How to Defeat Ryuzo in Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is not a newly released game, but for PC players, it is a new experience as the PC port of the game hasn’t yet been released. Released as an exclusive PlayStation game, this action-adventure game created a massive fanbase worldwide. To expand the fanbase further, developers are releasing the PC port on May 16th, 2014. No matter the platform, every action-adventure game features numerous challenging bosses and Ghost of Tsushima is not an exception. This game has a bunch of challenging bosses and Ryuzo is among them.

The characterization of the game is fictional, but players often notice some references to real historical events, as the game took inspiration from the Mongolian invasion of Japan. The story goes through different twists and turns and the Ryuzo boss fight comes in a turn of the story. If you are not finding any way to deal with the boss, go through the guide for all the required information. Before we dive into the boss fight, let’s check some background to understand the context of the fight, as well as the location.

Background for Ryuzo Fight in Ghost of Tsushima- How to Meet Him?

As you start progressing through the main story of the game, eventually, players will encounter Ryuzo twice. During the first encounter, players will defeat him, but he will escape with the help of Mongol reinforcements. If you are regretting to lose the opportunity of killing the boss, don’t worry, again, he will come to fight you at Castle Shimura.

None of these fights are going to be a deal for the players as the boss has a great defense which is hard to break through. Therefore, these fights will be long and test your patience to a great extent. Additionally, players need to be conscious about the attacks as Ryuzo has unpredictable attacks which will catch players off guard if they are not careful. We will discuss both Ryuzo fights in detail, so players can’t find any of them problematic.

First Ryuzo Boss Fight

During your first encounter with the boss, players may get confused about the attacks and defense strategies as the boss starts using a fast and unpredictable fighting strategy. If sometimes the boss switches to slow attacks, they are deadly as the attack animation takes a long time, which makes them impossible to dodge. Anyway, no matter whether he is using a fast or a slow attack, he will launch unpredictable attacks which are even sometimes unblockable.

 Among these unblockable attacks, he uses a sword attack where he lowers the sword to prepare an unblockable sword attack. Another unblockable attack is his stealth sword attack which is followed by a single blockable strike. To deal with these attacks, players must have unlocked the Perfect Parry and Unyielding Sword Parry abilities. These abilities help them parry some of the unblockable attacks. 

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Focus on your defense. Try to equip Samurai Clan Armor to get a defense and health boost for the fight. Along with that, players need to stick to Stone Stance to increase the odds of defeating Ryuzo. Additionally, no matter how well you fight, a few boss attacks will still deal some damage. So, ensure to stock up on as much resolve as possible to heal your character. Parrying his attacks will lower the defense of the boss, giving you some chances to hit him.

We have already mentioned that this fight is not the end. So, players can’t kill Ryuzo even after they weaken him. The boss will escape the fight, and again appear for another fight a few missions later in Act 2.

Final Ryuzo Boss Fight

The second and final encounter will take place at Castle Shimura at the end of the second chapter. The circumstances will be different this time, but not the challenges. The fight will become more challenging because the boss has prepared more and becomes faster than the previous time. Therefore, parrying and dodging his attacks become a lot more challenging this time.

Well, his moves are still unpredictable. So, don’t forget to watch out for his attacks. His attacks that you have seen during the previous fight will be the same in this fight. Therefore, apply the same strategies as you have done during the previous fight. Among his new attacks, the multi-swing combo is the deadliest one. In this attack, the boss moves fast. Fortunately, this is a blockable attack, but if the timing is not right, and you get the hit, you will get massive damage.

Another attack of the boss that should be dodged is the Stone Stance heavy stab attack. If this attack hits, it will break the defense of the players. However, this attack can also be parried. Master the parrying ability or you will be eliminated if the timing isn’t right. 

Coming to the attacking part, the boss is vulnerable to stagger attacks. That’s the biggest weakness of the boss that players need to take advantage of. You must have unlocked the Dance of Wrath ability. Use it without any second thought on Ryuzo to make him defenseless with a single hit. Quickly follow up with another attack to deal the maximum damage possible. 

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The fight will take some time and effort. However, don’t get overwhelmed by the power of the boss. Stay calm and focus on your defense from the beginning of the combat. That’s the key to dealing with Ryuzo. Additionally, never go close to him. Instead, try to keep a safe distance between your character and the boss. So, you never come within his attack range. Also, standing at a distance helps you parry attacks more effectively. 

The battle arena is not a massive one. So, indeed players sometimes feel the place doesn’t have enough space to keep distance. Still, always try to be away from the boss. Otherwise, the battle will probably take a few rematches to be completed.

That’s everything players need to know about the Ryuzo fight in Ghost of Tsushima. This battle, unfortunately, has no rewards to offer, as it will be done as part of a main story mission. Completing the entire mission will unlock the Ghost Armor.