Ghost of Tsushima Legends Assassin Class Guide & Techniques

Jim Hargreaves 02/03/22 Comments Closed

Of the four classes Ghost of Tsushima: Legends has to offer at launch, it’s easy to see why many players are drawn to the Assassin.

In stark contrast to the noble art of swordplay, you’ll look to deceive your enemies at every given opportunity, embodying what it truly means to be a Ghost.

Aside from having some of the coolest headgear Ghost of Tsushima: Legends has to offer, the Assassins are the most lethal class in terms of raw damage output and, like the Samurai and Hunter, has a flashy ultimate power that can slice through small patrols like they were hot butter.

Ghost of Tsushima Legends Assassin Overview

It goes without saying that Assassin players should be trying to land as many assassinations or critical strikes as possible. To initiate one of these moves you need to remain unseen by the target, a square button prompt appearing when assassinations are available.

The difficulty here is that once you’ve been spotted, your character will default back to sword attacks. It’s not such a problem when playing the story driven two player missions in Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, though survival runs are a different story.

To play the Assassin well you need to regain the element of surprise, even when locked in combat with them. Disengaging, then coming back is certainly an option though this eats up valuable time and can put pressure on allies defending control points. Therefore, you’ll need to rely on Ghost Weapons such as smoke bombs to cut their line of sight as well as your class ability, Toxic Vanish.

Knowing how to stagger enemies is another important lesson for Assassins and this can leave them prone to a lot more damage, should you equip the right perks. Staggering is done by depleting the white bar above an enemy’s health – once broken, they will be stunned for a few valuable seconds. There are plenty of ways to do this including heavy katana attacks (Water stance blades work best) as well as certain Ghost Weapons.

For tougher targets – including elite Oni – you won’t be able to one-shot them with an assassination, instead performing a critical strike though this can dole out some hefty damage. Being able to identify and react to staggered enemies is key as you can chain together multiple strikes as long as your timing is spot on. Ranking up and assigning certain perks can make you an even more proficient silent killer – we’ll talk about these below.

Assassin Techniques

Name	Type	Rank Required	Description
Shadow Strike	Ultimate	0	Enter the shadows and strike enemies from a distance
Toxic Vanish	Class Ability	1	Vanish in a cloud of poison smoke that deals Stagger damage to nearby enemies
Critical Hit	Perk \| Slot 1	2	Inflict 30% more damage during assassinations
Experienced Assassin	Perk \| Slot 2	3	Stealth attacks are faster and quieter
Shadow Storm	Perk \| Slot 3	5	Shadow Strike gains 2 extra strikes
Super Strike	Perk \| Slot 1	7	Perform a stronger Stealth Attack dealing 2x normal damage
Light Step	Perk \| Slot 2	9	Damage of status effects increased by 25%
Explosive Arrow	Class Ability	10	You are silent when running
Chain Vanish	Perk \| Slot 3	11	Successfully assassinating an enemy while vanished re-activates vanish and refreshes the duration
Assassin Unleashed	Perk \| Slot 1	14	Decrease class ability cooldown by 15%
Opportunist	Perk \| Slot 2	16	Deals 50% bonus assassination damage to Staggered enemies
Legendary	Perk \|Slot 3	18	Increases the number of Legendary items you can equip by 1

Group vanish is a handy class ability to have, acting as a free get out of jail card when trapped in a desperate moment. However, Toxic Vanish is one of the best tools in your arsenal due to its combined health and stagger damage.

Super Strike should be your first perk choice. In doing so, you’ll now have a triangle button prompt when approaching an enemy from behind, doubling your damage. This can be combined with Opportunist (perk slot two) for an additional 50% damage from these attacks, making you a huge threat to those tougher Oni and Mongol fighters.

Unless you have a pair of Legendary Items you are dead set on equipping, you should be taking Chain Vanish as perk 3. As we’ve discussed before, your main job is to stagger enemies then follow up immediately with assassinations so having the power to pop your Toxic Vanish twice in rapid succession is a must-have, really.

Since the Rivals update, there are four new techniques available that require you to complete Item Mastery challenges:

Refreshing Vanish – Vanish in a burst of energy that heals you and nearby allies.
Legendary – Increase the number of Legendary Items you can equip by 1.
Deadly Nightshade – Poison also damages enemy health.
Overshadows – Shadow Strike attacks do 100% extra damage.