The Tournament is a late side quest in Assassin’s Creed Shadows that unlocks only after you have pushed the Shinbakufu storyline and eliminated at least seven Shinbakufu targets. It is five consecutive duels, and each one pays out a weapon.
There is no entry fee. If you cannot find it, the reason is almost always that you have not cleared enough Shinbakufu targets yet.
Triggering the Quest
- Progress the main Shinbakufu storyline and eliminate at least seven of its targets.
- Leave your Hideout. You will run into Gyoji on the road near Lost Hills, who invites you and hands over the Tournament Invitation quest item.
- Travel to Ominesanji Temple in the Yoshino area of Yamato.
- Speak to Gyoji there to begin.
The meeting with Gyoji is triggered by leaving the Hideout once the target requirement is met, so if he has not appeared, go clear more Shinbakufu targets and travel again.
The Five Opponents and Their Rewards
The tournament runs as five fights in sequence, each against a named duellist:
- Lady Masago drops an epic Naginata.
- Lord Suguru drops an epic Long Katana and a rare Bow.
- Lord Hokuto drops an epic Kanabo.
- Lady O-Sen drops an epic Katana.
- Lord Unkai drops a legendary Naginata and a special engraving.
Clearing all five awards 5,000 XP and the Test Your Might trophy.
Note what that list is weighted toward. Naginata, Long Katana and Kanabo are all Yasuke weapons, so the tournament is disproportionately valuable if you are building him rather than Naoe.
Preparing for the Fights
These are straight duels rather than infiltrations, so the usual stealth approach does not apply.
A few things worth doing first:
- Bring the right loadout. You cannot change weapons mid-tournament the way you would between open-world objectives, so pick a pairing that covers both sustain and heavy damage.
- Come at an appropriate level. This is second-half content and the opponents are built for it.
- Save manually beforehand. With only five autosaves cycling, a manual save before the run gives you a clean restart point.
Tips Most Players Miss
- Lord Unkai last is the real prize. The legendary Naginata plus engraving is the reason to finish rather than stopping partway.
- The invitation is missable in the sense that it needs you to leave the Hideout. It is not a map marker you can hunt down early.
- Yasuke benefits more than Naoe. Three of the five rewards are weapon types only he can use.
If you are still deciding which protagonist to invest in, their weapon sets explain why this reward list favours one of them. Saving properly before a five-fight run matters too, and the save system has tighter limits than most people expect. Our full Assassin’s Creed Shadows guides cover the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you start The Tournament in AC Shadows? Eliminate at least seven Shinbakufu targets, then leave your Hideout to meet Gyoji near Lost Hills and travel to Ominesanji Temple in Yoshino.
How many fights are in The Tournament? Five, against Lady Masago, Lord Suguru, Lord Hokuto, Lady O-Sen and Lord Unkai.
What do you get for completing it? A weapon from each opponent, including a legendary Naginata and engraving from Lord Unkai, plus 5,000 XP and the Test Your Might trophy.
Is there an entry fee? No. The only requirement is the Shinbakufu target progress that triggers Gyoji’s invitation.