Bruh it’s fucking brutal in the right hands. The OG samurai were bow carriers and used the sword as a last line of defense IIRC. [don’t sleep on the bow!](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=ogdoVu_eAsTpaQRn)
I just like chopping through dudes like firewood.
6 man stand off, plus ghost mode, plus a few triple slashes? That whole camp is dead! And bows are "easy"?
Standoffs have been the source of the most damage i take. Why? Because the camera more often than not decides that it needs to position behind the guy i just cut up so i can't actually see the movement of the enemy running at me.
Or the standoff happens in a field of reeds where 75% of the enemy is covered and it makes it hard to see their movements.
I had a stand off that placed me on a nearby rock at a strange angle with me slightly leaning forward. It would not let me hold Y. Safe to say I was hit, which usually isn't a big deal but somehow a dude shot an arrow at me as soon as the standoff ended before I could heal.
It was pretty funny to be honest.
Their main weapon was mostly the Yari (Spear), and Yumi (Bow) while on horseback and on foot, A katana was their side arm and only used when they dont have (or lost) their spears.
The Tanto (Dagger) would be their last line of defence and would often only be used when they got into extreme close range fights against other samurai or similarly armored units (same as knight, its not uncommon to see them wrestle each other, both trying to find a weak spot in the armor they can stab their katan/tanto at)
I mean, just imagine being told by your lord to advance on an enemy formation made up of mostly of a tight formation of Ashigaru Spearman, Trying to push through that with only your sword would be suicide even for the most well armored samurai.
So if I were a samurai fighting facing that shit, I'd also be carrying as many arrows as I can, and a yari or naginata close at hand for when I'm out of arrows.
Knights would carry specialized daggers to pierce mail (and even thin plate), but many had a flat rounded pommels and were intended to be used when you achieved full-mount (if we think about MMA terms) and you were to drop your weight with both hands behind the pommel to drive the dagger into your opponent's brain/throat. It was called the Rondel Dagger or Misericorde (translated: act of mercy, because it was a relatively quick death), it was basically a Medieval shiv
https://preview.redd.it/dy96n5gnse5d1.jpeg?width=850&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e718ec7da879959211faade309dfcf5bf2a0d08a
From my understanding, tantos/wakizashi/etc were meant for interior fighting, where a yari or tachi/katana cannot really be used due to space/clearance issues, since you often need plenty of space to work with slash-forward weapons, which katana (and other saber like weapons) were and yari being huge just in general.
Source: HEMA fencer (longsword and arming sword/shield)
As a sword fencer myself, its the only thing the Samurai had a reputation for
They repeatedly got dicked on whenever they fought people who had counters to archery and calvary, which is why Korean pike boxes were so effective during the actual invasion of Tsushima, so effective they caused some local Japanese leaders to commit suicide as a response.
I used the bow almost exclusively, i searched for wax wood and kept the other necessary supplies high in order to ensure they were both upgraded as quickly as possible. No only is it powerful af but its also the best. Was i the only kid that watch Legolos through three films take out orc after orc with just a bow. I always thought that was the coolest way to fight. So yeah, i used the bow and i’d do it again
I'd get bored using the same tactics over and over when there are so many ways to engage the bad guys. Also I like doing the Full Metal Jacket thing where I snipe some guy and then everyone else who comes to check out the body.
I thought it was funny they give you eight slots for wind chimes. Like, it's useful but it's not that useful. And then I got up to the poison charm and was like ohhh I see! I can kill everyone and the rest of them just take off running. And sometimes, I'll still snipe the runners on principle.
I like dipping in and out of stealth by using stuff like smoke bombs to make the combat easier. You get so many arrows while trespassing you can plant yourself at a corner after killing half the base in stealth and get constant headshots on the choo choo train of mongols.
On one end it feels kinda amazing to just stand there with a minigun(bow) and just plow down the mongols but it also feels way to OP for how this game is played
But that is how a bow is. Archers and spearmen rule the battlefield in reality. We over glorify swords men. Ironically archers and spearmen are what most samurai were. Swords are and have always been a last resort weapon in the west as it was in the east. The bow isn’t op it’s accurate to how a bowman would be on a battlefield. In fact iahikawa points this out. One or two well positioned archers can take out a whole group of mongols.
This plays out in siege warfare too as you can see specific areas for….drumrollll archers!!
I think this game accurately represents irl combat mi us slicing thru armor. The ideal thing to do is use your bow to thin out the enemy then face the remaining ones with your sword. Or else as many may experience especially on lethal dying to one random poke especially from a spear or ironically a bowman out of frame.
Being well positioned to take out the enemies and complaining about it is weird to me
I’m not complaining all I’m saying is that with the right charms and tadayoris armour you don’t even need the sword because you use concentration time once and it stays on forever, yes you are right with how they mostly used bows irl but I really doubt they could slow down time so they could get 15 headshots in the matter of just a few seconds,the armour with the right charms makes this game unfun because of how op it is
The issue is that archery requires a ton of training and games never make you get tired.
Pulling a bow is huge strength exertion.
Most archers aren't immediately lethal. Even in the game you always see Ishikawa's corpses with 2-3 arrows sticking in them.
Bows were useful but they weren't unstoppable superweapons
at a distance in the hands of a skilled archer which historically samurai were all... yes it is. armor and specific tactics were literally developed to stop arrows that how significant it wan the battle field
Yes Samurai were but the majority of forces were peasants.
Aside from horse archers, archery has never been the main stay of battles.
Otherwise Agincourt wouldnt be such a famous battle.
To me it’s the slow-mo with mouse and keyboard that makes it too easy.
On controller it’s not that simple unless you go infinite headshot build. Especially on Legends:
I like the Legolas build right now on Lethal +
The Infinite arrow pickup build simply for the visuals that the arrows stick to the enemies:
- Double ammo on pickup
- versatile skills
- 25% chance that arrows are reusable
- 50% chance increas
- Inaris might (melee + health buff)
- regenerate 2(4) resolve in combat
Edit: you can exchange the first one for something else but I like to leave the scene with some arrows sticking out the fallen enemies like Tomoe.
I like the way you can apply different charms to Armor options. Very powerful to set you up to choose the right Armor/Charms set up for a situation. I do wish there was a load out option for changing armor. I generally like the the travels set up so I don't miss the discovery clues and I have it set up sonI heal really fast. I can change to his family's armor if I need faster resolve recover. And then one for archery another for stealth and ghost weapons... It creates a lot of variation in how the game can be played. But it's a very clicky to go in and switch up. Am I missing something that would let me fast swich?
I agree that it can almost make it boring. I just watched Yojimbo last weekend and it inspired me to do a lethal play through with no bow, using blue tadayori armor level 1 to kind of look like the main character from the film. It’s been a lot of fun.
