Ghost of Tsushima Best Charms - where to find the best major and minor charms
Give Jin powerful buffs with the best charms in Ghost of Tsushima
In both the base game and Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut on PS5, Charms are an important part of your experience on the island of Tsushima, bolstering Jin’s abilities, and rounding out the weaknesses of your build. With the game out in the wild for over a year now, we've had a bit more chance to get to grips with the different buffs each charm provides.
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.
Ghost of Tsushima: All charms list and locations
| Ghost of Tsushima Best Charms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Charm of Amaterasu | Major | Killing enemies restores a Moderate Amount of Health | Golden Summit Shrine - Act 1 - south of Golden Temple |
| Charm of Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto | Major | Deal Moderate bonus damage at full health | Frost Cliff Shrine - Act 3 - south of Iwai Village on east coast |
| Charm of Kagu-Tsuchi | Major | Deal bonus damage while at 50% health or less | Plumb Blossom Shrine - Act 1 - southwest of Lake Izuhara |
| Charm of Ryuujin | Major | Recover 1 Kunai after performing a Perfect Dodge | Hazy Cliff Shrine - Act 2 - north of Yoshinaka Bay on west coast |
| Charm of Takemikazuchi | Major | Killing an enemy increases Melee damage by a minor amount for a few seconds | Snowlit Peak Shrine - Act 3 - south of Whaler's Coast |
| Charm of Shinatsuhiko | Major | Staggering an enemy prevents interrupted melee attacks for 6 seconds | Lush Peak Shrine - Act 2 - east of Rebel's Last Stand |
| Charm of Susanoo | Major | Staggered enemies have a 30% chance to be knocked down | Stone Dragon Shrine - Act 1 - west of Wolf Cub Falls |
| Charm of Izanagi | Major | Landing a headshot has a 40% chance to return an arrow | Winding Mountain Shrine - Act 1 - south of Cloud Pass |
| Charm of Azumi-no-Isora | Major | Arrows are silent on impact | Cloud Ridge Shrine - Act 2 - north of Urashima's Village on the east coast |
| Charm of Izanami | Major | Iron Will now revives you at 50% of your maximum health | Marsh Rock Shrine - Act 2 - northeast of Akashima Village |
| Charm of Okuninushi | Major | Slowly recover health while out of combat | Mending Rock Shrine - Act 1 - east of Isonade Coast |
| Charm of Mizu-no-Kami | Major | Parries, Perfect Parries, and Perfect Dodges are easier to perform | Spring Falls Shrine - Act 1 - north of Kashine Forest |
| Charm of Ikazuchi-no-Kami | Major | Perks and abilities that Terrify are 25% more likely to occur | Crane Mountain Shrine - Act 3 - southeast of Fort Kikuchi |
| Charm of Incineration | Major | Enemies struck by Black Powder Bombs catch on fire and deal Burn damage to nearby foes | The Raging Storm Legend Tier |
| Charm of Hoori-no-Mikoto | Major | Remain hidden when Assassinating enemies from grass | Turtle Rock Shrine - Act 2 - southwest of Little Monk's Pond |
| Charm of Tsukuyomi | Major | Assassinated enemies drop additional ammo or supplies | Scarlet Rock Shrine - Act 2- south of Field of the Equinox Flowers |
| Charm of Toxic Demise | Major | Wind Chimes release poison vapours that kill enemies who pick them up | The Shadow Samurai Legend Tier |
| Charm of Inari | Major | Increases supplies, predator hides, bamboo, and yew wood gained from collecting | Arrow Peak Shrine - Act 1- north of Azamo Foothills |
| Charm of Hidden Blades | Major | Throw two additional Kunai | The Demon's Blade Legend Tier |
| Charm of Unseen Respite | Major | Smoke Bombs restore 25% of your health | The Avenging Guardian Legend Rank |
| Charm of Uneven Standing | Major | Sticky Bombs knock down all affected targets, leaving them vulnerable for longer | The Ghost of Tsushima Legend Tier |
| Charm of Ferocity | Minor | Moderate increase to Melee Damage | Melee Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Bludgeoning | Minor | Moderate increase to Stagger damage | Melee Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Advantage | Minor | Ghost Weapons deal 20% more damage | Melee Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Dual Destruction I + II | Minor | Attacks have a 5-10% chance to deal double damage | Melee Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Efficiency | Minor | 15% increase to nocking and reload speed | Ranged Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Precision | Minor | Moderate increase to arrow damage | Ranged Tales of Tsushima |
| Yuriko's Keepsake | Minor | Arrows have a 15% chance to poison enemies | Yuriko Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Swift Return | Minor | Missed standard arrows have a 25% chance of being recoverable | Ranged Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Resistance I + II + III | Minor | Reduces all damage by a Minor-Moderate- Major amount | Defence Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Vitality | Minor | Moderate increase to health | Defence Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Immunity | Minor | 15% chance for enemy arrows to deal no damage | Defence Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Unyielding I + II | Minor | Moderately-Majorly reduces damage taken while at 50% health or less | Defence Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Broken Barriers | Minor | Breaking an enemies defence grants 15% of Resolve | Defence Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Rejuvination | Minor | Slowly recover up to 2 Resolve out of combat | Defence Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Fortitude | Minor | 20% chance to survive lethal damage and gain Resolve | Defence Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Shadows | Minor | Reduces enemy detection speed by 10% | Stealth Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of the Lost Mind | Minor | Hallucinating enemies deal 50% more damage to other enemies | Stealth Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Fire Doctrine | Minor | Burning an enemy has a 15% chance to Terrify nearby enemies | Stealth Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Hidden Sight | Minor | Enemies stop hunting for you 40% faster | Stealth Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Well Being I + II | Minor | Receive an additional 7.5-15% health when healing | Utility Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Divine Healing I + II | Minor | While at 50% health or less, healing recovers an additional 15-30% of health | Utility Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Resolve I + II | Minor | 15-25% increase to Resolve gains | Utility Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Fortune | Minor | Effects with a % chance to occur are 50% more likely to occur | Utility Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Fortunate Return | Minor | Abilities that use Resolve have a 15% chance to refund 1 Resolve | Utility Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Enduring Affliction | Minor | Status effects last 50% longer and deal 50% more damage | Utility Tales of Tsushima |
| Charm of Inari's Might | Minor | Increases health and Melee damage by a Minor-Massive amount | Fox Shrines |
| Charm of Silence | Minor | Reduces enemy detection speed by 15% and increases Resolve gains by a Minor-Massive amount | Fox Shrines |
For more on building the best samurai build, here's our page on the best Ghost Weapons and Techniques in Ghost of Tsushima.