Summary
As an expansive open-world game,Ghost of Tsushimaoffers players a ton of content. Given they are playing as a samurai, there is a large focus on swordplay and combat, with fluid and exciting battles wherever the player journeys. While players can progress through the game without any powerful builds, there are some that are naturally powerful.
The main aspect ofGhost of Tsushimais indeed the swordplay, with many armor pieces and charms revolving around it, but there are other avenues to pursue that can also prove powerful. Utilizing ghost weapons, ranged attacks, and status effects can lead tostrong builds, easily staying away from harm while still dealing high damage. However, that doesn’t trivialize sword combat either, as some builds can rely on melee damage and still be powerful.
6Injured Resolve Gain Build
Able To Gain Resolve To Pull Off Devastating Attacks
Resolve is a crucial part ofGhost of Tsushima, used for healing and forexecuting special attacks. With this build, players will gain resolve whenever they are injured, and will also have a larger amount of health.
TheSamurai Clan Armorgrants increased injured resolve gain, significantly reduces damage, and grants a huge amount of health. TheCharm of Kagu-tsuchigrants bonus damage when at 50% health or below, which will happen frequently given the injured resolve gain property. TheCharm of Heavenly Rebukecauses a lightning strike whenever players use Heavenly Rebuke, an action that needs resolve to execute, which the build is dedicated to. Most minor charms relate to gaining resolve in various ways: theCharm of Silenceincreases resolve gains by a massive amount, theCharm of Broken Barriersgrants resolve when breaking an enemy’s defense, and theCharm of Resolve 2gifts a bonus increase to allresolve gains. TheCharm of Fortunate Returngrants a 15% chance to return one resolve when using abilities that require resolve. All these charms help with gaining resolve, helping the player to execute the special abilities that use it, and devastating enemies.
5Ghost Stance Build
Utilizing The Effects Of The Ghost Stance
The multiple stances are an important aspect ofGhost of Tsushima, with the Ghost Stance being a secret ability unlocked via the main story. It is an incredibly strong ability, instantly killing enemies found acrossthe open world, with the eponymousGhost Armorgoing hand-in-hand with earning the stance. It reduces the number of kills needed to charge the stance by two, being able to easily defeat enemies more often. The armor also reduces enemy detection speed by 50%, and kills will have a 40% chance to terrify enemies.
TheCharm of Ghostly Furyis an obvious choice, losing only one Ghost Stance tick instead of the counter resetting when damaged, as well as the ability to kill an extra enemy when in the stance, further increasing its power. TheCharm of Ikazuchi-no-Kamiworks well given the Ghost Stance’s propensity to terrify enemies, but terrifying enemies in normal combat is also beneficial, as they become easy targets to build up the Ghost Stance, and they won’t hit the player anymore, which can potentially reset the stance. TheCharm of Fire Doctrinefurther helps with this, as burning an enemy has a 15% chance to terrify other enemies. TheCharm of Immunityis a strong charm to avoid resetting the Ghost Stance, as it has a 15% chance to negate enemy arrow damage, which can be stacked. Other charms are more so suited for regular combat in between using the Ghost Stance: theCharm of Inari’s Might, Charm of Ferocity, and Charm of Dual Destruction 2all help the player deal more damage.
4Perfect Parry Build
High Risk, High Reward
A core part ofGhost of Tsushima’scombat is thedeflecting and parrying the player can execute. This build focuses on that, particularly with perfect parries thanks to theSarugami Armor. The Sarugami Amor disables normal parrying, but any perfect parry becomes a chain of three attacks that blinds nearby enemies, in addition to the perfect parry window being massively increased. It also gives a colossal increase to health. Being able to severely damage enemies with perfect parries is a powerful ability, and with charms to further increase the deadliness of the Sarugami Armor, it;s nearly unstoppable.
TheCharm of Mizu-no-Kamifurther increases the perfect parry window, making it even easier to perform, with theCharm of Mashira’s Protectionalso doing this, specifically for a limited time after the player heals. TheCharm of Ferocity,Charm of Dual Destruction 2, and theCharm of Inari’s Mightall help with regular combat, increasing damage by a specific amount, granting a 10% chance to deal double damage, and boosting damage and health by a massive amount respectively.Hachiman’s Favorcan alleviate any damage taken via a failed perfect parry, by restoring a bit of health via defeating an enemy.
