Ghost of Tsushima is a beautiful game, that's hardly news. One might elaborate on the elegant way the lighting, graphic design, and music create a wonderful harmony. Or one might pontificate on the gameplay, the smoothness, and the utilization of the entire controller. The game appeals to the senses of any sophisticated gamer. But there is a class in the new Legends mode that returns gamers to the carnal reason they love gaming; doing big, fat damage numbers.
The Assassin is here and has the potential to satisfy the needs of every damage-happy player around. Indeed, on bronze settings, it's easy and fun to kill loads of enemies and blaze through the maps at top speed. Then things get rocky at the silver difficulty. By the time gold medal toughness rolls around, only the best Assassins aren't a downright liability. This is a list of tips and tricks from the pros to satisfy any player's love of carnage that will also maximize their role on the team.
10 Group Vanish
Group Vanish is an incredible class ability that makes it so not just the Assassin but his entire team gets to go invisible. Even the best Samurai warriors aren't going to complain about getting a free critical hit or assassination in the middle of battle.
Even the most selfish of Assassins should choose this over Toxic Vanish. The extra poison damage is negligible, especially at higher difficulties. And somehow, the cooldown is higher for the inferior skill (62 seconds to 50 seconds). More stealth and better stealth, it's just the right choice.
9 Critical Hit
Don't overthink the perk 1 choice; it's in the name: Assassins should do a lot of damage with assassinations. Having a boost of 30% to no-questions-asked assassinations and critical hits is even more incredible when put under the microscope. It makes even the best pro Hunters jealous.
Boss fights are done in a snap with repeated strikes from a stealthy katana. The Super Strike does more damage, but it costs one entire resolve and it cannot be used as frequently. 15% decreases in cooldowns might be tempting, but there's another perk point on the way that will eliminate the need to care about cooldowns so much.
8 Light Step
Trial and error is a tough but wise teacher. As people learn more about their chosen classes, it takes some practice and tinkering to see what ends up being the best choice. Assassins will have early success using quicker assassination animations or doing 50% increased damage to staggered enemies with that second perk slot.
But the champion's choice is the Light Step, which makes players silent while running. This is huge at doing big critical hits against targets that are surrounded. Quicker assassinations are not necessary when coupled with Chain vanish (see next section) and bosses don't tend to stagger, at least not reliably, so the extra stagger damage is too inconsistent.
7 Chain Vanish
Here it is, the perk that brings it all together. The player might find themselves loaded to the teeth with some of Ghost of Tsushima's best gadgets and weapons, but an extra legendary weapon cannot close the damage gap with Chain Vanish. Two extra hits from the Shadow Strike is barely even enticing.
Chain Vanish re-activates vanish and refreshes the duration after every assassination. Good, even average assassins gain permanent invisibility with this skill. Just quickly keep getting behind enemies and stabbing them. A good Samurai keeping focus helps, but this skill is as good as advertised on its own.
6 Shadow Strike Survival
This tip is definitely counter-intuitive, but it works well. Much like the Sumarai, the Assassin blasts his cooldown to do significant damage to three nearby enemies. On the first two wipes, go ahead and cut down some big brutes or bosses; however, that third swipe should be directed at an enemy on the outskirts of combat.
The Assassin will leap toward the target and kill it. Though a good chunk of damage could be had against a boss, this gives the Assassin a chance to go back to being invisible and getting more assassinations off against this same boss.
5 Extra Assassinations
One big question when considering which video game characters Jin Sakai would be able to take on is how many can see through his stealth before he gets the first blow. This is his most dangerous ability and it remains that way for the Assassin in Legends mode.
The key is to forfeit an early assassination or two for lots of assassinations later. Getting spotted means hard work for the Samurai to get the attention of those chasing the Assassin and usually tough work for the Ronin to try and heal two targets at once. Let the Samurai initiate, then start racking up the body count.
4 Run & Hide
When skills and items run out and enemies are all around, run and hide to regain invisibility. It might not feel sophisticated, but it is a pro strategy in the single-player setting, and it works even better in Legends since friendly Hunters have no problem shouldering the load for a bit.
Don't forget about hiding on the rooftops, either. Battles in the co-operative modes tend to occur in villages and camps or by cliffs. Many great assassinations don't need to start from behind when they can be just as effective coming from above.
3 Protecting Hunters
It's natural to be locked into a damage competition. Some might say keeping track of damage is a newbie mistake, but iron sharpens iron, so welcome some healthy competition. Just be careful to make sure that it doesn't drift into an unhealthy area.
Help out companions, especially the Hunter, when they are being chased down. Samurai and Ronin have healing, tankiness, and evasiveness on their side, all things Hunters lack. It'll get trust points and a free kill; enemies barreling down on the Hunter will have their backs conveniently turned to the Assassin.
2 Using Smoke Bombs
Sometimes, enemies just don't line up correctly and the Vanish Chain will drop before the next cooldown is ready. In this case, it helps to have some smoke bombs equipped in the ghost weapon slot.
Caltrops, dirt, and kunai might seem like fun and flavorful options, but none of them, even a legendary one, help out as much as an extra dose of invisibility. Remember that perfection is a goal rarely achieved, so make this the backup plan for dropping out of stealth too soon.
1 Blowgun
While admiring the beautiful choices in sword kits, remember that not all damage is done with the blade, not even with the Assassin class. The half-bow and longbow are available, but they take too long to aim for a class based on really getting in the faces...or backs, as it is...of opponents.
Assassins maximize the blowgun because it can be fired quickly, apply a status effect, and open up the enemy to an early execution. It can also be fired without disclosing to enemies where the darts come from. Using this trick really expands the versatility of Assassin players.