Ghost of Tsushima deserves a build guide. It has so many transformative gear options to choose from that can enhance and renew your experience of the combat. More so when including the DLC and ng+ equipment. Go into your options menu, then gameplay, and you should be able to toggle armor loadouts. This will tie your entire gear set to whatever armor you have equipped, and because you can tie a set to each armor, you can create a maximum of 14 running builds to switch between as you wish. There is more than enough perk variety in this game to run 14 builds that play utterly distinct from each other, but today, I present a guide to the ten best Ghost of Tsushima builds I have created, having access to all the gear and fashion in the game.
For me, the joy of build-crafting in this game was creating highly specialized kits that would each highlight different aspects of the game and different appealing Charm combinations. Most of these builds are not min-maxed because I enjoyed including Charm of Carnage, which serves no gameplay purpose, or Charms that suit the character I’m going for rather than optimal power.
If you don’t have late-game access to gear, you’ll struggle to set up builds as good as these. You won’t have many of the Charms, and the armor you do have will be worse off. Charms like Charm of Inari’s Might and Charm of Silence start as lesser iterations of what you see here. But I hope you’ll benefit anyway, learning the framework of possible builds this guide explores and the variety of playstyles you can choose from or take from. If anything, these builds should be a goal that motivates you to reach the rich late-game gameplay Ghost of Tsushima has to offer, including ng+. Above all, you’ll need the game proficiency to make these builds sing.
In no particular order, let’s get right to it!
1: Wrathful Samurai Build Guide
Charms:
- The Charm of Ikazuchi-no-Kami: Perks and abilities that Terrify are 25% more likely to occur
- Charm of Mashira’s Protection: Whenever you heal using Resolve, Perfect Parry and Perfect Dodge windows are extended for a short time
- Charm of Carnage: Combat is bloodier
- Charm of Inari’s Might: Massive increase in health and melee damage
- Charm of Divine Healing II: Healing is more effective by 30% when under 50% health
- Charm of Silence: Massive increase to all Resolve gains, and enemy detection is 15% slower
Armour Effects:
- Significant reduction in damage taken
- Colossal increase in health
- Taking damage grants 45% Resolve
This melee tank build specializes in the resilience of the Samurai Clan Armour and the way it benefits from taking hits.
Mashira’s Protection is a charm with fantastic visual effects that upgrade your heal into a lethal buff, so it’s a great response to damage. Resolve gains from the damage taken are increased by Charm of Silence. Charm of Divine Healing II improves healing. And the Perfect Counters’ Terrify effect is amplified by Charm of Ikazuchi-no-Kami. Charm of Inari’s Might is a straightforward pick for a samurai build like this because it’s a substantial split buff that is permanently active. Charm of Carnage is a charm that serves purely rad purposes, available in ng+. It suits the vicious aesthetic, and the build is quite powerful even with it. You can replace it with Charm of Fortunate Return or Charm of Resistance III to make this build even more specialized and powerful.
I like this build because it makes Jin Sakai’s ability to heal by sheer will even more powerful, it makes excellent use of Resolve, and it’s good for both tanking and DPS. As a result, it feels like a genuinely fearsome samurai. The vanity items I use to complete this effect are Sugi’s Kasa Hat, Gosaku’s Visage, the Samurai Clan Armour (Raw Courage), and Tempest’s End katana skin.
2: Way of the Sword Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto: Moderate damage increase when at full health
- Charm of Dual Destruction II: Attacks have a 10% chance to deal double damage
- Charm of Dual Destruction II: Attacks have a 10% chance to deal double damage
- Charm of Fortune II: Effects with a % chance to occur are 50% more likely
- Charm of Fortune I: Effects with a % chance to occur are 50% more likely
- Charm of Inari’s Might: Massive increase in health and melee damage
Armour Effects:
- Reduces enemy detection speed by 30%
- Massive increase in melee damage
- After leaving tall grass, enemy detection is significantly lower
This glass cannon melee build is specialized to deal with as much katana damage as possible.
