Best mid-game build in Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima has many ways to play, especially in the mid-game. Between Act 2 and early Act 3, players will have picked up a wide variety of armor, charms, and other equipment types that will benefit a variety of builds. There’s no one definitive way to play, but we’ll give you some options we used towards the mid-game of this epic open-world adventure.

As with many builds, it’s entirely up to you how to play. If you don’t feel like a certain charm or armor doesn’t work for you, you don’t have to run it. This is how I approached the game, with a few different picks for charms in particular, since there are different charms for different purposes.

NOTE: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.

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What equipment should you bring into the mid-game build of Ghost of Tsushima?

There are plenty of Major/Minor Charms to use - these are some of our favorites. (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Sword Major Charm Slots:

• Charm of Amaterasu/Izanami/Mizu-No-Kami
• Charm of Shinatsuhiko

Sword Minor Charm Slots:

• Charm of Dual Destruction I
• Charm of Ferocity
• Charm of Resolve I
• Charm of Immunity

Armor:

• Gosaku’s Armor/Kensei Armor/Mongol Commander’s Armor

Ammo/Tools:

• Longbow/Blowgun
• Smoke Bomb/Incendiary Oil

When it comes to equipment and builds in Ghost of Tsushima, I look for a few things in my builds. As I was a relative newcomer to these types of games, I was looking for equipment that would make the game feel a bit less stressful. The worst part of my swordsmanship was parry timing, after all.

So when it comes to the sword charms, the one I use most often is Mizu-No-Kami. It increases the window you have for Parries, Perfect Parries, and Perfect Dodges. Amaterasu is one I equip when I’m in no danger, but facing many enemies. It restores a moderate amount of health anytime you defeat an enemy.

Finally, Izanami is in the rotation for dangerous enemies. It makes healing with Resolve restore 50% of your HP. The second slot is almost always given to Shinatsuhiko since it prevents interrupted melee attacks for six seconds when you stagger a foe. Stagger is my preferred way to play, so I build around that.

Then when I look at minor charms for my Ghost of Tsushima mid-range build, I picked ones that have a chance to double damage, a baseline increase to melee damage, one for increased resolve gains, and the last one has a chance to make arrows deal no damage.

Another great Ghost of Tsushima mid-game pick is the Gosaku's Armor. (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Armor is incredibly important in the game, and a few of the best suits come from Ghost of Tsushima Mythic Tales. The ones I use the most - Gosaku’s Armor and Kensei Armor come from Act 2 Mythic Tales.

Gosaku’s Armor gives you plenty of health, an increase to stagger damage, and health back when you kill a staggered enemy. Finally, Mongol Commander’s Armor is just for lots of health and damage reduction. It also makes it easier to sneak around Mongol camps, so that’s another bonus.

If you’re a fan of using Ghost Weapons, Kensei Armor is the best pick. I don’t play stealthily that often, but when it’s time, I bring this out. It brings huge Resolve gains, and lots of Ghost Weapon damage, and when you use a Ghost Weapon on a target, they deal 25% less damage, and take 25% more in Ghost of Tsushima, so that’s an amazing mid-game pick.

Finally, your Ghost Tools/Ammo. The Longbow is my favorite for ranged combat, and when I’m sneaking around, I use the blowgun. Smoke bombs are amazing in combat, to take a negative situation, and spin it around to be in your favor.

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As with all builds in Ghost of Tsushima, it’s entirely up to you how you build your character. As you explore the game, you’ll find lots of armor picks, as well as a mountain of amazing Charms to use. When in doubt, look at what you’re doing poorly, and take equipment that makes up for that lack.