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Ghost of Yotei

Lethal Mode Guide

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GOY - Lethal Mode
Lethal mode is the highest difficulty in Ghost of Yotei. To survive, focusing on stealth and survivability is the best approach. Find out how to activate Lethal mode and how to win on this difficulty here!

Tips and Tricks for Lethal Mode

Ghost of Yotei Starter Guide







Fully Upgrade the Charm of Mount Yotei

One of the most helpful charms you can get early in the game is the Charm of Mount Yotei. At full power level, this charm can heal a major amount of health after a perfect parry and reduce all damage taken by a moderate amount.

This charm will be important to improve your survivability in the game. You can get this charm from the Reliquary of Courage and can upgrade it by completing all Reliquaries in the game.
Charm of Mount Yotei Effects and How to Get

Unlock Assassination and Standoff Techniques


Unlock Assassination Techniques

Unlock the Onryo Standoff Techniques

There are two skill trees that you need to fully unlock to have a successful Lethal run. First is the Assassination Skill Tree, which will focus on stealth techniques. Having the full skill tree unlocked will allow you to handle bigger enemies and to do more kills at a time.

The Standoff techniques on the other hand is a great way to take control of direct confrontations by forcing enemies into standoffs. Having this whole skill tree unlocked will let you one-shot 3 enemies if you have the Tanzutsu on hand.

All Skill Trees and Techniques

Max Out All Quickfire Capacities

Ammo Capacity Upgrades
It is important to prioritize maxing out your Quickfire Weapon Capacities. Especially the Smoke Bomb, Kunai, Tanzutsu, and Oni's Flame.

The Smoke Bomb and Kunai are vital to stealth-focused attacks, allowing for a 5-kill combo. The Tanzutsu is needed for a 3-streak standoff, and the Oni's Flame for an AOE fire attack with the Kusarigama.

List of All Quickfire Weapons

Focus on Stealth Build for General Use

Armor
Crimson Kimono Level 4Crimson kimono Perks:
・Chain Assassinations can be performed with Kunai (max 1 Kunai thrown).
・Enemy detection is reduced by a major amount.
・Kusarigama Assassinations can be unleashed from further away. The distance is increased by a minor amount.
Melee Ranged Quickfire
Katana Icon Dual Katanas Icon Kusarigama Icon
Hankyu Icon Yumi Icon
Kunai Icon Smoke Bomb Icon
Charms
Ghost of Yotei Charm of MasakaCharm of Masaka Ghost of Yotei Charm of IzanagiCharm of Izanagi Ghost of Yotei Charm of Fearful EndCharm of Fearful End
Ghost of Yotei Charm of Enduring ResolveCharm of Enduring Resolve Ghost of Yotei Charm of Fatal SilenceCharm of Fatal Silence Ghost of Yotei Charm of AssassinCharm of Assassin's Resolve
Recommended Skills
Swift AssassinationSwift Assassination Chain Assassination MasterChain Assassination Master Slaughter LeaderSlaughter Leader

Focusing on stealth is the easiest way to a successful Lethal run. This will allow you to eliminate enemies without getting damage or direct confrontation.

Having the Crimson Kimono, Kusarigama, and Kunai is the ideal setup since the armor extends the weapon's reach, and allows you to do distance assassination with the kunai.

Do Assassination Combos with the Smoke Bomb and Kunai

If you have a stealth build using the Crimson Kimono, then taking advantage of your quickfire tools can quickly finish Base raids.

When you have your full assassination skill tree unlocked, use your Smoke Bomb on a group of enemies. With the Chain Assassination Master kill 3 enemies, with armor effect, you can get 2 more kills with the kunai, letting you land a 5-kill combo.

