Welcome to our Ghost of Tsushima achievement guide for the base game! This guide is perfect for those who aren’t interested in the online Legends mode or DLC achievements. We’ll help you unlock all the achievements in the base game, so let’s get started!
Before we start…
Also, if it wasn’t obvious; this guide WILL HAVE SPOILERS!
Main Story
Side Quests (Tales)
There are a number of achievements pertaining to side quests, known as Tales in Ghost of Tsushima. Fortunately, none of these are missable and can be finished in the free-roam mode after the main story has concluded.
We’ll begin with the Tales of supporting characters that join Jin throughout his journey across Tsushima.
Sensei Ishikawa is an important side-character throughout Jin’s story. His side-quests are 9 in number and this achievement requires us to complete every single one. The quests aren’t hard by any means and are rather short at about 10 minutes each with exception to the final one. Video below provides a comprehensive walkthrough if help is needed.
More or less the same context as Ishikawa’s questline. This time, however, there’s an additional quest ontop of the regular 9 which takes place at Komoda beach which may be required for this to pop. Just to be safe, do all 10 tales to ensure this goes through. Video below provides a comprehensive walkthrough if help is needed.
Norio is available beginning in Act 2 on the 2nd region of Toyotama. Video below provides a comprehensive walkthrough if help is needed.
Unlike the other characters, Yuna’s questline totals only 4 and they’re generally short for the most part. These become available after a pivotal moment in Act 2 involving another character. Video below provides a comprehensive walkthrough if help is needed.
——————————————————————————————————-
That does it for singular character based achievements involving Tales but there are still many more to go.
We’ll continue with what are known as Mythic Tales on that Jin will encounter. There are 6 in total needed for this achievement as the Iki island one does not count. These are outlined with a blue tint on the map and they’re more fleshed out than most other regular Tales.
Feel free to complete these as they become available because they provide Jin with some very interesting abilities and items which make the game more enjoyable.
This achievement will take up a bulk of your time as we’re required to complete every single Tale on all of Tsushima island. There are 30+ quests which include main story, mythic tales, character tales, and side tales. Fortunately, the quest tracker in the menu is handy to ensure you haven’t missed out on one; a good idea is to scout the entire map to ensure completion.
That about does it for the Side Quests in Tsushima.
Combat
Is there a more satisfying sound than the cling from perfectly parrying an enemy’s attack? For most of us, this will come automatically over time. If you need a reminder, then perfect parry moves are tapping L1 (DS5 Controller) at the last possible moment from an enemy’s counterable attack (not red) before slashing back with either a light or heavy attack. Remember, the attack must kill the enemy!
Chances are we know how to shoot an enemy with an arrow, but what does terrified actually mean? Well, depending on armour and abilities; Jin will be able to terrorize his enemies which results in them running away like cowards. When this happens, whip out your bow and show them in the back for this to pop. Video below gives a more in-depth explanation of how to achieve this with some optimal gear.
Standoffs are a great mechanic brought to the Tsushima experience. Jin is introduced to them fairly on but in order to complete this achievement; we must upgrade a specific armour set known as the Sakai Armor and additionally, upgrade one of our techniques to increase the amount of enemies we’re able to kill in a single Standoff. The maximum number is 5 and Jin must kill them consecutively in a singular instance. Video below gives a more in-depth explanation of how to achieve this with the right gear.
Staggering involves “breaking” the white bar among enemies that Jin fights throughout the game. This is almost guaranteed to come naturally but when in doubt, spam triangle (DS5) until the enemy falls back in a stupor with the bar broken.
A strangely annoying achievement which took me more than a few tries to complete. There are a couple of ways to do this but I found that using the Wind Stance’s typhoon kick on an archer that’s already damaged near a ledge worked out best. Video below gives an overview of what I described.
Ghost Stance, also known as Sasuke mode for Jin is unlocked after the Yarikawa battle in Act 2. Enemies are insta-killed in this form and can be accessed either by killing a set number of enemies without taking any damage or “slaughtering” Mongol leaders in front of their soldiers. This will more than likely come to you naturally so I wouldn’t sweat it.
Collectibles
Shinto Shrines are interesting, usually treacherous areas for Jin to explore that are located throughout Tsushima. They are marked on the map with a Torii gate symbol and this achievement requires us to complete every single one. Below are videos which go through each region’s Shinto Shrines in case you have trouble locating any. There are 16 in the base-game and that’s all that is needed as Iki island does not count for this achievement to pop.
Pillars of Honor are as they sound, giant pillars located throughout Tsushima that provide sword kits for Jin to change the appearance of his weapons. There are 23 different sites on Tsushima, and 3 on Iki Island, but this achievement only requires us to find one. Either way, the videos below go through each region in case you had any desire to find every single one.
Records are little pieces of parchment located throughout Tsushima, predominantly in large settlements with lots of inhabitants. This achievement requires us to find only 20 which is generous considering there are 40 in the entire game. They’re borderline impossible to find without the Traveler’s outfit but if you’d prefer a video guide then these show their locations in the first 2 regions which clears the requirement.
A very similar achievement when compared with Avid Reader. This time, instead of records, we’re tasked with finding Mongol artifacts which are similar collectibles located mostly in Mongol strongholds. There are 50 located throughout Tsushima but we’re only required to collect 20. Videos below provide the location of the first 2 regions which clears the requirement.
