Ghost of Yōtei PS5 Mastery: Route, Kage, Combat & Bounty

Why This Guide (and My Setup)

After ~30 hours learning Ghost of Yōtei the hard way on PS5, I finally stopped bouncing between deaths, dead-ends, and bounty ambushes. The breakthrough came when I tied four things together: an optimal target order for the Yōtei Six, consistent Kage (wolf) commands, a weapon rotation that preserves stamina and creates stagger windows, and clue-card routing that actually respects the bounty system. I played in Performance Mode (native 4K at 60 FPS), DualSense haptics at 70%, triggers on Medium, and 3D Audio over headphones. If you’re stuck on early targets or constantly hunted between missions, this is the exact flow that turned my run around.

Dial In PS5 Settings First (5 minutes that save hours)

• Video: Options → Video → Performance Mode (60 FPS keeps parry timing consistent). Set Motion Blur = 0, Camera Shake = Low, and bump Camera Sensitivity = 55-65 if you over-aim.
• Controller: Options → Controls → Haptics: Vibration High, Adaptive Triggers Medium. The subtle tension cues help you feel perfect-parry windows and bow draw without fatiguing your fingers.
• Audio: Options → Audio → 3D Audio = On. Kage’s growls and scent barks are positional; I started catching flankers before they touched me.
• Accessibility: If you’re learning, try Enemy Aggression = Normal, Enemy Damage = Easy, then raise aggression to Hard/Lethal as you improve. You can mix settings individually.

Your First Hour: Foundation Checklist

• Bind a quick command for Kage: Options → Controls → Companion Wheel = Hold R1. I use Face Buttons as shortcuts: Up = Track Scent, Right = Distract, Down = Hold, Left = Fetch.
• Learn the long-lens: Tap Up on D-pad to bring up the scope; lightly tilt to catch glints and smoke plumes. Press R3 to tag them. This makes clue-card routing sane.
• Weapon quick-swap: Set R2 = Weapon Wheel. I keep Katana on primary, Spear on right, Kusarigama on left. Press-and-flick is faster than menuing mid-fight.
• Resolve and stamina: Don’t spam combos. Two lights (Square, Square), micro-delay, then a heavy (Triangle) lets stamina tick while you threat-check the battlefield. I know it’s boring-do it anyway.

Kage (Wolf) Tactics I Wish I Knew Earlier

I wasted hours treating Kage like a cosmetic pet. The moment I started using scent lines and flank barks as a stealth tool, camps turned into puzzles I could solve. Here’s the loop that made the difference:

• Track Scent → Flank → Distract → Silent Chain: Hold R1 for Companion Wheel, choose Track Scent at a footprint or dropped item. Stay crouched and 5-7 meters behind Kage; when Kage huffs twice, you’re within one guard step. Circle left, then press R1 → Right (Distract). When two enemies peel apart, perform a double takedown.
• Ambush Reset: If the horn sounds, send Kage to Hold (R1 → Down) behind cover. Break line of sight, toss a smoke (Tap R1 if bound), then reconvene. Kage won’t pull aggro while Holding.
• Hunter Squads: Against bounty hunters (2-4 elite units), use Kage Distract on the archer first, then spear-poke the leader to bait a punishable swing. Don’t fight all four at once unless you want a loading screen.
• Fetch for Ammo: Low on arrows or knives? Mark a corpse. R1 → Left (Fetch) saves you backtracking and keeps stealth rolling.

Weapon Rotation: Katana, Spear, Kusarigama

Ghost of Yōtei is all about control. Once I stopped “maining” one weapon and started rotating based on enemy type and spacing, my deaths plummeted.

• Katana (1v1 and finishers): Parry with L1. On a white-flash tell, perfect parry → light, light → guard break → finisher. Save katana heavies for staggered enemies; they cost more stamina.
• Spear (crowd and shield-bearers): Short thrusts (Square) interrupt rushers. Use a poke → step back → poke rhythm to keep three-man groups honest. Against shields, a spear sweep into a quick swap to katana nets a clean head strike.
• Kusarigama (control and pulls): The chain sickle’s heavy (Triangle) yanks light enemies out of formation. My go-to is kusarigama heavy → immediate dodge cancel → katana finisher. Don’t overuse: two throws drain stamina fast.
• Rule of Two: Two hits max before a micro reset. Re-center the camera with R3, reposition, and listen for Kage’s audio cues. If you keep whiffing, you’re swinging too long.

Clue Cards and Non-Linear Hunts: How I Planned My Route

The game lets you tackle the Yōtei Six in any order, but every takedown increases your bounty and strengthens roaming hunter squads. The trick is picking an order that unlocks mobility and detection advantages early, so the midgame ambushes don’t crush you.