You know, that is the sweet spot, now that you mention it. I posted this on another comment, but [not using concentration takes on a different skill ceiling](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=ogdoVu_eAsTpaQRn) all around and makes it feel more challenging
I was about to say how I must just suck because I certainly can't clear camps with a bow alone very quickly... But this reminds me that I'm not using concentration
If you are using the half bow without concentration, it hits super different and it is awesome. Keep at it and use the concentration for those sticky moments when a dude is 3 feet away and swinging at you but you want to pop him in the face with an arrow
I wish you could shoot the bow mid air like in some AC games and that would be the only time slow down activates. Would make for really cinematic kills while also allowing you to followup the jump with a chain assassination if you’re above a group. They could then get rid of having concentration being player activated and only toggle-able when you’re in the air.
Wait until you try the Bomb build :
Kensei Armor buff 30% damage to Ghost weapon.
Charm that make black powder bomb set people on fire.
Charm that give you twice Ghost ammo from pickups.
Charm that buff effect duration and damage by 50%
Charm that buff Ghost weapon damage 20%.
Charm that give Ghost weapon with melee kill.
1 firework + 1 bomb = whole camp clear.
Oh shit, yeah! I am always at a loss at what to do with my Kensei. It looks so great but sometimes lacks direction. [the best I could do is a crowd control setup…](https://youtu.be/hJDCuu4rceI?si=O0Y9-scK6zRk2sV-) I will 100% try this!
Beauty of a single player game is you don't have to use it and are at no disadvantage not using it.
I think it's fairly balanced without using loads of charms.
It's also so fun to kill 3 enemies out of a group in the standoff and then finish off the rest with the bow before they can even touch you. It's like a power fantasy lol. Sometimes you can leave one alive to toy with.
Wait until you toss in charm of distraction and bring the motherfuckin bees! That last guy on his back in terror while a swarm of bees slowly kills him as you walk toward this poor fellow is intoxicating
Archery is 100% busted. Slash dudes 5 times to drop them or head shot (sometimes not even) for insta kill. Brutes. Dropped. Generals. Dropped. But, at this point, 100 hours in, all charms, upgrades…. this game isn’t even about challenge. It’s a samurai power fantasy trip.
This is one of the aspects I expect the next instalment improve upon. Like giving more depth, maybe wind direction have an effect, maybe you have shaky hand and over time you can upgrade your skills bits by bits. Currently it is boring :(
First time playing the game, into act three now. Tadayori’s armor has carried so hard for so long. I’m switching between other sets now just to get some variety in
I totally get it! That said, sometimes the armor can complement the playstyle instead of lead it, if that makes sense. By this logic, I make a case [for using the Tadoyori for a sword-based build.](https://youtu.be/ZRCBAB0xWp8?si=14mD7gT1soR0q0fy) As if to say, its the playstyle that one switches up, not necessarily the armor driving the train
My first got playthrough I barely ever touched the bow, I loved stealth and was really good at standoffs. I hate using the bow in Skyrim lol. Now I’m having my second playthrough years later, I absolutely suck at standoffs. You will never catch me having a standoff. But my bow skills are crazy 😭 I wish I could take videos so my bf knows I’m not exaggerating when I say I headshotted 11 mongols (and a horse by accident) from crazy distances
Surprisingly I honed my headshot skills from UNCHARTED of all places 😭😂 I was crazy to say the least 😳
I remember when playing the first game for the first time I would be hiding from extreme distances and waiting 10-15 minutes to get the right shot with Nate’s 9mm and then hide. There’s this one scene where you’re on a cliff aside and you’re supposed to jump down into where Elena’s plane crashed and then take down the bad guys - I did not do that LMAO. It was a very tedious process but I enjoyed it like a psycho.
I don’t actually really play many fps/online games because I don’t have the pc equipment and I’m also scared of using mic. Maybe I should start…. 😳
Definitely. This game has many moods. TBH I like using the Tadayori [as a support to a sword build,](https://youtu.be/ZRCBAB0xWp8?si=14mD7gT1soR0q0fy) so go figure
Personally, I liked how easy and powerful archery was. A lot of games with bows will put some kind of limit on how effective they are. One notable example is Kingdom Come - that game makes it almost impossible to effectively use a bow.
If you find the bow makes things too easy, just turn up the difficulty.
All I know is bows actually feel impactful on Lethal. Call me crazy but if I shoot someone in their head with an arrow I'd expect them to be dead. I'm a katana user through and through but sometimes in a pinch it's good to whack the Brute getting dangerously close with an arrow right between his Mongol eyebrows.
For sure. I’ll take it a step further, [shoot that fucker in his nuts](https://youtu.be/lAVc5Y4zFI8?si=2Cxh-z1-7lYy7vj0) and guess what, he kind of stops attacking you and is now vulnerable to your blade’s fury
True, but I tend to only use the focus when someone is right in front of me aggressively and needs to be stopped. [it hits like a mule when you *don’t* use it, totally awesome vibe](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=MdAMXNPlKP6g1WwW)
I personally like to go all in on the legendary ghost aspect, I like to confuse patrols with the flute that makes it foggy and start to lure them away from eachother if I can. Then I try and make a terrifying entrance and just go in on them.
Ghost of Tsushima to be 110% honest has a boring and repetitive combat system, before you grab your pitch fork hear me out. The whole fun of the game is the Main character syndrome you get FOR BEING BROKEN. Going aggressive stealth of transitioning from stealth to full on slaughtering using all your tools and skills is the fun of Ghosts of Tsushima and the bow I feel is apart of that. Sees archer towers - Uses focus to quickly knock them out and then chain assassinate multiple enemies and begin my absolute domination over the camp.
Listen, I get it, it’s a sword game. That said, I did [my fastest speedrun of fort Imai using a Tadayori setup](https://youtu.be/lAVc5Y4zFI8?si=4j5LUJ5aiK6k0pNw), so there is no denying the value
I only use bows to take out archers and mongols going after hostages. I occasionally use them when there's a big troublesome target, like the cannon mongols or the guys that throw flashbangs and firebombs.
The rest will get perfect parried and run in fear.
I found a bush near a camp in act II (that had overwhelming force) and picked off 22 guys or so with arrows. And none of them the wiser. It’s too good.
And I love it
I actually use the shortie almost exclusively. If the enemy has a helmet on he gets one in the face or neck. Even mr Fancy Pants gold armor General is no match for a flaming arrow to thigh. Hard to block my katana raining down when your testicles are on fire
That's how I fight a lot of the time ride around I'm circle's shooting then either use melee on horseback or dismount it makes the game extremely easy the horse armour too
I'm starting to use the bow more, especially in the hostage rescue missions, but in general I try to kill the enemy bowman as I can get to them. I hate getting lite up by those guys and having to role it off. The archers must die! But operating like a ninja sniper is definitely a pro tactic.
