Overview
Castle Kaneda cannot be taken by the front gate. Hammer and Forge is the mission where somebody works out what to do instead.
With Taka free and recovering at Komatsu Forge, the plan for Castle Kaneda becomes concrete: not an assault but a climb. Taka begins building the grappling hook that will let Jin reach the castle by a route its garrison is not watching.
It is a quieter mission than the ones around it, and it is where the rescue stops being an intention and becomes a plan with a piece of equipment attached.
In the game’s own framing: The group scattered after Azamo. Jin rides for Komatsu Forge to check they made it, and arrives in the middle of the town being taken apart.
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 Broken Blacksmith"This tale does not appear until then.
- RecommendedMoon StanceMoon staggers Brutes; nothing else in the melee kit reliably does.
Objectives
- Travel to Komatsu Forge
- Enter the town
- Find the fighting
- Fight alongside Yuna
- Speak with Yuna
- Follow Yuna to the forge
- Find Yukio
- Rescue Yukio
- Rescue Yukio’s wife
- Defend the fleeing peasants
- Speak with the peasants
- Lead them back
- Report to Taka
- Find Yuna across the river
- Free the hostages
- Lead them back
- Prepare for the defence
- Hold five waves
- Defeat the Mongol warlord
- Clear the survivors
Full walkthrough
- 01Travel to Komatsu Forge
Follow the waypoint. The damage is visible before you arrive.
- 02Enter the town
Climb the rocks by the wall to bypass the burning outskirts, where Mongol dogs are patrolling. Kill the dogs on sight rather than managing them — they close instantly and interrupt whatever you were mid-way through.
- 03Find the fighting
Move through town toward the sound of it. Yuna is in the middle of several Mongols.
- 04Fight alongside Yuna
A long running fight through the town. If she goes down you have roughly forty seconds to revive her or the mission fails.
Watch outFailure condition — this step can end the tale, not just the fight.
- 05Speak with Yuna
At the waypoint afterwards; she tells you where her brother is.
- 06Follow Yuna to the forge
To where Taka works.
- 07Find Yukio
Taka’s apprentice is being held.
- 08Rescue Yukio
Stealth kills only. If you are spotted, one Mongol breaks for the hostage — the skull icon — and you have about ten seconds to cut him off.
Watch outA marked enemy is going for someone you have to keep alive.
- 09Rescue Yukio’s wife
He asks before he will go back to the forge. Follow him to her.
- 10Defend the fleeing peasants
Come in behind the pursuers and thin them with assassinations before you commit to the sword or a standoff. 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. Open with the standoff. Hold until the enemy actually commits rather than pressing early, and each won standoff kills outright — against unarmoured ronin it can gut a group before the fight starts.
- 11Speak with the peasants
Confirm they are safe.
- 12Lead them back
Take the long way — the river or the cliffside alley, then round the hill path. It avoids every remaining Mongol.
- 13Report to Taka
Tell him the villagers and his family are in the forge.
- 14Find Yuna across the river
She has gone after an isolated family.
- 15Free the hostages
Mongols are interrogating them. Clear the perimeter by stealth before you go into the house.
- 16Lead them back
Same safe route as before.
- 17Prepare for the defence
Speak to Taka and gather supplies. Lighting the forge is what brings the Mongols.
- 18Hold five waves
Five or six Mongols per wave, better armoured each time, with archers, brutes and dogs later on. Revive Yuna the moment she drops. If any Mongol reaches the peasants inside the forge, the mission fails. Switch to Moon Stance for the Brutes: they shrug off ordinary damage and Moon's heavy overheads are what actually stagger them. Their big swings are unblockable, so dodge rather than block and answer in the gap afterwards. 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. Kill the dogs on sight rather than managing them — they close instantly and interrupt whatever you were mid-way through.
TipMoon staggers Brutes; nothing else in the melee kit reliably does.
Watch outFailure condition — this step can end the tale, not just the fight.
- 19Defeat the Mongol warlord
The last wave brings a gold-armoured warlord and archers. Kill the archers first. Water Stance breaks his guard; chain your combo in the window that opens. He takes a great deal of damage. 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.
- 20Clear the survivors
With Yuna. The last kill triggers the cinematic.
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.
- Brutes — Moon Stance. Brutes soak an enormous amount of ordinary damage, and Moon's heavy overhead strikes are what actually stagger them. Their big swings are usually unblockable — red marker — so dodge those rather than trying to block, and answer in the window afterwards rather than trading. Some carry explosives. If you have Resolve banked, a Brute is the right place to spend it.
- Dogs — They close instantly and interrupt whatever you were doing, so they are worth killing on sight rather than managing. A single light attack usually does it. Where the tale gives you distance, the bow is cleaner — a dog that reaches you at the wrong moment costs more than its health suggests.
Rewards
- Major Legend IncreaseA large step toward the next Legend rank. Legend gates your Ghost Weapon unlocks and your health and Resolve upgrades, so main and Mythic Tales are the fastest way to raise it.
What this unlocks
Characters in this tale
Sources
- Ghost of Tsushima Walkthrough — PowerPyx
- Ghost of Tsushima: Act 1 — Rescue Lord Shimura — Knowll