How To Romance Ibuki In Assassin’s Creed Shadows

TL;DR

  • Ibuki romance requires Yasuke as protagonist and specific dialogue choices throughout three quests
  • Permanent fail state occurs if all dialogue choices are negative, preventing recruitment entirely
  • Romance scene unlocks after successful recruitment to the League with heart icon responses
  • Complete quests in Iga region at level 20+ for optimal difficulty management
  • Save before critical conversations to avoid irreversible negative outcomes

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Are you aiming to pursue a romantic relationship with Ibuki in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? This skilled ronin harbors deep distrust toward Yasuke because of his previous service under Oda Nobunaga. Through careful dialogue selection and character development, you can demonstrate genuine personal growth and earn Ibuki’s trust.

Unlike typical romance narratives in the game that connect to Shinbakufu main quest chains, your interaction with Ibuki unfolds through an independent side quest sequence. This standalone narrative features crucial decision points where incorrect choices may result in complete failure to advance the relationship.

  • Romancing Ibuki is exclusively available when playing as Yasuke, requiring you to switch characters before initiating the Ambush Interrupted mission.
  • The romance path includes an irreversible failure condition that permanently blocks recruitment. Approach this as selecting favorable versus unfavorable conversation outcomes.
  • Choosing a combination of positive and negative responses still allows progression. However, exclusively picking negative dialogue options prevents Ibuki from joining your cause entirely.
  • Several romance-tagged interactions (marked with heart icons) occur during your encounters. The actual romantic scene triggers after successfully recruiting Ibuki into the League organization.

    The romance system for Ibuki operates through a weighted dialogue choice mechanism where each response carries either positive or negative relationship points. Unlike binary success/failure systems, this approach allows for partial success with mixed choices, though consistently poor decisions create permanent barriers.

    Critical Failure Prevention: The most significant risk involves selecting exclusively negative dialogue options across all interactions. This creates a fail state where Ibuki refuses recruitment regardless of subsequent actions. Always maintain at least one positive interaction per major conversation to avoid this outcome.

  • Save your game before initiating conversations with Ibuki to enable reloading if choices produce undesirable results
  • Monitor relationship progression through Ibuki’s demeanor and dialogue tone changes
  • Heart icon responses contribute bonus relationship points but aren’t strictly required for basic recruitment
  • Failed romance attempts cannot be reversed through in-game mechanics – restart from earlier save if necessary
  • Advanced players should note that certain combat performance metrics during shared missions may influence relationship development. Achieving stealth objectives and minimizing civilian casualties appears to positively impact Ibuki’s perception of your character.

    You can reference the accompanying visual guides for key locations related to Ibuki’s romance and recruitment storylines. These missions primarily occur within the Iga province, so reaching character level 20 or higher before attempting them ensures enemy encounters remain manageable.

    Begin by traveling to Kashiyama Village situated in the southern Hijiyama territory. Ensure Yasuke is your active character before conversing with Ibuki, who will interrogate the samurai about his past service under Nobunaga.

  • Optimal response: “I have changed.” – This demonstrates personal growth and willingness to atone for past actions
  • Avoid defensive or arrogant replies that reinforce Ibuki’s negative perceptions
  • Complete follow-up objectives efficiently to build trust through demonstrated competence
  • Quest Progression Timeline: The romance arc spans approximately 2-3 hours of gameplay across three main quests. Ambush Interrupted serves as the introduction, followed by the Homecoming two-part narrative, concluding with Putting Down Roots where the romance scene ultimately triggers.

    Ibuki map locations
    Quest 1: Ambush Interrupted
    Quest 2A: Homecoming - Kyobei and Nakatomi
    Quest 2B: Homecoming - Recruiting Ibuki into the League
    Quest 3: Putting Down Roots

    Character Preparation: Before pursuing Ibuki’s romance arc, ensure Yasuke has reached at least level 20 and possesses upgraded armor and weapons. The Iga region contains numerous high-level enemies that can overwhelm underprepared characters.

  • Complete nearby side content to gain experience and resources before initiating the romance questline
  • Upgrade Yasuke’s charisma-related skills to potentially unlock additional dialogue options
  • Time your approach – some players report better outcomes when completing Ibuki’s arc during specific in-game weather conditions
  • Common Pitfalls to Avoid: Many players mistakenly attempt this romance with Naoe, which immediately fails the prerequisite conditions. Others overlook the character switching requirement before the initial conversation, locking them out of romance possibilities entirely.

    Relationship Building Beyond Dialogue: Your actions during companion missions with Ibuki significantly impact relationship development. Choosing stealth over confrontation, showing mercy to defeated enemies, and protecting civilians all contribute positive relationship points that supplement your dialogue choices.

    For players interested in broader game mechanics, our Class Guide offers insights into character specialization that may inform your approach to Yasuke’s development throughout this narrative arc.

    Action Checklist

    • Reach character level 20+ and upgrade Yasuke’s equipment
    • Switch to Yasuke before traveling to Kashiyama Village
    • Save game before each major conversation with Ibuki
    • Select ‘I have changed’ and other growth-oriented dialogue options
    • Complete all three quests with optimal stealth and combat performance

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