• Clue Cards 101: Open Map → Clues, read the “tells” (unstable traps, incense trails, unique banners), then pin two targets max. Piling on pins is how I wandered for an hour with nothing to show.
• Use the Long-Lens: From a ridge, tap Up (Scope) and tag smoke plumes, torch clusters, and animal disturbance trails. Most target lairs telegraph themselves if you scan from high ground.
• My Recommended Order (Reasoned, not “correct”):
  • 1) The Spider (trap-heavy coastal dens): Teaches patience, rewards careful Kage flanks, and the clue set it drops opens safer mountain passes.
  • 2) The Serpent (marshland routes with toxins): Forces you to manage spacing and stamina. The clues you gain make poison pockets easier to predict.
  • 3) The Kitsune (forest illusions and decoys): You’ll lean on long-lens tagging and Kage Track Scent to separate real from fake camps.
  • 4) The Oni (fortified brute strongholds): By now your parry timing and crowd control should be dialed. Spears shine here.
  • 5) The Dragon (elite swordsman territory): A pure skill check; take it after your combat peaks.
  • 6) Final target: Clean-up once your bounty management is stable.

  This order front-loads information and pathing perks so bounty escalation hurts less.

Bounty Management (Don’t Make My Mistakes)

• Noise Is a Multiplier: Horns and exploding barrels spike heat faster than silent clears. If a patrol is walking toward a horn, Kage Distract them away before you commit.
• Roads Are Ambush Lanes: Use ridgelines and riverbeds between lairs. Hunter squads spawn more often on roads; the SSD-fast fast travel makes off-road routing painless (loads are under ~10 seconds).
• Accept Bounties Intentionally: The bounty board side missions are great money and charms, but take them right before a lair so the inevitable hunter squad arrives when you have cover and chokepoints.
• Cooldown Your Heat: Shrines and hot springs feel cosmetic until you notice heat ticks dropping while you rest. If you’ve stacked two loud clears in a row, take 60 seconds to reset.

Boss-Fight Fundamentals That Stuck

• Watch the Feet: When in doubt, track feet, not weapons. The step-plant is the real parry/dodge tell; flash cues vary in heavy weather.
• Dodge Left on Wide Swings: Most elite right-handers whiff to your left. Only dodge right against thrusts or dual-wielders.
• Two Heals Per Phase: Greed kills. Heal after a knockdown or projectile whiff, then refocus. DualSense haptics will spike on a punishable miss-use that feel.
• Save Burst for Stagger: Hold your strongest technique until you hear Kage’s low growl + controller thump (stagger achieved). Spending burst early rarely closes a phase.

Troubleshooting the Pain Points

• “My parries feel late.” Switch to Performance Mode, enable your TV’s Game Mode, and raise camera sensitivity to 60. Input lag masquerades as “bad timing.”
• “Kage loses the scent.” You’re sprinting. Scent tracking assumes crouch-walk pacing. If Kage howls short, circle back 10 meters and reinitiate Track Scent.
• “Hunters keep third-partying my lairs.” Clear perimeter patrols first with long-lens tags. If your heat is high, approach from vertical routes so you can drop-smoke and reposition when hunters arrive.
• “Lethal difficulty is a wall.” Customize it: set Enemy Aggression = Lethal, Enemy Damage = Normal at first, then scale damage up once you’re landing perfect parries.

Quick FAQ (From My Notes)

• Do I need to play Ghost of Tsushima first? No. This story is set 300+ years later with a new protagonist (Atsu) and a new island (Ezo).
• How long is it? Plan 25–30 hours for the main story; 40+ if you want near-100% and to experiment with multiple hunt orders.
• Difficulty options? Yes, from Relaxed up to Lethal, with granular toggles. You can, for example, set enemy aggression to Lethal while keeping damage on Easy.
• Multiplayer? A Legends-style co-op mode is planned for 2026, including story missions and a 4-player Survival variant featuring demonic versions of the Yōtei Six.
• PS5 performance? Native 4K at 60 FPS with load times typically under 10 seconds. Estimated file size is around 85 GB-clear your SSD before launch.
• Pre-order bonuses? An exclusive in-game mask and seven PSN avatars (Atsu, The Dragon, The Kitsune, Saito, The Oni, The Serpent, The Spider).
• Deluxe Edition includes: The Serpent armor set, an alternate color for the onryō armor, a horse color and saddle dye, an in-game charm, a golden sword kit, and early access to a traveler map-card set.
• Collector’s Edition includes (digital game code): Atsu’s Ghost mask replica with stand, Atsu’s belt replica with the names of the Yōtei Six, a tsuba replica with stand, a coin pouch with rules for zeni-hajiki, a foldable ginkgo papercraft with the wolf at its base, and four art cards.

TL;DR Route and Loadout

• Settings: Performance Mode, High haptics, 3D Audio.
• Combat: Rotate katana → spear → kusarigama; two hits, micro reset; parry feet, not weapons.
• Kage: Track → Flank → Distract → Chain; Hold to reset; Fetch to resupply.
• Order: Spider → Serpent → Kitsune → Oni → Dragon → final. Front-loads pathing and info to tame bounty escalation.
• Between targets: Avoid roads, rest to bleed heat, accept bounty missions right before lairs.

If you take anything from this: treat Kage as your second blade, plan your route with clue cards and the long-lens, and respect the bounty meter even more than the boss in front of you. Do that, and the island starts playing by your rules.