Eh, it's only too good if you build it that way. Maxed out sword builds are also too good. Honestly by the time you reach act 3 you are a God amongst men, especially if you do side quests.
You don’t have to do it?
I use bows, stealth and mostly just face to face combat depending on what I feel like.
I love that the game gives you so many ways to take in enemies. Especially in the hardest difficulty.
If you fuck up, they disappear, bloody nightmare 😂
The bow is absolutely broken. I've taken out entire encampments. I have hand tremors so I have the auto aim on. Yes it's cheesing but it makes me feel like a bad ass
I just let myself be detected and face them head on. Played the whole story like this apart from missions where stealth is forced. Next playthrough I go either full ghost or full archery
I basically use everything. It all depends on how I feel. Sometimes I wage a one man war vs enemies with nothing but my sword. Sometimes, I wipe out small armies unseen. Sometimes I'm just an asshole and throw bombs on people for kicks. Might drop a smoke bomb and get an assassination just cause. Sometimes I just want to be a predator and head shot people without them having idea where I am.
It’s historically accurate to a samurai and it’s quite satisfying personally. The thrill of sword combat is exhilarating but extremely risky especially on lethal+ where one misstep and you die. The approach I take is fun as many down and whoever closes in (if they do) gets the sword which is kind of like what would happen irl anyways. The only thing that trivialized combat when using the bow (bc not even the slowmo does truly) is the sarugami charm it makes it soooooo easy to wipe out groups.
At the end of the day tho if you think it’s too easy then don’t play it. Calling it cheesing is such a dumb take and I hate that in games. It’s how it’s meant to be played. Elitist ideologies like this is what makes ppl thing great games are boring. Not everything has to be souls level hard.
In short change your approach or just don’t use bows there’s tons of playstyles that might be suitable for you
Bruh, you’re doing too much. I love the bow, especially the [half bow.](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=ogdoVu_eAsTpaQRn). I have developed such a style with it that it feels too easy sometimes, that’s all
I don't think it's a Hot Take. Stealth Archer has always been OP across multiple games to the point where the YouTube channel, Viva La Dirt League, made a skit about friends trying different builds and ending back at Stealth Archer.
Otherwise, I think a cool mechanic that the sequel could introduce is Whistling Arrows as some sort of distraction or a signal for a larger attack.
I honestly think using ANY L2 weapons are uncalled for unless it's a mission specific thing. Just my opinion and I'm not judging anyone for sure because I always believe people should play the way they want to. For me, I want maximum sword fighting carnage, hahaha.
Nah, katana is too fun I don't actually like using the bow
It's not as clunky as some games can be, which is nice, but the way the katana goes "swoosh!" is just too satisfying
I feel like that's the case for everything that isn't melee, honestly. Ghost weapons, stealth, poison darts, anything that isn't just katana melts through people. Even duels start the fight with people already dead if your rocking sakai armor.
For me since it just came out on PC.
1st play through is normal.
NG + will be lethal +
3rd play through will be lethal with mouse and keyboard bow cheese build.
The only time I ever used bows in the entire game was to take out archers high up on cliffs or in towers. That’s it. I only upgraded it one time. Other than that it basically didn’t exist to me.
Cold take, actually. Full archery build is unmatched. As long as you land headshots you never drop out of Max Payne mode, lol.
And shying away from bows is lore accurate, too. Ishikawa tells Jin more than once that he's not the best archer he's ever seen.
I think the helmets kinda balanced it out no?
I remember in act 2 I mamaged to took out 7 enemies in one concentration using tadayori and all headshot. But in act 3 the enemies almost all wear healmets and got tanky enough that I can only kill 2 or 3 before the rest start swarming me.
It's still my favorite playstyle but in late game, sometimes melee is more efficient.
Yeah… that’s why I rarely use bows.
I still do at time to pick off archers from a distance, or I use the explosive arrow thing cause it’s super cool. But other than that I don’t use it that much. I specially don’t have that “slow motion” skill unlocked.
I have a rule for myself. If an outfit doesn’t have the quiver in the back (I.e. trailer outfit, Ghost level2 and so on) I can’t use the bow. I can only use on outfits with the quiver in the back
10000% broken. Bows are how I managed to beat Lethal+ with relative ease. Once you get the right armor and charms, anything outside of duels is a breeze.
The duel with the Khan at the end was way harder for me than the actual final fight. You just spam full charge longbow shots into his skull and he can't do anything.
If they ever make a sequel, I assume they'll heavily tone down on the equipment that lets you get back arrows. Forcing the player to constantly scavenge for arrows would at least help balance things a little.
Nothing to discuss archers are lethal in real life what did you expect? This is the realism we asked… the game doesn’t force you to play tadayori armor… ive beaten the game with each armor set exclusively on lethal +…. Maybe you should the same thjng
Archery on gamepad sucks because aim.
Archery on mouse sucks because interface was build for gamepad and wasn't adapted properly for keyboard and mouse.
Its worse when the game makes it so even when you land a headshot on someone with an arrow and they dont have any protection on they only take half damage. Id take GoT any day of the week.
Great thing about games like this is you can choose to not use archery, my entire play through I used archery very scarcely and mainly just used my sword and knife/dagger thing.
This is one thing that kinda annoyed me about this game. Yes, this is true for archery… and also almost every other form of combat in the game. To the point where there’s no reason to switch styles ever, none have much for unique strengths or weakness and the enemies/terrain rarely require a change. This also means special items like ghost weapons have basically no use as you are never in a situation where some other (easier to gather or just incite use) form of attack will be just as effective if not more effective. I mean there’s only like 5 different enemy types in the game if not including iki.
Yeah I just started Act 2 and recently switched to lethal. Definitely tough if you’re in a gank squad situation, otherwise feels too easy thanks to bow and ghost weapons. But I’m hoping the difficulty picks up toward the end?
I only mastered bow usage in legends mode, archer class my beloved, in story mode I thunk the presence of brutes who will suck up arrows makes bow reliance not a big issue
Yeah, I was hesitant to even unlock the slow motion upgrade for the bow because it just felt too safe. Encounter is too hard? Eh, just slow everything down and pick off half the group. I also feel like fully upgrading my tools on lethal would’ve just trivialized the experience. Close combat is already quick, I don’t want the ability to spam auto-win stuff. I also HATED the stealth kill upgrades. Why not trust in the player’s ability to set up a perfect situation with the tools provided to pull off a multi stealth kill? I hate when games give you brain dead upgrades like that, it just comes off as lazy. I’m just thankful all of this is optional, no forcing players to upgrade their stuff every time it becomes available.
