Ghost of Tsushima: The Ghost of Yarikawa walkthrough, video guide Ghost of Tsushima guide, walkthrough
Last update: 20 July 2020
This page of our Ghost of Tsushima guide contains a detailed walkthrough for The Ghost of Yarikawa main quest. The objective of this task is to defend the Yarikawa Stronghold against the Mongols. Our walkthrough suggests, e.g. how to defend the stronghold, how to sabotage the catapults, and how to defeat the main boss of this quest - General Temuge.
- Meet Yuna at the top of the tower
- Defend the main gate
- Defend the north gate
- Reach the Mongols' siege machines
- Sabotage Mongol siege machines
- Return to Yarikawa Stronghold
- Reach the tower
- Boss battle - General Temuge
- Drive the Mongols out of Yarikawa Stronghold
Meet Yuna at the top of the tower
You get this quest after completing The Coward of Yarikawa main quest - the one where you had to ambush a Mongolian convoy.
Return to the Yarikawa Stronghold and find Taka. After that, head towards the tower. Use ladders to reach the top floor of the building. Watch a cut-scene.
Defend the main gate
When the Mongol attack begins, make sure you have armor that is well suited for close combat. Head for the main gate. The Mongols will arrive here soon.
The most important thing here is to avoid red attacks. It is also a good idea to attack from the side or from behind those Mongols who are fighting your allies. This will make it much easier to weaken or kill opponents. Watch out when attacking enemies with shields who can set their weapons on fire. Perform perfect dodges, use kunai daggers, or the right stances to expose them to attacks.
Defend the north gate
The northern gate is not far from where you fought in the first battle - prepare to fight more Mongols.
First, try to deal with all the nearby archers. This is important because they can shoot multiple regular and flaming arrows. If you have unlocked Moon stance, choose it when attacking larger opponents. Keep fighting until you trigger a cut-scene showing the fleeing Mongols. Unfortunately, this is not the end of the battle - the Mongol army will start using catapults.
Reach the Mongols' siege machines
The Mongol catapults are on a hill adjacent to the fortress. Remember that you can sneak on the way to siege machines (change the armor if needed). This allows you to avoid certain battles and to quietly deal with individual Mongols. If you feel confident, you don't have to use stealth.
You can reach the hill by following the main path or by climbing the rocks. Use focused hearing to avoid getting surprised by some opponent.
Sabotage Mongol siege machines
Sabotaging the catapults isn't difficult - just reach each of the siege machines, stand in the right place, and press R2.
The catapults will be defended by opponents. Again, watch out for the archers and for the larger Mongols - defeat the latter by using the Moon stance and kunai daggers.
Return to Yarikawa Stronghold
You must return to Yarikawa Stronghold to help eliminate the Mongols. You can go to any of the gates.
Fighting the Mongols while going down the hill is completely optional. You can kill them, or you can just run away and only focus on the main objective. A group of enemies will be heading towards the hill. Hide in the grass or choose to jump over rock shelves if you don't want to fight them.
Reach the tower
After entering the stronghold, head towards the hill with the tower. Along the way, you will encounter more enemies - these battles are optional. If you want to kill the Mongols, take advantage of the fact that they will be facing the tower. This makes it easy to sneak up on them and perform stealth takedowns.
Before you open the new gate, heal the hero and equip armor that is good for close combat, such as Samurai Clan Armor or Sakai Clan Armor. Soon, you will have a duel with the boss.
Boss battle - General Temuge
General Temuge is an obligatory boss - you will fight with him when you get near the stairs leading to the tower. The other Mongols will not interfere. You can only use your katana in this fight. You can't use a bow, kunai daggers, bombs or the blowgun.
As soon as the duel begins, choose the Water stance - it works best when fighting opponents using shields.
The general is a stronger "variant" of enemies with shields who are able to set their weapons on fire. You have to dodge all of the boss's attacks. If the enemy hits Jin, he will be set on fire. Quickly press the Circle twice to put out the flames.
The fight against General Temuge isn't difficult. Perform 2 or 3 dodges to avoid his red attacks. They are relatively slow - you shouldn't have much trouble pressing the Circle at the right time.
Look for an opening to attack the boss after each successful dodging series. Press or hold the Triangle while you are in the Water stance. Don't worry if your attack doesn't work yet - you will get a little closer to breaking the general's defense. Do this several times in a row, and the boss will reveal himself for a moment giving you a chance to deal some damage.
Things that can help you win this battle faster:
- Parrying at the last moment using the Perfect parry skill.
- Dodging at the last moment using the Perfect dodge skill.
You can recognize a perfect parry or perfect dodge by a brief slow-motion effect. After that, perform a fast attack that will be much stronger than usual.
When you defeat the boss, press the Square to execute him. Jin murders the defeated general and unlocks the Ghost Stance.
Drive the Mongols out of Yarikawa Stronghold
Time for a tutorial on using the Ghost stance:
- Press L3+R3 to activate the "charged" Ghost stance. Jin causes fear in the enemy ranks and is able to kill several opponents without any problems. Enemies won't be able to respond to or block your attacks.
- The first method of charging the Ghost stance bar is to kill enemy leaders.
- The second method of charging the Ghost stance bar is to kill ordinary opponents without receiving any damage. Get several kills in a row to make the stance available for use. The game also counts stealth kills, those done with a bow as well as other gadgets.
When you kill few Mongols using the Ghost stance, the rest of the opponents will start running away. You don't have to go after them, although this will give you a few "easy" kills. After winning the battle, watch the cut-scene ending the quest.
Rewards for completing the mission: Legend increased (xp) - larger bonus, Ghost Stance unlocked, A Reckoning in Blood main quest unlocked.