You've been there. You’re standing on a muddy path in Izuhara, surrounded by six Mongols with shields, and Jin Sakai feels... fragile. One wrong parry and you’re eating dirt. It’s frustrating because the game tells you that you’re this legendary samurai, but until you figure out Ghost of Tsushima charms, you’re basically just a guy with a sharp stick and a very cool cape.
Most players treat charms as an afterthought. They slap on whatever they find at a Shinto Shrine and call it a day. That is a massive mistake. If you actually engage with the math behind these little wooden tags, Jin goes from a struggling guerilla fighter to an absolute god of the battlefield. It’s not just about "dealing more damage." It’s about creating "builds" that let you clear entire camps without ever taking a hit or, conversely, becoming a literal tank that heals every time you swing your sword.
The Big Misconception About Omukade and Inari
Everyone talks about the Charm of Inari. You get it early at the Arrow Peak Shrine. It increases the amount of supplies, predator hides, bamboo, and yew wood you collect. It’s great for the early game. Honestly, it's essential if you want to upgrade your katanas before reaching Toyotama. But here is the thing: it does zero for your combat capability.
I’ve seen so many people leave this charm equipped for the entire game. They reach Act III, they’re getting wrecked by the Kamiagata Ronin, and they wonder why. You’ve got to swap these out. The "Economic" charms are a trap once your gear is maxed.
Then there is the Charm of Mizu-no-Kami. This is the one that makes parries, Perfect Parries, and Perfect Dodges easier to pull off. If you’re playing on Lethal or Lethal+ difficulty, this isn't just a "nice to have." It is your lifeline. The window for a Perfect Parry in Ghost of Tsushima is tight. We're talking milliseconds. Mizu-no-Kami widens that window just enough that you stop feeling like your controller is lagging and start feeling like a master swordsman.
Why Major Charms Matter More Than You Think
You have two slots for Major Charms. These are the big hitters. They don't just give you a 5% boost; they change how a mechanic functions.
Take the Charm of Amaterasu. Every time you kill an enemy, you recover a "Moderate" amount of health. In a game where health kits (Resolve) are a limited resource, this is game-breaking. If you’re aggressive, you effectively have infinite health. You don't need to parry perfectly if every three slashes brings you back from the brink.
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But if you’re a stealth player? You’re looking for the Charm of Hoori-no-Mikoto. It lets you remain hidden while assassinating enemies from grass. It sounds simple. It’s actually ridiculous. You can thin out a patrol of five guys while their buddies are looking right at the grass, and they won't see a thing.
Ghost of Tsushima Charms: The "Infinite Resolve" Build
Let’s get into the weeds. If you want to feel powerful, you need to focus on Resolve. Resolve is what lets you heal and what lets you use those devastating Mythic Tales moves like Heavenly Strike or Dance of Wrath.
To build an "Infinite Resolve" Jin, you need to stack minor charms that synergize. Look for the Charm of Resolve (I and II). They increase your Resolve gains by 10% and 25% respectively. That sounds small. It isn't. When you combine those with the Charm of Fortune—which increases the chance of "effects" occurring by 50%—everything changes.
Wait, how does Fortune help Resolve?
Basically, many charms have a "percentage chance" to grant Resolve on a kill or a parry. The Charm of Fortune acts as a multiplier for those chances. If you have a charm that gives you a 15% chance to recover Resolve, Fortune bumps that up significantly. You end up in a loop where every kill fills a circle, and every circle fuels a move that kills another guy.
The Terrify Meta
The most underrated way to use Ghost of Tsushima charms is the "Terrify" build. You know that animation where a Mongol sees you do something cool and then falls over backward, scurrying away in fear? You can trigger that constantly.
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- Charm of Ikazuchi-no-Kami: Perks and abilities that Terrify are 25% more likely to occur.
- Charm of Fortune I & II: Again, these boost that percentage.
- Ghost Armor: This already has a high Terrify chance.
