In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the cyclical nature of seasons influences not only the landscape but also enemy dynamics and resource smuggling efforts. While seasons transition automatically when you fast travel or complete various quests, players have the option to manually switch between Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Here’s how to make those changes.
Changing Seasons in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
To change the seasons at will, you must first complete the quest titled An Unpayable Debt, which is the sixth quest in the game and unfolds in two segments. After you’ve wrapped up that quest, navigate to the World tab in your menu and hold the Change Season option. On PC, this corresponds to the H key, while console players will use the right D-pad. The icon resembles a compass with the current season’s symbol at its center, surrounded by a progression bar.
You can only initiate a season change when the progression bar is at least half full or completely full. Typically, a season can span approximately 140-180 minutes in the game. Once a season concludes, your scouts finalize their smuggling operations, which allows you to gather resources essential for upgrading and personalizing your Hideout.
Each seasonal transition brings a reset or replenishment of various game elements, including your scouts, contracts at Kakuregas, Wanted Levels, local factions, and enemy/NPC behavior. If enemies sound an alarm in their area, this triggers a regional alert affecting your Wanted level, thereby increasing the challenge in that region. Scouts can assist in neutralizing this threat, which can be done by enhancing your Kakurega and selecting the Clear Regional Alert option from the map.
Additionally, resources across different locations will respawn, and vendors will restock their inventories. You can also exploit seasonal visual transformations—like the length of grass—for your stealth operations.
That’s the comprehensive guide to changing seasons in AC Shadows. For further insights and strategies, such as locating the Executioner in The Killing Field and the implications of your choice between Otama or Wakasa, explore our other guides.