Ghost of Tsushima: Legends – Survival Mode (Tips, Tricks & Strategies)

Wave based survival games have always been a fan favorite. Nazi Zombies in Call of Duty is obviously at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Ghost of Tsushima: Legends has adapted its own unique take on the sub-genre and players are thoroughly enjoying it. Teams of four are pitted against wave after wave of increasingly difficult Mongols in the hopes of better gear and massive pools of experience. It’s also a great way to amass Essence, Honor, and Blessings.

Survival mode in Ghost of Tsushima: Legends is broken into four tiers of difficulty: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Nightmare. The game keeps low-level players locked out of the higher difficulties until they’ve amassed enough high-level gear. This ensures that those seeking random matchmaking games will be paired with players equipped for the job. This guide will focus on how players can most effectively win in Survival mode, specifically on Gold and Nightmare settings.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends – Survival Mode Strategies

The key to survival in any wave-based game is teamwork and communication. This article is written under the assumption that players are talking to each other during the game. The ping system/quick-chat system is useful, but not entirely effective. That being said, Survival mode is all about defending specific areas on the map from waves of increasingly difficult Mongols. Gold and Nightmare difficulties will run players through 25 waves. Every 5 waves will feature a ‘Boss Round’ which will add a new world modifier into the game. Completion of a round will grant players in-game currency that they can spend on Gifts for further aid. Losing an objective will penalize the players by lowering their overall HP. Losing all three will end the game.

Building the Team

Survival mode can (and should) be played with four Ghosts. It is absolutely imperative that one of those Ghosts is a Ronin. The Ronin will act as the team healer as their Ultimate ability will revive downed teammates anywhere on the map. They can pop Healing Incense in between rounds to restore teammates HP. This is crucial to saving healing drums for only dire circumstances. That being said, a well equipped and skilled Ronin will always be able to heal their teammates making healing drums an afterthought. In fact, it is ideal to run two Ronin on a four-person team as players will be splitting into sub-teams of two quite often.

So let’s assume there are already two Ronin in the squad. The second best Survival class to run is Assassin. While there won’t be many opportunities for stealth in survival mode (unlike stories) The Assassin can be made to work as a healer. They can cast Vanish and get in to revive a downed teammate if the Ronins don’t have an Ultimate ready to go. Furthermore, Group Vanish will allow the entire team to become invisible leading to more opportunities for assassinations and critical strikes. Group Vanish will make a huge difference when trying to take down powerful Oni. The Assassin’s shadow strike will also aid in clearing out groups of smaller enemies and deal massive amounts of damage to stronger brutes.

On more strenuous waves, archery becomes increasingly difficult. Enemies will be vanishing and teleporting around the map, spirit-Mongols will be harder to see, and regular arrows will do little damage against powerful Oni. This is why only a truly skilled Archer will be allowed on the team. They’ll need to be equipped with a Legendary bow and any gear that increases their draw speed. Archers can put out some serious DPS but rely heavily on the right equipment. Archers have great mob clearing techniques to keep enemies off points. This fourth team slot is clearly filled by a player that can pump out damage. Archers and Samurai will have to make their individual cases as to why they’re a necessity. 

Best Gear for Survival Mode

All Ghosts should be taking the team into consideration when determining which gear they should have equipped. Ronin will want anything to increase their overall Resolve and Resolve gain in order to cast Breath of Izanami more frequently. Assassins will flourish in smoke bombs. As mentioned, Bomb Packs are going to be the team’s best friend as they are great for damaging multiple enemies as well as clearing out objectives. Furthermore, Sticky Bombs will be far more effective than Kunai or Dust Throw. Samurai will also want to think about maxing out their Resolve gains in order to pop off their own Ultimate ability, Hachiman’s Fury, more frequently. 

There is some sense in coordinating Katanas to ensure maximum viability against different enemy types. However, Legends doesn’t lean on different stances as much as the base game does. Having the right Katana will help against its specific enemy, but it’s not imperative. For example, every Katana can parry attacks from every enemy wherein the base game only Wind Katanas could parry incoming spear pokes. Survival mode is far too chaotic to be thinking about stances and enemy archetypes. Players will be relying more heavily on their Ghost Weapons and Ultimate abilities. 

Defending Objectives and Defeating Oni

Each map will consist of three areas to defend. Once an area falls, players are penalized with a reduction to their overall HP. Defeating a boss wave will restore fallen areas along with the player’s overall HP. It’s imperative that players don’t allow two objectives to fall. Defending only one area may seem easier, but players will be quickly overwhelmed, especially with only half their overall HP. There are three points of entry that Mongols will approach from. Each point is tied to a specific zone. Therefore, once players learn where Mongols will be coming from, they’ll have an easier time trapping them in a bottleneck and pelting them with Bombs. This is also the time to assassinate any smaller enemies from above in order to focus more attention on the stronger Oni enemies.

Don’t panic when enemies begin to capture a zone (indicated by a red circle). Here is where the Ghosts will split into sub-teams of two and defend multiple objectives. As long as a Ghost is in the objective circle it can not be captured. Don’t let the red capture circle get over halfway. Ghosts will be in and out of the zone as they defend it so it would be wise to give themselves a little breathing room. Once the other two-man team has defended their objective, they can quickly run over and aid their teammates. Outside of boss rounds, Mongols will only ever attack a single objective at once. That’s to say that Objective A will come under attack and the Ghosts will have ample time to kill a few Mongols before Objective B comes under fire.

Oni are the most powerful enemies in the game. They’ll come in a handful of different shapes and sizes with different weapons, moves, and tendencies. The most annoying, by far, are Oni Archers. They’ll teleport around the map, even on top of buildings, and rain down rapid and high-damage-dealing arrows. Players can best get rid of them by casting smoke bombs in their vicinity and gaining up for multiple critical strikes. Tag one with a sticky bomb to prevent it from teleporting or throw a concussion bomb at its feat to stagger it a little bit. Oni can’t be one-shot assassinated. They can only be hit with critical/super-critical strikes. It’s only when their health is widdled down enough that they’re open for assassination. It is unwise to engage the Oni head-on. Most of their attacks cannot be parried and are difficult to doge. They have powerful AOE attacks that will send Ghosts flying and, in some cases, one-shot them. Players should coordinate Smoke Bombs in order to get a few critical strikes off. They can also toss a Concussion bomb at an Oni’s feet when it’s winding up for an attack. The explosion will cancel the attack and leave the Oni open for damage. Other than Oni Archers, the Tengu (Mongols with Crows) are the most important to kill first. They’ll down the entire team with ease if left alive. 

Finally, Players are able to purchase gifts at any time during the game. There are a few different gifts that players can choose from, however the most useful are Spirt Bear and Spirt Dogs. Refill Ghost Ammo and Refill Ghost HP seem tempting, but there are far too many opportunities to find ammo on the ground. The team should also be stacked with two healing Ronins anyway. Gifts should be saved for boss rounds or dire circumstances. There is also a two-round cooldown associated with purchasing each gift so they cannot be spammed.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends is available on PlayStation 4

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