There are three major affliction types in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, including daze, bleed, and poison. Poison is a powerful affliction featured on a range of epic and legendary equipment for both Naoe and Yasuke. Naoe has some particularly excellent gear that can be incorporated into one of the best poison builds in the AC Shadows, featuring the Stone Heart legendary Kusarigama and Violent Night legendary Katana, along with affliction-enhancing engraving buffs. This build focuses on legendary gear, but there are many viable epic-quality items for a poison build.

Naoe’s best builds in AC Shadows tend to incorporate the different legendary Kusarigama available due to their versatility as a featured weapon, and the poison build is no different. The Stone Heart Kusarigama is especially effective at spreading poison to surrounding enemies during melee encounters, and can also be used effectively on single targets. This build also takes advantage of the poison effects for Tools thanks to a unique common engraving that makes all Tools damage deal poison buildup.

Best Poison Weapons For Naoe In AC Shadows

Use The Stone Heart Kusarigama and Violet Night Katana

The Stone Heart Kusarigama is ideal for a poison build since it is really the only poison-based legendary Kusarigama in AC Shadows. Stone Heart deals inherent poison buildup at 18%, and its legendary effect is optimal, spreading poison affliction buildup to nearby enemies once you complete a combo. I recommend enhancing the poison effects of Stone Heart with the engraving from the Bloodletter Kusarigama, which will change affliction based on the weapon it’s engraved on. In this case, it will trigger Poison on entanglement.

The second weapon you’ll want slotted for the best poison build for Naoe is the legendary Violet Night Katana. This is an even better single-target poison option with an inherent 18% poison buildup stat, and it will also trigger poison automatically on any enemy whose attack you deflect. To enhance this Katana’s poison effects, I slotted the engraving effect from the Bloodshade Katana, which prevents poison buildup from decaying over time.

Best Poison Armor & Trinket For Naoe

Use The Mamushi Snake Set & Bone Of The Fallen Warrior

This build incorporates the unique effects from the Mamushi Snake Set, which includes the legendary Mamushi Snake Robes and Hood. The Mamushi Snake Robes have an inherent effect that releases a cloud of poison when an enemy investigates a corpse, making it one of the most unique armor effects in the game. You can engrave this with the effect from the Noh Masterstroke armor that spreads affliction buildup when you kill an afflicted enemy. This build might be the only practical application of the Mamushi Snake Hood effect for headgear, which increases ally ability cooldowns.

You’ll want to use Oni-Yuri as an ally in battle as much as possible once she’s fully upgraded, as she will leave poison clouds behind when putting enemies to sleep. Similar to your Mamushi armor ability, the poison cloud spreads to any enemy who investigates bodies, making the build incredibly viable in both stealth and melee encounters. There are other viable replacements for the Mamushi Hood for this build if you don’t intend to use Oni-Yuri or her abilities very often, with the Noh Masterstroke Mask being my top alternative recommendation.

For the best poison-enhancing legendary Trinket in AC Shadows, you might want to consider the Bone of the Fallen Warrior from the Shadows Exchange, but if you’re not keen on purchased gear, there are plenty of other viable options. Bone of the Fallen Warrior triggers poison buildup on successful posture attacks, making it OP for a poison build. However, Tatsu’s Triumph and Flight of the Ubagabi are excellent in-game legendary trinket options, though you’ll need to adjust your armor engraving accordingly.

Best Skills & Abilities For A Naoe Poison Build

Use Affliction Globals & Cyclone Blast For Optimal Poison Spread

As with all the affliction builds for Naoe and Yasuke in AC Shadows, you’ll want to invest in the main affliction passives. This includes the Katana Affliction Effectiveness global, Affliction Builder Kusarigama global, and Damage with Affliction from the Knowledge Rank 6 globals. If you’re using the above-noted engraving, you’ll also want to maximize mastery points in Tools, with an emphasis on the Tool Affliction Buildup passive. You’ll also want to maximize Naoe’s Adrenaline Chunks in the Assassin Tree.

Finally, for abilities, you’ll absolutely want to use Cyclone Blast as your primary skill, as this will spread poison to groups of surrounding enemies and pretty much melt everyone around you. Heighten Senses is a solid Shinobi action as this build works as effectively for stealth as it would for melee. You won’t need to rely as heavily on Assassination Health Segment removal, as the poison clouds and Oni-Yuri will do most of the work for you. Overall, the poison build for Naoe in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is one of the most fun and versatile affliction builds possible.