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Assassin’s Creed Shadows brings some massive changes to the series, whether it’s the dual protagonists or its less emphasized RPG elements. One area that is drastically improved upon is the AC Shadows romance options–no doubt good news for all the endlessly thirsty players out there.

While the last few Assassin’s Creed games have certainly had romances, the relationships in Shadows are far more fleshed out, and, in some cases, integrated directly into the story. Both Noae and Yasuke have multiple romantic interests they can pursue, either for one-time flings or lasting partnerships.

Below you’ll find all the romance options available, how to get them, and how the system works in Shadows.

All Assassin’s Creed Shadows romance options

Naoe and Yasuke have four romance options each, available with key characters throughout the main story quests, and one each in side content. It’s honestly quite hard to miss them, especially as they tend to crop up at rather awkward moments.

As a general rule of thumb, every “romance” conversation option is marked with a heart icon in dialogue, so you won’t flirt with anyone by accident. It’s also important to point out that these romance options simply aren’t possible if you’re playing in “canon mode”, as you’ll be locked into specific story choices.

If you decide to romance multiple people you’ll also have to make a choice when you get into that new relationship, whether it was just a fling or something serious. Many of the romance options in Shadows end up living at your hideout, so you wouldn’t want things to get awkward.

Make sure to read each step so you don’t miss out on any intimate moments, and of course, be warned, there are spoilers ahead. There are likely more romances we haven’t discovered, so expect this to be updated accordingly.

Gennojo (Naoe)

Gennojo the first romantic interest you’ll meet in Shadows, and don’t be surprised if you think he looks familiar–he’s modeled after and played by Japanese actor Mackenyu (Roronoa Zoro in Netflix’s One Piece.) He’s the first character who will join Naoe’s League as an ally and can be summoned to help in battle.

This lovable rogue appears during your first major assassination questline after the prologue, as you go after Ise Sadaoki (The Fool). When you first meet Gennojo in the “Missing Missive” quest, make sure to choose the dialogue option with a heart, saying “Let’s not fight.” This will kick off his romance, so here are the next steps:

1. Complete the Lost Honor quest to assassinate Ise Sadaoki, and during it choose the heart dialogue with “You might be right.”
2. Do the Sake and Swords quest in Yamashiro. Again, choose the heart option in dialogue to say “Depends on what you’re offering.”
3. During the Honor Among Thieves quest, steal the scroll and choose the “I’m keeping it” option in dialogue.
4. Complete the Stolen Hearts quest. Follow the blood trails on the ground to the northwest of the starting position to find Gennojo, then save him from his attackers. Now choose the dialogue option that’s an arrow with a heart through it and say “I’d like to embrace you.”

This completes Gennojo’s romance but he’ll hang out at the homestead where you can talk to him occasionally, and he still has story moments.

Katsuhime (Naoe)

Katsuhime is yet another major character who will join The League as an ally if you ask her to. Like Gennojo, her joining The League can be done separately from the romance–and even if you break off a romance with her she’ll still be your ally. To meet her you’ll need to start your investigation into Onryo called The Naginata, which has a recommended level of 24. Here are the next steps:

1. Follow the investigation until the Showdown in Sakamato quest, and during the dialogue choose the “I like your Teppo” option with a heart.
2. Now do the Letter from Katsuhime quest. After the conversation, follow the marker down the hill, then head past the burned buildings to find a cellar with sake. After that, choose the “It offers time with me” dialogue, follow the marker, and kill the pirates. Now choose “I do enjoy your company.”
3. Go back to Omi and start The Diary of Lady Rokkaku quest. For this, you need to reach Katsuhime before the samurai kills her. Your focus should be jumping on the buildings straight ahead of you, and using the grappling point to swing across to the building above the samurai. Assassinate him first as he’s stronger than the other enemies, and then take down the others who attack you. You need to pick up Katsuhime, carry her down the stairs straight ahead, then turn right and go to the blue marker to finish the quest. Once over, make sure to ask her to join the League.
4. Finally, do The Jounin Pillow Book quest, which takes you all the way to the far left corner of the map. Talk to Katsuhime and choose the heart option. At this point, if you also romance Gennojo you can tell her you’re already taken, to keep it as a fling, or commit and say “Together forever.”

Koshiro (Naoe)

Koshiro is a protective ronin who you’ll first meet while investigating The Bull member of the Shinbakufu, so you’ll need to be roughly level 30 to start with. But in order to finish the romance, you’ll need to get to level 46, making this the last romance option you’re likely to meet.

1. Investigate The Bull in the Shinbakufu and complete the quests until you unlock Brothers in Arms, which you’ll need to complete to meet Koshiro. He’s right across the river from Miki Docks.
2. Head to Kanki Burned Fields and help Koshiro find Seiji. You can use “observation mode” to reveal blue quest dots, tracking down Seiji in Jorakuji Temple. Make sure to spare Seiji during this quest.
3. Complete all quests and assassinate The Bull. This will unlock Koshiro’s quest, Fallen Soldiers.
4. Starting with The Scout, assassinate four of the targets for Genzaburo’s Soldiers. Each one will give you a clue to the next. After this, talk to Koshiro.
5. Now, find Genzaburo to the northeast of the Himeji synchronization point and defeat him.
6. You’ll have to wait a bit until the next quest appears. Once the season changes, Naoe will mention checking up on Koshiro, and the quest The Leaf Turns will unlock.
7. Follow the quest marker to speak to Koshiro. During the conversation, choose the option “You’re more than a blade to me.”
8. Travel to Inariyama Garrison to collect Koshiro’s toolbox. You’ll find it under the big tree against the west wall.
9. Meet Koshiro again and choose the dialogue option “We have a special connection,” and then “I’d like to spend more time with you”.
10. Follow Koshiro and choose “You must follow your heart.” Finally, choose the dialogue option “Like me” to finish the romance.