I build on the damage buff of Ronin Attire by maximizing the effect of Charm of Dual Destruction II. On its own, this Charm adds some satisfying flux to the damage you deal, but when stacked and combined with a Charm of Fortune stack, this critical damage happens all the time, almost 50%. These criticals will deal almost the maximum melee damage possible in the game when combined with the constant damage buffs of Charm of Inari’s Might and Charm of Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto. This Charm combo is so effective that I forego a Major Charm slot to fully specialise in it.
This build adds an extreme level of lethality and simplicity to combat that I think really suits the Ronin aesthetic. It’s an awesome build to rep in Lethal difficulty for the ultimate high-risk, high-reward playstyle, best for skilled players! It also feels nice to use more minimalistic bling: Raider Captain’s Headband, Ronin Attire (Seaside Duel), and Duelling Festival katana skin.
3: Thunderous Samurai Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Susanoo: Enemies have a 30% chance of being knocked down when staggered
- Charm of Amaterasu: Killing enemies restores a moderate amount of health
- Charm of Bludgeoning: Moderate increase to stagger damage
- Charm of Bludgeoning: Moderate increase to stagger damage
- Charm of Inari’s Might: Massive increase in health and melee damage
- Charm of Distraction: When activating Iron Will, bees and gusts will incapacitate surrounding enemies
Armour Effects:
- Colossal increase in health
- Massive increase to stagger damage
- Killing a staggered enemy restores 20% health
This melee stagger build is specialized to lean into the staggering damage of Gosaku’s Armour and the health recovery effect.
Charm of Bludgeoning increases the stagger damage further, while Charm of Susanoo sometimes opens up staggered enemies to finisher attacks. Charm of Amaterasu makes the health recovery when killing staggered enemies more pronounced. Because it’s a melee mainstay, we include Charm of Inari’s Might again. Charm of Distraction is here because I think this Stagger specialization is a hard, slow way to approach the game, allowing enemies to surround and outnumber you more often. The Charm compensates for more near-deaths and more enemies by turning your revive ability into a game-changing anti-group tool.
This build represents a more blunt and methodical samurai playstyle, that lacks Resolve gain or lethal offense. All the same, the health regen is good and it’s fun to try breaking every enemy you fight. Stagger is most valuable against the more elite enemies. The look I’ve gone for is regal and eerily pale: Gosaku’s Helmet Refined (Sunrise Dominion), Spartan, Gosaku’s Armour (Bright Defender), and Shogun’s Storm katana skin.
4: Forest Spirit Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Izanami: Iron Will revives you at 50% health
- Charm of Abundant Reserves: Gain twice as much ammo from pickups
- Charm of Deadly Return: Recover ammo for your equipped Quickfire Weapon after Iron Will
- Charm of Silence: Massive increase to all Resolve gains, and enemy detection is 15% slower
- Charm of Enduring Affliction: Status effects last 50% longer and deal 50% more damage
- Charm of Distraction: When activating Iron Will, bees and gusts will incapacitate surrounding enemies
Armour Effects:
- Track Artefacts with the Guiding Wind
- Traveling clears 60% more fog from the map
- The controller will vibrate when within 60m of an Artefact
Because Traveller’s Attire has no combat utility whatsoever, I turned it into a full blowgun build that benefits from harvesting along your travels.
With Charm of Abundant Reserves you gain twice as much ammo from poison herbs in the world. At the same time, Charm of Enduring Affliction will increase the duration of Hallucination Dart, which turns enemies against each other to great effect. Charm of Izanami, Charm of Deadly Return and Charm of Distraction are all here to buff Iron Will, because this is a defenseless build that will near-die often. Charm of Silence’s stealth buff is useful because of this fragility, and its Resolve gains help with the 3 Resolve price of Iron Will.
This build is gimmicky but the blowgun is never dull to use. This and all the spiritual implications of Iron Will and Guiding Wind really centers the feeling that you’re some kind of natural force. Here are all the gorgeous cosmetics that will make you feel like a servant of the gods of nature: Graceful Marsh Hat, Ancient Dragon, Traveller’s Attire (Winged Wayfarer) and Snow Demon’s Eyes katana skin.
