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Looking for the best Ghost of Tsushima armor for each situation? While your honorable uncle might feel otherwise, you won't just be taking every fight head on as you seek to drive the invading Mongols from your homeland; while you'll be challenging impossible numbers of foes in Standoffs, you'll also be doing your fair share of sneaking and assassinations from the shadows.
That means you need all Ghost of Tsushima armor sets to ensure you're versatile enough to fight the Mongols' tricky tactics with some of your own. Thankfully you'll come across most outfits just by playing through the main story, but there are a few important - and some plain silly - gear pieces that are missable.
While you'll naturally want to know when you'll finally get your hands on the iconic Ghost of Tsushima Ghost armor, you can also get outfits that help you out with your archery, improve your ability to stagger opponents, and aid you in exploring the gorgeous landscapes of this troubled Japanese island. So, here's how get all the armor sets in the order you'll likely encounter them (for spoiler purposes), how to enhance them with charms, and how their associated perks work.
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How Ghost of Tsushima armor works
Of the 11 available armor sets, almost all of them are viable in at least one situation. You mostly pick them up in main missions, but the rest can be picked up through exploration, and completing side tasks and the more complex Mythic Tales.
Often you'll get a headband or helmet, and a mask, too, and all of your gear will change aesthetically as you upgrade it to increase the potency of its perks. Masks and headbands are just a cosmetic means of completing your look, though: you don't need to wear them to get an armor's associated perks. When it comes to upgrades, most items such as linen and supplies can be found all over, with iron and steel more common in Mongol camps and fortresses. Rarer items like gold are more likely to be given out in important missions.
You can customize armor by buying dyes from merchants in exchange for flowers, but you can tweak its effectiveness with charms. You can use these trinkets to either further specialize your choice of playstyle or balance things up a bit, as some are geared toward stealth, exploration, and melee, for example. The number of slots you get increase as you follow foxes to Inari Shrines, and the charms come in minor and major variants. The latter tend to be more powerful and are gained mostly in Shinto Shrines, whereas you have more slots for the former type, and they seem to be randomized as you get them from smaller side tales.
Ghost of Tsushima Broken Armor
How to get: This is your starting set
Perks: None
The Broken Armor set is the one you start with, and it's so battered by the opening battle with the Mongols that it's effectively useless. Press on with the main quest as quickly as possible to get yourself an outfit that actually does something for you.
Best Ghost of Tsushima armor for exploration: Traveller's Attire
How to get: Given by the first merchant you speak to
Perks:
- Track Artefacts with the Guiding Wind
- Travelling clears more fog of war on the map
- Controller vibrates when near an Artefact
This is the set for you if you want to pick up every last collectible in the game. It doesn't offer anything in terms of combat, so you'll need to keep swapping your armor if keeping it on means you're struggling in a scrap.
That said, even when fully upgraded, this armor set doesn't reveal that much of the map - liberating Mongol-occupied areas does it better - and you can track most missable collectibles with the Guiding Wind anyway.
Best Ghost of Tsushima armor for resilience: Samurai Clan Armor
How to get: Complete the first Lady Masako tale (Act 1)
Perks:
- Reduces damage
- Increases health
- Taking damage grants Resolve
This is the most effective armor for a defensive approach. Not only does it give major boosts to health and protection when properly upgraded, but the extra Resolve you get from taking damage can then be spent on even more health if you need it. If you're struggling in any fight, put on the Samurai Clan set to give yourself a lifeline.
Best Ghost of Tsushima armor for damage: Ronin Attire
How to get: Complete main mission 'Blood on the Grass' (Act 1)
Perks:
- Reduces enemy detection speed
- Increase to melee damage
- After leaving long pampas grass, enemies slower to detect you
This is the best stealth set before you get to the fabled Ghost armor in Act 2, but it also copes very well in combat - so long as you're good at avoiding damage. As there are no defensive perks attached to the Ronin Attire, consider something like the Samurai Clan or Gosaku sets if you're health is consistently running low.
Best Ghost of Tsushima armor for archery: Tadayori's Armor
How to get: Complete 'The Legend of Tadayori' Mythic Tale
Perks:
- Increases nocking and reload speed
- Increases Concentration time
- Headshots partly restore Concentration meter
If you're a fan of long-ranged combat, expect to spend plenty of time in this armor set. Once you've used our Ghost of Tsushima Legend of Tadayori guide to complete the Mythic Tale you need to get the outfit, you'll be skewering heads all over the shop with your boosted Concentration time.
