diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 5f60cab85b..a9f58613c1 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -259,9 +259,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "assets_manager"
-version = "0.8.4"
+version = "0.9.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "881c75fa0f271acf5440031d68d05398cea3e17dc8a418300839eaf0fed57cd2"
+checksum = "5cf9ce861ea14ebc2339372bafa6b7607adabfddd5679fee761956b3f76243eb"
 dependencies = [
  "ab_glyph",
  "ahash 0.8.0",
diff --git a/client/i18n/src/lib.rs b/client/i18n/src/lib.rs
index be1bc8890b..74da0e45bb 100644
--- a/client/i18n/src/lib.rs
+++ b/client/i18n/src/lib.rs
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ use hashbrown::HashMap;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::{borrow::Cow, io};
 
-use assets::{source::DirEntry, AssetExt, AssetGuard, AssetHandle, ReloadWatcher};
+use assets::{source::DirEntry, AssetExt, AssetGuard, AssetHandle, ReloadWatcher, SharedString};
 use tracing::warn;
 // Re-export because I don't like prefix
 use common_assets as assets;
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ impl Language {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for Language {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, path: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, path: &SharedString) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         let manifest = cache
             .load::<raw::Manifest>(&[path, ".", "_manifest"].concat())?
             .cloned();
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ impl assets::Compound for Language {
                     };
 
                     let resource = FluentResource::try_new(src).map_err(|(_ast, errs)| {
-                        ResourceErr::parsing_error(errs, id.to_owned(), &source.src)
+                        ResourceErr::parsing_error(errs, id.to_string(), &source.src)
                     })?;
 
                     bundle
@@ -445,12 +445,15 @@ impl LocalizationHandle {
 struct FindManifests;
 
 impl assets::DirLoadable for FindManifests {
-    fn select_ids<S: assets::Source + ?Sized>(
-        source: &S,
-        specifier: &str,
-    ) -> io::Result<Vec<assets::SharedString>> {
+    fn select_ids(
+        cache: assets::AnyCache,
+        specifier: &SharedString,
+    ) -> io::Result<Vec<SharedString>> {
+        use assets::Source;
+
         let mut specifiers = Vec::new();
 
+        let source = cache.source();
         source.read_dir(specifier, &mut |entry| {
             if let DirEntry::Directory(spec) = entry {
                 let manifest_spec = [spec, ".", "_manifest"].concat();
@@ -469,7 +472,7 @@ impl assets::DirLoadable for FindManifests {
 struct LocalizationList(Vec<LanguageMetadata>);
 
 impl assets::Compound for LocalizationList {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &SharedString) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         // List language directories
         let languages = assets::load_dir::<FindManifests>(specifier, false)
             .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Failed to get manifests from {}: {:?}", specifier, e))
diff --git a/common/assets/Cargo.toml b/common/assets/Cargo.toml
index e32406915d..5bba91fee8 100644
--- a/common/assets/Cargo.toml
+++ b/common/assets/Cargo.toml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ version = "0.10.0"
 
 [dependencies]
 lazy_static = "1.4.0"
-assets_manager = {version = "0.8.1", features = ["bincode", "ron", "json"]}
+assets_manager = {version = "0.9", features = ["bincode", "ron", "json"]}
 ron = { version = "0.8", default-features = false }
 dot_vox = "4.0"
 wavefront = "0.2" # TODO: Use vertex-colors branch when we have models that have them
diff --git a/common/src/comp/body/ship.rs b/common/src/comp/body/ship.rs
index 1c722d6b5a..45d08c68f8 100644
--- a/common/src/comp/body/ship.rs
+++ b/common/src/comp/body/ship.rs
@@ -206,7 +206,10 @@ pub mod figuredata {
     }
 
     impl assets::Compound for ShipSpec {
-        fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, _: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+        fn load(
+            cache: assets::AnyCache,
+            _: &assets::SharedString,
+        ) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
             let manifest: AssetHandle<Ron<ShipCentralSpec>> =
                 AssetExt::load("common.manifests.ship_manifest")?;
             let mut colliders = HashMap::new();
diff --git a/common/src/comp/inventory/item/mod.rs b/common/src/comp/inventory/item/mod.rs
index c0879c1abd..74080d2a82 100644
--- a/common/src/comp/inventory/item/mod.rs
+++ b/common/src/comp/inventory/item/mod.rs
@@ -658,7 +658,7 @@ impl PartialEq for Item {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for ItemDef {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, BoxedError> {
+    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &assets::SharedString) -> Result<Self, BoxedError> {
         if specifier.starts_with("veloren.core.") {
             return Err(format!(
                 "Attempted to load an asset from a specifier reserved for core veloren functions. \
@@ -796,7 +796,7 @@ impl Item {
     pub fn new_from_asset_glob(asset_glob: &str) -> Result<Vec<Self>, Error> {
         let specifier = asset_glob.strip_suffix(".*").unwrap_or(asset_glob);
         let defs = assets::load_dir::<RawItemDef>(specifier, true)?;
-        defs.ids().map(Item::new_from_asset).collect()
+        defs.ids().map(|id| Item::new_from_asset(id)).collect()
     }
 
