuhime.
- Fixed an issue where players would trigger a glitch due to an anomaly in the quest “Heads Will Roll”, causing Animus activities to become unavailable.
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to progress in the quest “Lost Honor” due to the game not switching to Naoe.
- Fixed an issue where players could not progress in the tournament after death.
Graphics and visuals
- Some minor visual issues have been fixed.
- Fixed misplaced visual elements on the Kusarigama from the Dark Forest.
- Fixed an issue that caused all NPC horses to look identical.
- Fixed a clipping issue with Naoe’s Sekiryu outfit.
- Fixed an issue where the “Blood Shadow Katana” was visible from the scabbard after transmogrification.
- Fixed an issue with the Dead by Daylight Oni’s armor movement physics.