5: Archer Demon Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Izanagi: Headshots have a 40% chance to return an arrow
- Charm of Ikazuchi-no-Kami: Perks and abilities that Terrify are 25% more likely
- Charm of Terrifying Aim: 30% chance to Terrify enemies when you kill with a headshot
- Charm of Concentration: Concentration time increased by 2.4 seconds
- Charm of Carnage: Combat is bloodier
- Charm of Desperate Measures: Deflect Arrows will give an arrow if you have none
Armour Effects:
- Increases nocking and reload speed by 45%
- Increases total Concentration time by 3 seconds
- Headshots restore 50% of the Concentration meter
This full archer build is so stupidly strong that most of the time, I preferred not to use it.
Your Concentration or deadeye ability becomes effectively limitless because Tadayori’s Armour already buffs its duration twice over. The Charm of Concentration gives it a final push to make it feel really deep. With so much Concentration you will be going for headshots, which Charm of Izanagi will use to sustain your arrow supply, finally turning your bow into a machine gun. Further, Charm of Terrifying Aim and Charm of Ikazuchi-no-Kami put together will cause half of the enemies to flee as you cap their friends like John Wick. The build was already extremely powerful at this point, so I included Charm of Carnage. Charm of Desperate Measures is there just for emergencies and fun interactions. You could replace Charm of Carnage with Charm of Precision or Charm of Efficiency for even more bow specialization.
This archer playstyle can completely transform how Jin Sakai feels to play. There are some nice ng+ cosmetics intended for an archer that I used for a very deadly look: Crimson Blood Straw Hat, Ocean of Blood, Tadayori’s Armour (Flowers of War), and Moon Bear’s Paw katana skin. I kept the armor appearance in the middle tier because it’s less cluttered than the final tier.
Related: Advanced Combat Tricks and Tactics for a Samurai Legend in Ghost of Tsushima
6: Samurai Lord Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Kagu-tsuchi: Deal bonus damage when at 50% health or less
- Charm of Versatile Skills: Doubles the effect of Minor Charms only if they are all different categories
- Charm of Fortune II: Effects with a % chance to occur are 50% more likely
- Charm of Dual Destruction II: Attacks have a 10% chance to deal double damage
- Charm of Terrifying Aim: 30% chance to Terrify enemies when you kill with a headshot
- Charm of Fortitude: 20% chance to survive Lethal damage and gain Resolve
Armour Effects:
- Massive increase in melee damage
- Colossal increase in health
- Increase the Standoff streak by 2. Winning a Standoff has a 25% chance to Terrify enemies
This all-rounder build does everything really well, from melee damage to Terrify effects.
The Sakai Clan Armour effects are already very versatile, as it’s one of the only defensive armors that gives a constant attack buff as well, not to mention the extra Terrify effect. We use Charm of Versatile Skills to amplify this versatility, considerably buffing melee output, archery, and survival all at once. Charm of Fortune II and Charm of Dual Destruction II are doubled, producing frequent critical damage similar to the Way of the Sword build. Charm of Terrifying Aim is doubled, meaning our archery has a substantial Terrify chance without Charm of Ikazuchi-no-Kami. And even the already powerful Charm of Fortitude is doubled, instantly raising our survivability with a 40% chance to survive lethal damage. I included Charm of Kagu-tsuchi as well because it combines well with Charm of Fortitude, which makes fighting on the brink a lot more viable.
This build is a reliable classic. It’s powerful enough to be satisfying and freeing to play but not so powerful that it feels busted. It represents the Sakai name well by enabling Jin to be mighty in every aspect of combat. The extra damage, especially at low health, adds a savagery to it that was inspired by Kazumasa Sakai, the previous owner of this armor. My fashion leans into the deer symbolism of the armor: I use Sakai Clan Helmet Refined (Legacy of Guardians), Adachi Dragon Mask, Sakai Clan Armour (Legacy of Guardians), and Midnight Hanabi katana skin.
