13 Ghost of Yotei tips and tricks to defeat the Yotei Six

These Ghost and Yotei tips and tricks have been learned from nearly 60 hours of playing the game. There's a lot to understand about combat, exploring and more during Atsu's journey of revenge against the Yotei Six, so some pointers will certainly help. There are all sorts of secrets in Ghost of Yotei spread across its land of Ezo, and if you're looking to get the most out of your time there then my tips and tricks will make for a much smoother experience.

Unsure about which Ghost of Yotei horse to pick when presented with that decision? We've got the lowdown on how to choose your steed.

Ghost of Yotei quick tips

1. You can unlock all the weapons first and should
2. Always follow the Golden Bird when you see it to find things
3. Focus on unlocking skills that give you free kills and extra damage
4. Weapon types have specific counter weapons so use the right ones
5. Pay attention to colors and sounds in combat to get an advantage
6. Swap the difficulty on the fly if you're struggling with a fight
7. Customize your armor and charms for different situations
8. Look around while riding your horse to find things in the world
9. Use your spyglass at any high place to add map markers
10. All weapons are fun but core battles rely on swordplay so don't neglect that
11. Talk to everyone for more missions and map markers
12. Do every Mythic Tale available for top gear
13. Climb every shrine you find for powerful charms

1. You can unlock all the weapons first before you do anything else

The story will make you unlock all the Ghost of Yotei weapons eventually as you complete the game, but you can also dip in and out of the various regions at will. So there's nothing to stop you finding the various weapon masters needed to unlock different things (and any secondary weapon unlocks) whenever you want. The only weapons you'll really have to wait on are guns, and, honestly, they don't add much that the rest aren't already better at. Confusingly, the Ghost of Yotei gun parts you might see mentioned are general upgrade materials and not just a firearm thing.

2. Follow the Golden Bird to find useful things in the world

The Golden Bird, which is part of Atsu's Wolf Pack menu in Ghost of Yotei, is basically just one of many different methods to highlight something nearby that's important or meaningful without directly highlighting it.

This bird will lead you toward very useful things like Ghost of Yotei hot springs, Altars of Reflection, or Bamboo Strikes, all of which have direct gameplay impacts by giving you skill points, increasing your max health, or more Spirit for special moves, and so on. So it's always a good idea to follow a golden bird whenever you see one. While finding all these extra things might increase Ghost of Yotei length by taking you away from the critical path, you'll save time compared to trying to find things yourself, and potentially get through tougher things more easily because you've levelled up more.

3. Get all the skills you can that give you free kills and damage

Ghost of Yotei combat is tough enough that you want to take any advantage you can get. Any ability that automatically damages or kills an enemy should be unlooked as quickly as possible and used with great frequency. Obviously stealth assassinations are great, and certain Ghost of Yotei skills and armor can improve how many you can do, or how good you are at it, but you can also unlock extra moves, counters and other abilities to do more damage with less.

Standoffs especially can be upgraded to let you absolutely demolish a group of tough enemies with a couple quick-time events. They can even be even made more deadly by increasing the chances your wolf friend will join in. Basically, you want to thin a pack of enemies as much as possible before a fight actually starts.

4. The right weapon will defeat specific enemies faster

There's a basic "rock, paper, scissors" mechanic for the core weapons in Yotei, where the right weapon has a clear advantage against whatever a certain enemy might be carrying. It can be tricky in a fight to keep switching but you will almost certainly gain an upper hand if you follow this pairing:

• The katana is best against other katanas.
• Double katana is best against spears.
• Spear is best against kusarigama (the hook and chain).
• Kusarigama is best against shields.
• Odachi is best against heavy enemies.

