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Survive the island with our Ghost of Tsushima armor guide

D
Dave Tach
May 16, 2024
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, out now on Epic Games Store on PC, has 11 sets of armor to find, collect, and wear.

You play as Jin Sakai, the protagonist and titular "Ghost of Tsushima," who must liberate his island from the brutal Mongol invaders. Jin’s journey leads him toward constant confrontation, and finding and equipping the right armor in the right situation often makes the difference between success and an untimely death.

In this Ghost of Tsushima armor guide, we’ll explain how armor works, where to find every set, explain the bonuses that each grant, and give you some suggestions about when and where to equip it.  

Ghost of Tsushima armor, explained

You can see the armor you’ve picked up in the Gear > Outfit menu. Jin’s outfit has three components, but the only piece of equipment that grants bonuses is in the Armor slot, which appears in the square at the bottom of the menu. That’s where you equip the armor that Jin wears around his torso.

The other two slots above that—one for Jin’s mask and one for his helmet—are purely cosmetic items.

For example, you can equip the Samurai Clan armor because you want its perks, but you can keep those bonuses while equipping any mask or helmet you like. Or you can choose to leave Jin’s head exposed. Feel free to accessorize!

You can upgrade almost all of the armor you get by visiting an Armorer, who are scattered around settlements throughout Ghost of Tsushima’s expansive map. (Some armor isn’t upgradable.)

We should also mention that this Ghost of Tsushima armor guide necessarily contains spoilers, at least in the sense that some necessarily reveal abilities that you’ll get in late in the game. That’s why our list is in a reasonably chronological order. You won't necessarily find the armor sets in the precise order that we list below, but it’ll be pretty close. In short, the farther you scroll, the more late-game stuff you’ll find out.

Broken Armor

Jin begins the game with the Broken Armor set, so you don’t have to do anything special to acquire it. It has no perks, and as its name implies, it’s best to get rid of it as soon as you can.

Traveler’s Attire

The Traveler’s Attire is one of the most useful armor sets in the game.
Survive The Island With Our Ghost Of Tsushima Armor Guide Travelers Attire
The Traveler’s Attire perks include:
  • Track Artifacts with the Guiding Wind.
  • Traveling clears more fog of war on the map.
  • Controller will vibrate when close to an Artifact.
Wear the Traveler’s Attire whenever you’re taking a journey—whenever you’re on horseback or traveling into parts unknown. In Ghost of Tsushima, you have to visit an area to reveal its details on your map; when you wear the Traveler’s Attire, you reveal more of the map with every step and gallop you take.

The Guiding Wind is one of Ghost of Tsushima’s best features. It directs Jin’s movements diegetically through the wind that blows in the world, showing him where to go. The Traveler’s Attire will nudge him toward Artifacts, which are collectible items hidden throughout the game. Finding them is like finding a needle in an island-sized haystack. But with the Traveler’s Attire, tracking them down becomes a lot easier.

Samurai Clan Armor

The Samurai Clan Armor is great for combat. You’ll unlock it during “The Tale of Lady Masiko,” which is one of Ghost of Tsushima’s main campaign missions.

The Samurai Clan Armor’s perks include:
  • Reduces all damage.
  • Increases health.
  • Taking damage grants Resolve.
The more you upgrade it, the more damage you’ll reduce, the more health you’ll receive, and the more Resolve you’ll get.

Ghost of Tsushima’s Resolve mechanic is effectively a measure of Jin’s determination to see a fight through. It appears as yellow dots above the health bar in the lower left of the screen. You can use Resolve both to heal and to perform special attacks. With the Samurai Clan Armor, you’ll gain more Resolve, which means you can perform these actions more often.

Increased health, decreased damage taken, and a special attack-juice reward for taking damage are the right ingredients for an aggressive playstyle.

Ronin Attire

The Ronin Attire is great for stealth and combat. You’ll unlock it during “Blood on the Gates,” which is one of Ghost of Tsushima’s main campaign missions.

The Ronin Attire’s perks include:
  • Reduces enemy detection speed.
  • Increases Melee damage.
  • After leaving pampas grass while crouched, enemies will detect you slower.
The more you upgrade it, the slower your enemies will detect you, and the more Melee damage you’ll cause.

Ghost of Tsushima presents players with a choice to play aggressively or stealthily, and both have their uses. If sneaking up on enemies is your thing—in contrast to the aggressive, face-to-face combat style that the Samurai Clan armor incentivizes—then this is the right choice, especially in the early game.

