Ghost of Tsushima Guide: 9 Tips for New Samurai
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Ghost of Tsushima Guide: 9 Tips for New Samurai
One island, two ways to fight — honorable samurai or silent Ghost. These 9 tips fix the early mistakes that get Jin cut down, so your katana, stances and stealth actually work together from the first duel.
1. Start Right: Your First Hours on Tsushima
Tip 1 — Pick a fair fight. Medium difficulty teaches real timing. Lethal is for a second run. Follow the main Tales first: rescue Lord Shimura's story missions unlock core tools fast.
Tip 2 — Unlock stances on purpose. Defeat or observe Mongol leaders in camps to earn stance points. You need all four stances — fighting everyone in Stone Stance is why early combat feels unfair.
Tip 3 — Spend Technique Points on survival first. Perfect Parry, Perfect Dodge, and the roll move save more health than any damage upgrade. Like our God of War Ragnarok guide, defense first wins longer fights.
2. Match the Stance to the Enemy
Hold the stance button and swap mid-fight. The right stance breaks enemy guard fast; the wrong one just bounces off.
| Stance | Best Against | Unlock Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Stone | Swordsmen | Start — piercing thrusts |
| Water | Shieldmen | Flowing strikes break shields |
| Wind | Spearmen | Typhoon kick launches foes |
| Moon | Brutes | Spinning strikes stagger big enemies |
Tip 4 — Watch for glints. Blue glint = parry it. Red glint = dodge it, it cannot be blocked. Perfect parries and dodges slow time and open a free counter.
3. Samurai by Day, Ghost by Night
Tip 5 — Use Standoffs, then cheat a little. Start open fights with a Standoff for free kills and Resolve, then thin the camp with stealth before the alarm spreads.
Tip 6 — Ghost weapons win outnumbered fights. Kunai finish staggered enemies, Smoke Bombs reset a bad fight and enable assassinations, Sticky Bombs and Black Powder Bombs break groups. Wind Chimes and Firecrackers lure guards away from patrols.
Tip 7 — Resolve is your health bar. Kills, parries and Standoffs fill Resolve. Spend it on healing and on special moves like the Heavenly Strike and Dance of Wrath you earn from Mythic Tales.
4. Explore Smart and Gear Up
Tip 8 — Follow the island, not just markers. The Guiding Wind leads to your objective. Golden Birds lead to secrets, fox dens lead to Inari Shrines and extra charm slots, Hot Springs raise max health, Bamboo Strikes raise max Resolve, and Haiku spots grant headbands.
Tip 9 — Match armor to the job. Samurai Clan Armor for open combat, Traveler's Attire for exploring (it vibrates near collectibles), and Ghost Armor for stealth. Swap charms the same way — damage and defense for duels, stealth and Resolve for camps. Upgrade the katana and tanto at swordsmiths with supplies, iron and steel whenever you can.
Prefer huge open worlds first? Our Skyrim beginner guide and Witcher 3 mistakes guide pair perfectly with this one.
Your First-Week Checklist
- Unlock all four stances by hunting Mongol leaders
- Learn blue = parry, red = dodge until it is reflex
- Buy Perfect Parry, Perfect Dodge and roll early
- Clear camps with stealth first, Standoff second
- Do Mythic Tales for Heavenly Strike and new armor
- Chase fox dens, Hot Springs and Bamboo Strikes
- Upgrade katana, tanto and your main armor set
Which duel gave you the most trouble — the first Ryuzo fight, or a Standoff you mistimed by a breath?
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