The second Domain in Assassin’s Creed Shadows throws four Domain Daisho and a poison soaked arena at you before you even reach the real test: Eamon Hathaway. If you’re trying to figure out how to beat Eamon Hathaway in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Second Domain without burning through every restock item you’ve stockpiled, the short version is this: clear the Daisho with stealth and kunai, stay out of the purple smoke, and walk into the boss arena with a build built around fast skill cooldowns. Eamon Hathaway, one of the Black Cross Templars introduced through the Black Tides content, hits much harder than anything you faced in the first trial, and he switches weapons mid fight to keep you guessing.

Bookmark this guide before you head in, since you’ll probably want to check the boss pattern again halfway through the fight. And if you haven’t run the opening trial yet, it’s worth reading up on the build that gets you through it first, because a lot of the same gear carries straight into this Domain.

What to Expect in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Second Domain

The objective here is basically the same one you saw the first time around, and that’s likely true for every Domain going forward. First, you need to destroy all four Domain Daisho, then you win the final battle. You’ll find and neutralize four Domain Daisho again, but in practice you’ll be fighting a lot more enemies than that number suggests. This Domain is built so you can’t sneak past most patrols unnoticed, which means stealth players are going to be forced into open fights more often than they’d like.

That’s actually one of the more interesting parts of this trial. The layout pushes your stealth skills hard, and kunai become your best friend here since they’re strong enough to drop enemies fast, even though they run out quickly and need to be used carefully. Domains themselves are a brand new endgame system, added in Title Update 1.1.11 on June 16, 2026 as the game’s final content drop, and the activity spans five separate trial simulations across ten challenge levels once you’ve hit level 30. That context matters, because the higher you push the challenge level, the more the game leans on hazards like the poison clouds you’ll run into here.

Surviving the Poison Clouds in the Second Domain

Poison clouds deserve their own mention because, unlike the first Domain, this hazard is genuinely dangerous. The purple smoke drains your health fast, so you need to keep a close eye on your surroundings and avoid walking through it whenever you can see it forming. Make a mental note of spots where you can naturally recover health, and circle back to them when you need to top off before the next fight.

Those safe spots are easy to spot once you know what to look for: they don’t carry the yellow or red aggression markers that the rest of the map throws at you. According to patch breakdowns of Title Update 1.1.11, environmental modifiers like these scale up as you raise a Domain’s challenge level, so don’t be surprised if the smoke gets thicker and the safe ground gets smaller on harder runs. Once you’ve cleared all four Domain Daisho, the MOD will prompt you to head to the central arena for the boss fight.

Best Build for the Second Domain Boss Fight

This fight will be brutal if you walk in without a build suited for it. It can be poison focused, fire focused, or built around active skill uptime, but the version that’s worked best in this Domain is the same Bloodshade katana setup that handled the first Domain’s enemy swarms, paired with Tidal Wave and Eviscerate so your active skills recharge almost continuously. The idea is simple: you attack the enemy almost nonstop with these skills instead of relying on slow basic combos.

If poison is more your style, Naoe’s poison kit is genuinely strong against Eamon Hathaway too. The Mamushi Snake armor set releases a poison cloud when enemies investigate a nearby corpse, and the Violet Night Katana carries an 18 percent poison buildup stat on top of triggering poison automatically whenever you deflect an attack, so it pairs naturally with a deflect heavy playstyle. Whichever direction you go, the goal is the same: you want a build that lets you punish the boss’s armor phase quickly and still has something left in reserve for the second half of the fight.

How to Beat Eamon Hathaway in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Second Domain: Breaking the Armor Bar

First, you need to destroy the yellow bar, which is his armor. It’s pretty straightforward once you know the rhythm: use Tidal Wave, land a few basic attacks while Eamon Hathaway is glowing yellow, then finish with Eviscerate. After that, step back from him completely. Dodge a few times until your abilities recharge and he finishes his current attack sequence, then repeat the whole loop.

Almost every time you create distance from him, he’ll swing his sword and send a semi transparent wave straight at you, and you need to dodge that to the side rather than backward. A good retreat pattern is to dodge backward in a straight line first, then start running in a circle around him, changing direction depending on where he’s facing. In most cases he’ll miss his ranged swing entirely if you keep moving.

Eamon Hathaway Phase 2: Spirit, Weapons, and How to Beat Him

Don’t lose focus once you think you’ve figured out the pattern, because everything starts to change around the time he hits half health. A transparent spirit begins appearing in the arena and starts attacking and shooting at you from range. The damage it deals isn’t huge on its own, but you always need to keep half an eye on it and dodge its shots, since getting hit by both the boss and the spirit at once adds up fast. This is exactly where an active ability that grants brief invulnerability earns its keep, since it lets you tank through the spirit’s attacks while you’re mid combo.

Pay attention to what’s in his hands too. With a sword and pistol, expect him to shoot, and a simple sideways dodge or sidestep is enough to make him miss. If a kanabo, a large spiked staff, shows up instead, be careful, because he’ll sometimes slam it into the ground to trigger a damaging burst from the floor beneath him, similar to what you’ve likely seen in the Lost and Found rift. He also switches to a straight staff at times, and the trick there is the same one that works the whole fight: stay at range and only close the gap using your active abilities instead of walking in on foot.

Tips for a Clean Second Domain Run and MODcoin Rewards

Toward the end of the fight, Eamon Hathaway tends to swap weapons more often, which makes his attacks harder to read on instinct alone. It’s not an unfair fight, but it does demand that you stay sharp the whole way through rather than coasting once you think you’ve won. After the kill, it’s worth a quick lap of the arena, though you likely won’t find anything else worth grabbing, so heading straight for the exit is a fine call too.

Clearing the Second Domain pays out 1,250 MODcoins, which you can spend immediately in MOD’s shop or the Exploit Tree to buff future runs. If you’re still working out which gear actually survives these longer Domain fights, it’s worth comparing notes with builds used against other late game bosses.

FAQ: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Second Domain and Eamon Hathaway

What is the objective of the Second Domain in Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
You need to find and defeat all four Domain Daisho scattered across, then head to the central arena to fight Eamon Hathaway once the MOD prompts you.

How dangerous are the poison clouds in the Second Domain?
Much more dangerous than the first Domain. The purple smoke drains health quickly, so avoid it on sight and retreat to spots without yellow or red aggression markers to recover.

What is the best build for the Eamon Hathaway boss fight?
A build with fast active skill cooldowns, like Bloodshade katana with Tidal Wave and Eviscerate, works well. A poison focused build using the Violet Night Katana and Mamushi Snake armor is a solid alternative.

How do you break Eamon Hathaway’s armor bar?
Open with Tidal Wave, land basic attacks while he’s glowing yellow, then finish with Eviscerate before retreating and dodging until your skills recharge.

How many MODcoins do you get for completing the Second Domain?
Beating Eamon Hathaway and clearing the Second Domain rewards 1,250 MODcoins, which you can spend right away on Exploits.

That’s everything you need to know about how to beat Eamon Hathaway in Assassin’s Creed Shadows Second Domain, from dodging the poison clouds to breaking his armor bar and surviving the spirit phase. Check out our other Assassin’s Creed Shadows and boss fight guides on ingametor.com for more Domain builds and full walkthroughs.