     /// Creates a new instance of an `Item from the provided asset identifier if
@@ -1253,7 +1253,7 @@ pub fn all_item_defs_expect() -> Vec<String> {
 /// Returns all item asset specifiers
 pub fn try_all_item_defs() -> Result<Vec<String>, Error> {
     let defs = assets::load_dir::<RawItemDef>("common.items", true)?;
-    Ok(defs.ids().map(|id| id.to_owned()).collect())
+    Ok(defs.ids().map(|id| id.to_string()).collect())
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/common/src/comp/inventory/item/tool.rs b/common/src/comp/inventory/item/tool.rs
index 5a08be555e..78bd405fa1 100644
--- a/common/src/comp/inventory/item/tool.rs
+++ b/common/src/comp/inventory/item/tool.rs
@@ -434,7 +434,10 @@ impl Asset for AbilityMap<String> {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for AbilityMap {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(
+        cache: assets::AnyCache,
+        specifier: &assets::SharedString,
+    ) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         let manifest = cache.load::<AbilityMap<String>>(specifier)?.read();
 
         Ok(AbilityMap(
diff --git a/common/src/comp/inventory/loadout_builder.rs b/common/src/comp/inventory/loadout_builder.rs
index 637b493770..c5523b215e 100644
--- a/common/src/comp/inventory/loadout_builder.rs
+++ b/common/src/comp/inventory/loadout_builder.rs
@@ -1272,7 +1272,7 @@ mod tests {
             let loadout =
                 LoadoutSpec::load_cloned(loadout_id).expect("failed to load loadout asset");
             loadout
-                .validate(vec![loadout_id.to_owned()])
+                .validate(vec![loadout_id.to_string()])
                 .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("{loadout_id} is broken: {e:?}"));
         }
     }
@@ -1287,7 +1287,7 @@ mod tests {
             let loadout =
                 LoadoutSpec::load_cloned(loadout_id).expect("failed to load loadout asset");
             loadout
-                .validate(vec![loadout_id.to_owned()])
+                .validate(vec![loadout_id.to_string()])
                 .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("{loadout_id} is broken: {e:?}"));
         }
     }
diff --git a/common/src/comp/inventory/trade_pricing.rs b/common/src/comp/inventory/trade_pricing.rs
index 39cb10aee5..58024af6b9 100644
--- a/common/src/comp/inventory/trade_pricing.rs
+++ b/common/src/comp/inventory/trade_pricing.rs
@@ -466,7 +466,10 @@ impl EqualitySet {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for EqualitySet {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, id: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(
+        cache: assets::AnyCache,
+        id: &assets::SharedString,
+    ) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         #[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
         enum EqualitySpec {
             LootTable(String),
diff --git a/common/src/generation.rs b/common/src/generation.rs
index cd6b7be045..764165c793 100644
--- a/common/src/generation.rs
+++ b/common/src/generation.rs
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ impl EntityConfig {
 /// Return all entity config specifiers
 pub fn try_all_entity_configs() -> Result<Vec<String>, Error> {
     let configs = assets::load_dir::<EntityConfig>("common.entity", true)?;
-    Ok(configs.ids().map(|id| id.to_owned()).collect())
+    Ok(configs.ids().map(|id| id.to_string()).collect())
 }
 
