“Way of the Blacksmith” is an early quest in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It is part of the League board of your Objectives menu.
The quest starts right after you build the first room — the Kakurega — in your Hideout at Tomiko’s Homestead. Right after you take in Junjiro, Tomiko will suggest you find Heiji the blacksmith in Sakai. You’ll need to do so to unlock the Forge for your Hideout.
Our Assassin’s Creed Shadows guide will tell you where to find Heiji to complete the “Way of the Blacksmith” quest and build the Forge.
Where to find Heiji in ‘Way of the Blacksmith’
Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft via Polygon
You’ll have the “Way of the Blacksmith” quest on your the League board of your Objectives menu, right under Tomiko’s portrait. The clues you have will say that Heiji…
- Is in southwestern Izumi Settsu
- Is in Sakai
- Is east of the Port of Sakai
If you want to s(p)end scouts looking for him, focus in the area close to the shore about a block back. Or you can just look at the map above to see where Heiji is located. And below, let’s get into how you can reach him.
How to reach Heiji in ‘Way of the Blacksmith’
Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft via Polygon
When you get to Sakai, head to the rooftops along the western side of the main street.
Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft via Polygon
Once up there, you’ll find Heiji in a small courtyard west of the street. Observe (L2/LT by default) to focus and look for his blue marker. There will be a bunch of resources (yellow dots) around him along with four thugs (white dots).
Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft via Polygon
Luckily, the baddies are all facing the same way, so you can just work your way from north to south and assassinate each of them without too much trouble.
When the killing is done, talk to Heiji. After that, you’ll have to gather some resources for the Forge you need to build.
How to build the Forge in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Building any new buildings or rooms at your Hideout require Hideout Resources — namely, crops, wood, and minerals. You’ll kind of just pick these up everywhere as you play and, early on, you’ll probably have enough to get by.
Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft via Polygon
The Forge you need to build for Heiji requires 40 crops, 30 wood, and 10 minerals. The three buckets (barrels?) of rocks right next to where you rescued him will get you 15 minerals
If you’re running low on anything else, though, there are some places you can look.
Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft via Polygon
At a kakurega — like the Kakurega room you built at the Hideout or the Sakai kakurega you can unlock for 800 mon — you can take on contracts. One of these will be a liberate cargo contract that sees you looting some military supplies. Those contracts will always get you a ton of resources for very little work (stabbing).
You can also just look around for castles and camps as you travel. There are always resources stashed inside them for you to sneak in and grab. And with castles, you’ll have a chance to earn mastery points as well.
Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft via Polygon
Once you have enough resources, head back to Tomiko’s Homestead. Back at the Hideout, open the Build menu and you can find the Forge in the second group down.
When it’s up and running, you can visit Heiji to upgrade or dismantle your gear.
For more Assassin’s Creed Shadows guides, see our running lists of Lost Pages, Kuji-kiri, and armor locations. Or see our full Assassin’s Creed Shadows walkthrough, and our guides on how to get all companions and romance options.
