Highlights
- Legendary duels, epic armor rewards, and captivating side stories make Ghost of Tsushima 's side quests worthwhile.
- From challenging boss battles to emotional character arcs, the game offers a diverse range of experiences.
- Uncover the mysteries of Tsushima while honing your combat skills and earning valuable rewards in side missions.
Sucker Punch's Ghost Of Tsushima has gained a lot of fans since launch and for good reason. It features an expansive open world, unbelievable art, excellent weapons, and some of the best sword combat in gaming. Not to mention, it tells an achingly human, and somewhat historical story via its main quest.
Ghost Of Tsushima: 12 Hardest Duels, Ranked
Ghost Of Tsushima features some of the best blade-to-blade combat in all of gaming, with duels that are both exhilarating and difficult.
Ghost of Tsushima also tells some awesome stories outside the main quest and has more than a few fun side challenges. So let's look at the best side missions in the game, and evaluate which quests have the most bang for their buck. The following entries are here for a variety of reasons. Some offer the best trophies or charms, while others tell beautiful side stories about secondary characters. But all of them are equally worth the player's time. So without further ado, here are the best side quests in Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut.
Updated May 28, 2024, by Michael Llewellyn: With Ghost of Tsushima launching on the PC alongside the Iki Island expansion as part of the Director's Cut, action-adventure fans get to play one of the PlayStation's best exclusives on the PC. Ghost of Tsushima features many rewarding side stories with their depth, lore, and character development. This list is updated to include the side quest's rewards and a new one from the Iki Island expansion.
11 The Legend Of Black Hand Riku
A Challenging Duel And An Amazing Armor Set
- Reward: Sarugami Armor
The Legend of the Black Hand Riku is one of two Mythic Tales on Iki Island. Jin will gain access to the quest when he reaches Fune's Refuge and listens to a man telling the story of a deadly pirate and his cursed armor. The quest for Black Hand Riku doesn't pack an emotional punch compared to other stories on this list. However, it does feature a rescue mission from the Eagle's Mongols, an exploration of the Mysterious Caves, a duel with the titular Riku, and a betrayal.
More importantly, Jin will get the Sarugami Armor as a reward for beating the pirate in his lair. The armor adds perks to Jin's dodging and parrying abilities, but only if he has perfect timing. It's a significant quest that spans most of Iki Island, and the rewards are worthwhile.
10 Fit For The Khan
A Rewarding Quest With Two Duels And A Mongol Armor
- Reward: Mongol Commander's Armor
Players discover this Act 3 side quest after talking to an armorer in Jogaku Temple, and it is one of the most expansive side quests in the game. To complete the mission, players must travel to three separate Mongol Forts, take down hordes of enemies, and then face two Mongol Generals in one-on-one combat.
The battles are tense, offering various stealth and assault options, and the combat with the generals serves as fun shielded variations on the classic duels scattered throughout other parts of the game. Sure, this side mission is just more fort retaking with a few cool boss battles. But isn't that the best part of this game? And also, how cool is that armor?
9 Unfinished Business
A Fund Stealthy Mission That Rewards A Useful Charm
- Reward: Charm of Vitality
Yes, this is just another Fort Liberation side quest, but Azamo Bay is the first major city players visit in the story. And when they are asked to leave the bay un-liberated and continue with the main quest, they have a choice: stay behind and fight for justice or continue their journey.
If players stay behind, they will face the best self-contained combat up to that point. They will have to use stealth through the city, if they raise the alarm they risk an overwhelming horde of enemies. Then they must defeat the most difficult leader up to that point. And when all is said and done, they unlock some great new stores with previously unavailable gear.
8 Curse Of Uchitsune
A Memrobale Duel And A Much-Needed Reward
- Reward: Longbow, Explosive Arrows
This Act 1 mythical side quest is awesome for two major reasons. The first is that if players finish it, after scouring the Hiyoshi countryside for those darn blue violets, they can enjoy the most satisfying ranged weapon in the game: the longbow. The other reason is the quest ends with arguably the most fun boss fight in the game: the Tengu Demon. An angry masked spirit with a fast sword and an army of bats, the Tengu Demon is a gem hidden among the violets, and upon his defeat players get an awesome new weapon. For maximum enjoyment of Tsushima, this quest is a must-play.
7 The Heavenly Strike
An Epic Duel And A New Technique For Combat
- Reward: Heavenly Strike Technique, Heavenly Falcon Sword Kit
Another mythical side quest, The Heavenly Strike is a truly fun distraction from the story. It involves Mongol killing, peasant saving, baby kissing, countryside riding, and maniac dueling! And it's not just a measly item or collectible that awaits players at the end, it's a mythical technique that can help Jin kill most enemies in one hit!