Mayu (Naoe)

Mayu’s romance is one of the simplest, but also one of the most arduous. After bonding over their lot in life, Mayu sets you on an elaborate fetch quest of sorts where you’ll need to honor all 69 Jizo statues to kiss this grieving widow (coincidence? I think not). These are the small shrines you’ll find across the open world that you can pray at for a small amount of XP.

Until now, you likely assumed that’s all they were, but they’re actually required for Mayu’s romance. They’ll be marked on your map with an icon that looks like a figure standing in a doorway. Plus, any you’ve discovered but not honored can be tracked using the map’s legend feature.

1. Find Mayu next to the Jizo statue at the north edge of Gose in southern Asuka Rocks Basin, southwest Yamato. After speaking with her, she’ll ask that you visit all the Jizo statues, though you only need 35 to finish her romance quest.
2. After honoring 10 Jizo statues, return to Mayu and say “I know that feeling” after she speaks about her past.
3. After honoring 35 statues, return to Mayu again and say, “You can define your own path”.
4. Once you’ve honored all 69 Jizo statues, speak to Mayu once more and choose either “I did it to make you happy” or “I learned to follow my own intuition”.
5. Then, at the end of the quest, say “Not before I kiss you” to finish her romance story before parting ways.

Lady Oichi (Yasuke)

Yasuke’s first romance option is the only non-ally and actually starts during a flashback. After you’ve recruited Yasuke at the start of act two, start the quest An Education. During the flashback, the first time you talk to Oichi, choose the heart option saying “Some company might be nice.” Here’s how to finish the romance.

1. Complete the quest A Talk With a Lady in Omi. Oichi can be found to the southeast of the Goshiki Highlands label on the map.
2. This unlocks the A Prayer for Omi quest. Follow the objectives, complete all the rituals, and make sure to donate to the shrine. During the dialogue after that, choose “I would spend my last night with you.”
3. Now you need to investigate the member of the Shinbakufu called The Wheel. During this quest, you’ll find out they’re secretly Oichi, and you must choose the option to spare her as Yasuke.
4. Continue following the main story objective until you find and assassinate The Naginata. After this you’ll unlock a quest called The Wheel Turns. Head to the homestead and read the letter, then follow the marker. Talking to Oichi choose “I miss your smile.” Continue following objectives and choosing the heart option until you get the choice to “Enjoy the moment.” This will conclude Oichi’s bittersweet romance.

Ibuki (Yasuke)

Ibuki is one of the final allies you’ll recruit into The League. His quest will become available as soon as you make it to Iga, which has a recommended level of 23. A quest will appear near the northern border on the map to help a ronin fight a bunch of bandits. Head there, defeat the bandits, and start Ibuku’s questline. Here are the next steps:

1. Complete the Homecoming quest and choose the dialogue “I’ll be here with you.” Fight through the fort and keep moving up to the main keep. There you’ll have to fight a boss battle.
2. After the battle, during the conversation, choose “Your mind works in beautiful ways.” Then recruit Ibuki into the League.
3. Do the Putting Down Roots quest at the Homestead. Choose “You have lovely eyes” during conversation.
4. Gather three Anemone. These can be found near Kashiwara village. Use a scout to reveal the area. Then, travel to the village, go across the bridge to the east, and up the hill. One Anemone is in a bandit camp, so you’ll have to fight.
5. Bring them to Ibuki to finish the romance.

Hori Hidemasa (Yasuke)

After you’ve dealt with the Betrayers, you’ll have the chance to romance Hori Hidemasa, a retainer under Nobunaga. As you’d imagine, this gives Yasuke and Hidemasa plenty to chat about. This romance is much more understated than the others, but you do get a nice helmet out of it, at least.

1. Find Hidemasi in Miidera Temple, Mouth of Seda, Omi. He’ll give you The Betrayers quest, requiring you to track down and kill seven samurai who betrayed Nobunaga.
2. You start with one unlocked on the mission screen, and as you kill each Betrayer, you’ll learn about where to find the next one.
3. Once you’ve killed all seven, return to Hidemasa and choose “Meeting you was my reward.”

Rin (Yasuke)

Rin’s romance quest is one of the more complicated options, largely because it’s so long and spread out between three quests that you can only complete as the seasons change. To start this romance, you’ll need to begin The Winter Raiders quest to unlock the Arrow Strike, War Horse, and Ride Into Town quests. Here are all the steps:

1. After speaking to Rin and Gobo in The Winter Raiders, speak to Rin again outside the house, where she’ll ask you for assistance. Wait until the next season and then travel to Mount Omori Hut south of the Mount Takeyama viewpoint in south Kumano Sanzan, east Kii, to start the Arrow Strike quest. It’s very straightforward, so just follow the prompts.
2. When speaking with Rin during Arrow Strike, choose “Let me help you clean” and “It wasn’t my archery you were testing”, then complete the quest as normal.
3. At least one season later, return to Rin at the Mount Omori Hut to begin the War Horse quest. Here, you’ll just have to soothe a nearby horse and then call your own mount to ride along the trail with Rin.
4. During your conversation with Rin, select the dialogue option “You excel at everything you try”.
5. Wait for another season to pass and return to Rin for the Ride Into Town quest, where you’ll find her under attack. You can either let her handle the bandits herself or help her, though you’ll gain more trust by letting her take them down.
6. During the race to Hongu, lose deliberately.
7. In the conversations that follow, choose the plum onigiri and say, “I want to draw a picture of you”.
8. To finish Rin’s romance, simply say “I would like to kiss you” at the end of her questline.

PCGamer.com