When you stack these, you can walk into the middle of a camp, decapitate a leader, and watch four spearmen literally run for their lives without you ever swinging at them. It’s the most "Batman" way to play the game, and it’s arguably more effective than high-damage builds because a terrified enemy is an enemy that isn't attacking you.
Don't Ignore the Minor "Versatile" Charms
In the Iki Island DLC, Sucker Punch introduced the Charm of Versatile Skills. This changed everything. It’s a Major Charm that doubles the effect of Minor Charms, provided you only have one of each "type" equipped (one Melee, one Ranged, one Defense, one Utility).
This is the "expert" way to play. Instead of stacking two "Damage" charms, you pick the best one of each category. Suddenly, your "Minor" Defense charm is providing "Major" levels of damage reduction.
It forces you to be balanced. You can't just be a glass cannon anymore. You become a jack-of-all-trades, but since everything is doubled, you're actually a master of all of them. Most players who complain the Iki Island Shamans are too hard simply haven't optimized their Versatile Skills loadout. If you have a doubled-up Charm of Resistance and a doubled-up Charm of Vitality, those Shaman-buffed enemies hit like wet noodles.
The Problem with Poison
People love the blowgun. It’s fun. But the poison charms—like the Charm of Toxic Demise—are often a waste of a slot. Toxic Demise makes wind chimes release poison vapors. Cool, right? Sure, until you realize that you could have used that slot for the Charm of Fire Doctrine, which gives you a 15% chance to Terrify enemies every time you set someone on fire.
In Ghost of Tsushima, crowd control is king. Poison kills one guy. Fire and Terror kill the morale of the entire squad. Always pick the charm that affects the most people at once.
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Where Everyone Messes Up
The biggest error? Not using the "Loadouts" feature. For a long time, the game didn't have this, but now you can bind specific Ghost of Tsushima charms to specific sets of armor.
Your Tadayori’s Armor should have all your Ranged charms:
- Charm of Izanagi: Headshots have a 40% chance to return an arrow.
- Charm of Swift Return: Missed arrows have a 25% chance to be recovered.
- Charm of Efficiency: 15% faster reload/draw speed.
You should never be wearing your "Archery" charms while you're wearing the Samurai Clan Armor. It sounds obvious, but when you're in the heat of a mission, it's easy to forget. Take five minutes to go into the settings, enable "Armor Loadouts," and build a specialized charm set for Stealth, Archery, and Melee.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
If you’re sitting at a campfire right now wondering how to improve your Jin, do this:
- Go to the Spring Falls Shrine in Izuhara immediately if you don't have Mizu-no-Kami. It is the single most important charm for learning the parry mechanics.
- Clear the Fox Dens. I know they get repetitive. Do them anyway. You need the slots. You start with two and can unlock up to six. You are playing at half-strength until you unlock all six.
- Farm the Charm of Fortune. You get this from the "Peace for the Divine" side tale. Once you have it, pair it with anything that says "percentage chance."
- Ditch the Defense charms if you’re playing on lower difficulties. If you aren't dying in two hits, you don't need more health. You need more damage or more Resolve to end fights faster.
- Experiment with the Charm of Heavenly Rebuke from the Ghost of Tsushima: Legends (or the New Game+ merchant). It has a chance to strike enemies with lightning when you use Heavenly Strike. Is it practical? Sorta. Is it the coolest thing in the game? Absolutely.
The real beauty of the charm system is that it allows the game to be as hard or as easy as you want. If you want a "Sekiro" experience, go for parry and stagger charms. If you want an "Assassin's Creed" experience, go for the invisibility and hallucination charms. Just stop leaving those empty slots—Tsushima is too dangerous for that.
Next Step: Head to your gear menu and check if you're still wearing the Charm of Inari. If you have more than 2,000 supplies in your inventory, unequip it right now and replace it with the Charm of Dual Destruction. You'll thank me when your critical hits start landing.