Ghost of Tsushima is finally out and we’ve been playing it for about 3 weeks. With that amount of playtime under our belts, we believe we truly understand the way of the samurai. This Ghost of Tsushima guide will teach you our best tips and tricks to help you master your blade and be the deadliest force on the island of Tsushima.
Knowing your stances
In Ghost of Tsushima, your ability to be efficient in combat relies on your stance. You have four stances, each work against a specific enemy type. You can use all of these on any enemy but some work better than others. When you start the game, you’ll only have one stance and it’ll only work against swordsman.
These stances will allow you to use heavy attacks that stagger specific enemies. They’ll be completely vulnerable to attacks, making it incredibly easy to take out pesky shield soldiers.
As you kill “leaders” (big armored enemies in outposts and missions), you’ll gain new stances. It’s pretty easy to unlock just about all the stances rather quickly, which you should do. Simply go to outposts and without alerting anyone, find the leader. Get on a roof above them or hide behind something near them, then survey them. Surveying leaders before killing them grants you one point to get closer to a new stance.
Once you’ve done this, go in for the kill and you’ll get yet another point for a stance. This allows for a two in one situation, making it incredibly quick to level this trait up. Respectively, you’ll unlock a stance for enemies with shields, then spears, and then brutes.
So, in short, kill as many leaders in the first act of the game as you can. It’s going to make things way easier on you.
Surviving boss battles in Ghost of Tsushima
Boss battles in Ghost of Tsushima are tough because you can’t run away and your space is limited. You must master the balance between aggression and being defensive. Understand your surroundings, most boss battles take place in a circular arena-type space. That means when you have to dodge, try as much as you can to move to the sides. If you move too far back, you might trap yourself.
Many bosses fight primarily with unblockable heavy attacks (the red glints) that can take you out in one or two hits. They tend to have 2 or 3 of these, learn them. They usually have key animations that can prepare you for them so you know not to try to block them and can move out of the way. If you’re fighting someone with a sword, they’ll typically sheathe it and hold onto the handle before lunging at you. Gain some distance, they’ll tend to strike a couple of times.
If you’re near death and don’t have any Resolve left, it’s far better to play defense than offense. When you see an opportunity to block and parry an attack, you can gain a bit of Resolve. Doing this just a couple of times will allow you to get your health back and keep you in the fight.
Using your environment to your advantage
Ghost of Tsushima is very much a game about melee combat. That said, you have all kinds of other tools including throwables and a bow and arrow. There are all sorts of environmental hazards that you can use to take down enemies quickly and efficiently.
Notably, there are these fixtures with flaming logs that dangle all over the place. Sometimes they’re in watch towers which can take out archers surveying the area. Sometimes they’re hanging above combat encounters and can burn large groups, killing or heavily wounding them in the process. Keep an eye out for these and make good use of them by shooting them with arrows.
There are also explosive barrels which can be ignited by arrows or hitting them with your sword. Towers in larger bases will also have big turrets, something you will use in key moments in the story. Don’t be tricked though, those story moments give you unlimited ammo but when you find them in the open world, they have limited amounts.
Understanding Resolve
If you don’t know what Resolve is, it’s the circles in the corner of your screen. These circles can be used to heal you, resurrect you, and used for special moves. While those special moves can instantly kill an enemy, you may waste away something that could heal you in battle. Use it wisely, especially early on when you don’t have much. You can get more Resolve by leveling up and completing bamboo strikes found in the open world.
As previously noted, you can also easily regenerate Resolve by countering/parrying attacks perfectly.
Do the Mythic Tales
For the love of God, the Mythic Tales (blue quest markers) in Ghost of Tsushima will make your life so easy. These quests will offer you new weapons such as explosive bows, special moves, and more. You can even hover over the icons in the map or quest menu to see what rewards you’ll get if you want something specific.
These are also some of the most interesting side quests in the game. You’ll see some great setpieces, go to otherwise unseen places, and more. These quests are usually activated by finding a musician in a specific region who will set you off on your adventure. If you’re struggling to find them, go to the nearest town and an NPC will tell you where to find them.
