How to Get a Kosode in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

When tracking down one of your earliest Shinbakufu targets in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you’ll need a kosode to be able to enter a tea ceremony. This isn’t a simple task, however, and you’ll need to track down some silk.

Where to Get a Kosode in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

There is a merchant who sells high quality kosode at the port in Sakai. She can be found in the southwest of Sakai, next to the port, just before the coast curves. The store you’re looking for features purple banners, and the merchant can usually be seen washing clothes in a pot outside.

Talk to the merchant and she’ll happily make a kosode for you, but only in a week. This is because her latest shipment of silk has been stolen by pirates and so she can only make something when the next shipment comes in. However, you don’t have a week before the tea ceremony. There is a solution though. We simply need to get the silk back from the pirates.

How to Retrieve Silk from the Pirates

After speaking to the kosode merchant, it’s time to do what Naoe does best in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Turn around and look out to the port. You should be able to see your target straight away. It’s the two big ships sitting out in the harbor. The silk is on the furthest of the two ships, and you can head out there and retrieve it.

There are two ways to get to the boats. The first is the most obvious: you swim. This is a slower option, but it works if there’s no alternative. However, before jumping off a pier, check the port for a small boat you can commandeer to sail out there. These boats are usually uncovered and feature an obvious rudder at the rear. If you get a button prompt to embark when you approach the rudder, you can take it.

Sail or swim to the closest ship of the two, as this one is safe to climb aboard. It’s easier to climb up from the side, so don’t attempt to do so from the back. There is a chest you can loot here, and the ship’s mast is also a Viewpoint if you haven’t activated this one already.

Now to reach the pirates. Climb onto the bow of the ship and follow it to the end, where you can jump to the next ship. Careful now, as the second ship is a restricted area so you’ll need to play it safe. There is a guard that patrols around the deck in a square pattern, so make sure he’s not approaching before you move all the way to the deck. There is a guard right at the front of the ship, but he’s easily dispatched since he doesn’t turn around.

Now watch the patrolling guard carefully, as you can easily take out three pirates at once if he’s in the right place. You’ll see two pirates talking on the deck. Looking from the right side, you’ll notice an explosive urn close to where they’re talking. Get ready to throw a kunai as the patrolling guard approaches and you can take out all three pirates at once.

This will alert one more pirate on the other side of the ship, but if you stay hidden in cover, he won’t see you. All you need to do now is watch his movements carefully, sneak up behind him and take him out stealthily. This is the last pirate, leaving you free to pick up the silk from a chest on the deck. Feel free to loot whatever else you can find too.

Now return to the merchant with the silk, and she will offer you two options for the kosode. It’s not important which of the two you pick, so it just depends on whether you want to wear red or black for the tea ceremony.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is out now for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.