Ghost of Tsushima’s combat system is one of the most exciting we’ve played in a video game this year. While it starts off somewhat simplistic, it grows in depth throughout the game and finishes with a range of different stances, special techniques, and unique weapons to make you feel like the ultimate samurai badass. Here we’re going to run through some Ghost of Tsushima tips & tricks that we’ve noted down after nearly 50 hours with the game over the past week.
Ghost of Tsushima Tips & Tricks For Beginners
Combat Basics
No doubt if you’re reading this guide then you’ve been through Ghost of Tsushima’s prologue and tutorial section, so you should have some grasp on the basics of combat. Still, it’s worth just reinforcing here what aspects of combat you should be focusing on improving from a skill point of view, as well as which techniques are likely to help you along the way.
As you may have already worked out, Ghost of Tsushima’s combat is a little like FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It’s not nearly as punishing, of course, thanks to a longer window in which to parry effectively, but the similarities are a good place for us to start.
Learning to parry effectively with the L1 button is crucial in the early game. You need to focus on getting used to the timing of it and making it muscle memory. Your best bet is to get used to enemy attack patterns. Wait for them to make the first move, then quickly hit L1.
Since the parrying window is so much more forgiving than Sekiro, you can actually just tap L1 repeatedly when you think an enemy attack is coming.
“Perfect Parry” is a Technique in the Samurai Deflection skill tree that all players should invest in. Timing a parry effectively will reward you with useful Resolve. Resolve is used to both heal Jin and use Mythic Combat arts.
The only exception to tapping L1 during an incoming attack is when you see either a blue flash or a red flash on the enemy’s weapon.
Both are unblockable attacks that you must roll away from, though the Unyielding Sword Parry skill in the Samurai’s Deflection tree will allow you to block the blue ones. For now (assuming you are early in the game), use circle to roll away from these and reset.
But you don’t have to parry to beat an enemy in Ghost of Tsushima. Any enemy can be overcome by Jin’s heavy attacks, which are performed by hitting triangle in any stance. The trick is using the appropriate stance for each enemy…
Switching Stances
This brings us to switching stances. As you improve your skills in Ghost of Tsushima you’ll get used to constantly holding R2 to switch between Stone, Water, Moon, and Wind stance. Each is capable of breaking the guard of a particular enemy type, which we’ve gone over in our detailed Weapon Stances guide.
The long and the short of it, though, is that any enemy, regardless of how much armor or what weapon/shield they are using, can be smashed to pieces by repeatedly hitting triangle. After about the third triangle, your enemy will get staggered and you can land strikes. The only thing you need to obviously watch out for are unblockable moves and getting surrounded by enemies.
Do note that upgrading your stances with technique points is advisable since it will improve your ability to more quickly stagger enemies, as well as unlock stance-specific moves.
Indeed, all stances have special attacks that are typically performed by a combination of holding and tapping triangle. These take a while to charge but are useful for taking enemies down quickly. In our experience, though, they aren’t really essential. They just look cool.
Ghost Weapons & Techniques
What you choose to pour Technique Points into throughout Ghost of Tsushima will ultimately depend on your playstyle, but for those struggling with combat or even just those who really enjoy it, our tip here is that you should be looking toward upgrading the following trees first:
- Samurai, Deflection
- Samurai, Evasion (just the roll, initially)
- Ghost, Evolving Tactics – Recover Health, Standoff, Assassination
Techniques within those trees and the specific ones we’ve mentioned will give Jin a solid foundation of abilities to take on enemies during combat.
However, we would always advise that you attempt to take on enemy camps/forts with a stealth approach first. Weed out the stragglers before taking on large groups of enemies.
And when those large groups of enemies come, Ghost Weapons are just the bag of tricks you’re after. In particular, the Kunai and Smoke Bombs are highly effective for dealing with multiple enemies.
The Kunai daggers throw three blades that temporarily incapacitate enemies, making them vulnerable to damage. They can also kill them if the enemy is low enough on health. Smoke Bombs not only cloak you but also open enemies up to assassinations, and if you’ve invested in the Chain Assassination Technique you’ll be able to take out up to three enemies.
Duels & Boss Encounters
Now we come to tips for Ghost of Tsushima’s most challenging combat sequences. You’ll be doing a lot of duelling throughout the game, and honestly the difficulty is somewhat inconsistent between each encounter.
In general, though, all of these boss fights follow a pattern. Your enemy will have a standard, blockable attack that you should be looking to capitalize on with a perfect parry and counter-strike. They will then have a blue and red flashing move, often chained together across two or three moves.
As always, roll/dash away whenever you see the red flash. And in the case of bosses, you should probably prepare yourself to roll/dash multiple times since it is likely to be chained with another one or two strikes.
Note that once you have upgraded to the Unyielding Sword Parry technique within the Deflection tree, you can start trying to parry attacks with the blue flash.
Our best advice for duels, however, is twofold:
First, remember to use the correct stance depending on what weapon the boss is using. Typically, it’s Stone Stance for sword versus. sword combat. This will allow you to use triangle to wear down the enemy’s guard. Once it is depleted, the enemy will be staggered and you can attack.
Second, and this is a hot tip so listen up: Every boss will at one point sheath their sword and walk toward you. When they get close they will unleash an unblockable red attack. This is bad.
However, you have the opportunity to land a free strike as they walk toward you. As soon as they sheath their sword, walk forward and slash them with a heavy attack before immediately retreating. This works almost every single time. You can also use a special attack by holding the button then tapping triangle to stab (Stone Stance).
A Final Word
The final tip we have for you is to remember that Ghost of Tsushima offers lots of different combat options for you, so make sure you use everything at your disposal.
Go through the Technique section of the menu and plan out which upgrades will make Jin the sort of build that you not only enjoy playing but will prove useful in combat. This includes getting a bow and arrow (Way of the Bow side quest), learning Assassination, and making sure to learn Deflection and Evasion moves that make Jin a more well-rounded warrior.
Finally, make sure you go and discover Mythic Tales. These quests will reward you with special combat abilities, two of which are unblockable sword strikes. Heavenly Strike, and Dance of Wrath, are the two most effective, so look out for the appropriate quests to earn them.
Looking for more Ghost of Tsushima tips and tricks? We’ve got plenty where that came from over in our wiki.
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