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The world ofAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis full of collectibles to find and a plethora of activities to take part in. One of these activities is Kuji-Kiri, a meditation task which allows Naoe to re-live her past, providing back story for her character and being the centre of the side quest ‘Before the Fall.’
There are four parts to ‘Before the Fall" - Shinobi Warfare, Mind and Body, A True Igan, and Traditions. How to complete all of these missions and where to trigger them during these flashbacks is all detailed in this complete ‘Before the Fall’ side quest walkthrough.
How To Complete Kuji-Kiri
There are over a dozen Kuji-Kiri to complete in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, andyou’ll need to complete four Kuji-Kirifor ‘Before the Fall.’ These are effectivelyquick-time button-pressing sequencesthat allow Naoe to meditate. As you go deeper into meditation, the button prompts and timings for theseslowly disappear, making this a tricky task to complete at first.
As you might expect with a meditation task,focus is keyto maintain your timing, but after practicing a few times, you may quickly get the hang of these. Progress for the side quest can be tracked via Naoe’s Objectives Board in the pause menu.
Shinobi Warfare
The first ‘Before the Fall’ flashback can be triggered by completing any Kuji-Kiri on the map. One of the first that you’ll run into is the onenear the waterfalls by the Hideout, so that’s a good one to start out with.
Sit to meditate and pass the Kuji-Kiri before being transported back to Iga in October 1579.Naoe isn’t in the best of shape, but Naoe’s father, Nagato,sends her to find Auntie Matsu.
Along the way, you’ll discover that Iga is being invaded, and after you find Matsu, she’ll provide you with your first Katana to fight the invaders. After speaking with the village chief, you travel to the Nagano Pass, where you’ll need to stealthilyavoid the enemies around you by making use of the tall grass.
you may only complete these missions playing as Naoe, not Yasuke.
Naoe will kill an enemy in a cutscene. After this, you’ll need topick off two guardswho walk down the path near you. Wait until they’ve separated andassassinate them one at a time.After this, you’ll need tokill an Oda Clan Brutein combat; stealth isn’t an option here.
His attacks are powerful, so make use of Naoe’s agility tododge and parry before striking while his guard’s down.After defeating him, one more cutscene with Naoe’s father and the village chief rolls, and you’ll be sent back to the present day to continue your journey.
Mind And Body
The second flashback vision, ‘Mind and Body,’ can also be started byusing any Kuji-Kirion the map. Complete the sequence, and it will flash you back to November 1579.
After a conversation with your father, go to speak with Auntie Matsu. Matsu tasks you with recovering a family heirloom from a shrine that’s guarded by enemies. You can eitherstealth assassinate them or take them on in direct combat;there aren’t many here, so both methods work easily enough.
The heirloom is located in the building to the far rightas you enter the shrine. If you’re struggling to find it, use your observation to find the blue dot indicating the heirloom’s location, which is inside a gold-coloured box. Once you’ve got the heirloom,return it to Nagatobefore going through the cutscene to end this section of the side quest.
A True Igan
Like the previous two missions,any Kuji-Kiriwill do for starting ‘A True Igan.’ Thethird Kuji-Kiri locationthat you’ll encounter will most likely be on the coastlineto the west of Amagasaki,so this would be a good location to choose. Complete the Kuji-Kiri meditation, and you’ll be transported back to November 1579, but at a later part of the month than ‘Mind and Body.’
This is astealth missionwhere the chief of the village will instruct you to enter Kunimiyama Fort and gain intel on the enemy’s plans. You cankill any enemies by assassination during this missionif you choose to, or you can engage in combat with them.
It’s best to stay hidden to complete this mission andutilise Naoe’s stealth and stick to the rooftops.
You’ll need to eavesdrop on two pairs of guards through the camp, be sure touse your grappling hookto scale difficult-to-climb and high walls. Listening to them will reveal that there’s a dead Igan fort leader at the top of the tower, and with this knowledge, you’ll need to head back to the village leader.
To get out of the Fort,head to the right-hand side of the back corner of the complex.There’s an open section where you can run down a hill and away.
Return to the village and report to Sanayu.After getting through the cutscenes, you’ll be transported back to the present day and ready to complete the final of these four flashbacks.
Traditions
The fourth and final flashback sequence in ‘Before the Fall’ can be started from any Kuji-Kiri. Thefourth Kuji-Kiri locationyou’ll likely encounter is the one that’s to thenorth-east of Kyoto on the east side of the river in the Hills of Meetingsub-region and inside a temple complex.
Complete the Kuji-Kiri sequence, and you’ll head back to 1581, two years after the previous three flashbacks.
You’ll start by speaking with Sandayu, and follow him. With the invasion on its way, the village’s elders meet to discuss plans. Tempers fray, and a duel breaks out between Naoe and Fujita Juro. He’s easy enough to defeat;use your standard combat techniques,and Naoe will make light work of him. You’ll then need tohead to Hiyiyama Fort,which you can sneak into by crawling through openings in its walls.
Your dialogue options here don’t affect the outcome of the mission, nor the overall story, so choose whatever you feel is best for Naoe’s character.
Surprisingly, your father, Nagato, shows up, which is handy, as he explains what needs to be done to find the attack plans.Eavesdrop on a pair of Kogan Fighters,where again,your grappling hook is great to useto get around by swinging on tree branches in between rooftops.
With what the fighters said in mind,head to the south-east corner of the courtyardand the plans are found through some sliding doors on the ground floor. Look for the large piece of paper with a candle on top of it if you’re struggling to find it.
Pick up the plans, and this brings you full circle with Naoe’s backstory. The end of ‘Traditions’ is effectively the beginning of Naoe’s story in the game’s prologue.
