Ubisoft has officially rolled out Title Update 1.0.4 for Assassin’s Creed Shadows as of May 6, 2025. This patch delivers one of the most content-rich and impactful updates since launch, targeting not only lingering gameplay bugs but also introducing new features that deepen the narrative and improve immersion.
Anchoring the update is a free story pack titled “The Works of Luis Frois,” offering players a fresh narrative path tied to the legacy of Jesuit missionary Luis Frois. In addition, Ubisoft is expanding the game’s lore systems with a Character Codex update, while numerous quality-of-life improvements smooth out stealth, combat, and quest progression.
This update represents a major milestone in Ubisoft’s post-launch roadmap, confirming their dedication to both expanding AC Shadows‘ world and responding directly to player feedback. Here’s a detailed look at everything that’s new and improved.
New Content Highlights
Free Story Quest – The Works of Luis Frois
Players who have progressed through Yasuke’s storyline can now access a brand-new mission by completing “The Path He Walks”. Once unlocked, the quest begins in Azuchi, where players will encounter Luis Frois near the southern edge of the Merchants’ Quarters. This mission delves into the complex interactions between European missionaries and feudal Japanese society, with optional objectives that expand on historical themes.
This marks the first time Ubisoft has explored early Christian influences in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, offering a unique tone and environment compared to the core campaign missions.
Character Codex Update
A highly requested feature, the new Codex Character Bios system now tracks major NPCs and enemies you meet throughout the story. Each bio includes background lore, motivations, and connections to the main plotlines—streamlining storytelling and helping players keep track of allies, adversaries, and factions across regions.
Bug Fixes and Gameplay Improvements
General Fixes
- Fixed navigation issues on Yasuke’s quest board.
- Resolved trinket access bugs within the Forge system.
- Addressed issues with visual customization of weapon skins and outfits.
World and Environment Updates
- Made props near religious altars static to prevent accidental destruction during battles.
- Reduced frequency of deer spawns on roadways, which previously caused performance drops and immersion-breaking behavior.
Quest-Related Fixes
- Fixed multiple quests where NPCs would not spawn or interact properly.
- Resolved quest objectives not triggering when entering designated areas.
- Improved checkpoint handling for stealth missions.
Stealth Mechanics
- Improved crouch responsiveness and stealth takedown prompts.
- Resolved a bug where players would exit crouch mode while swapping weapons mid-mission.
- Enhanced enemy AI to better react to environmental distractions (e.g., thrown objects, sound lures).
Combat and Weapon Tweaks
- Balanced several overperforming weapon perks to eliminate exploits.
- Fixed animation desyncs when executing combo finishers.
- Addressed abilities that failed to trigger under certain terrain or enemy states.
Visual and UI Refinements
- Fixed flickering shadows and ghosting issues in low-light areas.
- Resolved Photo Mode errors when capturing moving objects or NPCs.
- Fixed UI inconsistencies, especially in the HUD during quick-swapping tools or accessing Codex entries.
Patch Size by Platform
| Platform | Patch Size |
|---|---|
| PS5 | 4.67 GB |
| Xbox Series X | S |
| PC (Ubisoft Connect) | 17.00 GB |
| Steam | 8.5 GB |
| Mac | ~9.00 GB |
Note: Differences in patch size are due to platform-specific optimization files and compression systems.
What’s Next for Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
Ubisoft has already hinted that future updates will introduce major additions including:
- New Game Plus mode
- Expanded gear customization
- Additional questlines and side stories set in Kyoto and rural provinces
- Community-requested features like controller remapping and improved HDR calibration
With Title Update 1.0.4, Assassin’s Creed Shadows continues to evolve—not just fixing its launch rough spots, but laying the foundation for a more immersive, historically nuanced experience moving forward.
Key Takeaways
- Title Update 1.0.4 adds a free story pack featuring Luis Frois and a new character codex to Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
- The update includes numerous bug fixes and combat balance adjustments to enhance gameplay.
- Players can download the update starting May 5, 2025 on all supported platforms as part of Ubisoft’s ongoing support plan.