3Ghost Weapon Build
Dealing Massive Damage Via Ghost Weapons
Ghost of Tsushimaisn’t all about melee combat, or stealth attacking enemies. Theghost weapons are viableways to take out opponents as well, with theKensei Armorgiving a bonus to such attacks. The Kensei Armor grants a 40% bonus to ghost weapon damage, as well as the ability for ghost weapons that hit enemies to debuff them into dealing 50% less damage and receiving 50% more damage. The armor also increases resolve gains by a massive amount.
As for the charms, theCharm of Hidden Bladesthrows two additional kunai, clearly dealing bonus damage. TheCharm of Uneven Standingprovides a bonus to sticky bombs, knocking enemies down for longer, and leaving them open for attacks for longer. As for the minor charms, theCharm of Dual Destruction 2gifts a 10% chance to deal double damage, further increasing the damage of ghost weapons, while theCharm of Advantagegrants a 20% ghost weapon damage bonus. Equipping two of these will increase the effect to 40%, even further increasing the damage of ghost weapons. TheCharm of Inari’s Mightis more for whenever the player fights regularly, boosting melee damage and health by a massive amount. With all these charms,ghost weapons will deal devastating damage, especially when paired with the Kensei Armor.
2Fire Damage Build
Setting Fire To Everyone Around
While the main aspect ofGhost of Tsushima’scombat is swordplay, there are other avenues for players to fight with. One such path is fighting with fire, as it can be a powerful tool to defeat enemies, and can come from various weapons. Half-bows can fire flaming arrows, soTadayori’s Armorand theArchery Master’s Attireare natural choices, both increasing nocking and reload speeds by 45%, increasing concentration time by three seconds, and any headshots landed on enemies fill 50% of Jin’s concentration. TheCharm of Incinerationhelps a particular ranged weapon to deal fire damage, as Black Powder Bombs will now set enemies on fire and burn nearby adversaries.
For melee combat, theCharm of Blazing Fireis a crucial charm, with Way of the Flame dealing more damage and setting fire to additional enemies via heavy attacks, easily damaging groups of adversaries. TheCharm of Steadfasthelps with this, increasing the time Way of the Flame is active, allowing players to set more enemies alight and deal more damage. With all the enemies being set on fire, theCharm of Enduring Afflictionproves valuable, as status effects last 50% longer and deal 50% more damage, clearly a powerful charm for flame builds. Through all these ways of dealing fire damage, theCharm of Fire Doctrinewill prove powerful, with a 15% chance to terrify nearby enemies when a foe is set on fire, which can be improved via theCharm of Fortune, as effects with a percentage chance happen 50% more often.
1Ranged Weapon Build
Ranged Weapons Can Cheese Enemies Easily
DespiteGhost of Tsushima’sgameplay mainly revolving around melee combat and stealth attacks, it does allow players to wield ranged weapons and deal damage from a distance. In fact, ranged attacks can sometimes betoo good, with different weapons allowing for such gameplay.Tadayori’s Armorincreases nocking and reload speed by 45%, concentration time by three seconds, and landing a headshot refills the concentration meter by 50%. As ranged attacks can easily deal with enemies, and headshots can stagger them, this armor makes for a necessary choice in such builds.
The charms further help with ranged attacks, with theCharm of Izanagigranting a 40% chance to refund an arrow when landing a headshot. TheCharm of Sugaru’s Sightallows players to shoot three arrows at once if they have enough ammo, dealing harsh damage to enemies. As for the minor charms, theCharm of Dual Destructiongrants a 10% chance to deal double damage, further increasing the damage dealt via ranged attacks. TheCharm of Efficiencyhelps with dealing damage faster, as it increases nocking and reload speeds by 15%, while theCharm of Precisionboosts arrow damage by a moderate amount. TheCharm of Concentrationincreases concentration time, allowing players to more accurately land headshots and activate other effects.Ranged damageis already strong on its own, but paired with the correct charms and armor, and it can easily sweep enemies away.