5. Pay attention to all the colors and sounds as you fight

Combat in Ghost of Yotei is littered with colors and sounds that will help you anticipate and deal with all sorts of dangers. Ranged archers and gunners will shout right before firing, giving you a prompt to dodge. In a more direct melee fight various flashes will tell you what's coming and help you deal with it - if there's a blue glint it's an attack you can parry but not block. Red means you can dodge but not parry or block, and yellow means it's a disarming move you'll need to counter. It's a lot to take in, but if you make anticipating and dealing with these clues the main point of combat you'll find you'll survive longer and catch out the bad guys more.

6. Swap the difficulty on the fly

You can easily change between the various difficulty options available simply going into gameplay in the settings. You're not locked into a choice for the entire game and you don't even have to restart to change things. Some of the duels and boss fights can occasionally feel like a dificulty spike here and there, especially considering the freedom you have to find and unlock skills and weapons. You're playing to have fun after all, so if you're getting stuck and not enjoying yourself just drop it down to Easy or Story to get past something and then take it back to whatever you want later.

7. Customize your armor and charms whenever possible

Armor and charms are the only things you can equip that can give you different gameplay boosts and advantages. A certain set of armor and charms might be extremely useful while assassinating enemies, while another is great for regular combat, and another yet best for ranged combat. Ghost of Yotei lets you swap things whenever, and even has saved outfits to give you some loadout presets to jump between. So it's a good idea to have some specific outfits set up for different goals which will then let you quickly mix things up in the spur of the moment. You can also upgrade charms by completing challenges and armor with resources and money in Ghost of Yotei, so if you find things you like you can make them better.

8. Pay attention to the world while riding your horse around

Be mindful when riding around on your Ghost of Yotei horse. While there's the Golden Bird I mentioned earlier, there are also various landmarks and other things that can give you clues to things in the world from great distances. Things like like smoke or steam, bursts of color and so on. Generally, if you see anything that stands out, it's probably for a reason. You can also avoid ambushes from Saito's forces if you see them coming (or ambush them back instead). You can also turn off the Ghost of Yotei black bars while you ride as well so you can see more.

9. Take full advantage of tall locations to look around with your spyglass

Watchtowers, mountains, or any high ground will give you a great chance to use your spyglass so never let a good vantage point go to waste. Doing so will add new points of interest to your map as, if you hover over a spot that rumbles slightly or changes the color of the reticule, it will eventually give a name for it and add it to your map. You can also track any general location you see in your spyglass to mark it on your map to help you explore.

10. Don't skimp on your swordplay as you'll be doing it a lot

There are plenty of different combat options to take on enemies but the katana is core to just about everything. Especially boss fights. Some bosses might occasionally use other weapons (and require the appropriate counter weapon) but more often than not it comes down to duelling each other with a katana. So it's best to make sure your basic sword skills are always strong. If you really lean into another weapon in terms of skill and practice, you might find it harder when the game takes you down an inevitable swordplay bottleneck.

11. Talk to everyone you possibly can to get map info and missions

Talk to everyone you possibly can while you explore as, chances are, they will have some kind of quest for you, information that marks your map, or are otherwise useful to speak with in some way. Maybe they saw a hot spring nearby, or they want to complain about a local Saito encampment not already on your map, and so on. It's nearly always worthwhile to hear what someone has to say as you'll rarely come away with nothing to show for it.

12. Do every Mythic Tale available

Ghost of Yotei Mythic Tales are basically legendary quests where you look into the strange tales found in Ezo. They involve things like undying generals or mysterious assassins and, once completed, will reward you with things like powerful armor, charms, or abilities - so you'll definitely want the options these can provide. In each region there's typically at least one Mythic Tale, but I'd recommend completing the Ishikari Plains first for a good start.

13. Climb every shrine you find for good charms and map pointers

There are several shrines hidden throughout Ezo that will give you a Major Charm and a giant vantage point to survey the local surroundings. They're always a fairly straightforward challenge where you just have to climb to the top via a linear, if sometimes convoluted, route.

The Major Charms are useful to varying degrees – it really depends on your playstyle – but combined with the ability to add a bunch of locations to your map with a spyglass, shrines are a simple way to make your playthrough smoother.

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