Damage

Mobile-friendly (quicksheet/cheatsheet version)

Everybody likes damage. Stack those numbers high and watch the HP melt away. In Ghost of Tsushima, generally stacking damage is a good idea. For all intent and purpose the vast majority of damage-stacking is ADDITIVE (that is if you have two sources of a particular damage boost type, they are added together vs multiplicatively stacking).

Calculating Damage

Example of Additive vs Multiplicative. Assume I am using Katana attacks and I have 3 sources of Melee Damage %. Katana does 1 hp bar of damage, each Melee Damage is at max (12%) for a total of 36% Melee Damage Boost:

Additive
1. Katana + Melee % = X Total Damage
2. 1 + 1 * 36% = X Total Damage
3. 1 + 0.36 = 1.36 Total Damage

Multiplicative
1. [[(Katana * Melee A) * Melee B] * Melee C] = X Total Damage
2. [[(1 * 1.12) * 1.12] * 1.12] = X Total Damage
3. [[1.12 * 1.12] * 1.12] = X Total Damage
4. [1.254 * 1.12] = ~1.41 Total Damage

At high-level play, it is about stacking the right amount of damage to hit particular breakpoints (ie the exact value at which your Ultimate will one-shot a Tengu or Oni Archer for example). This ‘right amount’ also comes into play for setup attacks (assassinations, Spirit Kunai kills, etc). Using the Enemy Health & Tactics section, along with this Damage page, you can successfully navigate calculating the ideal setup for your build.

Reading the Data

For all intent and purpose, the below data is calculated using a regular katana strike (square) and assumes you are at the maximum Ki possible for any game mode (being a lower Ki than maximum will mean you output slightly less damage than the baseline). The katana baseline damage is 1 hp bar of health on any enemy. From there, all attack outputs were then compared and notated here over the course of several months of testing. It will be assumed that there were NO boosts for damage output (you will need to calculate those separately based on your build and gear).

Category Descriptions

TYPE: Gear/Ability damage category (ie katana, ranged, etc)
DAMAGE SOURCE: Specific attack being used (ie Stone stance, halfbow, kunai)
DAMAGE PER STRIKE: # of bars of hp taken with a single usage/output
DAMAGE TYPE: Signifies what damage modifiers will boost that damage source. Review the Synergies page for more details.
SPECIAL NOTES: Context in certain situations where damage is circumstantial or where there are additional/auxiliary damage outputs.

TYPE	SUB-TYPE	DAMAGE SOURCE	DAMAGE PER STRIKE (# of Bars of HP)	DAMAGE TYPE (Category)	SPECIAL NOTES
KATANAS	Stone Stance	Regular Attack	1	Melee	–
		Heavy Attack	1, 1, 1	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage
		Special Attack (Stab)	3, 1, 1	Melee	Unblockable/unparryable (except by shields)
		Heavy Combo (Stone Master)	1, 1, 1+0.25*	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage *0.25 = not boosted by Property Bonuses
	Water Stance	Regular Attack	1	Melee	–
		Heavy Attack	1	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage
		Special Attack (Flurry)	0.75, 0.75, 0.75, 0.75, 0.75 [5 Strikes]	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage
		Special Attack (Water Master)	0.75, 0.875, 1, 1.125, 1.25 [5 strikes]	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage
	Wind	Regular Attack	1	Melee	–
		Heavy Attack	1	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage
		Special Attack (Kick)	1*	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage *Cannot deal lethal damage
		Special Attack (+ Master)	1+0.5*	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage Cannot deal lethal damage *0.5 = not boosted by Property Bonuses
	Moon	Regular Attack	1	Melee	–
		Heavy Attack (Kick or Slash)	1, 1, 1.5	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage *Cannot deal lethal damage
		Special Attack (Spin)	1.5 per spin	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage
		Special Attack (+ Master)	1, 1, 1+0.5**	Melee	Deals Stagger Damage Cannot deal lethal damage *0.5 = not boosted by Property Bonuses
SECONDARY MELEE	Counter Attack	Perfect Parry Perfect Dodge	3	Melee, Counter	Deals Stagger Damage
	Perk	Burning Blade	1.5 over 4 s (0.375 hp/s)	Status	–
		Poison Blade	2.6 over 4 s (0.65 hp/s)	Status	Deals Stagger Damage Requires Assassin Tech ‘Nightshade’
		Intimidating Counter	1*	Melee, Counter	Strikes countered enemy & nearby enemies AOE scales with Melee Damage%
		Way of the Flame	+0.35	Fire, Status	Adds Fire damage to Melee strike Unblockable
	Demon Cutter	Area of Effect	1*	Melee, Counter	Does AOE damage to Target & nearby enemies *Throws enemies (30% chance)
	Stone Striker	Heavenly Strike	4.5 10*	Melee	Terrifies nearby enemies on a Kill *Bonus damage on Staggered enemies
	Heavenly Rebuke	Heavenly Strike	4.5	Melee	Terrifies nearby enemies on a Kill
	Heavenly Rebuke	Lightning Bolt	2.4	Fire, Status	–
	Critical Strike	Knocked Down enemy	5	Melee, ???	–
	Stealth Attack	Assassination Critical Strike	6	Stealth, ???	–