Complete your archery training by grabbing yourself the longbow for greater ranged damage and explosive arrows. Get it by ticking off another Mythic Tale with our Ghost of Tsushima Curse of Uchitsune guide.
Best Ghost of Tsushima armor for staggering enemies: Gosaku's Armor
How to get: Complete 'The Unbreakable Gosaku' Mythic Tale
Perks:
- Increases health
- Increases stagger damage
- Killing a staggered enemy restores health
This sturdy outfit balances offence and defence nicely, and you get it after liberating six Mongol-controlled areas in the first part of the island. While it gives you a welcome health boost, it also helps you stagger enemies - which is especially useful against brutes and leaders - and then killing staggered enemies bolsters your health as a nice bonus.
Once you've staggered your foe, one of the best follow-up moves to finish them off is Heavenly Strike. Get that by following our Ghost of Tsushima Heavenly Strike guide.
Best Ghost of Tsushima armor for Ghost weapons: Kensei Armor
How to get: Complete 'The Six Blades of Kojiro' Mythic Tale
Perks:
- Increase to Resolve gains
- Ghost weapons deal more damage
- Striking an enemy with a Ghost Weapon causes that enemy to deal less damage and receive more damage
Once you've felled five Ronin in duels in the second part of the island and vanquished the final boss in Mythic Tale 'The Six Blades of Kojiro', you'll have the best armor in the game when combined with Ghost weapons like the smoke bomb and kunai blades. This armor takes these tricks of the trade and turns them into battle-dominating techniques.
Best Ghost of Tsushima armor for Standoffs: Sakai Clan Armor
How to get: Complete main mission 'Ghosts from the Past' (Act 2)
Perks:
- Increases melee damage
- Increases health
- Increases the number of opponents you can kill in a Standoff. Winning a Standoff has a chance to Terrify nearby enemies
In Act 2 you inherit the armor of your clan, and it's great if you love taking lots of enemies on at once. With boosts to damage and health, it also gives you extra enemies offering themselves up to your blade in a Standoff. This really helps thin out Mongol numbers, especially when you upgrade the outfit and spend Technique Points to goad more foes into an instant kill. Ending the maximum of number of Mongols in a standoff earns you a trophy, too.
How to get the Ghost of Tsushima Ghost Armor
How to get: Complete main mission 'From the Darkness' (Act 2)
Perks:
- Reduces enemy detection speed
- Reduces number of kills needed to enter Ghost stance
- Kills have a chance to Terrify a nearby enemy
Ever since the game was revealed, we all wanted to know when we could get our hands on the Ghost of Tsushima Ghost Armor. It turns out you'll have to wait until the end of Act 2, which is a fair amount of time if you're hunting for a lot of collectibles.
Against your uncle's wishes, this is the armor set that helps you murder targets from the shadows. It also helps you enter Ghost stance, a cinematic get-out-of-jail-free card that gives you free kills against terrified enemies.
The best Ghost of Tsushima armor set: Mongol Commander's Armor
How to get: Complete the mission 'Fit for the Khan' (Act 3)
Perks:
- Increases health
- Reduces damage
- Disguises you out of combat, reduces Mongol detection speed
For us this is the best armor set in the game: it isn't upgradeable, but it offers a great balance between stealth, damage, and health. As you're dressed in the clothes of the enemy - your uncle would not be impressed - Mongols take a long time to notice you outside of combat. If they do, your damage and health boost will ensure they wish they didn't.
While most armor sets are gained in main missions or Mythic Tales, the Mongol Commander's Armor is one of few exceptions. When you find yourself in Jogaku Temple at the start of Act 3, speak to a citizen with a speech bubble above their head in the area to get the quest you need to get this reward.
Ghost of Tsushima joke armor: Fundoshi
How to get: Rest at all Hot Springs
Perks:
- Running and sprinting no longer creates noise
Not only will bathing in all of them give you a hefty health bump, but finding all Hot Springs in the game will reward you with the game's amusing joke armor, Fundoshi. It has no upgrades, but its single perk is useful for stealth. However, there are stronger alternatives.
If you're stuck on where to find all the Hot Springs, you can invest a Technique Point to get the Guiding Winds to show you the way to the ones you're missing.