Tadayori’s Armor

Tadayori’s Armor is great for ranged combat with the bow and arrow. You’ll unlock it during “The Legend of Tadayori,” which is one of Ghost of Tsushima’s Mythic Tales.

Tadayori’s Armor’s perks include:
  • Increases nocking and reload speed.
  • Increases total Concentration time.
  • Headshots restore the Concentration meter.
Increasing nocking and reload speed allows you to load and shoot arrows faster. Ghost of Tsushima’s Concentration mechanic allows you to slow down time when aiming.

“The Legend of Tadayori” is available early in the game, during Act I. Like all Mythic Tales, you’ll need to find and talk to a musician. This one happens to be located in southwest Izuhara, south of Rustling Bend, a geographical area that you can find on your map with a little zooming and panning.

Gosaku’s Armor

Gosaku’s Armor is purpose-built for aggressive combat. You’ll unlock it during “The Unbreakable Gosaku,” which is one of Ghost of Tsushima’s Mythic Tales.

Gosaku’s Armor’s perks include:
  • Increases health.
  • Increases Stagger damage.
  • Killing a Staggered enemy restores health.
If armor can be considered a blunt force instrument, then Gosaku’s armor fits that description. It increases player health and Stagger damage, and it rewards you for killing Staggered enemies. Those are all incentives that aid players who want to charge into fights with their sword flashing.

“The Unbreakable Gosaku” Mythic Tale is available in Act II, so consider this your first mid-game armor set.

Kensei Armor

The Kensei Armor is made for players who like offensive combat and Ghost Weapons like black powder bombs, kunai, smoke bombs, and wind chimes. You’ll unlock it during “The Six Blades of Kojiro” Mythic Tale.
Survive The Island With Our Ghost Of Tsushima Armor Guide Kensei Armor
The Kensei Armor’s perks include:
  • Increases 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.
The Kensei Armor is like a stealth-focused version of the Samurai Clan Armor. Both of them grant bonuses to Resolve, which is good for healing and using powerful special moves, but this armor also grants bonuses for using creative and distance-based weapons.

Sakai Clan Armor

The Sakai Clan Armor is a balanced armor set for players who side with the samurai code of ethics, as presented in Ghost of Tsushima’s narrative. You’ll unlock it during the “Ghosts from the Past” main story mission.

The Sakai Clan Armor’s perks include:
  • Increases Melee damage.
  • Increases health.
  • Increase the Standoff Streak by 2. Winning a Standoff has a chance to Terrify nearby enemies.
If you’re about to engage in a Standoff, equip the Sakai Clan Armor. The more you upgrade the armor, the more enemies you can kill during the Standoff. And the enemies who you don’t kill during the Standoff are often so intimidated by your lethal efficiency that they’ll enter the Terrified state, which makes them easy targets.

“Ghosts from the Past” is part of Act II, which makes this a mid-game armor set.

Ghost Armor
Survive The Island With Our Ghost Of Tsushima Armor Guide Ghost Armor
The Ghost Armor is the game’s quintessential stealth armor. You’ll unlock it during the “From the Darkness” campaign mission.

The Ghost Armor’s perks include:
  • Reduces enemy detection speed.
  • Reduces the number of kills needed to enter the Ghost Stance.
  • Kills have a chance to Terrify a nearby enemy.
In short, you make yourself harder to see, and you scare the heck out of your enemies when wearing the Ghost Armor.

To enter Ghost Stance, you must kill multiple enemies without being detected. You enter a special mode where you cinematically destroy everyone in your path. That’s easier to pull off while wearing an outfit that makes it difficult for your enemies to see you.

Mongol Commander’s Armor

The Mongol Commander’s Armor makes Jin an offensive tank with a stealthy twist. You’ll unlock it during the “Fit for the Kahn” Tale (or side quest, if you like).

The Mongol Commander’s perks include:
  • Increases health.
  • Reduces all damage.
  • Disguises you while out of combat, reducing Mongol detection speed.
More health and less damage are recipes for an offensive-focused armor set. The third perk exists because Jin is wearing the armor of his enemies, so they don’t know that there’s a turncoat in their ranks. When they figure your ruse out, at least you’ll have tons of health and damage protection for the ensuing fight.

“Fit for the Kahn” is part of Act III, which makes this a late-game armor set.
Survive The Island With Our Ghost Of Tsushima Armor Guide Fundoshi
Fundoshi

The Fundoshi Armor magically makes running and sprinting noiseless. (It’s also great for looking goofy.) You’ll unlock it as a reward for finding all 18 hot springs scattered throughout the map.

Ghost of Tsushima is available now on the Epic Games Store.