In Assassin's Creed Shadows, the map is a big place to navigate, and although it may not be as big as some of the other recent games, it can still be overwhelming the first time you have to navigate it. Luckily, there are a few things that will make it easier, and soon you will find yourself hopping around Japan with no issues at all. If you find yourself struggling with the map, these tips are for you.

The Assassin's Creed Valhalla are many, but one of the things that you can notice quickly is the map and how you navigate it. Mirage also had some differences, but that was actually due to how downscaled it was compared to the other modern games, which was an advantage in my opinion. In this case, Shadows has a slightly smaller map than Valhalla, but the navigation can be more complicated.

5 Use The Pathfinder Option

Don't Be Afraid To Try Pathfinding

The biggest thing you should use is the Pathfinder option that you can see in the lower left part of the screen when you are out on the map. It can show up even when you are not on horseback, but it is typically easier to see and easier to get used to when you're on your horse. This will typically take you through the path of least resistance, with some caveats.

The caveat is that the Pathfinder will send you through camps that are set up along roads or in cities. Typically, I find it is possible to gallop right through them and the enemies won't be able to keep up, so you don't have to stop and take out the camp if you don't want to.

You will learn this very quickly, and it is super useful. It doesn't force you to follow the path, so you can turn off anytime you like and check out a shrine or something you want to see. I did this a lot when I saw Synchronization Points. You can then go back to the road, and it will be like you never left, allowing you to finish following the path to your destination.

I find this to be a really great feature, as in the past when I would follow the quest marker as the crow flies, I would end up attempting to scramble over mountains or out of rivers. Having a path to follow that sticks to the roads and lets you keep going was really nice, as well as having the flexibility to quickly scramble up a mountain if I wanted to. It just makes navigating between quests a lot easier, and it is less intrusive than alternatives I have seen.

4 Fast Travel Points

Synchronization Points & Kakurega

You will find yourself traveling between a lot of the same cities, and these points can make good points to travel across large portions of the map. Even when the quests in that area are done, you will still be able to move between them without too much trouble. This can make it less overwhelming when the quest marker informs you it's over 1000m away.

These fast travel points are familiar to some extent. Like most Assassin's Creed games, the Synchronization Points can be used as fast travel points, and they function much as they always have.

Yasuke cannot do an Eagle dive, which does change how Synchronization Points a bit.

Kakurega, however, are a little different. You can find them easily enough just by exploring other cities. You cannot just visit them to turn them into fast travel points. Instead, you will have to pay to turn it into a Kakurega. The ones I found in Osaka and Sakai cost about 800 each, and they give you access to a safe house, contracts, and supplies. You can also fast travel to them, making it simple to go from city to city.

3 Scouting Objectives

Getting More Information & Exact Locations

Scouting is a very important part of Assassin's Creed Shadows. There are some missions that will be quite hard to find if you don't have a spare Scout to seek out better details. You will get three Scouts right after you establish the Hideout for the first time, which gives you a good start. However, you want to make sure you use your Scouts wisely, as once they are used up, you have to wait for a change of season to get them back.

Scouts can do a couple of things. Their first use is to find the location of various quests. For instance, you often get a little bit of information, and you can use that to find the general area on the map that it might be. I was stuck waiting for one quest and had to go find something else for more Scouts, as I only knew it was located at a church somewhere in Settsu.

You can only change the season every so often, as I found when I was trying to get more Scouts.

You can also use Scouts to get materials, however. If you find a big stash in an enemy camp, you can order Scouts to come and collect it for you. However, it does take up 2 Scouts, and you won't get them back for a while. That might make it harder for you to get other missions, so keep that in mind as you decide whether or not to get the materials.

2 Use Observation Skills Often

The New Skill In Addition To Eagle Vision

With the new stealth mechanics in Assassin's Creed Shadows, there was a new type of sense/skill that you can use in addition to Eagle Vision. It is also the only version that Yasuke can use, so you will have to be careful when controlling him if you are trying to be at all stealthy. However, when traversing the map, it can also give you some really helpful information.

For instance, it can point you toward treasure, enemies, and quest objectives. Your Eagle Vision as Naoe can tell you where enemies are, but Observation is a little trickier to get just right. You can miss things a little easier as well, but it is still well worth it to use it often. I wouldn't have known about a lot of treasure caches without it, and you will need a lot of materials to build up the Hideout.

The Observation Skill that was the most helpful was finding the quest objectives once you arrived in the general area. A dot with a blue glow will appear, and you can follow it to find the quest objective. This can be a person or an object you are looking for, and I found it extremely useful to navigate the map once you have to zoom in on it. It's nice for navigating when there are no other clues to help you do so.

1 Try Another Way

When You Don't Succeed, Try, Try, Again

The main things you might run into when roaming the map by yourself are blocked areas, encampments in your way, or "dangerous" terrain. This occurs whether you are using the Pathfinder mode or not, and you should always look for another way around. The best thing to do in this case is to try to get up high, as you will then be able to see more of the surrounding terrain.

However, sometimes you are trying to get up high and can't because you keep sliding down a mountain. In that case, run parallel to the right or left until you are able to find a path. Terrain is a bigger deal in this game than it seems to have been in any of the previous games. You can get severely slowed down by things like deep snow or muddy banks. That's not true in previous games, at least not to that extent.

My advice then would be to stay along the roads as much as possible. It will save you from a lot of frustration, and there is usually a path pretty close to your destination. When there's not a path, try to stay along the tall grass until you have to be a little more sneaky. You can always drop down to stay out of sight, while not being too hindered by the environment.

Last but not least, take advantage of what has been added to this game. There are a lot of new ways to move around since you are able to go prone, which is something I am enjoying significantly and one of the best things this game has. Look for new ways into the building through a vent on the floor, by crashing through the doors, or by using your grappling hook to get up high. These are all new but very satisfying mechanics, so try to keep them in mind as you navigate the map in Assassin's Creed Shadows.