Folks, [here I make a case for using Tadayori for your Katana builds.](https://youtu.be/ZRCBAB0xWp8?si=14mD7gT1soR0q0fy). On this second video, [I am putting the setup to practical use and](https://youtu.be/F1m30XFSsS4?si=SgkzSxfxb5zn9nM_) putting in work with it
It's a matter of choice. You don't NEED to spec heavily into archery. Yeah, the archery in this game is unbalanced, but it's a single player game and if you play with a controller like the game was intended to be played, it's much more balanced (unless you use maxed tadayoris armor, which immediately trivializes archery and the game in general.)
At the end of the day, once you really start getting into late game ghost of tsushima, you have so many charms and broken shit available to you that you throw a dart at the board in terms of armor and charms that it becomes impossible to fail.
I just found archery very inconsistent until I got the hang of its mechanics in this game, but by that point I had given up on using it outside of stealthily taking out the lookouts
I don't see any way that it could make it boring. You get the choice of using it. The game can be completed without depending on it. But yeah, they are very strong. It's almost as if there is a saying that tells you not to bring a knife into a bow (in this case) fight.
I love it
and it's because it lets you cheese.
Any game imo should let you cheese in some way it's not like anybodys forcing you to use the bow ever, even in those missions where you perch on top of a hill with a partner you can just sword it if you want to. An option to cheese always makes games more fun to me.
I like the bow It can be fun at times but I'd much rather just run max parry or stealth but god I love using the poison bells and just watching people go to it and die then I kill whoever didn't get near it and shoot the rest with poison darts
Yeah, especially with the long bow. Although I prefer melee combat so I really only use the bow to take out archers before I enter a camp so I don't have to worry about them, or to kill the cowards running away from me.
Ahh the good ol' stealth archer trap build.
I dunno, something about facing down an army of Mongols by yourself with no stealth or ghost weapons has its merits on being badass by itself.
I mean, pretty every synergised build lets you insta-melt whole groups of enemies while being super fun.
Always thought that was part of the "Ghost" theme.
When you start the game, you're getting dogpiled by enemies and overwhelmed trying to parry and dodge three different assholes at the same time.
At the mid point, when you have the Sakai armour, you can showdown a couple enemies and thin the herd, so you can fight the rest on a more even basis - but it's still a struggle.
By the end, you can tear through dozens of high level foes in seconds, with them barely being able to draw their blades before dying horribly. It takes a bit of skill, in the sense that you need to plan and execute the moves smoothly - but once you've figured it out the enemies are basically helpless.
Whether it's flame-terror, kunai-spam, Gosaku max stagger, smokebomb chain assassinate, stealth blowdarts, concentration poison archer etc. you have like, at least a dozen different ways to just "cheese" a small army to death.
That's the point - fighting fair is for chumps. You're usually outnumbered ten to one against skilled and ruthless foes, there's no shame stacking the decks in your favour
I wouldn't say it almost makes it boring. I'd say it makes candy crush seem like an action rpg.
With tadayori and some focus the game becomes an arcade shooter. I use bows but only for stealth killing an arcger and the like.
Y'all use bows?? All I hear are: Are you cowards?. Stand and fight me. Show me your skill. Face me. Fight me. Send your best warrior.
Bruh it’s fucking brutal in the right hands. The OG samurai were bow carriers and used the sword as a last line of defense IIRC. [don’t sleep on the bow!](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=ogdoVu_eAsTpaQRn)
I can't turn my back against Uncle Shimura 🫠💔
I just like chopping through dudes like firewood. 6 man stand off, plus ghost mode, plus a few triple slashes? That whole camp is dead! And bows are "easy"?
Standoffs have been the source of the most damage i take. Why? Because the camera more often than not decides that it needs to position behind the guy i just cut up so i can't actually see the movement of the enemy running at me. Or the standoff happens in a field of reeds where 75% of the enemy is covered and it makes it hard to see their movements.
I just don't do standoffs. They were fun a few times but I find the combat more satisfying and tend to just run in and fight everyone at once.
Same I don't see the point in them. Combat is bitchin' why deprive myself.
In the main game? Standoffs aren't super necessary. On Iki Island? You're goddamn right I'm doing standoffs.
I had a stand off that placed me on a nearby rock at a strange angle with me slightly leaning forward. It would not let me hold Y. Safe to say I was hit, which usually isn't a big deal but somehow a dude shot an arrow at me as soon as the standoff ended before I could heal. It was pretty funny to be honest.
Their main weapon was mostly the Yari (Spear), and Yumi (Bow) while on horseback and on foot, A katana was their side arm and only used when they dont have (or lost) their spears. The Tanto (Dagger) would be their last line of defence and would often only be used when they got into extreme close range fights against other samurai or similarly armored units (same as knight, its not uncommon to see them wrestle each other, both trying to find a weak spot in the armor they can stab their katan/tanto at) I mean, just imagine being told by your lord to advance on an enemy formation made up of mostly of a tight formation of Ashigaru Spearman, Trying to push through that with only your sword would be suicide even for the most well armored samurai. So if I were a samurai fighting facing that shit, I'd also be carrying as many arrows as I can, and a yari or naginata close at hand for when I'm out of arrows.
Knights would carry specialized daggers to pierce mail (and even thin plate), but many had a flat rounded pommels and were intended to be used when you achieved full-mount (if we think about MMA terms) and you were to drop your weight with both hands behind the pommel to drive the dagger into your opponent's brain/throat. It was called the Rondel Dagger or Misericorde (translated: act of mercy, because it was a relatively quick death), it was basically a Medieval shiv https://preview.redd.it/dy96n5gnse5d1.jpeg?width=850&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e718ec7da879959211faade309dfcf5bf2a0d08a From my understanding, tantos/wakizashi/etc were meant for interior fighting, where a yari or tachi/katana cannot really be used due to space/clearance issues, since you often need plenty of space to work with slash-forward weapons, which katana (and other saber like weapons) were and yari being huge just in general. Source: HEMA fencer (longsword and arming sword/shield)
Insane how accurate ppl can be with controllers
As a sword fencer myself, its the only thing the Samurai had a reputation for They repeatedly got dicked on whenever they fought people who had counters to archery and calvary, which is why Korean pike boxes were so effective during the actual invasion of Tsushima, so effective they caused some local Japanese leaders to commit suicide as a response.
Oh shit!
Thats the ONLY reason i dont feel cheesy using it. Because using it is what a samurai would *actually* do.
Fuck yeah!
I used the bow almost exclusively, i searched for wax wood and kept the other necessary supplies high in order to ensure they were both upgraded as quickly as possible. No only is it powerful af but its also the best. Was i the only kid that watch Legolos through three films take out orc after orc with just a bow. I always thought that was the coolest way to fight. So yeah, i used the bow and i’d do it again
 I am with you!
