Staggering Enemies
Learn to stagger your enemies, leaving them vulnerable to devastating follow-up attacks. This section details the methods for building stagger, including specific weapon techniques, Ghost Weapons, and combat strategies that will allow you to control the battlefield and execute powerful finishers.
Staggering enemies is a crucial combat mechanic in Ghost of Tsushima that creates openings for critical damage and powerful finishers. By breaking an enemy's guard or depleting their poise, you can leave them defenseless, allowing you to unleash devastating attacks or perform assassinations.
Methods to Stagger Enemies:
- Perfect Parries: Successfully parrying an enemy's attack at the last moment will stagger them, leaving them open for a counterattack. Repeated perfect parries can lead to a significant stagger.
- Heavy Attacks: Charged heavy attacks, particularly from the Stone Stance, are effective at breaking through enemy guards and staggering them.
- Ghost Weapons: Certain Ghost Weapons can contribute to staggering enemies. For instance, a well-placed Black Powder Bomb or Sticky Bomb can disrupt an enemy's stance. The Firecracker can also briefly stun and stagger opponents.
- Resolve and Special Attacks: Using Resolve to perform powerful special attacks, such as Hachiman's Fury (Samurai technique), can inflict significant stagger damage.
- Specific Techniques: Some combat techniques, like the Heavenly Strike (a Mythic Tale reward), are designed to deal high stagger damage.
- Weapon and Armor Upgrades: Upgrading your sword and certain armor sets can increase the stagger damage you inflict.
Exploiting Staggered Enemies:
- Follow-up Attacks: Once an enemy is staggered, immediately press the attack button (Square) to perform a quick and damaging combo.
- Assassinations: For most standard enemies, a full stagger allows for a lethal assassination.
- Resolve Recovery: Staggering enemies often grants bonus Resolve, which can be used for healing or further special attacks.
- Crowd Control: Staggering a key enemy can help you manage larger groups by temporarily removing a threat or creating an opening to reposition.
Combat Stance Effectiveness:
- The Stone Stance is particularly effective against shielded enemies, as its charged attacks can break their guard and stagger them.
- The Moon Stance can also be useful for breaking guards with its wide, sweeping attacks.
By consistently applying these methods, you can control the flow of combat, minimize damage taken, and execute satisfyingly brutal finishers on your foes.