Here are some tips and tricks to help you in your journey throughout Ghost of Tsushima:

• When you first begin the game, you might feel the bug to start exploring the map right away. Instead, do the first few story missions so you can obtain the basic tools that you will need throughout your journey.

• If you come to a town or other place and receive a warning about overwhelming odds, then you can’t do anything about them, as they are tied to some story mission.

• As you progress through the game, you will unlock a lot more tools and skills to help you win fights. Don’t forget about these as you’re fighting enemies in the game, as they are incredibly useful.

• Patience is something you want to have during head-on combat, as wildly swinging your sword will only lead to troubles. Waiting for enemy attacks and parrying/dodging is what you want to do in this game. To go along with this, learn what an enemy’s attacks are, so you can effectively counter them.

• The Stances you unlock as you kill/observe Mongol leaders are very important during combat. Each Stance is effective against a specific enemy type, like Water Stance is good for enemies with shields. They allow you to easily break an enemy’s guard, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.

• Some people might not be able to play with sound, but sound is important during battles. Archers will always yell out before they shoot, so even if you can’t see them, listen to their shouts and dodge accordingly.

• Standoffs are extremely useful, not only to thin numbers, but it can be used to help regain Resolve, which is needed to heal Jin. Also, look around for any enemies crawling on the ground, as “ending their suffering” will also help with regaining Resolve.

• Environmental hazards, such as wasp nests or explosive barrels, should be used to help during combat. Always keep an eye out for them, especially before you get into the larger fights.

• If you adopt a playstyle at the beginning of the game, you want to use your Technique Points on skills that enhance that playstyle. For example, Wind Chimes might be more useful if you want to do more stealth, while the bombs might prove more beneficial if you’re fighting head-on.

• Exploration is an important part of the game, as you will discover a lot of things that benefit your character. It’s important to do these side activities to help bolster Jin’s health, resolve and even get new Charms/Armor.

• Some really useful charms at the beginning of the game are the Charm of Inari, the Charm of Amaterasu, and the Charm of Okuninushi. Inari lets you get more materials (not all of them), Amaterasu recovers some health whenever you kill an enemy, and Okuninushi recovers health outside of combat.