In my view, daze is one of the most interesting of the three affliction types in Assassin’s Creed Shadows in that it doesn’t cause direct damage to enemies, but instead makes them miss their attacks and become incapable of blocking incoming attacks. For this reason, daze is best complemented with posture attack buffs that can deal massive damage to dazed and confused enemies. Further, Naoe has a unique passive skill that enhances her Kusarigama with daze buildup, giving her one of the best daze buildup options available.

This daze build is among the most versatile builds for Naoe in AC Shadows, and it highlights all the Kusarigama’s unique features. Daze is a great all-purpose affliction, and there’s a legendary weapon in AC Shadows with high daze buildup available relatively early in the game, the Winds of War legendary Kusarigama. Daze and posture attacks are the focus of this build, and it’s one of the most straightforward strategies I can think of: daze enemies, then knock them dead.

Best Daze Weapon For Naoe In AC Shadows

The Winds Of War Legendary Kusarigama Is Ideal For A Daze Build

The Winds of War legendary Kusarigama is easily the best-in-slot weapon for a daze build for Naoe, as it has an inherent 18% daze buildup and amazing DPS. Further, its built-in engraving effect causes posture attacks on dazed enemies to automatically break armor. This is extremely useful for larger armored enemies and Ronin, and can be buffed even further with an engraving from the Featherstorm Kusarigama that instantly charges posture attacks when hitting multiple enemies. This is just one of the three recommended possible engraving choices for the Winds of War.

Engravings that affect afflictions will update to the specific affliction (i.e., poison, daze, or bleed) once engraved on a weapon.

The second recommendation is the engraving that triggers affliction (daze in this case) upon entanglement, found on the Bloodletter Kusarigama at Kashiwara Fort. This is useful for single-target daze effects and large enemies such as Samurai targets in castles. However, the best engraving option for a daze build, in my opinion, is found on the Stone Heart Kusarigama in the Veiled Tumulus Kofun. This engraving spreads daze with combo enders, which should be a simple way to inflict daze buildup on multiple enemies.

Best Armor & Trinket For A Naoe Daze Build

The Noh Masterstroke Costume Is An Affliction Build Must

While there aren’t any daze-specific effects on any of the legendary armors in AC Shadows, the Noh Masterstroke Set is excellent for all three affliction builds. The Noh Masterstroke Costume grants bleed buildup to your Tools, which is a useful additional benefit, but its engraving effect spreads affliction buildup to nearby enemies when you kill an afflicted target. The Noh Masterstroke Mask gives +20% of an adrenaline chunk on affliction buildup, so overall the Noh Masterstroke set is the most viable build for all three affliction types.

As an additional engraving for the Noh Masterstroke Costume, I’d recommend the All Tool Affliction Buildup, which is Daze armor engraving, purchased from a merchant in Kamayama, Tamba. As this daze build only incorporates the Winds of War weapon, you’ll have boosted adrenaline gain thanks to the Flight of the Ubagabi legendary Trinket. You can further enhance this trinket with the 15% boost to stats with only a Kusarigama equipped, which is acquired from the Fluttering Moth trinket.

Best Daze Skills & Abilities For Naoe

Grab The Affliction Globals & Kusarigama Daze Passive

In terms of global passives, the Katana Affliction Effectiveness global, Affliction Builder Kusarigama global, and Damage with Affliction from the Knowledge Rank 6 global are all essentials for any affliction build. You’ll also want to maximize mastery points in Tools, especially the Tool Affliction Proficiency passive. The Quick Strike passive and its highest upgrade, Dazed, are essential for this build, and will add 15% daze buildup with each Quick Strike hit. Get used to implementing Quick Strikes often, as these are the easiest way to inflict daze quickly.

For abilities, you’ll want to take Snake Bite as your primary single-target damage dealer, with the Hard Fall passive as another daze-dealing buff, causing enemies who get up from the Snake Bite attack to be dazed. Cyclone Blast is your second main ability, providing an excellent option for spreading daze to entire groups of enemies with multiple swings of the Kusarigama. Cyclone Blast and Snake Bite with daze buildup are an unstoppable pair, and the buffs from your trinket and engravings will have every enemy on the battlefield dazed senseless.

Posture attacks, Quick Strike attacks, and regular use of Snake Bite are going to ensure you are dazing and confusing enemies right and left.

Overall, Naoe’s daze build relies heavily on the Winds of War Kusarigama and investment in affliction buffs from global passives, as well as buffs from armor. Posture attacks, Quick Strike attacks, and regular use of Snake Bite are going to ensure you are dazing and confusing enemies right and left, and you’ll be able to implement charged posture attacks immediately afterward to finish your foes off one at a time or in a large group with Cyclone Blast. As with all the afflictions that build in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, feel free to tweak any of these recommendations to fit your playstyle.