Collectibles Pt. 2
This achievement looks like a lot and that’s a fair statement all things considered. We’re tasked with completing every hot spring, haiku poem, inari shrine, and bamboo strike locations throughout Tsushima. These will take up a large part of your time but fortunately, they’re easy to find on the minimap. Even so, the videos show where each activity is located in all three regions if you ever get stuck.
At the end of all this, you should have; 16 Shinto Shrines, 18 Hot Springs, 49 Inari Shrines, 16 Bamboo Strikes, and 19 Haiku Poems.
PLEASE NOTE. If the achievement doesn’t pop, then it’s likely you haven’t found two of the haikus related to Tales of Tsushima. One is located in Hiyoshi Springs near the very beginning of the game and the other involves Yuriko’s first Character Tale that is completable at the end.
Collectibles Pt. 3
Collectibles (Sashimono Banners)
Open-World
Vanity Gear can be described as any type of item or accessory which changes Jin’s appearance in-game. This can be sword kits, dyes, helmets, etc. There are MANY more than 30 pieces so this achievement is generous as it only asks us to collect 30. More than likely this will unlock automatically as the main story provides plenty of vanity gear in itself.
I’ve gone ahead and combined all of these achievements into one table seeing how they’re all part of the same gameplay mechanic. In essence, there are various areas throughout Tsushima labeled with a red icon to signify a Mongol presence; Jin must “liberate” these areas by completing the specific objectives in each zone to evict the Mongols. My advice is to wait until the main story is complete as the icons will pop up on your map automatically rather than looking for each one manually.
There are a number of locations throughout Tsushima known as Gift Altars. These are collectable podiums that Jin may take items from that the populace has given to him. This pile fills up as Jin improves his Legend status. This achievement is only asking for us to collect 10 gifts which will undoubtedly be accomplished automatically.
Most players might not notice the interactable altars hidden in plain sight across Tsushima but they each have a bow symbol which we’ll need to recreate in order to complete this achievement. Simply walk up to 10 different altars and swipe left on the touchpad (DS5) for Jin to bow and this should pop.
There are 8 different lighthouses on Tsushima and 2 on Iki Island that Jin can kindle at his pleasure. We’re only required to light the ones on Tsushima and they’re scattered about in isolated areas of the island. A couple of the lighthouses are tied to main story quests so be sure to complete Jin’s entire journey before wondering why this hasn’t popped if you found all the others.
There are two unique merchants located in Tsushima that sell special types of dyes. The White Dye Merchant is located in Izuhara, the 1st region, and the Black Dye Merchant is located in Toyotama, the 2nd region. After finding each merchant, all we need to do is buy an item from each one and this will pop automatically.
Sly Cooper is a well-known franchise made by the developers, Sucker Punch, so this was a nice nod on their part. This achievement is a bit tricky as it requires us to find 4 unique pieces of gear for Jin to wear in order to unlock it. The video provided below goes into detail on how to accomplish this.
An achievement with a melancholic connotation. The actual requirements are a bit specific but they require us to find a certain number of Singing Crickets, a collectible located predominantly in cemeteries across Tsushima, in order to unlock a song that Jin must play at Taka’s Grave in the 2nd region of Toyotama. The video below goes into more detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws2ftqgVQ-U
Duels are a fun part of the gameplay in Ghost of Tsushima. There are 25 duels in total and they take place in a variety of quests including the main story and mythic tales. The video below shows each encounter and where they take place.
Misc.
Legend is a sort of renown status that Jin experiences throughout his journey in Tsushima. This achievement requires us to earn the final form of Legend status which is done by a variety of activities; be it main missions, side-quests, etc. This can be a bit grindy but if you’re going the completionist route then you’ll have no issue reaching it before the end of your save file.
There are 4 main combat stances available to Jin throughout the entirety of the game. These are unlocked by either killing Mongols leaders, observing them, or both, after a pre-determined amount of time. This is will unlock naturally as you progress through the game.
To gain all throwable Ghost Weapons, you need to grow your Legend to earn enough Technique Points, which is done by doing side quests, helping locals, doing Mythic tales, clearing out encampments and so on. These techniques include Kunai, Smoke Bombs, Sticky Bombs, Black Smoke Bombs, Wind Chimes and Firecrackers. Another easy get if you’re taking the completionist approach.
Like any Samurai, Jin uses a katana for most of his battles. This achievement requires us to upgrade the long sword, NOT the short one, at one of the many swordsmiths located throughout Tsushima. It’s a bit grindy with the amount of supplies needed but just be sure to save up and this will pop after upgrading to full.
Charms are mini stat buffs to that Jin can equip for his weapons. In order to unlock 6 slots, we must pray to enough Inari Shrines (Fox Dens) until we have 6 slots available. Then, it’s a matter of equipping whatever charm we wish in the slots for this to pop.
Like the PS5 version, there’s a photo mode in the steam version as well! This achievement requires us to simply open the mode via the D-PAD (DS5) and it’s marked as complete.
Conclusion
Well, that wasn’t all too terrible. This isn’t a 100% achievement guide which is unfortunate considering the “Perfect” game status we tend to strive for but I’m not interested in playing online with a forced Playstation account; additionally, I’ll likely do an Iki Island guide in the future when I’m less burned out on collecting. Hope this guide was helpful and my apologies if there were any errors or confusion, this is my 2nd attempt at creating these sorts of things in general. Thank you for reading and happy achievement hunting!
And that wraps up our share on Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR’S CUT: Ghost of Tsushima – Base Game Achievement Guide. If you have any additional insights or tips to contribute, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. For a more in-depth read, you can refer to the original article here by Alyria, who deserves all the credit. Happy gaming!