If you’re trying to figure out the best target boards to complete first in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, start with the Kabukimono and the Butterfly Collector around Izumi Settsu and Osaka, then chase down the Golden Teppo hunt for an early legendary weapon.
Skip anything that pulls you toward Tamba or the late Shinbakufu names like The Fox and The Wise until you’ve picked up a few Mastery Points and some decent gear. The order you tackle these boards in shapes how hard the game feels for the next ten or so hours, so it’s worth getting right from the start. You can find more details about the game and all the guides for it on the ingametor website
Seta River killers in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the Seta River Killers investigation is a smaller optional chain of clues and crimes connected to river settlements and trade routes. Unlike structured target boards such as the Kabukimono or Butterfly Collector, this thread focuses more on uncovering scattered evidence, following witnesses, and piecing together hidden murders along the Seta River area.
This makes it feel closer to a detective-style side investigation rather than a full faction hunt. You won’t get a clear list of targets from the start instead, you gradually unlock leads as you explore riverside villages, talk to NPCs, and complete nearby regional activities.
It’s best to start this chain once you’ve unlocked a few fast travel points around Izumi Settsu, since most clues are spread along the river and nearby settlements. Trying to complete it too early can slow you down due to long travel distances and missing context clues.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows ✓ Seta River Killers All locations [Full Guide]
Understanding Target Boards in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
What the target board actually shows you
Each target board (Ubisoft calls it the Objective Board) lays out a web of connections between members of a faction, showing you who’s linked to who and roughly where they operate. Zooming in on a single target reveals their sub objectives, called opportunities, which are the clues and side tasks you need to finish before the actual assassination becomes available.
The different types of targets you’ll run into
Main story targets are the Shinbakufu members, a group of around a dozen high ranking figures tied to the Onryo plotline, and each one is a multi stage hunt that ends in a proper boss fight. Faction targets are smaller, regional groups like the Kabukimono, a band of eight performers turned killers spread across Izumi Settsu, or the Iron Hand Guild, a board of corrupt merchants you track down later in Tamba. Then you’ve got elite and optional contracts, tougher solo fights that hand out solid gear but aren’t required to finish the story.
How target boards connect to story progression
The main Shinbakufu line is gated by story beats, so certain targets won’t even appear on the board until you’ve hit specific cutscenes between Naoe and Yasuke. Working through the smaller faction boards on the side often turns up intel and side quests connected to those bigger Shinbakufu figures, which makes the eventual boss fights easier.
General Rules for Choosing Which Target Boards to Do First
Early game versus mid and late game targets
Early on, stick to the smaller, localized factions in Izumi Settsu and Yamashiro, things like the Kabukimono and the Butterfly Collector, since both regions are where the game expects you to spend your first several hours anyway. Once you’ve cleared early Shinbakufu targets like the Golden Teppo, boards like the Iron Hand Guild open up and start pulling you toward Tamba, which is a reasonable mid game step once your gear has caught up. Save the highest level Shinbakufu members.
Reading difficulty scaling before you commit
Before you commit to any target, scan them with Observe and check the color of their health bar. White means you’ll get a clean assassination, yellow means you’ll chip away a chunk of their health and still need to finish the fight, and red means the assassination gets blocked outright and you’re stuck in a straight fight against someone above your level.
Travel efficiency and region based optimization
Try to clear target boards by region rather than chasing a single faction’s members across the entire map, since Assassin’s Creed Shadows spreads its boards out geographically. Spend early Mon unlocking fast travel points and viewpoints around Izumi Settsu and Yamashiro first, that way every target hunt afterward starts you a short walk from your objective instead of a long ride across the map.
Weighing reward against effort
When you’re deciding what to do next, look at what a target actually unlocks rather than just its gear’s raw stats. A board that hands you a guaranteed Mastery Point or a unique engraving is usually worth more long term than a slightly better looking sword. It also helps to look for targets that are physically close together, since you can often chain several low health targets in one visit instead of making separate trips. And if a board sits behind a heavily fortified stronghold, it’s fine to leave it for later, the XP you’d get now usually isn’t worth the time it takes to get in.
Best Target Boards to Complete First (Early Game Priority List)
The low risk, high reward groups to start with
The two best target boards to complete first in Assassin’s Creed Shadows are the Kabukimono and the Butterfly Collector. The Kabukimono is a group of eight former performers turned bandits scattered across Izumi Settsu, and most of them are guarded by small groups of regular enemies rather than elite squads. The Butterfly Collector is more of an investigation than a fight, you’re tracking down origami butterflies around Osaka, which uncovers a kidnapping plot and leads you to four targets total.
Why the Kabukimono is the most beginner friendly faction
Out of all the early factions, the Kabukimono is the easiest to get comfortable with. Big Sueki, for example, is found just north of Amagasaki Castle in Muko Post Town, hanging around with a handful of Ronin in a tavern’s backyard with plenty of cover to work with. Save Chief Cuckoo for later in the chain though, he’s based at the heavily fortified Katano Oil Trading post southwest of Katano Castle and is considered the toughest of the eight, so it’s better to clear the easier members first and build up to him.
Targets that hand you a legendary weapon early
If there’s one early target board worth prioritizing for gear alone, it’s the Golden Teppo hunt on the Shinbakufu Onryo board. The target turns out to be a woman named Wakasa, and finishing her questline (the final mission is called Drive the Point Home) rewards you with the Shinobi’s Fury, a legendary tanto for Naoe that comes with a perk making weak point attacks apply Vulnerable a second time.
A solid first three to five target boards to tackle
For your first few hours, start with The Wounded, one of the very first targets the game gives you and a good way to learn how assassinations actually work. Then move on to the Golden Teppo hunt for Wakasa and the Shinobi’s Fury. After that, work through the easier Kabukimono members like Big Sueki before saving Chief Cuckoo for later, and pick away at the Butterfly Collector’s origami trail around Osaka whenever you’re passing through. Round it out with early Shinbakufu targets like Ember in Osaka’s Fishing District, who you can kill using the explosive barrels he patrols near, and Sato Katsubei at Yamazaki Castle in Yamashiro, who stands close enough to a wall that Yasuke can sneak right up on him.
Worst Target Boards to Avoid Early Game
High tier Shinbakufu chains with inflated difficulty
The main Shinbakufu board has a recommended order for a reason, and two names worth avoiding early are The Fox and The Wise. The Fox is one of the highest level mainline targets in the game and needs the most prep work of any Shinbakufu member, while The Wise is meant to be tackled late, once you’ve got real experience playing as both Naoe and Yasuke.
Boards that pull you into far off provinces too soon
The Iron Hand Guild is a good example of a board that looks tempting early but is better left for later. It only opens up after you’ve dealt with the Golden Teppo, and it sends you out to Tamba to track down a group of merchants, most of whom you’re actually meant to leave alive rather than kill.
Targets that punish you for being underleveled
Any target showing a red health bar when you scan them with Observe is a sign to walk away for now, since the assassination attempt gets blocked and you’ll be forced into open combat against someone with more health segments and better armor than you.