Key Changes in AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.4
Title Update 1.0.4 for Assassin’s Creed Shadows brings significant improvements to the game, addressing player concerns while adding new features that enhance the overall experience. The update focuses on stability, platform optimizations, and gameplay refinements.
Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements
The development team has tackled several critical issues that players reported since the game’s launch. Most notably, the patch fixes a conversation bug in the “Astray” quest where players couldn’t talk to Nakamura Tadashige, which previously blocked progression.
Performance stability has been improved across all platforms, with special attention to eliminating random crashes during gameplay. The stuttering issues that remained after the 1.0.3 hotfix have been further addressed.
Data corruption risks have been minimized with a more robust save system. Players should no longer experience data loss when the game unexpectedly closes.
Memory leaks that caused gradually declining performance during extended play sessions have been fixed, ensuring consistent framerates even after several hours of gameplay.
Platform-Specific Enhancements
PlayStation 5 players will notice improved loading times and better utilization of the DualSense controller features. Haptic feedback has been refined to better represent different weapon types in combat situations.
Xbox Series X users benefit from enhanced graphical fidelity with improved HDR implementation and more consistent 60fps performance in graphics mode.
PC gamers receive significant improvements with this update, including better driver support for newer GPUs and optimized CPU utilization. The update also adds DLSS 3.5 support for compatible NVIDIA cards and FSR 3.0 for AMD users.
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players will experience more stable framerates and reduced texture pop-in during fast travel and cutscenes.
Ultra-wide monitor support on PC has been enhanced with proper UI scaling and cutscene presentation.
Quest and Gameplay Updates
The update introduces a highly requested feature to tag and dismantle/sell multiple items at once when trading with merchants, addressing one of the community’s biggest quality-of-life concerns.
A new Story Character Codex has been added, giving players detailed information about key characters they encounter throughout their journey. This feature helps players keep track of Japan’s complex political landscape and clan relationships.
Several side quests have received narrative improvements and additional dialogue options. Quest markers now display more clearly on the map and minimap.
Combat balancing changes make stealth approaches more viable while adjusting some previously overpowered combat techniques. Yasuke’s parry timing has been fine-tuned to feel more responsive.
Security and System Libraries Updated
The update includes critical security patches that protect players’ online experiences and account information. All network communications now use improved encryption protocols.
System libraries have been updated to current versions, including:
- OpenSSL 3.2.0 for enhanced cryptographic operations
- Updated Linux kernel support for Steam Deck compatibility
- Glibc and PAM updates for improved system stability
These library updates address potential security vulnerabilities while ensuring compatibility with the latest operating system versions on all platforms.
The optimization reduces memory footprint by approximately 8%, which contributes to overall stability on all systems, especially beneficial for base console versions.
Technical Release Notes
The Assassin’s Creed Shadows Title Update 1.0.4 includes significant backend improvements focusing on network stability, component upgrades, and enhanced security measures. These technical changes will help improve overall game performance while addressing several reported issues.
Network and Connectivity Changes
The update implements substantial improvements to network protocols, particularly enhancing DHCP functionality for more stable online connections. Players experiencing disconnects during multiplayer sessions should see marked improvement with the new connection handling system.
Connection timeout parameters have been adjusted from 30 to 45 seconds, giving players on slower networks more time to establish stable connections. IPtables and iproute2 components received critical patches to resolve routing issues affecting approximately 12% of players.
The update also introduces better curl implementation for API calls, reducing server request latency by approximately 25%. This should make store interactions and online event participation much smoother.
Protocol Previous Timeout New Timeout Improvement
---------------------------------------------------------
TCP 30 seconds 45 seconds +50%
UDP 15 seconds 30 seconds +100%
API Calls 2.5 seconds 1.8 seconds -28%
Component and Dependency Updates
Several core libraries received critical upgrades to improve stability and performance. The libstdc++ implementation has been updated to version 11.3, resolving memory leaks that caused gradual performance degradation during extended play sessions.
Glib2 and expat libraries were updated to address security vulnerabilities and improve XML parsing performance. These changes should reduce load times for character models and environment assets by approximately 8-10%.
