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These Ghost and Yotei tips and tricks have come from over 60 hours of play, exploring the world and discovering all the game has to offer. There's a lot to do, find and understand as you play through the hero Atsu's tale of revenge against the murderous Yotei Six. So some help isn't a bad thing if you want to avoid some obvious mistakes or save some time getting up to speed.
There are all sorts of secrets to be found in Ghost of Yotei, spread far and wide across the land of Ezo. If you're looking to get the most out of your time there then my tips here will make for a much smoother experience that gets you where you need to be quicker and with less uncertainty.
Ghost of Yotei quick tips
- You can unlock all the weapons first and should
- Always follow the Golden Bird when you see one to find useful things
- Focus on unlocking skills for free kills and extra damage to manage combat
- All weapons have specific counter weapons so use the right ones
- Watch colors and sounds in combat to get an advantage
- Swap difficulty on the fly if you're struggling with a fight
- Customize armor and charms for different situations
- Look around while riding to find things in the world
- Use your spyglass at any high place to add map markers
- All weapons are fun but most battles rely on swordplay so don't neglect it
- Talk to everyone tet get more missions and map markers
- Do every Mythic Tale you find for top gear
- Climb every shrine you find for powerful charms
1. You can unlock all the weapons first before you do anything else
The story will lead you on a path that unlocks all the Ghost of Yotei weapons eventually, but you can also just leave the story behind and get them straight away. Given the rock, paper, scissors nature of how weapons interact, it is definitely worth considering, as you'll have more advantages and options once you have everything. When you unlock a region there's nothing to stop you finding the various weapon masters needed to unlock things 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. Always follow the Golden Bird to find useful things in the world
The Golden Bird is basically just one of many different methods in the game to highlight something nearby that's important or meaningful. When you get near one it will chirp loudly and lead you toward 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 unlocking 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 the Ghost of Yotei length by taking you away from the critical path, you'll save time compared to trying to find everything yourself, and potentially get through tougher sections more easily because you're better levelled and equipped.
3. Get all the skills you can that give you free kills and extra damage
Ghost of Yotei combat is tough, so you'll want to take any advantage you can get. So when you get a point and can unlock a skill, look for abilities that adds extra damage to an enemy, or outright kills them. Obviously stealth assassinations are great, and certain Ghost of Yotei skills (as well as armor) can improve how many you can do, or how good you are at it and so on. 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. There are basically lots of ways to increase kills and damage that will help you thin out enemies and make a fight easier.
4. Use the right weapon to 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 certain others. It can be tricky in a fight to keep switching, but you will 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.
Using the right combination can increase stagger and break a guard faster, letting you deal with an enemy more quickly. That can be essential if you want to avoid being mobbed.
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 chance to dodge incoming shots. In melee, 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 at first, but if you master these clues 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 difficulty options 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 difficulty spike, especially considering the freedom you have to find and unlock skills and weapons. You are 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
The armor and charms you equip can give you different gameplay boosts and advantages. These vary a lot, so while a certain set of armor and charms might be extremely useful for assassinating enemies stealthily, another could be great for regular combat, and another yet better for ranged combat. Ghost of Yotei lets you swap all these things out whenever you want, and even has saved outfit options to give you loadout presets to jump between. So it's a good idea to have some specific outfits set up for different goals which 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 around you while riding your horse around
Keep an eye out when riding around on your Ghost of Yotei horse. While the Golden Bird will lead you to things directly, there are plenty of other landmarks to look out for that can give you clues to things in the world from a distance. So be on the look out for smoke or steam, bursts of color in the trees 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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