 #[derive(Clone)]
diff --git a/common/src/recipe.rs b/common/src/recipe.rs
index 9382fea6d7..9d6fa5a8a6 100644
--- a/common/src/recipe.rs
+++ b/common/src/recipe.rs
@@ -473,7 +473,10 @@ impl assets::Asset for ItemList {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for RecipeBook {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(
+        cache: assets::AnyCache,
+        specifier: &assets::SharedString,
+    ) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         #[inline]
         fn load_item_def(spec: &(String, u32)) -> Result<(Arc<ItemDef>, u32), assets::Error> {
             let def = Arc::<ItemDef>::load_cloned(&spec.0)?;
@@ -828,7 +831,10 @@ enum RawComponentOutput {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for ComponentRecipeBook {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(
+        cache: assets::AnyCache,
+        specifier: &assets::SharedString,
+    ) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         #[inline]
         fn create_recipe_key(raw_recipe: &RawComponentRecipe) -> ComponentKey {
             match &raw_recipe.output {
@@ -903,7 +909,10 @@ pub fn default_component_recipe_book() -> AssetHandle<ComponentRecipeBook> {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for ReverseComponentRecipeBook {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(
+        cache: assets::AnyCache,
+        specifier: &assets::SharedString,
+    ) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         let forward = cache.load::<ComponentRecipeBook>(specifier)?.cloned();
         let mut recipes = HashMap::new();
         for (_, recipe) in forward.iter() {
diff --git a/common/src/terrain/structure.rs b/common/src/terrain/structure.rs
index 78eeea91ed..1c97296c52 100644
--- a/common/src/terrain/structure.rs
+++ b/common/src/terrain/structure.rs
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ impl std::ops::Deref for StructuresGroup {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for StructuresGroup {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, BoxedError> {
+    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &assets::SharedString) -> Result<Self, BoxedError> {
         let specs = cache.load::<StructuresGroupSpec>(specifier)?.read();
 
         Ok(StructuresGroup(
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ impl ReadVol for Structure {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for BaseStructure {
-    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &str) -> Result<Self, BoxedError> {
+    fn load(cache: assets::AnyCache, specifier: &assets::SharedString) -> Result<Self, BoxedError> {
         let dot_vox_data = cache.load::<DotVoxAsset>(specifier)?.read();
         let dot_vox_data = &dot_vox_data.0;
 
diff --git a/voxygen/Cargo.toml b/voxygen/Cargo.toml
index 101215093d..f3f99314d0 100644
--- a/voxygen/Cargo.toml
+++ b/voxygen/Cargo.toml
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ server = { package = "veloren-server", path = "../server", optional = true, defa
 clap = { version = "3.2.20", features = ["derive"] }
 
 # Utility
-assets_manager = {version = "0.8", features = ["ab_glyph"]}
+assets_manager = {version = "0.9", features = ["ab_glyph"]}
 backtrace = "0.3.40"
 bincode = "1.3.1"
 chrono = { version = "0.4.22", features = ["serde"] }
diff --git a/voxygen/src/audio/music.rs b/voxygen/src/audio/music.rs
index d4b7e90d9c..f7e477959e 100644
--- a/voxygen/src/audio/music.rs
+++ b/voxygen/src/audio/music.rs
@@ -552,7 +552,7 @@ impl assets::Asset for SoundtrackCollection<RawSoundtrackItem> {
 }
 
 impl assets::Compound for SoundtrackCollection<SoundtrackItem> {
-    fn load(_: assets::AnyCache, id: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(_: assets::AnyCache, id: &assets::SharedString) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
         let manifest: AssetHandle<SoundtrackCollection<RawSoundtrackItem>> = AssetExt::load(id)?;
         let mut soundtrack = SoundtrackCollection::default();
         for item in manifest.read().tracks.iter().cloned() {
diff --git a/voxygen/src/render/renderer/shaders.rs b/voxygen/src/render/renderer/shaders.rs
index 4270219422..c2d4b645a2 100644
--- a/voxygen/src/render/renderer/shaders.rs
+++ b/voxygen/src/render/renderer/shaders.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ pub struct Shaders {
 impl assets::Compound for Shaders {
     // TODO: Taking the specifier argument as a base for shaders specifiers
     // would allow to use several shaders groups easily
-    fn load(_: assets::AnyCache, _: &str) -> Result<Shaders, assets::BoxedError> {
+    fn load(_: assets::AnyCache, _: &assets::SharedString) -> Result<Shaders, assets::BoxedError> {
         let shaders = [
             "include.constants",
             "include.globals",
diff --git a/voxygen/src/scene/figure/load.rs b/voxygen/src/scene/figure/load.rs
index d9d7a9c623..9392125476 100644
--- a/voxygen/src/scene/figure/load.rs
+++ b/voxygen/src/scene/figure/load.rs
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ macro_rules! make_vox_spec {
         }
 
         impl assets::Compound for $Spec {
-            fn load(_: assets::AnyCache, _: &str) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
+            fn load(_: assets::AnyCache, _: &assets::SharedString) -> Result<Self, assets::BoxedError> {
                 Ok($Spec {
                     $( $field: AssetExt::load($asset_path)?, )*
                 })