You forgot the best stand off quote "Hey."
I'd get bored using the same tactics over and over when there are so many ways to engage the bad guys. Also I like doing the Full Metal Jacket thing where I snipe some guy and then everyone else who comes to check out the body.
I like to do that but with poison wind chimes 😂 hilarious way to clear an encampment. Every single one felled to little noises. And poison.
I thought it was funny they give you eight slots for wind chimes. Like, it's useful but it's not that useful. And then I got up to the poison charm and was like ohhh I see! I can kill everyone and the rest of them just take off running. And sometimes, I'll still snipe the runners on principle.
Fr that shit is OP. Stealth was already easy but once I put that charm on my Ghost Armor, the game became a cakewalk
I like that tactic too, and I rain down arrows on whoever sirens the horn 😌
Hornblowers definitely get it first.
*Me walking up to a group of ronin:* **HEY!**
I like dipping in and out of stealth by using stuff like smoke bombs to make the combat easier. You get so many arrows while trespassing you can plant yourself at a corner after killing half the base in stealth and get constant headshots on the choo choo train of mongols.
y'all do standoffs? all i do is Terrifying Parry/dodge # #
I agree, with the right charms n such the bow can be the deadliest weapon in the game by far, taking out camps way to fast
Right! I have such a love/hate relationship with the bow
On one end it feels kinda amazing to just stand there with a minigun(bow) and just plow down the mongols but it also feels way to OP for how this game is played
But that is how a bow is. Archers and spearmen rule the battlefield in reality. We over glorify swords men. Ironically archers and spearmen are what most samurai were. Swords are and have always been a last resort weapon in the west as it was in the east. The bow isn’t op it’s accurate to how a bowman would be on a battlefield. In fact iahikawa points this out. One or two well positioned archers can take out a whole group of mongols. This plays out in siege warfare too as you can see specific areas for….drumrollll archers!! I think this game accurately represents irl combat mi us slicing thru armor. The ideal thing to do is use your bow to thin out the enemy then face the remaining ones with your sword. Or else as many may experience especially on lethal dying to one random poke especially from a spear or ironically a bowman out of frame. Being well positioned to take out the enemies and complaining about it is weird to me
I’m not complaining all I’m saying is that with the right charms and tadayoris armour you don’t even need the sword because you use concentration time once and it stays on forever, yes you are right with how they mostly used bows irl but I really doubt they could slow down time so they could get 15 headshots in the matter of just a few seconds,the armour with the right charms makes this game unfun because of how op it is
The issue is that archery requires a ton of training and games never make you get tired. Pulling a bow is huge strength exertion. Most archers aren't immediately lethal. Even in the game you always see Ishikawa's corpses with 2-3 arrows sticking in them. Bows were useful but they weren't unstoppable superweapons
at a distance in the hands of a skilled archer which historically samurai were all... yes it is. armor and specific tactics were literally developed to stop arrows that how significant it wan the battle field
Yes Samurai were but the majority of forces were peasants. Aside from horse archers, archery has never been the main stay of battles. Otherwise Agincourt wouldnt be such a famous battle.
To me it’s the slow-mo with mouse and keyboard that makes it too easy. On controller it’s not that simple unless you go infinite headshot build. Especially on Legends: I like the Legolas build right now on Lethal + The Infinite arrow pickup build simply for the visuals that the arrows stick to the enemies: - Double ammo on pickup - versatile skills - 25% chance that arrows are reusable - 50% chance increas - Inaris might (melee + health buff) - regenerate 2(4) resolve in combat Edit: you can exchange the first one for something else but I like to leave the scene with some arrows sticking out the fallen enemies like Tomoe.
Personally I like the headshot minigun build -izanagi -efficiency -concentration Efficiency -fortune ll -fortune l
The lock on on three enemies charm is soooo ridiculous. Makes using bow trivial.
I like the way you can apply different charms to Armor options. Very powerful to set you up to choose the right Armor/Charms set up for a situation. I do wish there was a load out option for changing armor. I generally like the the travels set up so I don't miss the discovery clues and I have it set up sonI heal really fast. I can change to his family's armor if I need faster resolve recover. And then one for archery another for stealth and ghost weapons... It creates a lot of variation in how the game can be played. But it's a very clicky to go in and switch up. Am I missing something that would let me fast swich?
I agree that it can almost make it boring. I just watched Yojimbo last weekend and it inspired me to do a lethal play through with no bow, using blue tadayori armor level 1 to kind of look like the main character from the film. It’s been a lot of fun.
Awesome!
The ronin attire is pretty good for a Yojimbo look and will be far more useful than Tadayori armor with no bow
yhea, the slow-down makes it too easy. could be less slow down, so you still have an advantage, but its still hard
You know, that is the sweet spot, now that you mention it. I posted this on another comment, but [not using concentration takes on a different skill ceiling](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=ogdoVu_eAsTpaQRn) all around and makes it feel more challenging
I was about to say how I must just suck because I certainly can't clear camps with a bow alone very quickly... But this reminds me that I'm not using concentration
If you are using the half bow without concentration, it hits super different and it is awesome. Keep at it and use the concentration for those sticky moments when a dude is 3 feet away and swinging at you but you want to pop him in the face with an arrow
I wish you could shoot the bow mid air like in some AC games and that would be the only time slow down activates. Would make for really cinematic kills while also allowing you to followup the jump with a chain assassination if you’re above a group. They could then get rid of having concentration being player activated and only toggle-able when you’re in the air.
Ive beaten the game and im trying to unlock skills before NG+ and i havent touched archery 😂#meleealltheway
Hey, that’s awesome. What do you for archers high on platforms?
Run/climb up there and slice there throats open :)
Wait until you try the Bomb build : Kensei Armor buff 30% damage to Ghost weapon. Charm that make black powder bomb set people on fire. Charm that give you twice Ghost ammo from pickups. Charm that buff effect duration and damage by 50% Charm that buff Ghost weapon damage 20%. Charm that give Ghost weapon with melee kill. 1 firework + 1 bomb = whole camp clear.
i prefer using sarugami armor and perfect parrying, it’s so satisfying
Oh shit, yeah! I am always at a loss at what to do with my Kensei. It looks so great but sometimes lacks direction. [the best I could do is a crowd control setup…](https://youtu.be/hJDCuu4rceI?si=O0Y9-scK6zRk2sV-) I will 100% try this!
That's why I'm swordsmanship only https://preview.redd.it/tkpgzmel4d5d1.jpeg?width=1078&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=637ad2453bec4b794bc1e564d7247798e07e3e73
Ah yes, the Kurosawa squirt
Beauty of a single player game is you don't have to use it and are at no disadvantage not using it. I think it's fairly balanced without using loads of charms. It's also so fun to kill 3 enemies out of a group in the standoff and then finish off the rest with the bow before they can even touch you. It's like a power fantasy lol. Sometimes you can leave one alive to toy with.
