Assassin's Creed Shadows enhances the open-world formula seen in previous entries in the series by introducing some dynamic elements that make the world feel more alive than ever. Some of these elements also have a considerable impact on the gameplay, such as Seasons. Depending on the current one, Naoe and Yasuke will have to deal with different weather and environmental conditions that can make certain quests easier or harder to complete. Other mechanics, such as the Scouts mechanics, are also tied to the cycle of Seasons, so knowing how they change is extremely important to take full advantage of all the mechanics tied to them.
The changing of Seasons in Assassin's Creed Shadows depends on the actual passage of time. Spring, Summer and Autumn last 140 minutes, while Winter 180 minutes. No matter which activity you complete in the game, there's no way to speed up the changing of Seasons, altough there are ways to prevent a Season from changing automatically, or initiate a change manually when the time is up.
To learn when a Season will end, all you need to do is open the main menu and access the World tab. In the upper right corner of the map, you will find a compass with a circulation progression bar. Once it is filled with the passage of time, the Season will change if you either fast travel, complete a mission or hold the right directional button while in the World menu. The same will happen if you do any of the things above when the progression bar is halfway full. In this case, you will trigger a mid-season refresh that won't change the Season, but will refresh locations, local factions and alerts.
Even if the Season has ended, if you do not fast travel, complete a mission or trigger the change manually via the main menu, it will not change, so you can use this to your advantage. During Spring, for example, you will find additional vegetation all over the world, which you can use to better conceal yourself if needed. During Fall, to make another example, weather will change more often, and you can use a heavy downpour at night to have an easier time sneaking inside enemy strongholds or camps. Being able to change the Season at wish might have been better for some, but this new Assassin's Creed Shadows system, if used correctly, can still be a strong tool to help Naoe and Yasuke in their quest.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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