Use a Survival Duelist Build for Standoffs

Armor
Armor of the Undying Level 4Armor of the Undying Perks:
・If weapon aligned, Staggering enemies restores a major amount of Health.
・If weapon aligned, the window to perform Perfect Parry and Perfect Dodge is increased by a moderate amount.
・If weapon aligned, Focus Attacks have a moderate chance to increase Stagger damage.
Melee Ranged Quickfire
Katana Icon Dual Katanas Icon Odachi Icon Yari Icon Kusarigama Icon
Hankyu Icon Yumi Icon
Metsubushi Icon
Charms
Ghost of Yotei Charm of Thoughtful RestorationCharm of Thoughtful Restoration Ghost of Yotei FatherFather's Charm Ghost of Yotei Charm of FutsunushiCharm of Futsunushi
Ghost of Yotei Charm of Mount YoteiCharm of Mount Yotei Ghost of Yotei TakezoTakezo's Charm of Bold Deflection Ghost of Yotei Charm of Last ChanceCharm of Last Chance
Recommended Skills
Perfect DodgePerfect Dodge Perfect ParryPerfect Parry Shifting StrikeShifting Strike

This build promotes survivability and balance by improving parry and dodge windows. If you use this successfully, you can also restore a major amount of health, letting you survive longer.

Use a Fire AOE Build to Sweep Crowds

Armor
Spider Lily Armor Level 4Spider Lily Armor Perks:
・Enemies have a minor chance to drop throwable weapons.
・Stagger damage inflicted by melee weapons increases by a minor amount.
・Staggering an enemy has a minor chance of dealing minor Stagger damage to nearby enemies.
Melee Ranged Quickfire
Katana Icon Dual Katanas Icon Kusarigama Icon
Hankyu Icon Yumi Icon
Oni Flame Icon
Charms
Ghost of Yotei Charm of MasakaCharm of Masaka Ghost of Yotei Charm of Mount YoteiCharm of Mount Yotei Ghost of Yotei Charm of HomusubiCharm of Homusubi
Ghost of Yotei Charm of Fire MasteryCharm of Fire Mastery Ghost of Yotei Charm of Lingering AfflictionCharm of Lingering Affliction Ghost of Yotei Charm of Burning BladesCharm of Burning Blades
Recommended Skills
Ferocious WhirlwindFerocious Whirlwind Evasive MaulEvasive Maul Ferocious CycloneFerocious Cyclone

This build is focused on Fire AOE damage and is very handy to have prepped in your loadout for crowd control. Igniting the Kusarigama with the Oni's flame and doing charged attacks can deal massive damage against large groups of enemies.

Kusarigama and Oni's Flame AOE Attack

To maximize the damage from this build, ignite your Kusarigama and deal AOE damage to groups of enemies. Having the Charm of Fire Mastery inflicts additional damage, and the Charm of Lingering Affliction sustains it.

Use Ginji's Guard Armor When Facing Firearms

In Oshima Coast, most enemies will be equipped with firearms, which can deal massive damage when hit. To mitigate damage, swap out your armor for the Ginji's Guard Armor to protect against Gun damage.

Ginji's Guard Armor Effects and How to Get

Take Advantage of Loadouts

Take advantage of the Loadout to prepare builds for specialized builds for specific ocations. This is especially handy because you can change loadouts mid-duel.

How to Unlock and Use Loadouts

How to Activate Lethal Mode

Change Your Difficulty From the Gameplay Settings

GOY - Select Difficulty from menu mode:scale
If you didn't choose Lethal Mode at the start of the game, you can change your difficulty setting anytime by accessing the Gameplay Settings and changing the difficulty to Lethal manually

What is Lethal Mode?

The Hardest Difficulty in the Game

Lethal mode is the hardest difficulty setting in the game. A single sword strike can kill you if your not careful.

This difficulty was made purely to challenge players and does not offer any rewards. Completing the game on Lethal is not required to get platinum.

Difficulty Settings Explained

Ghost of Yotei Related Guides

Recommended Guides

Ghost of Yotei Wiki and Guides

Meta Guides

GOY - Best Weapon TierBest Weapons Tier List GOY - Best TechniquesBest Skills and Techniques GOY - Best ArmorBest Armor
Best CharmsBest Charms Best Build Loadout BannerBest Build Loadouts -

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