If you’ve spent more than a dozen hours roaming the snow-blown valleys of Ghost of Yotei, you’ve probably heard players whisper about one of the game’s most elusive legendary weapons: the ghost of yotei yari. I spent three full playthroughs tracking down every piece of the puzzle to unlock it, and I’ve put over 50 hours of combat time in with it to test every quirk, perk, and hidden trick most players never find. This guide cuts through all the misinformation floating around forums and short-form clips to give you only verified, actionable steps to get and use this spear effectively. You don’t need to beat the entire campaign first, and you won’t have to grind any absurdly rare drop rates if you follow the steps I outline below.
How to Unlock the Ghost of Yotei Yari in 3 Simple Steps
Most guides online make this process sound way more complicated than it is, because they skip over the small trigger events you have to complete first. I missed the first step twice on my initial playthroughs, so I know exactly how easy it is to overlook. You can start the unlock quest as soon as you reach the northern frozen province, right after you complete the first main story mission in that area. You don’t need a high renown level or any specific gear to start, though having a fast mount will cut down your travel time a lot.
The three steps to unlock the ghost of yotei yari are:
- Find the crumpled note in the abandoned fishing hut on the western shore of Frozen Lake, which will mark three hidden shrine locations on your map
- Complete each shrine’s trial: a stealth trial, a combat trial, and a traversal trial, all of which can be done on any difficulty level
- Return to the fishing hut at midnight in-game to fight the spectral warrior guarding the yari, then pick up the weapon from the altar after you win
A quick tip: if you fail a shrine trial, you can restart it immediately with no penalty, so don’t stress if you mess up the stealth trial the first time. I snuck past all the guards by using smoke bombs and the silent sprint perk, but you can also fight your way through if stealth isn’t your playstyle, the trial will still count as complete.
Core Perks and Unique Mechanics of the Ghost of Yotei Yari
Now that you’ve got the ghost of yotei yari, you’ll notice it feels very different from every other spear in the game. It has a longer reach than even the max-upgraded regular yari, and its unique perk set is built for players who like aggressive, mobile combat instead of turtling behind blocks. The yari’s signature passive perk is Frost Lunge, which applies a 3-second slow effect to any enemy you hit with a fully charged heavy attack. That slow stacks with other frost effects from charms or other weapons, so you can freeze enemies solid in just two hits if you build correctly.
Another hidden mechanic most players don’t find for weeks is the parry counter. If you parry an enemy’s melee attack at the exact right time, you can follow up with a special thrust attack that deals 200% damage and ignores 75% of enemy armor. That makes this weapon incredibly effective against the heavy armored samurai bosses and the icy spectral enemies that spawn in the northern end of the map. I’ve tested this against the final boss on the hardest difficulty, and that parry counter takes off almost a quarter of their health bar per hit.
It does have a small downside, though. The yari’s light attack chain is slower than other spears, so you can’t spam fast attacks to stun lock low level enemies the way you can with common spears. You’ll have to adjust your playstyle to focus on charged heavy attacks and parries instead of mindless spamming, which feels intimidating at first but becomes second nature after a couple of hours of practice.
Best Builds to Pair With the Ghost of Yotei Yari
I’ve tested over a dozen different charm and armor combinations with the ghost of yotei yari, and there are two builds that stand out as clearly superior for 90% of players. Which one you pick depends on whether you mostly play PvE or dabble in PvP duels as well.
First, the PvE frost build, which is my go-to for open world exploration and story missions. Pair the yari with the Frost Weaver armor set, which boosts frost effect duration by 40% and gives you a 15% damage buff against frozen enemies. Add three frost damage charms, one stamina regeneration charm, and you’ll be able to slow entire groups of enemies in one heavy attack, then pick them off one by one without taking any damage. I’ve used this build to clear the hardest open world bandit camps in less than two minutes, no health potions needed.
If you play a lot of PvP duels, you’ll want the parry focus build instead. Use the Wanderer’s armor set, which reduces parry timing windows by 20% (making it way easier to land those perfect parries) and gives you a 30% damage boost to counter attacks. Add two parry damage charms, one stamina charm, and one movement speed charm, and you’ll be able to melt even the most skilled duel opponents in three or four counter hits.
A quick note: don’t waste charm slots on light attack speed boosts for this yari. The light attacks are intentionally slow, and the boost you get from charms is barely noticeable, so you’re better off putting those slots toward frost damage or parry perks instead.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using the Ghost of Yotei Yari
I made almost all of these mistakes during my first 10 hours with the ghost of yotei yari, so I can tell you exactly what to skip to save yourself a lot of frustration. First, don’t try to use this yari for close quarters indoor combat. Its long reach means it will get stuck on walls and doorframes constantly, and you’ll be left wide open for enemy attacks. Keep a fast one-handed weapon in your secondary slot for indoor fights, and only pull out the yari when you’re in open outdoor spaces where you have room to swing.
Second, don’t waste the Frost Lunge perk on single low health enemies. The charged heavy attack uses a lot of stamina, so you’re better off saving it for groups of three or more enemies, or for heavy armored targets that are hard to take down with light attacks. I used to spam Frost Lunge on every enemy I saw, and I kept running out of stamina right when I needed it for a parry.
Third, don’t forget that the yari’s special counter attack works on projectile attacks too. You can parry arrows and even fire cannonballs back at enemies if you time it right, which is incredibly useful during siege missions. I found this out by accident when I tried to parry an arrow during a fort raid, and it shot right back at the archer who fired it, taking them out instantly.
The last mistake I see a lot of players make is upgrading the wrong stats first. Prioritize heavy attack damage and frost effect strength first when upgrading the yari at the blacksmith, before you put any points into light attack damage or durability. The light attack damage boost is negligible for this weapon, so you’re just wasting resources if you upgrade that first.
The ghost of yotei yari isn’t just a fancy collectible to show off in your inventory—it’s one of the most powerful, versatile weapons in the game if you take the time to learn its quirks and build around its strengths. You don’t have to be a top-tier player to get good use out of it either; even casual players can pick up the unlock steps in an afternoon and start dominating open world fights the same day. If you run into any snags during the unlock process, don’t get discouraged. I had to fight the spectral warrior three times before I beat him, and I messed up the stealth shrine trial twice. Take it slow, adjust your playstyle to match the weapon, and you’ll be tearing through enemies with it before you know it.