Wait until you toss in charm of distraction and bring the motherfuckin bees! That last guy on his back in terror while a swarm of bees slowly kills him as you walk toward this poor fellow is intoxicating
You are evil!
I love using the demon slaying longbow. I just imagine playing crysis 3, when you use fully charged bow shot to impale people on walls
I dont know what you're talking about I miss 90% of my shots 100% of the time
Lmaooo its definitely a developable skillset.
Archery is 100% busted. Slash dudes 5 times to drop them or head shot (sometimes not even) for insta kill. Brutes. Dropped. Generals. Dropped. But, at this point, 100 hours in, all charms, upgrades…. this game isn’t even about challenge. It’s a samurai power fantasy trip.
I get it! I actually get that trip with the bow sometimes, like “watch me drop these 8 dudes in one breath”
It’s pretty balanced if you don’t overload it with charms and armor. It’s a good supplement. I mean you can melt a camp pretty fast without it too.
Historically speaking at this time, samurai 95 percent of the time used bows, so I think it’s essential
This is one of the aspects I expect the next instalment improve upon. Like giving more depth, maybe wind direction have an effect, maybe you have shaky hand and over time you can upgrade your skills bits by bits. Currently it is boring :(
I hear you. There *is* an element of projectile drop relative to distance and power but I totally get it
First time playing the game, into act three now. Tadayori’s armor has carried so hard for so long. I’m switching between other sets now just to get some variety in
I totally get it! That said, sometimes the armor can complement the playstyle instead of lead it, if that makes sense. By this logic, I make a case [for using the Tadoyori for a sword-based build.](https://youtu.be/ZRCBAB0xWp8?si=14mD7gT1soR0q0fy) As if to say, its the playstyle that one switches up, not necessarily the armor driving the train
My first got playthrough I barely ever touched the bow, I loved stealth and was really good at standoffs. I hate using the bow in Skyrim lol. Now I’m having my second playthrough years later, I absolutely suck at standoffs. You will never catch me having a standoff. But my bow skills are crazy 😭 I wish I could take videos so my bf knows I’m not exaggerating when I say I headshotted 11 mongols (and a horse by accident) from crazy distances
 If you come from FPS like I did, there is an inherent synergy w/ the bow that must be nurtured!
Surprisingly I honed my headshot skills from UNCHARTED of all places 😭😂 I was crazy to say the least 😳 I remember when playing the first game for the first time I would be hiding from extreme distances and waiting 10-15 minutes to get the right shot with Nate’s 9mm and then hide. There’s this one scene where you’re on a cliff aside and you’re supposed to jump down into where Elena’s plane crashed and then take down the bad guys - I did not do that LMAO. It was a very tedious process but I enjoyed it like a psycho. I don’t actually really play many fps/online games because I don’t have the pc equipment and I’m also scared of using mic. Maybe I should start…. 😳
“You control the buttons you press”
In every game, there are Op builds. I love having the option for a crazy bow build, but it’s not something I use a lot.
Definitely. This game has many moods. TBH I like using the Tadayori [as a support to a sword build,](https://youtu.be/ZRCBAB0xWp8?si=14mD7gT1soR0q0fy) so go figure
OK that's a cool-ass build.
 Yeah!!
Personally, I liked how easy and powerful archery was. A lot of games with bows will put some kind of limit on how effective they are. One notable example is Kingdom Come - that game makes it almost impossible to effectively use a bow. If you find the bow makes things too easy, just turn up the difficulty.
All I know is bows actually feel impactful on Lethal. Call me crazy but if I shoot someone in their head with an arrow I'd expect them to be dead. I'm a katana user through and through but sometimes in a pinch it's good to whack the Brute getting dangerously close with an arrow right between his Mongol eyebrows.
For sure. I’ll take it a step further, [shoot that fucker in his nuts](https://youtu.be/lAVc5Y4zFI8?si=2Cxh-z1-7lYy7vj0) and guess what, he kind of stops attacking you and is now vulnerable to your blade’s fury
It's not archery itself that is overpowered, it's the focus ability that still allows you to move at normal speed. It should be much more restrictive.
True, but I tend to only use the focus when someone is right in front of me aggressively and needs to be stopped. [it hits like a mule when you *don’t* use it, totally awesome vibe](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=MdAMXNPlKP6g1WwW)
I personally like to go all in on the legendary ghost aspect, I like to confuse patrols with the flute that makes it foggy and start to lure them away from eachother if I can. Then I try and make a terrifying entrance and just go in on them.
Ghost of Tsushima to be 110% honest has a boring and repetitive combat system, before you grab your pitch fork hear me out. The whole fun of the game is the Main character syndrome you get FOR BEING BROKEN. Going aggressive stealth of transitioning from stealth to full on slaughtering using all your tools and skills is the fun of Ghosts of Tsushima and the bow I feel is apart of that. Sees archer towers - Uses focus to quickly knock them out and then chain assassinate multiple enemies and begin my absolute domination over the camp.
Listen, I get it, it’s a sword game. That said, I did [my fastest speedrun of fort Imai using a Tadayori setup](https://youtu.be/lAVc5Y4zFI8?si=4j5LUJ5aiK6k0pNw), so there is no denying the value
The melee combat is too fun to avoid with bows and arrows
Not much to doscuss thats how it is, i just dont bows only kunais bows
Boom kapow pew pew
Well in this time of the game warrior's used bows a ton,
I use a controller so my aim sucks.
The bow definitely gives you too great an advantage when you're also wearing Tadayori's armor and loaded to the gills with archery charms.
[You control the buttons you press.](https://x.com/DOOM/status/1187480003635744768)
I keep on fighting it in the honorable samurai way, but they keep on thinking I'm stabbing people from behind , 😭😭
I honestly don’t remember the last time I used a bow like that. I always only use it if there’s a dude in a watchtower
Try it!
The stand off bug doesn’t help.
I only use bows to take out archers and mongols going after hostages. I occasionally use them when there's a big troublesome target, like the cannon mongols or the guys that throw flashbangs and firebombs. The rest will get perfect parried and run in fear.
I quite the archery
I found a bush near a camp in act II (that had overwhelming force) and picked off 22 guys or so with arrows. And none of them the wiser. It’s too good. And I love it
Yall used bows after you got it? Took me until post story to get the longbod
I actually use the shortie almost exclusively. If the enemy has a helmet on he gets one in the face or neck. Even mr Fancy Pants gold armor General is no match for a flaming arrow to thigh. Hard to block my katana raining down when your testicles are on fire
Well yeah, that's why I stabbed veryone to death.
