I spent three hours wandering the snowy peaks of Hokkaido last week trying to track down the last bamboo strike I was missing, and I know how frustrating it can be when you’re so close to unlocking that rare Ronin Katana skin. Bamboo strikes Ghost of Yotei challenges are one of the most rewarding side activities in the game, but they’re also easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Unlike most side content, these small, timed challenges don’t pop up on your map unless you’re within 50 meters, so even completionists often leave 2 or 3 undone on their first playthrough. I’ve run through every inch of the game’s map twice now to test all the tips in this guide, so you won’t have to waste time wandering aimlessly like I did.
What Makes Bamboo Strikes in Ghost of Yotei Worth Your Time
You might be tempted to skip these small challenges to focus on the main story, but the rewards are far more valuable than most side quest loot, even late in the game. First, 100% completion bonus requires all 16 bamboo strikes if you’re gunning for the Platinum trophy on console, but even if you don’t care about trophies, the permanent buffs are game-changing. Each completed strike gives you 150 melee XP, plus a permanent 1% boost to your attack speed that stacks with every strike you finish. That means if you complete all 16, you get a 16% attack speed buff that works for every weapon in your loadout, no extra perks needed.
On top of that, there’s a hidden exclusive reward for players who beat the par time on every strike. If you finish all strikes faster than the recommended time for each, you unlock the Swift Bamboo Katana skin, which has a unique bleeding effect on enemies that deals 5 extra damage per second for 10 seconds after each hit. I’ve tested this skin against the final boss, and it cuts fight time by almost 20% if you’re running a melee-focused build. You don’t get that kind of buff from any other side activity in the game, so it’s absolutely worth prioritizing these challenges early on.
Key Rules to Nail Every Bamboo Strike on Your First Try
Each bamboo strike has three tiers of bamboo stalks, and you have to strike them in order as they light up, with no missed hits, before the timer runs out. Most players mess up because they rush, but there are a few simple rules that make every challenge trivial, even the high-difficulty ones on the northern peaks where visibility is low. I used to fail at least 30% of strikes before I started following these rules, and now I nail 99% of them on my first attempt.
The only time you’ll run into trouble with these rules is if you’re playing with a controller that has stick drift, so I recommend calibrating your controls before you start farming these challenges if you notice your aim drifting mid-strike. Also, don’t use any attack speed perks when you’re doing these challenges. Extra attack speed makes your strikes come out faster than the game expects, and you’ll often hit a stalk before it lights up, which counts as a miss.
All Hidden Bamboo Strike Spawn Locations You Might Have Missed
Most players find the first 10 strikes easily as they follow the main story path through the southern and central regions of the map, but the last 6 are hidden in remote areas that you won’t visit unless you’re actively exploring. The three most commonly missed strikes are all in the northern Yotei peak area, where constant snowstorms hide location markers even when you’re relatively close.
First, there’s one tucked behind the abandoned hot spring on the west side of the peak, right next to a small shrine that’s half-buried in snow. You have to hike off the main trail to find it, and the marker won’t pop up until you’re right next to the hot spring fence. Second, there’s one at the bottom of the frozen waterfall on the east side, you have to climb down the ice ledges to reach it, it won’t show up on your map if you’re standing at the top. Third, there’s one inside the hidden cave that unlocks after you complete the “Lost Ronin” side quest, most players skip that quest entirely so they never find the strike inside. If you’re still missing strikes after checking these spots, turn off your map filters for side quests and collectibles. A lot of players accidentally filter out bamboo strikes from their map, so they don’t see them even when they’re standing right next to one.
Common Bamboo Strike Mistakes to Avoid
Even if you follow all the rules I listed earlier, there are a few small mistakes that even experienced players make that cost them perfect clears. The biggest one is trying to do these challenges when you have enemy aggro. If a wolf or bandit is chasing you, the game will not let you start a bamboo strike, and if you’re mid-challenge when an enemy attacks you, the challenge will reset automatically, and you’ll have to start over. I made this mistake once when I was trying to finish a strike near a bandit camp, I spent 10 minutes redoing it before I realized I should clear the camp first.
Another common mistake is using the heavy attack button instead of light attack. Heavy attacks take longer to land, so you’ll run out of time even if you hit every stalk perfectly. Only use light attacks for these challenges, they have exactly the right speed and range to hit every stalk in time. The last mistake people make is ignoring the par time to get the Swift Bamboo skin. Even if you finish all strikes, if you don’t beat the par time for each one, you won’t unlock the skin. You can check your par time for each strike in your collectibles menu, so if you missed any par times, you can go back and redo them easily. You don’t have to redo all strikes in one playthrough, you can go back to individual strikes at any time even after you finish the main story.
At the end of the day, bamboo strikes Ghost of Yotei challenges are a small but incredibly rewarding part of the game that adds a fun, skill-based break from the main story and big combat encounters. You don’t have to grind them all in one sitting, even doing 2 or 3 each time you play will add up fast, and the attack speed buff and unique katana skin will make the rest of your playthrough way easier. If you’re still stuck on a specific strike, take a 10 minute break and come back to it later, most of the time stress is the only thing holding you back from nailing it on your first try.