Sure, players will have to beat certified cannibal Yasuhira Koga to get it, but he's more bark than bite. Plus, he is good practice for another specific side quest that will appear on this list! Find the crying peasant woman underneath that bridge just south of the Golden Temple!
6 Whispers In The Woods
An Intriguing Mystery To Uncover And A New Charm
- Reward: Charm of Dual Destruction, x4 Leather
This side quest makes the list solely because it's a violent episode of Ghost Hunters: Feudal Japan. If players talk to all the peasants in the Golden Temple, they will hear tell of an angry spirit terrorizing the forest in the south of Izuhara. If players are smart, they will realize this is their only chance to make a temporary career change from Samurai to Exorcist. And if players do travel to the haunted woods, they are treated to one of the creepiest strolls through a forest...maybe ever.
This quest may be a ruse, as the spirits turn out to be some stinkin' bandits, but it is still a fun and atmospheric horror mission in a game that is otherwise decidedly un-creepy.
5 The Sensei And The Student
Gain A New Comrade In Arms And A Charm
- Reward: Charm of Efficiency, x2 Silk
Now it's time for the list to start getting into side missions that are great for their stories, instead of for their rewards. The first time Jin meets Sensei Ishikawa qualifies, as players meet an amazing side character and a staunch fellow combatant. The sensei fights alongside Jin throughout the main story, but the real meat of the character lies just off the beaten path.
Ghost of Tsushima: All Hidden Trophies & How To Get Them
Ghost of Tsushima and its DLC have plenty of hidden trophies that will keep collectors busy throughout Jin's journey in Tsushima and Iki Island.
Players first meet the sensei at his dojo and help him investigate what happened to his missing student. Not everything is as it seems in the land of the bow, however, as Jin quickly finds out that sensei is hiding a few things, and that he has more than a few hidden tactics up his sleeve. There's a lot of intrigue, shadowy dealings, and bow-shooting, and it's a great diversion from the Mongol invasion.
4 The Last Warrior Monk
A Friend For The Final Battle And A New Charm
- Reward: Charm of Resistance 2, x2 Silk
Players first meet Norio in Akashima village, as they prepare for a raid on Shimura Castle. He is protecting his temple from Mongol desecration, and he and Jin form a brotherly bond in battle. Norio then takes Jin around to all the temples on the island, freeing captive monks and taking revenge on the invaders for the pain they've inflicted on holy men.
Norio's tale is a dark one. It explores lost faith, the call to violence, anger, and loss, and players watch Norio slowly transition from a man with a higher purpose, to a man with nothing to lose. It's one of the grittier distractions players will find in Tsushima but also one of the most compelling.
3 The Spirit Of Yarikawa's Vengeance
A Cinematic Duel For A New Technique
- Reward: The Dance of Wrath Technique, Omakade's Revenge Sword Kit
This action-packed Mythic Quest provides players with one of the game's best duels and the most useful technique in the entire game. At first, Jin must scour old Yarikawa, finding pillars of white smoke and collecting offerings to the vengeful spirit of Yarikawa.
However, the tables quickly turn, old grievances get aired, and Jin crosses blades with the titular vengeful spirit. It's an awesome fight in one of Tsushima's more idyllic locations, and it rewards players with the unbelievably powerful Dance Of Wrath technique!
2 A Mother's Peace
An Emotionally Deep Side Story And A Friend For The Final Battle
- Reward: Charm of Fortunate Return, x2 Silk
Lady Masako is a bonafide femme fatale on the battlefield, but the best side quest in her tales is also her saddest. After helping her defeat some roaming bandits near Komoda Beach, this mission has Jin accompany the Lady as she looks for her dead sons on the beach where the Mongols first slaughtered the Samurai.
It's tragic, and significantly changes the feeling and pace of the game up to that point. It also serves as a creative way for the game to make a statement about all of the violence along Jin's adventure. Most importantly, it's a heartbreaking way to make players everywhere love Lady Masako and care about what happens to her as they charge into battle.
1 Six Blades Of Kojiro
Six Nail-Biting Duels For A New Armor Set
- Reward: Kensei Armor
It's no secret that Jin Sakai fights many foes in Ghost Of Tsushima. But nowhere, in all 40 hours of the game, does he fight anyone like the 6 swordsmen in this Act 2 side quest. After speaking to a monk in Umugi Cove, players hear tell of five straw hat duelists scattered around the island waiting to strike. They then must travel around, killing these swordsmen one by one, in awesome and challenging samurai duels.
After taking down all five duelists, players travel to the hidden Mirror Of Scared Light, where they are treated to the single best fight in the game: Kojiro. Kojiro is fast and strong, he has tons of health, and beating him probably takes at least ten tries. But with patience, players will learn his ways and slay him, a feat that is more satisfying than any of the other side quests in Tsushima.
