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Assassin’s Creed Shadows preload guide: release date, file size, and more

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A character sneaks around at night in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Ubisoft

Plenty of upcoming video games have been delayed, but few as much and as far as Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Finally, the game is coming out one way or another very soon, giving us fans the ancient Japanese setting they’ve been asking for since the series began in 2007. Whether or not this will be one of the best Assassin’s Creed games is yet to be determined, but we’re not far from getting that answer. If you’ve been waiting for months to get your hands on this new open-world game, these are all the preload details you need to know to be ready to enter the world of assassins as soon as possible.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows release date

One of the protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Ubisoft

There’s no more room for delays, so Assassin’s Creed Shadows will come out on March 20 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC no matter what.

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Assassin’s Creed Shadows file size

shadows
Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is clocking in at 107 GB on Xbox, 100 GB on PC, and 123 GB on Mac. While PS5 sizes haven’t been confirmed yet, it should be nearly identical to the Xbox Series X version.

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No matter what platform you’re on, over 100 GB is a huge file size even by today’s standards. If you’ve got a slow connection, preloading will be essential to play the game in a reasonable amount of time after launch.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows preload options

The AC shadows preload times
Ubisoft

Preloading is available right now for Xbox Series X gamers, with PS5 preloads starting on March 18 at 12 AM local time and PC preloads at 4 PM local time on March 17. In either case, that will hopefully be plenty of time for players to get most of that massive file size downloaded.

As long as you have preordered any version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you are eligible to preload the game when the option is available on your platform.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows preorder details

The two protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft

If you haven’t preordered Assassin’s Creed Shadows yet, it isn’t too late. There are three editions to pick from, but note that preordering any version will allow you to preload the game. Here’s a breakdown of your preorder options.

Standard Edition – $70

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows
  • Thrown to the Dogs day 1 quest
  • Claws of Awaji expansion (expected 2025)

Digital Deluxe Edition – $90

  • Everything from the Standard Edition
  • Deluxe Pack which includes:
    • Sekireyu Dual Pack (Sekiryu Gear Set for both Naoe and Yasuke, Eye of the Dragon Katana, Claw of the Dragon Long Katana, Sekiryu Beast Mount, and Dragon Tooth Trinket.)
    • Hideout Pack (Sekiryu Wagasa, Sekiryu Tapestry, Sekiryu Mask, and Sekiryu Mizubachi.)
  • 5 Mastery points

Collector’s Edition (GameStop exclusive) – $230

  • Everything from all prior editions
  • Naoe and Yasuke dual character statue (15.7 inches tall).
  • Unique SteelBook case.
  • Collector’s art book (76 pages).
  • Naoe’s katana tsuba (life-sized).
  • World map.
  • Creed wall scroll (27.6×11.8 inches).
  • Two sumi-e lithographs (5.3×7.5 inches each).
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
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The best hideout upgrades in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Yasuke trains outside in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

There have been various forms of upgradable bases in Assassin's Creed games before, but none as deep as in Assassin's Creed Shadows. Besides being a relaxing location where Naoe and Yasuke can hang out with their various allies, you will also be building entire structures that add new functions to the game. You're tutorialized on them only to get access to Scouts, but the rest of the buildings and upgrades are up to you. Since resources are so precious, investing in the wrong structures can set you back hours. Instead, we best hideout upgrades you should get in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Best hideout upgrades

The most obvious tip to start with should go without saying, but don't bother purchasing any of the decorative buildings until you have built and upgraded all the ones that provide benefits. Unless you're mainly interested in playing Assassin's Creed Shadows as a mini Animal Crossing game, leave that until the end.
Stables
Your first order of business should be to upgrade your stables. This building is a little misleading since it has nothing to do with your mount but actually relates to those stockpiles you will come across in various camps and castles. These are packed with resources, but you are required to mark them for Scouts to collect and bring back to your hideout. The Stables first allow you to even use this feature, and upgrading it increases how many supplies you get from each pile. This will help fund all future upgrades so should be done as early as possible.
Study
Speaking of Scouts, you will need them quite often throughout the game for revealing quest locations and gathering supplies. Unless you pay, you can only use a scout once per season, and you only start with three. Building and upgrading your Study not only gives you more scouts to work with but also increases their scouting range on the map.
Tera
Don't overlook this smaller building in the lower sections if you're trying to earn XP. This building can't be upgraded so all you need to do is get it once and you're done, but it increases all your XP gain, no matter what source it comes from, by 10%. That is massive if you're trying to power level your characters.
Forge
Finally, the Forge can be left for last in our opinion. You will have a quest to build one, but that's all you should do with it until late into the game, if at all. Each upgrade increases the maximum level you can upgrade your gear in, which is great, but completely unnecessary for most of the game. You are always finding new gear at your current level while completing quests and looting chests so spending your resources to buff a weapon or piece of armor tends to be a waste when you find something better right away. The later upgrades do allow for better engraving, but again, this is best saved for the end game when you know what gear you want to stick with.

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The best ways to earn XP in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Yasuke fighting in the snow in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is still an open-world RPG at heart. It has some new features like Scouts and two protagonists, but you will still be leveling up, investing points into skill trees, and getting better gear over the course of this adventure. There are a few wrinkles here, such as Naoe and Yasuke each having their own unique skill trees and Knowledge Points acting as a progression gate, but your main concern will still be gettin XP as fast as possible to boost your stats. There are a ton of things to do in Assassin's Creed Shadows, but not all give XP equally. If you want to power level your characters fast, here are the best ways to earn XP.
Best ways to earn XP

Assassin's Creed Shadows makes it somewhat easy to know what is in it for you to do each specific task. When you highlight any objective on the map, you will see the XP rewarded alongside any other items or gear. That's a good place to start, but it doesn't tell the entire story since some tasks can be done very quickly and others might take the better part of an hour.

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The best Yasuke skills in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows fighting an enemy. He's dressed in his samurai armor.

Naoe is your more traditional assassin-type character in Assassin's Creed Shadows, while Yasuke plays quite differently. As a samurai, he is not so good at stealth and subterfuge, but instead heads into battle headfirst with powerful attacks and strong armor. This makes his skill tree far different than Naoe's, even after you've gotten all the Knowledge Points. Since both characters share XP, you have no excuse not to invest points into Yasuke's tree, even if you don't plan on making him your primary character. That said, he has some great skills here that might change your mind.
Regeneration

Yasuke doesn't have the luxury of killing an entire base without taking a few hits. Well, unless you're just that good. For the rest of us, Regeneration is a basic but powerful passive skill that restores a percentage of Yasuke's total HP on each kill. Since rations are so limited, this can keep you perpetually healthy in drawn out battles.
Steady Hand

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