7: Legendary Ronin Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Ryuujin: Recover 1 Kunai after a Perfect Dodge
- Charm of Mizu-no-Kami: Parries, Perfect Parries, and Perfect Dodges are easier to perform
- Charm of Advantage: Ghost Weapons deal 20% more damage
- Charm of Carnage: Combat is bloodier
- Charm of Inari’s Might: Massive increase in health and melee damage
- Charm of Canine Recruitment: You can ally Mongol dogs by sneaking up and petting them
Armour Effects:
- Massive increase in Resolve gains
- Ghost Weapons deal 40% more damage
- Hitting an enemy with Ghost Weapons causes that enemy to deal 50% less damage and take 50% more damage
This trickster build makes great use of Kunai in conjunction with swordsmanship.
Charm of Ryuujin and Charm of Mizu-no-Kami combined allow you to leverage the Perfect Dodge ability for a constant supply of Kunai. These Kunai have a lot more utility due to the debuff effect of the Kensei Armour, and they also get more damage, which is further amplified by Charm of Advantage. Charm of Inari’s Might reappears to help with melee, while Charm of Canine Recruitment introduces a really fun wildcard effect to play around with. Playstyles that use Ghost Weapons enthusiastically are always pretty strong, so I was happy enough with the build to include Charm of Carnage just for fun. You could replace it with another Charm of Advantage or Charm of Fleet Foraging to boost your Ghost Weapons even more.
This build is stylish as hell and makes you feel like more of a cool Ronin than Ronin’s Attire. Relying on an elegant mixture of Perfect Dodges and Kunai to deal with your enemies as nonchalantly as possible is quite the sigma move. The fashion is essential for this feeling to pay off, so I’ve got Kensei Hat Refined (Duel of Lights), Tomoe’s Darkness, Kensei Armour (Duel of Lights), and The Spider’s Kiss katana skin.
8: Ghost Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Nekoma’s Hunt: During Chain Assassination, you can kill a target within 25m with Kunai
- Charm of Sugaru’s Sight: Bows can shoot up to 3 arrows at once, requiring 1.75s to lock on to target heads
- Charm of Fleet Foraging: 15% chance to recover Quickfire ammo on a melee kill
- Charm of Hidden Sight: Enemies stop hunting you 40% faster
- Charm of Inari’s Might: Massive increase in health and melee damage
- Charm of Carnage: Combat is bloodier
Armour Effects:
- Enemy detection is slower by 50%
- Reduced the number of kills needed for Ghost Stance by 2
- Kills have a 40% chance to Terrify enemies
This is it, the classic Ghost build, blending stealth and cunning combat to turn you from samurai to shinobi.
Charm of Nekoma’s Hunt is a must-have, as it upgrades your chain assassinations to include an extra, distant target using 1 Kunai. Similar to Farcry, it opens up so many new stealth opportunities that feel even cooler to pull off. Charm of Sugaru’s Sight is a massive upgrade to the bow that doesn’t need Concentration, and it feels like something godly the Ghost would do. Charm of Hidden Sight really brings this build together, as it enables you to transition between combat and stealth much more readily. You can collect more Kunai using Charm of Fleet Foraging before returning to stealth. Your ability to instantly kill enemies is facilitated by the Ghost Armour’s slower detection and incentivized by the Terrify effect tied to kills. As this build incorporates scrappy melee, Charm of Inari’s Might is worth including again. Again, the build is powerful enough so Charm of Carnage gets the last spot. You could replace it with Charm of Silence or Yuriko’s Keepsake.
The Ghost playstyle is very important to Jin’s evolving character, so it’s nice to do it justice with some of the most exciting charms and shameless tactics. I like the default look for this armor with some alterations: Sakai Clan Helmet Improved (Oceanic Valour), Ghost Mask (Executioner’s Penance), Ghost Armour (Executioner’s Penance), and Tempest’s End katana skin. I kept the armor appearance at the middle tier and the default skin because I like the balanced, rustic style of it. It reminds me of Sekiro in the best way.
9: Heavenly Duellist Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Izanami: Iron Will revives you at 50% of maximum health
- Charm of Heavenly Rebuke: When using Heavenly Strike, there is a chance for lightning to strike an enemy
- Charm of Carnage: Combat is bloodier
- Charm of Fortunate Return: Abilities using Resolve have a 15% chance to refund 1 Resolve
- Charm of Fortunate Return: Abilities using Resolve have a 15% chance to refund 1 Resolve
- Charm of Inari’s Might: Massive increase in health and melee damage
Armour Effects:
- Regular Parry is disabled, while Perfect Parry becomes a chain of 3, and Perfect Dodge becomes a spin attack
- Colossal increase to all Resolve gains
- Perfect Parry and Perfect Dodge windows are increased by a massive amount
This DPS melee build is almost as strong as the Archer build above due to the busted effects of Sarugami’s Armour.