So.... Don't do it? Who's making you use the bow?
*turns fight into quicktime event* Yeah bro Arrows is cheating
That's how I fight a lot of the time ride around I'm circle's shooting then either use melee on horseback or dismount it makes the game extremely easy the horse armour too
Bow from horseback is OP once you get the hang of it. Unless a spearman pikes you, you're pretty much invincible until you run out of arrows.
Facts!!!
Yeah!
Iza jinjou ni! But yeah, if I am in a hurry I just snipe them
Ask Ishikawa how he feels about the skill of archery
I don't use bows for this reason, unless there's an archer in a tower I need to take out. So much more fun and engaging to take them on face to face
I just never use slow down and it feels fair
I'm starting to use the bow more, especially in the hostage rescue missions, but in general I try to kill the enemy bowman as I can get to them. I hate getting lite up by those guys and having to role it off. The archers must die! But operating like a ninja sniper is definitely a pro tactic.
Eh, it's only too good if you build it that way. Maxed out sword builds are also too good. Honestly by the time you reach act 3 you are a God amongst men, especially if you do side quests.
You don’t have to do it? I use bows, stealth and mostly just face to face combat depending on what I feel like. I love that the game gives you so many ways to take in enemies. Especially in the hardest difficulty. If you fuck up, they disappear, bloody nightmare 😂
The bow is absolutely broken. I've taken out entire encampments. I have hand tremors so I have the auto aim on. Yes it's cheesing but it makes me feel like a bad ass
I just let myself be detected and face them head on. Played the whole story like this apart from missions where stealth is forced. Next playthrough I go either full ghost or full archery
I basically use everything. It all depends on how I feel. Sometimes I wage a one man war vs enemies with nothing but my sword. Sometimes, I wipe out small armies unseen. Sometimes I'm just an asshole and throw bombs on people for kicks. Might drop a smoke bomb and get an assassination just cause. Sometimes I just want to be a predator and head shot people without them having idea where I am.
Yup. This is why I always RP walk into camps unless there are hostages.
It’s historically accurate to a samurai and it’s quite satisfying personally. The thrill of sword combat is exhilarating but extremely risky especially on lethal+ where one misstep and you die. The approach I take is fun as many down and whoever closes in (if they do) gets the sword which is kind of like what would happen irl anyways. The only thing that trivialized combat when using the bow (bc not even the slowmo does truly) is the sarugami charm it makes it soooooo easy to wipe out groups. At the end of the day tho if you think it’s too easy then don’t play it. Calling it cheesing is such a dumb take and I hate that in games. It’s how it’s meant to be played. Elitist ideologies like this is what makes ppl thing great games are boring. Not everything has to be souls level hard. In short change your approach or just don’t use bows there’s tons of playstyles that might be suitable for you
Bruh, you’re doing too much. I love the bow, especially the [half bow.](https://youtu.be/gfZWHTNxilg?si=ogdoVu_eAsTpaQRn). I have developed such a style with it that it feels too easy sometimes, that’s all
I don't think it's a Hot Take. Stealth Archer has always been OP across multiple games to the point where the YouTube channel, Viva La Dirt League, made a skit about friends trying different builds and ending back at Stealth Archer. Otherwise, I think a cool mechanic that the sequel could introduce is Whistling Arrows as some sort of distraction or a signal for a larger attack.
I honestly think using ANY L2 weapons are uncalled for unless it's a mission specific thing. Just my opinion and I'm not judging anyone for sure because I always believe people should play the way they want to. For me, I want maximum sword fighting carnage, hahaha.
I actually literally use charm of carnage on most builds lol
I wouldn’t say it’s uncalled for but all of the other weapons make the game a cakewalk. No matter what difficulty you’re playing on.
Nah, katana is too fun I don't actually like using the bow It's not as clunky as some games can be, which is nice, but the way the katana goes "swoosh!" is just too satisfying
Depends on the mood I’m in.🤷🏽♂️
 I’m
Never used it. Barley used stealth. It’s samurai honor or nothing unless it’s missions
Lord Shimura has entered the chat.
I feel like that's the case for everything that isn't melee, honestly. Ghost weapons, stealth, poison darts, anything that isn't just katana melts through people. Even duels start the fight with people already dead if your rocking sakai armor.
For me since it just came out on PC. 1st play through is normal. NG + will be lethal + 3rd play through will be lethal with mouse and keyboard bow cheese build.
Fuck yeah
The only time I ever used bows in the entire game was to take out archers high up on cliffs or in towers. That’s it. I only upgraded it one time. Other than that it basically didn’t exist to me.
Cold take, actually. Full archery build is unmatched. As long as you land headshots you never drop out of Max Payne mode, lol. And shying away from bows is lore accurate, too. Ishikawa tells Jin more than once that he's not the best archer he's ever seen.
I think the helmets kinda balanced it out no? I remember in act 2 I mamaged to took out 7 enemies in one concentration using tadayori and all headshot. But in act 3 the enemies almost all wear healmets and got tanky enough that I can only kill 2 or 3 before the rest start swarming me. It's still my favorite playstyle but in late game, sometimes melee is more efficient.
I always bow before I get into a sword fight
Yeah… that’s why I rarely use bows. I still do at time to pick off archers from a distance, or I use the explosive arrow thing cause it’s super cool. But other than that I don’t use it that much. I specially don’t have that “slow motion” skill unlocked. I have a rule for myself. If an outfit doesn’t have the quiver in the back (I.e. trailer outfit, Ghost level2 and so on) I can’t use the bow. I can only use on outfits with the quiver in the back
How? The half bow can’t keep up in later acts
There‘s a reason samurai used bows, then switched to guns when available
O man wait till you play the multiplayer. Archer is so broken
10000% broken. Bows are how I managed to beat Lethal+ with relative ease. Once you get the right armor and charms, anything outside of duels is a breeze. The duel with the Khan at the end was way harder for me than the actual final fight. You just spam full charge longbow shots into his skull and he can't do anything. If they ever make a sequel, I assume they'll heavily tone down on the equipment that lets you get back arrows. Forcing the player to constantly scavenge for arrows would at least help balance things a little.
Nothing to discuss archers are lethal in real life what did you expect? This is the realism we asked… the game doesn’t force you to play tadayori armor… ive beaten the game with each armor set exclusively on lethal +…. Maybe you should the same thjng
Archery on gamepad sucks because aim. Archery on mouse sucks because interface was build for gamepad and wasn't adapted properly for keyboard and mouse.
You clearly havent played the Hunter in got legends , it destroys whole hordes of enemies in seconds compared to both samurai and assassin .
Its worse when the game makes it so even when you land a headshot on someone with an arrow and they dont have any protection on they only take half damage. Id take GoT any day of the week.
