Bold statement: The final Assassin's Creed Shadows update in 2025 delivers a sweeping set of fixes, fresh finishers, new content, and quality-of-life tweaks that worth your attention before the Switch 2 edition lands. But here's where it gets controversial: some changes feel oddly incremental while others reshape core gameplay loops in surprising ways.
Ubisoft announces Title Update 1.1.7, dropping alongside the game’s late-2025 trajectory, including brutal new finishers for Naoe and Yasuke to sharpen combat and threaten more dynamic crowd control. Fans chasing Shadows’ signature Animus oddities will also find a new Rift to explore as the Guide returns to solicit player help, plus a project-style battle pass that unlocks a new bo staff and an outfit for Naoe. Note: there are no cat outfits or Ezio skins this time around.
A notable quality-of-life improvement: you can now access Vault content—the modern-day text logs—without quitting to the Animus desktop, a small convenience that reduces the prior faff. Additionally, Animus keys can be exchanged for more Gold, Mastery, and Knowledge Points, which helps players who feel stretched on resources.
In addition to these features, the update bundles a broad set of bug fixes and adjustments, including launch-day optimizations for the Nintendo Switch 2 edition releasing on December 17. Below is a comprehensive list of changes, organized by area.
Nintendo Switch 2 improvements
- Increased general frame-rate stability across scenarios.
- Fixed crash scenarios to improve stability.
- Resolved various visual display issues.
- Enhanced touch-screen responsiveness for a smoother handheld experience.
- Eliminated an issue where the system asked players to connect a controller when Switch 2 was docked or undocked if a controller was already connected.
- Corrected a problem causing an infinite black screen after creating a Ubisoft Connect account or logging in when selecting an audio pack from the initial boot menu.
Gameplay adjustments
- Removed an exploit that enabled double engravings on the Sword of Fathoms.
- Addressed an issue that prevented Naginatas from being sold.
- Fixed a bug where Mastery points spent were not updated after changing Mastery points post-equipping.
- Resolved a defect where upgrading skills to Rank 3 could cause damage upgrades from Rank 2 to be missing.
- The Bo Staff now increases its affliction buildup when upgraded to Mythic and Artifact quality.
- Perks with affliction effects now dynamically state which affliction they apply, based on the engraved item.
- Reinstated Knowledge Scrolls that were removed from inventory, preventing loss of scrolls.
- Shared skills between Naoe and Yasuke now correctly transfer to both characters.
- Refined the wording for the “Affliction After Deflect” perk to indicate it applies 35% buildup instead of a full Affliction.
- Ensured health restoration on Critical Damage and Health Gain engravings is present for all weapons when equipped.
Claws of Awaji expansion
- Fixed a bug where owning two copies of the game (one with the Claws of Awaji Expansion and one without) could permanently block fast travel to Awaji when switching editions.
World and exploration
- You can whistle while using the Follow Road mechanic.
- Corrupted Castles won’t reset when loading an older save after a season change.
- Resolved issues where enemies and loot would respawn when loading a save prior to a season change.
Visuals and UI
- Adjusted facial animations during cinematics when a hood is equipped to look more natural.
- Fixed inconsistencies between UI-reported and actual rewards at season end.
- Corrected Stables reward UI alignment after upgrades.
- Fixed the Japanese location name for Kawarajiri Lumber Camp.
Online Store and PC-specific tweaks
- Fixed item delivery issues for Store, Deluxe, and Premium items.
- Resolved mouse-and-keyboard rebinding input issues and improved PC FPS stability.
Spoilers and quests updates
- Swords And Sake: fixed a blocker where Genno would interrupt completion.
- Eliminate Outlaws: fixed completion blockers.
- Temple Stories: ensured Joken Hokkyō does not disappear to allow quest completion.
- Dismantling One by One: added a marker to wandering enemies.
Final note
Tom Phillips, IGN News Editor, provides the above details. If you’d like, I can tailor this rewrite to emphasize specific sections (tech fixes, narrative content, or gameplay balance) or adjust the tone to be more formal or more casual. Would you prefer a version that focuses more on player impact and practical tips, or one that leans into the controversy and speculative implications of these changes?
