Ghost of Tsushima came out in the summer of 2020 to rave reviews. It innovated on a classic open-world formula by uniquely integrating the UI into the game world. Long after release, however, developer Sucker Punch Productions continues to update it with patches and extra content, including a full-fledged multiplayer mode called Legends. Most recently on August 20, 2021, Ghost of Tsushima was re-released on PS4 and PS5 as Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut.
Related: How Long Does It Take To Beat Ghost Of Tsushima's Iki Island Expansion?
It adds a slew of subtle gameplay changes and options, but the biggest addition is the Iki Island expansion. This new chunk of story adds a new map exploring Jin Sakai's past. Even though the expansion is available after the first act is completed, you should hold off on doing it right away until you've done the eight things we list below. The combat here is quite difficult so you don't want to get stuck fighting enemies you simply aren't prepared to take on.
Unlock Ghost Stance
Ghost Stance is basically three free kills. To activate it you have to kill a certain amount of enemies without taking a hit. Once you click in the thumbsticks, the screen goes black and white and all the enemies become paralyzed with fear. You can already imagine the utility in battle.
The Ghost Stance is unlocked in the middle of the second act during the Ghost of Yarikawa quest. During the quest there is a duel with General Temuge and the stance is unlocked after beating him. Normally you have to kill seven people to activate Ghost Stance, but with the Ghost Armor upgraded it becomes only five.
Increase Your Resolve
There are a ton of small bonus activities available for you to quickly do on the map. These all increase one of Jin Sakai's stances. While not every stance is vital for making the Iki Island expansion easier, a couple of the activities are a must-do. Bamboo Strikes increase your resolve which allows you to use more techniques during battle.
Related: Where To Find Every Bamboo Strike In Ghost Of Tsushima
Resolve also restores your health and can revive you after death. Do as many Bamboo Strikes as possible before heading to Iki Island. To make finding Bamboo Strikes easier, purchase the perk that leads you towards the closest Bamboo Strike on the map using the guiding wind.
Unlock All The Combat Stances
One of the most important parts of getting into the rhythm of combat is understanding when to change stances. Different stances are more effective against different weapons. Before actually getting used to this mechanic, you have to unlock all the different stances.
They are unlocked by killing the Mongol leaders in camps. You can make this process faster by first observing the leaders before taking them down. Simply be in stealth, get close, and focus the camera on the leader to observe them.
Do The Mythic Tales
Side quests are plentiful within the island. You don't have to do all of them before going to Iki Island, but we absolutely recommend doing as many Mythic Tales as possible, if not all of them. Each of them gives you a new tool or technique to use in combat.
Some of the most useful abilities in the game come from Mythic Tales, such as Dance of Wrath and Heavenly Strike. There are a couple that only become available in the third act if you are willing to wait that long before doing the expansion. Iki Island also has two Mythic Tales, though they reward armor and not abilities.
Increase Your Health
Depending on the difficulty you are playing on, enemies on Iki Island can wipe the floor with Jin Sakai quickly. A few hits and your health is already gone. To prevent this from happening, we recommend finding as many Hot Springs and increasing your maximum health.
Related: Where To Find Every Sucker Punch Easter Egg In Ghost Of Tsushima
Each Hot Spring only extends the bar by a small sliver, but they add up over time. Once on Iki Island, there are a couple of Hot Springs to further increase your health, so do these as soon as possible once you are able to explore the land. This and resolve combined make you live significantly longer even if you get hit a lot.
Upgrade Your Standoffs
Standoffs are introduced early in the game. At the start, you can only take out one enemy at a time. Through upgrades that number goes up to three. This is already a huge advantage, but sometimes you face a group of up to five or more enemies at a time.
After fully upgrading the Sakai Clan armor, earned in act two, you can kill up to five enemies in a standoff. With this, many battles are over before they even begin. When taking on a bigger area, you can even go back into stealth after a successful standoff.
Upgrade Deflection And Evasion
Ideally, you will want to upgrade just about every technique and stance. We recommend prioritizing the deflection and evasion section of the techniques, however. With these upgraded you will be able to do more deadly parries, counter after dodging, and even parry attacks you otherwise could not.
Being able to block arrows is also a huge advantage. Without these, certain enemies on Iki Island will be extremely difficult. You also just feel extremely cool dodging and parrying blows.
Upgrade The Chain Assassinations
Chain Assassinations let you assassinate several enemies at once when in stealth mode. This is an extremely useful upgrade for anyone who enjoys the stealthier mechanics in Ghost of Tsushima.
So often there are two or three enemies grouped together and you would have to either distract one to get him alone or skip them altogether. With Chain Assassinations fully upgraded, you can take them out right away and still maintain stealth.
Next: Ghost Of Tsushima Director's Cut – How To Find The Saragumi Armor