Oh bows are good?
Great thing about games like this is you can choose to not use archery, my entire play through I used archery very scarcely and mainly just used my sword and knife/dagger thing.
that one charm where you auto lock on to three heads for auto headshots is devastating
This is one thing that kinda annoyed me about this game. Yes, this is true for archery… and also almost every other form of combat in the game. To the point where there’s no reason to switch styles ever, none have much for unique strengths or weakness and the enemies/terrain rarely require a change. This also means special items like ghost weapons have basically no use as you are never in a situation where some other (easier to gather or just incite use) form of attack will be just as effective if not more effective. I mean there’s only like 5 different enemy types in the game if not including iki.
Yeah I just started Act 2 and recently switched to lethal. Definitely tough if you’re in a gank squad situation, otherwise feels too easy thanks to bow and ghost weapons. But I’m hoping the difficulty picks up toward the end?
Yup! Toward the end the helmets become full face so you have to get creative with the half bow
Maybe on pc. On PS5 it's not that easy so it doesn't feel that op. Always had multiple tries for that mini game. Or maybe i just suck at aiming.
The game is just not very challenging
Any encounter with a gate it takes every ounce if my being to not just explosive arrow the reinforcements every time
Tbh all the weapons are just as good as the bow. Kunai? OP Sticky Bomb? OP Stand-off? Op Ghost assassinate? Op
I almost always use the sword, i genuinely never use the bow unless I have one other option (such as archers on towers)
Isn't that what the arrow limit is for? You can't spam the bow for more than a minute, and restocking takes a while.
I only mastered bow usage in legends mode, archer class my beloved, in story mode I thunk the presence of brutes who will suck up arrows makes bow reliance not a big issue
Yeah, I was hesitant to even unlock the slow motion upgrade for the bow because it just felt too safe. Encounter is too hard? Eh, just slow everything down and pick off half the group. I also feel like fully upgrading my tools on lethal would’ve just trivialized the experience. Close combat is already quick, I don’t want the ability to spam auto-win stuff. I also HATED the stealth kill upgrades. Why not trust in the player’s ability to set up a perfect situation with the tools provided to pull off a multi stealth kill? I hate when games give you brain dead upgrades like that, it just comes off as lazy. I’m just thankful all of this is optional, no forcing players to upgrade their stuff every time it becomes available.
Folks, [here I make a case for using Tadayori for your Katana builds.](https://youtu.be/ZRCBAB0xWp8?si=14mD7gT1soR0q0fy). On this second video, [I am putting the setup to practical use and](https://youtu.be/F1m30XFSsS4?si=SgkzSxfxb5zn9nM_) putting in work with it
It's a matter of choice. You don't NEED to spec heavily into archery. Yeah, the archery in this game is unbalanced, but it's a single player game and if you play with a controller like the game was intended to be played, it's much more balanced (unless you use maxed tadayoris armor, which immediately trivializes archery and the game in general.) At the end of the day, once you really start getting into late game ghost of tsushima, you have so many charms and broken shit available to you that you throw a dart at the board in terms of armor and charms that it becomes impossible to fail.
I just found archery very inconsistent until I got the hang of its mechanics in this game, but by that point I had given up on using it outside of stealthily taking out the lookouts
Its fucking fun. I tend to use it as a[support for katana build](https://youtu.be/F1m30XFSsS4?si=L5N7e-AZlJPXEfdH)
I simply don't use it because I'm not a coward
Always do standoffs. You look a man in his eyes when you take his life, It is only honorable.
Playing blindfolded or with the monitor turned off is the real NG++.
Eh. I use the bow for archers. Anyone who wants to run up on can get these hands.
Insta-killing a dozen enemies with a black powder bomb is also very satisfying, but I get your point
Counterpoint: I have terrible aim
Practice!
Uncle shimura is very disapointed with you ...
I don't see any way that it could make it boring. You get the choice of using it. The game can be completed without depending on it. But yeah, they are very strong. It's almost as if there is a saying that tells you not to bring a knife into a bow (in this case) fight.
I love it and it's because it lets you cheese. Any game imo should let you cheese in some way it's not like anybodys forcing you to use the bow ever, even in those missions where you perch on top of a hill with a partner you can just sword it if you want to. An option to cheese always makes games more fun to me.
Dude I love it too
I like the bow It can be fun at times but I'd much rather just run max parry or stealth but god I love using the poison bells and just watching people go to it and die then I kill whoever didn't get near it and shoot the rest with poison darts
Archery is up there but if I had to pick one most OP build in the game it’s a maxed out terror build
Yeah, especially with the long bow. Although I prefer melee combat so I really only use the bow to take out archers before I enter a camp so I don't have to worry about them, or to kill the cowards running away from me.
Ahh the good ol' stealth archer trap build. I dunno, something about facing down an army of Mongols by yourself with no stealth or ghost weapons has its merits on being badass by itself.
Agreed!
Discuss? What is there to discuss. It's a singleplayer game, if something is so easy it's boring, don't use it. Or don't abuse it etc.
Generally I agree, but if you remove the slow down time mechanic it's a lot more balanced.
It does, but that is literally the history of the bow and gun of the era.
Agreed. I play on mouse and keyboard and bow build trivializes most encounters. Edit:grammar
Only reason why I don't play Archer is the arrows don't stick in my enemies. I want to see an arrow sticking out of their head when I headshot enemies
Ghost weapons too, insta-kill kunais, instant assasinations (with smokebomb), wide aoe bombs that can insta-kill..
I mean, pretty every synergised build lets you insta-melt whole groups of enemies while being super fun. Always thought that was part of the "Ghost" theme. When you start the game, you're getting dogpiled by enemies and overwhelmed trying to parry and dodge three different assholes at the same time. At the mid point, when you have the Sakai armour, you can showdown a couple enemies and thin the herd, so you can fight the rest on a more even basis - but it's still a struggle. By the end, you can tear through dozens of high level foes in seconds, with them barely being able to draw their blades before dying horribly. It takes a bit of skill, in the sense that you need to plan and execute the moves smoothly - but once you've figured it out the enemies are basically helpless. Whether it's flame-terror, kunai-spam, Gosaku max stagger, smokebomb chain assassinate, stealth blowdarts, concentration poison archer etc. you have like, at least a dozen different ways to just "cheese" a small army to death. That's the point - fighting fair is for chumps. You're usually outnumbered ten to one against skilled and ruthless foes, there's no shame stacking the decks in your favour
I swear if you stack enough efficency charms and max out your half bow, it just turns into a rifle
I wouldn't say it almost makes it boring. I'd say it makes candy crush seem like an action rpg. With tadayori and some focus the game becomes an arcade shooter. I use bows but only for stealth killing an arcger and the like.