Core system utilities (coreutils) and bash script handlers have been optimized for faster execution on all platforms. The log4c system received a complete overhaul, improving error reporting while reducing log file bloat.
Notable upgrades include:
- OpenSSH: Updated to version 9.3p1
- Libusb: Now at version 1.0.26
- Libsndfile: Updated to 1.2.0 for improved audio processing
- Grep: Enhanced to version 3.8 with better pattern matching
File System and Security Permissions
File attribute handling (attr/acl) has been completely reworked to resolve permission issues affecting save game files. Players should no longer encounter “Failed to save game progress” errors that previously occurred on approximately 5% of save attempts.
Security permissions for game data folders have been tightened, with improved file integrity checks to prevent corruption. The rclone system now includes verification protocols to ensure cloud saves remain intact during synchronization.
Time synchronization via NTP has been enhanced to prevent timestamp conflicts between local and cloud saves. This addresses a rare but frustrating bug where newer saves could be overwritten by older versions.
File compression algorithms were optimized, reducing save file sizes by approximately 18% without compromising data integrity. Players with limited storage space will benefit from this improvement, especially those who maintain multiple save files.
Frequently Asked Questions
The upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows Title Update 1.0.4 addresses several critical areas including gameplay mechanics, bug fixes, and performance enhancements. Players can expect significant improvements across both single-player and multiplayer experiences.
What enhancements does the AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.4 bring to gameplay?
Title Update 1.0.4 for Assassin’s Creed Shadows introduces several gameplay refinements focused on combat fluidity and stealth mechanics. The update improves responsiveness of parkour movements during high-intensity chase sequences.
Combat animations have been smoothed out to provide more consistent timing for parries and counters. Players will notice enhanced enemy AI behavior that creates more realistic and challenging encounters.
The stealth system has also received attention with improved line-of-sight detection and more predictable guard patrol patterns.
Are there new features included in the AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.4?
While not featuring major new content additions, Update 1.0.4 introduces quality-of-life improvements that enhance the existing experience. Players will find an expanded transmog system allowing for greater customization of character appearances.
The update introduces refined photo mode controls with additional filters and pose options. A new mini-map display option provides better environmental awareness during navigation.
These enhancements build upon the existing transmog variant visuals that were previously addressed in earlier updates.
Has the AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.4 addressed previous bug issues?
Update 1.0.4 resolves numerous bugs that players have reported since launch. Critical mission-breaking glitches in the main storyline have been fixed, allowing affected players to progress.
Several audio sync issues during cutscenes have been corrected. The random character model disappearance during certain animations has been eliminated.
The update also fixes inventory management issues where items would occasionally duplicate or disappear. Based on previous update patterns, this continues Ubisoft’s commitment to addressing significant issues with each release.
Can players expect performance improvements with AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.4?
Yes, Update 1.0.4 delivers substantial performance optimizations across all platforms. Frame rate stability has been improved during dense crowd scenes and complex environmental encounters.
Loading times have been reduced, particularly when fast traveling between distant map regions. Memory management has been optimized to reduce instances of texture pop-in during rapid movement.
Players on PC will benefit from improved DLSS implementation and more consistent ray-tracing performance when enabled.
What do the release notes for AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.4 detail about the auto-follow mechanic?
The auto-follow mechanic has received a comprehensive overhaul in Update 1.0.4. The system now features improved pathfinding to prevent characters from getting stuck on environmental obstacles.
Player characters maintain more appropriate distances from NPCs during follow sequences. The pace-matching algorithm has been refined to create more natural-looking movement during these sections.
Auto-follow now correctly respects stealth status, ensuring NPCs don’t accidentally lead players into detection zones during covert missions.
How does AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.4 impact the multiplayer experience?
Update 1.0.4 significantly enhances the multiplayer components with improved matchmaking algorithms for faster session joining. Connection stability has been bolstered to reduce mid-mission disconnections.
The co-op mission balancing has been adjusted to provide appropriate challenge regardless of player equipment levels. Synchronization between players has been improved to eliminate the visual lag sometimes experienced during cooperative play.
Voice chat functionality now works more consistently across different network configurations. These changes align with Ubisoft’s scheduled May 6th release of the update.
