Ghost Of Tsushima Best Charms Where To Find The Best Major And Minor Charms

While there are plenty of new charms to collect on Iki Island in Ghost of Tsushima, sometimes the old ways are the best. There are a few good additions, but many are better than others, and some have more powerful versions which unlock later in the game. There are three main ways to acquire charms: completing side quests, visiting shrines, and completing special story beats. You can have a maximum of 2 major charms - which are found at shrines - and 4 minor charms - which are found elsewhere. Here are our picks for the best charms in Ghost of Tsushima.

How to unlock more charm slots in Ghost of Tsushima Ghost of Tsushima Best Charms All Charms List and Locations

How to unlock more charm slots in Ghost of Tsushima

At the beginning of the game, you only have access to a limited number of charm slots. To get more, you need to visit Inari Shrines and pay your respects. These are different to the Shrines marked on the map, and appear as “Fox Dens”. Follow your vulpine chum to the little shrine and you’ll make progress. Doing so four times will unlock an extra minor slot until they’re all available. Once that’s done, you’ll be rewarded with special charms - which we’ll cover later - and be on your way to crafting the most powerful character build possible.

Ghost of Tsushima Best Charms

As well mentioned, there are a few charms which are much more powerful than the others. We’ll list them here, but be advised that there will be other locations visible on the maps showing their locations, which could be considered a spoiler.

Best Major Charms

Charm of Amaterasu - Killing enemies restores a moderate amount of health

Across all of our playthroughs, Charm of Amaterasu has been a top-tier pick. It’s available early on in the game, and stays pretty much unchallenged throughout the whole story. Passive abilities are always strong, but this charm keeps you healthy when taking on large groups - leaving you unworried by the constant chip damage that’s sure to come your way from arrows and unblockable attacks. You find it at the Golden Summit Shrine to the south of Golden Temple in the middle of the Act 1 map - just northeast of the Winding Trail.

Charm of Mizu-no-Kami - Parries, Perfect Parries, and Perfect Dodges are easier to perform

If you favour a melee play style, then mastering parries is vital. This charm comes in handy in literally every fight in the game, allowing you to proactively defend yourself more easily. You find the Charm of Mizu-no-Kami at the Spring Falls Shrine in the centre-north of the Act 1 map, between Kukai’s Falls and Old Woodsman’s Canopy.

Charm of Toxic Demise - Wind Chimes release poison vapours that kill enemies who pick them up

For stealth players, this adds another deadly weapon to your toolset, letting you thin out bunched up groups before moving in to sweep up. It’s great for picking off isolated, armoured enemies at a distance which would usually leave you exposed. This charm is your reward for reaching the legend tier: The Phantom Samurai. Charm of Inari - Increase supplies, predator hides, bamboo, and yew wood gained from collecting

While this doesn’t affect rarer materials, it’s actually the more common items which cause a bottleneck when upgrading your gear. Having this equipped in the background can make that grind much more forgiving. It’s found at the Arrow Peak Shrine in the southeast corner of the Act 1 map, between Archer’s Rise and Sakimori Overlook.

Charm of Hidden Blades - Throw an additional 2 Kunai

Ghost Weapon Kunai are very powerful, and this charm lets them go even further. With a fully upgraded tree, this means you can tag as many as 5 enemies with a single Kunai sweep. This charm is your reward for reaching the legend tier: The Demon’s Blade.

Best Minor Charms

Charm of Ferocity - Moderate increase to Melee damage

This is a strong, basic choice which you get from completing Tales of Tsushima which gift you a minor melee charm. Unless you’re a pure stealth player it’s never not going to come into play, so it’s an easy pickup. Charm of Resistance - Reduces all damage by a Minor/Moderate amount

As with the last charm, this is another good basic pick and comes from Tales which give you a minor defence charm. I tend to prefer this over charms of vitality which buff your health because you can easily raise your health with armour and keep it topped up with techniques and major charms. Or you could always combine the two. Charm of Dual Destruction - Attacks have a 5-10% chance to deal double damage + Charm of Fortune - Effects with a % chance to occur are 25-50% more likely to occur

While a blanket buff to your damage is always good, it’s fun to shoot for the moon with a smaller chance that you’ll deal more. The charm of fortune is great on its own, especially with terrify effects in the later game, but supplementing it with synergetic charms adds some depth to the charm metagame.
Dual destruction is a minor melee charm, while fortune is a utility charm. Charm of Inari’s Might - Increases health and Melee damage by a Massive amount

This is gifted to you for completing fox den shrines, and powers up until it gives a massive bonus in Act 3. It obviously takes a long time to get going, but if you put the work in, it’s the strongest minor charm. Charm of Silence - Reduces enemy detection speed by 15% and increases resolve gains by a massive amount

By that same token, the charm of silence is the stealth equivalent. Gifted to you for completing fox dens, this charm lets you pick off enemies unseen and build up large reserves of resolve to cut down the rest with special moves.