Not only does it make Perfect Counters almost as easy to perform as a Regular Parry, but it also gives both counters a flashy and effective upgrade. The increase in Resolve gains applies to Perfect Counters to make Mythic Techniques more accessible than ever. If there’s any armor that doesn’t even need Charms, this is it. Of course, I gave it Charms anyway. Charm of Fortunate Return further increases our Resolve supply, especially if we often use low-cost abilities like Heavenly Strike. Charm of Heavenly Rebuke upgrades Heavenly Strike to be stupidly flashy. We upgraded Iron Will with Charm of Izanami because it’s a high-risk, high-reward build, and I found the survivability extremely useful in duel fights due to how dangerous they can be. Charm of Inari’s Might appears again to improve our melee fundamentals, while Charm of Carnage is more than welcome on such a powerful kit. You could replace it with Charm of Fortitude or Charm of Silence.
This build has a nice, divine feel to it. It’s a cut above other melee builds and very pure and straightforward in playstyle. Parry and use sword techniques to win. While applicable throughout the game, it became the build I saved for boss duels in my Lethal+ run because it felt like fair compensation for their demands. Resolve and parrying is the bread-and-butter of those fights, so it’s a great fit. It’s also very cinematic, so it suits high-stakes moments like these. The vanity items I used to achieve a clean look were Headband of Peace, Sakai Mask (Legacy of Guardians), Sarugami Armour (Snowy Macaque), and The Storm of Clan Sakai katana skin.
10: Firedancer Build Guide
Charms:
- Charm of Blazing Flame: Way of the Flame inflicts additional damage, and heavy attacks spread fire to nearby enemies
- Charm of Takemikazuchi: Killing an enemy increases damage by a minor amount for a limited time
- Charm of Steadfast Fire: Greatly increases the duration of Way of the Flame
- Charm of Inari’s Might: Massive increase in health and melee damage
- Charm of Carnage: Combat is bloodier
- Charm of Fleet Foraging: 15% chance to recover Quickfire ammo on a melee kill
Armour Effects:
- Massive increase in health
- Massive increase in melee damage
- Ghost weapons deal 30% more damage
I’ll round this list off with a build that is only possible in ng+. Deadly Rival’s Attire can only be obtained as a pricey item from the ng+ vendor, but its armor effects are worth it. It’s a great hybrid, buffing health, melee damage, and Ghost Weapon damage.
I’ve used it to take advantage of ng+ charms that upgrade Way of the Flame because that’s already a potent ability that benefits from melee damage. Charm of Blazing Flame upgrades Way of the Flame with extra damage and spread potential. It allows you to wreak havoc on adjacent enemies with nothing but your sword. Charm of Steadfast Fire increases the ability’s duration, enabling you to kill a large streak of enemies with a single use. Combined with Charm of Fleet Foraging, you will almost always recoup the incendiary oil every time you use it because of how fast you will kill with the upgraded ability. You can also use this Charm to recover Kunai or Sticky Bombs to take advantage of the extra Ghost Weapon damage. Charm of Inari’s Might amplifies the attack buff, while Charm of Takemikazuchi builds on the killing power of the fire. This Charm is stronger than it reads, as while the attack buff you receive for kills is minor, it will stack if you kill quickly enough, which this build does.
You could do many other things with this armor because of its hybridity, but the unstoppable march of Way of the Flame is so much fun. It allows the player to perform combos they never have while they cut through enemy defenses like butter, so you can use whatever is your favorite Stance. I went for a sage aesthetic: my items are Farmer’s Straw Hat, Venerable Spirit, Deadly Rival’s Attire, and Tanuki’s Brush katana skin.
Which build is your favorite? For me, it’s got to be 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Thanks for reading!
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