6 Tips and Tricks for Playing Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is a masterpiece, there is no denying it. It has the fundamental features of an open-world game, but with so many refreshingly good new elements. If you’ve already started playing the game or looking to get started, here are 6 things you should know before you play this PS4 exclusive game.

No Lock-On, No Problem!

As we see with many other combat heavy games, there’s usually a lock-on feature for the not-so accurate aims. However, in Ghost of Tsushima there isn’t a lock-on feature. Whilst at times you might find yourself surrounded by Mongols, a quick tip is press O and take a second to glance at how many enemies there are. In the settings you can also change how quick your camera moves, increase this to high and you can quickly scope out which enemy to tackle first.

Get the Archers First

There are different types of enemies to combat, and we’ll go into more detail about stances in the next tip. But if you ever find yourself in an overwhelming scenario, head for the archers first. They usually shout out before they shoot an arrow (you can hear it very clear with a gaming headset), so you know to dodge about a second after they shout. But nothing is more frustrating than getting so close to defeating them all, until an arrow from the archer kills you before you had time to re-heal.

In any combat scenario, run after them first and tackle them – you’ll thank yourself later.

Pay Attention to the Stances

If your combat strategy is button-mashing, think again when playing Ghost of Tsushima. Your introduced to different stances at the beginning of the game and each one effectively beats different types of enemy. You’ll get prompts pop up on-screen throughout the gameplay to help you along the way, but if you take the time to learn which stance is effective against each enemy, you’ll be an unstoppable Samurai.

Once you choose the relevant stance (pressing R2 and then selecting the best one), you can use square for a light attack and triangle for a heavy attack. Picking the right stance for a heavy attack makes it a lot easier to break through shields, sword, and long sword defences. Below are the sword stances:

Stone Stance - Fighting enemies with swords (R2 and X button)

Water Stance -Fighting enemies who have shields (R2 and circle button)

Wind Stance -Fighting enemies with spears (R2 and triangle button)

Moon Stance -Fighting Brute enemies who are much larger than the regular enemy (R2 and square button)

Follow the Animals

Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t have a mini map, or in fact any on-screen directions (other than the wind) to where you need to go. You might feel lost, but the open world is so beautiful you won’t mind exploring wherever you wish. One good prompt to look out for is the Fox Dens and yellow birds that will fly into the centre of your screen.

Follow the foxes as they will lead you to an Inari Shrine, which unlocks Charms slots and some unlock Minor Charms. There is a total of 49 across the map, and if you go to each one you’ll earn the Favor of the Kami trophy and a special mask for Jin – that’s one step closer to the Platinum!

The yellow songbirds will lead you to all sorts of gems across the map. From survivor camps, side quests, places of interests and goodies, you never know where the birds will lead you. You’ll find yourself travelling to a quest and then darting off to follow the birds!

Speak to the Villagers

Sometimes villagers will show a speech bubble above their head, we highly recommend you go speak to them. They don’t all send you on side quests but provide useful tips to guide you along your journey. After you’ve spoken to them, a rumoured location will then appear on your main map with a question mark. Speaking to villagers helps you discover new places, new gear and guide your journey to becoming the Ghost of Tsushima.

Balance Resolve and End Their Suffering

In this Samurai game, you don’t regain health automatically and you need to collect resolve to boost your health. You can get resolve when you kill enemies, but there’s one handy team to doubling up on your resolve.

After combat, once you’ve tackled all the enemies, we recommend you heal then. Once you’ve healed, go back over the dead bodies, loot them but if one of them is crawling away then press square and End their Suffering. You’ll get resolve for doing this so you can double up resolve in case you get into a bad attack from a bear (it happens to the best of us).

This game is sweeping the gaming community off its feet, with a charming world and powerful storyline that immerses you into the world of Jin. We know it can be hard to focus with so many things to explore but follow some of these tips and take your time! If you haven’t bought Ghost of Tsushima yet, you can buy it here and start your Samurai adventure.