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TalecoreJin's JourneyHardAct II — A Gathering Storm

From the Darkness

The Act 2 mission that awards the Ghost Armor — the point where the island's name for Jin becomes the thing he wears into battle.

RoleMain story
Importancecore
RewardGhost Armor
  • TypeMain Tale
  • Act2 – Retake Castle Shimura
  • RegionToyotama
  • Quest giverYuna
  • PrerequisiteComplete "The Fate of Tsushima"
  • RewardsGhost Armor, Ghost Mask
  • Steps8

Key takeaways

  • This is the stealth set. −25–40% detection is the largest such bonus in the base game. If you infiltrate camps, wear this from here on.
  • Ghost Stance arrives sooner. Cutting the required kills by 1–2 makes the state reachable in fights where it previously was not.
  • Terror is a numbers tool. A 15–30% chance per kill to terrify compounds — a few assassinations can empty a camp without a fight.

OverviewSpoilers

Every other set in the game is something Jin found, bought or dug out of the ground. This is the mission where the island hands him one.

From the Darkness closes Act 2 and awards the Ghost Armor — the set that reduces enemy detection by 25–40%, cuts the kills needed to enter Ghost Stance by 1–2, and gives kills a 15–30% chance to terrify nearby enemies.

The timing is deliberate. The armour arrives at the point in the story where Jin's reputation has become a weapon in its own right, and its three perks describe that transformation mechanically: get close unseen, reach the state where enemies break, and make each kill spread panic.

In the game’s own framing: The first day of battle ended in a bloody stalemate. Lord Shimura wants to press at dawn; Jin knows another way, and taking it is what makes him the Ghost.

What to bring

The stances are a counter-table, not a preference: each one is the answer to a specific enemy, and this tale fields the ones below.

  • RequiredComplete "The Fate of Tsushima"This tale does not appear until then.
  • RecommendedWater StanceWater is the only efficient answer to a raised shield.
  • RecommendedFirecrackersUsed here to split a guard pair before taking either.
  • RecommendedGrappling HookThe route through this tale requires it.
  • RecommendedFocused HearingThe steps rely on it to place guards through walls.
  • RecommendedStealth approachThe tale is built around grass cover.

Objectives

  1. Speak with Yuna
  2. Climb into the first keep
  3. Clear the first keep
  4. Survey the defences
  5. Sneak through the garden
  6. Poison the fermented milk
  7. Enter the main keep
  8. Duel Ryuzo

Full walkthroughSpoilers

  1. 01
    Speak with Yuna

    She is beside a crack in the wall.

  2. 02
    Climb into the first keep

    Down the rocks to your right, two grapple swings, across the log. Jump to the next grapple point and climb. Work the ledges and cliffside until you reach the keep window. Hold the grapple prompt until the line catches before jumping; releasing early drops you.

  3. 03
    Clear the first keep

    Wait for the corridor patrol to move off, then go through the window and chain-assassinate him and the man in the far room. Up the ladder, take the Mongol there. Focused Hearing on the two above; wait until they are at the sides, climb, take the left one, then the archer. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit. Focused Hearing shows enemies through walls and floors, so use it to place everyone before committing rather than to react once you are seen. Take the ends of patrol routes first, where a body will not be walked into — a discovered corpse raises the alarm just as reliably as being seen.

  4. 04
    Survey the defences

    Northeast corner of the tower. Four points of interest, three of them to the left. Survey points are not decoration — each one you mark puts an objective or a hazard on your map, and skipping them means finding the same things the hard way.

  5. 05
    Sneak through the garden

    Drop to the roof below, slackline to the archer tower and take the archer. Another slackline across, then jump behind the small shed and use Focused Hearing to time your run through the crack. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit. Focused Hearing shows enemies through walls and floors, so use it to place everyone before committing rather than to react once you are seen.

  6. 06
    Poison the fermented milk

    Through the tall grass to the stone wall and assassinate the shield-bearer. Climb the hay bale onto the round tent roof, cross the slackline and plank, and wait on the tent for the Mongol below to walk under you for an air assassination. Firecracker to pull the patrol off the milk, poison the first batch, then wait out the second guard and poison the second. Shield-bearers need Water Stance, and specifically its heavy attacks — light attacks chip uselessly at a raised shield. Crouch into the grass and let the patrol pattern settle before you move; the grass breaks line of sight entirely rather than just slowing detection. Take the ends of patrol routes first, where a body will not be walked into — a discovered corpse raises the alarm just as reliably as being seen.

    TipWater is the only efficient answer to a raised shield.

  7. 07
    Enter the main keep

    You can walk straight to it now. Open the door.

  8. 08
    Duel Ryuzo

    Dodge the red attacks with Circle, parry or dodge the blue. Parry his ordinary attacks too. Stone Stance counters grind him down, and Dance of Wrath does serious damage. Blue-marked attacks can be parried; red-marked ones cannot and have to be dodged. Reading the colour matters more than reacting fast. Duels disable your tools, so this is stances, parries and dodges only. Let them commit first and take the recovery window rather than opening yourself.

    Checkpoint

Enemies in this tale, and how to fight them

Strengths

  • Archers — Deal with them before you commit to the melee, because everything else in the fight becomes harder while arrows are landing. Take them with your own bow, drop them from stealth before the fight opens, or close the distance immediately — archers are poor at close range and fold quickly once you are on them. Where the tale gives you high ground, use it: an elevated position means only one side of the field can answer you.
  • Shield-bearers — Water Stance, and specifically its heavy attacks — that is what breaks a raised shield. Trying to chip through the front of a shield with light attacks wastes the fight. Stagger them first so the guard comes up and breaks, then go through the opening quickly before it closes.

Rewards

  • Ghost Armor
    A full armour set. Sets are builds rather than defence numbers — each one changes how you are meant to fight.
  • Ghost Mask
    A head item. Cosmetic unless the set states otherwise.

What this unlocks

Characters in this tale

Sources