RANGED
	Halfbow	Full Draw (Bodyshot) – Max	1.25	Ranged	–
		Full Draw (Bodyshot) – Min	1	Ranged	Assumes arrow drop-off (far distance)
		Quickfire Bodyshot	0.4-0.45*	Ranged	*some variation
		Full Draw (Headshot) – Max	4	Ranged, Headshot	–
		Full Draw (Headshot) – Min	1.6	Ranged, Headshot	Assumes arrow drop-off (far distance)
		Quickfire Headshot	???	Ranged, Headshot	TBD
	Longbow	Full Draw (Bodyshot) – Max	3.75	Ranged	–
		Full Draw (Bodyshot) – Min	1.5	Ranged	Assumes arrow drop-off (far distance)
		Quickfire Bodyshot	0.95*	Ranged	*some variation
		Full Draw (Headshot) – Max	6	Ranged, Headshot	–
		Full Draw (Headshot) – Min	2.4	Ranged, Headshot	Assumes arrow drop-off (far distance)
		Quickfire Headshot	???	Ranged, Headshot	TBD
	Fire Arrow	Bow Damage (above)	1.5	Fire, Status	–
	Piercing Arrow	Bow Damage (above)	–	Ranged	Pierces shields (no bonus damage)
		Sharpened Ammo	1.5 over 3s (0.5 hp/s)	Status	Bleed damage (chance to occur)

	Blowgun	Any Dart	0.2	Ranged, Headshot	–
		Poison Dart (Bodyshot)	2.6-2.8	Status	Requires Assassin Tech ‘Nightshade’
		Poison Dart (Headshot)	3.5	Status	Requires Assassin Tech ‘Nightshade’
		Sharpened Ammo	1.5 over 3s (0.5 hp/s)	Status	Bleed damage (chance to occur)
	Bomb Pack	Concussion	1	Ranged	Not a Ghost Weapon

GHOST WEAPONS
	Bomb Pack	Black Powder (Explosion)	1.5	Ghost Weapon	–
		Black Powder (DoT	1.4	Fire, Status	–
		Flash Bomb	0.2	Status
	Kunai _{(Per Kunai)}	Regular	1	Ghost Weapon	Deals Stagger Damage
		Supermassive	3	Ghost Weapon	Changes Kunai Base Damage Knockback on enemies
		Fired Up	+1.5	Fire, Status	adds Fire Damage
	Dirt Throw	Any	0.5	Ghost Weapon	–
		Fired Up	+1.5	Fire, Status	adds Fire Damage
	Sticky Bomb	Regular	4	Ghost Weapon	–
		Fired Up	+1.5	Fire, Status	adds Fire Damage
	Magma Bomb	Legendary Sticky	2.2	Ghost Weapon	Reduced damage vs regular Sticky Bomb Provides Smoke Bomb effect (6s)
	Caltrops	Regular	0.4	Ghost Weapon	–
		Fired Up	+1.5	Fire, Status	adds Fire Damage

CLASS-SPECIFIC
	Samurai	Spirit Pull	2.4 over 12s (0.2 hp/s)	n/a	Spirit Pull +1 (Samurai Charm) increases damage (increase = 8 over 12; 0.66 hp/s)
		Explosive Blade	+0.4*	n/a	AoE that is unblockable (including shields) Stacks with WotF, Ultimate, Heavenly Strike
		Raging Flame (Regular)	1.25 over 3s (0.416 hp/s)	Fire, Status	–
		Raging Flame (Heavy)	2.5 over 3s (0.83 hp/s)	Fire, Status	Causes Splash Damage on nearby targets
		Raging Flame (Splash)	1.25 over 3s (0.416 hp/s)	Fire, Status	Triggers as an AOE on Heavy Attacks
		Raging Flame (Ground)	0*	n/a	*Ground fire trail is visual only
		Hachiman’s Fury (1 strike)	7	Melee, Ultimate	–
		Heavenly Strike	4.5	Melee	–
	Hunter	Staggering Arrow	6	Ranged, Headshot	–
		Explosive Arrow	7.1	Ranged, Headshot	–
		Explosive Arrow (DoT)	3.8	Fire, Status	–
		Spirit Archer	1.35 per arrow	n/a	~ 1 hp bar per arrow +0.35 hp for the Fire/Status
		All-Seeing Eye (1 strike)	8	Ranged, Headshot, Ultimate	–
		Burning Gaze (DoT)	6.7 – 7.3*	Ranged, Headshot, Ultimate, Fire, Status	*Variable damage when tested
	Ronin	Spirit Dog	0.75	n/a	Nothing boosts its damage
		Spirit Bear	1.5	n/a	Nothing boosts its damage
		Flaming Roar	1.5	Fire, Status	–
		Weakening Burst	0.2	n/a	Applies Weaken in an AOE
		Fire Breath DoT	1.35	Fire, Status, Ultimate	–
		Staggering Breath	4	Ultimate	–
	Assassin	Toxic Vanish	2.3	Status	Requires Assassin Tech ‘Nightshade’
		Super Strike	6*	Stealth	Does NOT gain Boost from Stealth Attack Damage
		Shadow Strike (1 strike)	7	Melee, Ultimate	–

OTHER
		Explosive Barrel	4.4	Fire, Status
		Ignite Gift	TBD	Fire, Status	Boosted by your Gear
		Enemy Falls	TBD	–	Enemy falls from a far enough height

Damage Table

“The katana of clan Sakai…an exquisite weapon. For me, every blade is unique. As recognizable as a person. Bring the materials I need, and I would be honored to improve such a fine sword.”

– Golden Temple Swordsmith

Don’t see what you are looking for here? Contact Us