In my opinion, the “daze” status effect in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the most intriguing among the three types of afflictions. Unlike the others, it doesn’t directly inflict damage on enemies. Instead, it causes them to miss their attacks and makes them unable to block incoming strikes. Because of this unique trait, a daze build works best when paired with posture attack enhancements that can unleash tremendous damage on disoriented foes. Additionally, Naoe possesses a special passive ability that increases daze buildup with her Kusarigama, making her one of the top choices for daze buildup strategies.
This daze build is one of the most adaptable setups for Naoe in AC Shadows and showcases the unique aspects of the Kusarigama. Daze serves as an excellent all-around affliction, and there’s a legendary weapon available early in the game—the Winds of War Kusarigama—that yields substantial daze buildup. This build emphasizes daze effects and powerful posture attacks, following a straightforward strategy: daze your enemies, then eliminate them.
Best Daze Weapon for Naoe in AC Shadows
The Winds of War Legendary Kusarigama is Perfect for a Daze Build
The Winds of War legendary Kusarigama stands out as the top weapon choice for a daze build with Naoe, featuring an inherent 18% daze buildup alongside impressive damage per second (DPS). Moreover, its engraving effect ensures that posture attacks against dazed enemies automatically break through their armor. This capability proves especially beneficial when facing larger armored foes and Ronin. Additionally, it can be augmented with an engraving from the Featherstorm Kusarigama, which grants instant posture charge when hitting multiple opponents. This is just one of three recommended engraving options for the Winds of War.
Engravings that relate to afflictions will automatically adjust to the specific affliction (like poison, daze, or bleed) when engraved on a weapon.
The second engraving recommendation activates the daze affliction upon entangling enemies, which is found on the Bloodletter Kusarigama at Kashiwara Fort. This effect is advantageous for dealing daze specifically to bigger enemies, such as Samurai in castles. However, in my view, the best engraving for a daze strategy is located on the Stone Heart Kusarigama in the Veiled Tumulus Kofun. This engraving spreads daze through combo enders, offering an easy way to apply daze buildup across multiple foes.
Best Armor & Trinket for a Naoe Daze Build
The Noh Masterstroke Costume is Essential for Affliction Builds
While there are no armors specifically designed for daze effects in AC Shadows, the Noh Masterstroke Set excels across all three affliction builds. The Noh Masterstroke Costume offers bleed buildup for your tools, adding another useful benefit. Furthermore, its engraving effect spreads affliction buildup to nearby enemies when you defeat an afflicted target. The Noh Masterstroke Mask provides a +20% adrenaline boost on affliction buildup, making this set the most effective option for all three type of afflictions.
As an additional engraving for the Noh Masterstroke Costume, consider the All Tool Affliction Buildup, which specifically boosts daze armor and can be purchased from a merchant in Kamayama, Tamba. Since this daze build only utilizes the Winds of War weapon, you’ll also benefit from increased adrenaline gain courtesy of the Flight of the Ubagabi legendary Trinket. This trinket can be further bolstered with a 15% stat boost while wielding only a Kusarigama, acquired from the Fluttering Moth trinket.
Best Daze Skills & Abilities for Naoe
Utilize the Affliction Globals and Kusarigama Daze Passive
To optimize your build, you should focus on key global passives like the Katana Affliction Effectiveness global, Affliction Builder Kusarigama global, and Damage with Affliction from the Knowledge Rank 6 global. Make sure to invest in mastery points for Tools, particularly the Tool Affliction Proficiency passive. The Quick Strike passive along with its top upgrade, Dazed, are crucial for this build, adding 15% daze buildup with each Quick Strike. Familiarize yourself with using Quick Strikes frequently, as they are an effortless way to inflict daze rapidly.
For skills, choose Snake Bite as your main damage dealer against single targets, while combining it with the Hard Fall passive, which dazes any enemy that stands up after being struck by Snake Bite. Cyclone Blast serves as your second key ability, enabling you to inflict daze across groups of enemies with multiple swings of the Kusarigama. The combination of Cyclone Blast and Snake Bite with daze buildup creates an unstoppable duo, supported by your trinket and engravings to leave every adversary on the battlefield dazed and confused.
Utilizing posture attacks, Quick Strike attacks, and frequently employing Snake Bite will ensure you’re dazing and confusing enemies effectively.
In summary, Naoe’s daze build primarily hinges on the Winds of War Kusarigama and bolstering affliction buffs through global passives and armor enhancements. Using posture attacks, Quick Strikes, and regularly implementing Snake Bite will let you daze and bewilder adversaries efficiently. This strategy also enables you to execute charged posture attacks immediately after to take down enemies one at a time or wipe out multiple foes at once using Cyclone Blast. Remember, just like all afflictions in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, feel free to adjust any suggestions to align with your unique playstyle.
