Guide Contents
How to Start (and Win) Standoffs
Stand-offs are a great way to quickly recover lots of resolve. Even if it does alert several enemies, you’ll get several full chunks of resolve for each successful clash – which you can chain together with certain upgrades.
However, if you miss-time the attack, you’ll be surrounded with almost no health left which can be pretty dicey – especially when enemies start feinting one or more times before attacking. A good trick to always win a stand-off is to watch their feet.
All enemies may wave their arms or yell – but they only start moving forward when they’re ready to attack, and that’s your cue to cut them down.
You Can Learn Twice From Mongol Leaders
Many Mongol-controlled locations often feature a “leader” who is usually practicing somewhere in the camp. He’s always clad in gold or silver armor, and usually sporting a sword and shield, or two swords.
You’ll learn early on that killing a leader will help you unlock more combat stances – but you can actually sneak up and observe a leader while they are training to also earn a point towards the next stance – and then kill them to earn a second point!
Identifying Points of Interest
You’ll get used to seeing those fluttering yellow birds that lead you to points of interest early in the game – but you don’t always have to wait for one to lead you if you know what to look for.
- Fox Dens are always located at yellow trees buzzing with fireflies or butterflies.
- Haiku’s have songbirds circling them
- Hot springs have a small trail of steam floating into the air by a red maple tree.
- Side Quests and small camps usually have a small trail of white smoke wafting up into the air
- Larger camps – like mongol controlled forts – will have larger plumes of black smoke.
New Armor Can Be Unlocked in Different Ways
Once you start progressing the main quest, you’ll find that other types of armor you unlock can dramatically complement your playstyle due to the upgradeable bonuses they provide.
Some – like the Samurai Clan Armor or Ronin Attire can be gained during the main story, but many are found by completing Mythic Quests across different regions. Talk to villagers in every settlement to get word of where mythic quests are located, and track them down to find armor that best suits your playstyle – like gear that favors archery or ghost weapons.
Where to Find Extra Resources and Ammo
Jin doesn’t like to carry too much ammo for his various ghost weapons, and when facing larger Mongol settlements you may find yourself out of sticky bombs at the wrong time.
Luckily, many villages and towns under occupation have tons of items stashed around almost everywhere – if you know where to look.
- You can find quivers by watchtowers or campfires, and near archery training areas in forts – even stuck in targets or bodies!
- Kunai are mainly found in Mongol tents, but can also be found in homes.
- Chimes and Firecrackers can be seen dangling on the side of structures.
- Smoke Bombs, Sticky Bombs, and Black Powder Bombs can often be found in the crawl spaces under buildings – or in upper floor attics, as well as larger Mongol tents.
Mongols aren’t great at chasing you either, so don’t be afraid to cut and run to find some ammo before returning to finish the fight.
Not All Vendors Sell the Same Items
You can find vendors to buy from at various places across Tsushima. Most of the larger towns feature the biggest selection of people to buy from, but you can also find merchants and trappers at various survivor camps – and also certain forts you liberate from mongols will also become populated with traders.
You may also notice that Merchants in particular, when found in the larger towns tend to sell different armor dye and headgear depending on which region of the three main regions of Tsushima you’re exploring.
Don’t forget you can also sell excess materials to trappers in exchange for supplies, and use them to buy what you need to get that next upgrade. Any available upgrades will always show up on your map in gold if the right trader is there.
Where to Get Upgrade Materials
As you get further and further into the game, the materials that you need to upgrade your sword, bow, and armor become tougher and tougher to come by, to the point where it can be hard to really pinpoint where exactly you have to go in order to improve it.
- If you want to improve your sword, you’ll need Iron, Steel, and eventually Gold, all of which you’ll find at Mongol controlled Encampments. Basic elements can be found lying around, while Gold can only be earned as a reward for clearing camps.
- To improve your armor, Linen and Leather can be found inside various houses and buildings, but the rarest material, Silk, is almost exclusively a reward for completing Tales of Tsushima side quests – usually relating to specific characters like Ishikawa or Lady Masako.
- To improve your bow, you’ll need Bamboo, Yew Wood, and Wax Wood, which are all found in the wilderness, though Wax Wood is specifically commonly found near, and as a reward for completing Shinto Shrines.
- Finally, Predator Hides are the easiest to come by, as you’ll get them from killing Mongol Dogs, Boars, and Bears out in the wild. Be sure to hunt boars from horseback as they will always run rather than charge you.
Be the first to comment