I rolled credits on my first Ghost of Yotei run last Tuesday, and immediately started digging through menu options to find the next thing to dive into. Like most players who fall in love with Sucker Punch's feudal Japan open world, I didn't want the experience to end, and new game plus Ghost of Yotei was the exact continuation I was looking for. I made a ton of mistakes my first few hours in NG+ though, from wasting rare resources on low-tier upgrades to missing exclusive gear that's available right at the start, so I put together this guide to help you avoid the same headaches.
How to Unlock New Game Plus Ghost of Yotei
Plenty of players hit the end of the main story and assume they need to 100% every collectible and side quest to unlock NG+, but that's not the case at all. The only hard requirement is completing the final main story mission, "Eclipse of the Wolf", regardless of what difficulty you played on or how much side content you've wrapped up. Once you finish that mission and sit through the post-credits scene, you'll get a pop-up notification letting you know NG+ is now available from the main menu.
You don't have to finish any side content to unlock the mode, but there are a few things I recommend wrapping up before you start your second run if you want the smoothest experience possible. For example, if you've been working on unlocking the rare gold tachi weapon, finish that quest first, because you'll be able to carry it over to NG+ and use it from the very start. You also don't have to worry about losing any of your current save file, because NG+ creates an entirely separate save slot so you can go back to your first run any time you want.
One common mistake I see players make is starting NG+ before they've adjusted their gear and resource loadouts. Take 10 minutes before you start your run to sell any low-tier weapons and armor you don't use, and stock up on healing items and upgrade materials you know you'll need early on. It'll save you a ton of running around later.
Exclusive Content You Only Get in NG+ Runs
The best part about jumping into a second run is all the exclusive content you can't access anywhere else in the game. Sucker Punch didn't just make enemies harder and call it a day—they added a ton of unique gear, challenges, and story beats that reward players for coming back. Most of this content is available within the first hour of your NG+ run, so you don't have to wait 10 hours to get to the good stuff.
Here's a breakdown of all the exclusive NG+ content you can unlock:
- Spirit of Yotei difficulty: The hardest difficulty available in the game, with 2.5x enemy damage, no parry or dodge prompts, and smarter enemy AI that will flank you and adapt to your playstyle. Beating the game on this difficulty unlocks a unique horse skin and character title.
- Shadow Samurai Armor set: This exclusive armor set has a 30% ninjutsu cooldown reduction, 20% extra damage for stealth takedowns, and a custom black smoke effect that triggers every time you land a perfect parry. You can pick it up from the first shrine you visit right after the opening cutscene.
- Enhanced world boss fights: Every open world side boss (including the famous Tengu of the Northern Peaks) has an enhanced NG+ version with new attack patterns and unique drop materials you can't get anywhere else.
The Shadow Samurai Armor is entirely exclusive to NG+, so even if you 100% your first run, you'll never get access to it unless you start a second playthrough. I also found that the enhanced boss fights are way more fun than the first run versions, because they force you to mix up your playstyle instead of relying on the same parry combo you used for every fight in your first run.
You can also unlock exclusive new side quests that fill in gaps from the main story, including a three-part quest that explains what happened to the main character's younger brother after the events of the final mission. These quests don't affect the main story ending, but they add a ton of extra lore for fans who want to dig deeper into the world of Yotei.
What Carries Over (and What Doesn't) to Your Second Run
One of the most common questions I see from players getting ready to start NG+ is what progress they get to keep from their first run. The good news is most of your hard-earned gear and collectibles will carry over, so you don't have to re-do 40 hours of collecting just to get back to where you were. There are a few exceptions though, so it's good to know what to expect before you start.
All of your unlocked skills, weapons, armor, and non-story related resources carry over 100% of the time. That means all the upgrade materials, gold, herbs, and ammo you collected in your first run will be available right from the start of your NG+ run. All of your unlocked fast travel points also carry over, so you don't have to hike across the entire map to get to your favorite spots. Your collectible progress for myth scrolls, animal sanctuaries, and hot springs also carries over, so you can finish up any missing collectibles in your second run without starting over.
The main things that don't carry over are story-specific key items, completed side quest progress, and camp placement unlocks. That means you'll have to re-do side quests if you want to get their rewards again, but since most side quest rewards are gear you already have, that's not usually a big deal. Story key items like clan seals and mission-specific tools are reset, but that's only to make sure the main story makes sense as you play through it again.
So you don't have to worry about losing the 30 hours you spent collecting every myth scroll, or the fully upgraded tachi you spent weeks grinding materials for. But if you were planning on using a story-specific key item to skip part of the early game, you won't be able to do that. I was annoyed about that at first, but it makes sense for the story flow, and it only takes an hour or two to get back to the point where you have all your key tools again.
Pro Tips to Make Your NG+ Run More Enjoyable
After putting 25 hours into my own NG+ run, I picked up a few tricks that made the experience way smoother, and saved me from making the same mistakes I saw other players make online. These tips work whether you're playing on the easiest difficulty for a casual power trip, or jumping straight into the Spirit of Yotei difficulty for a challenge.
Grab the Shadow Samurai Armor as soon as you finish the opening cutscene. It's sitting right next to the first shrine you visit, and it only takes 30 seconds to pick up. The stealth bonuses make the early game stealth sections trivial, and the cooldown reduction for ninjutsu makes even the hardest early bosses way easier to beat. I skipped this my first run and spent three hours struggling against the first main boss, so trust me on this one.
If you're playing on the higher difficulty settings, prioritize upgrading your parry and dodge skills first before you spend points on any attack upgrades. Even with fully upgraded weapons, enemies will take a lot more hits to kill in NG+, so being able to avoid damage and land perfect parries is way more important than dealing extra damage per hit. The perfect parry window is actually 15% wider in NG+ higher difficulties to make up for the lack of parry prompts, so take advantage of that and practice early on.
You don't have to play through every side quest again if you don't want to. Unless you're going for the 100% NG+ completion achievement, you can stick just to the main story and the enhanced world boss fights to get all the exclusive NG+ content. You can also skip every cutscene you've already seen by holding down the skip button, which saves you roughly two hours of total playtime across the whole run.
Another small tip I picked up: if you're struggling with a specific boss, you can adjust the difficulty at any time from the menu, and it won't lock you out of any NG+ exclusive rewards. I was stuck on the enhanced Tengu boss for an hour, so I dropped the difficulty down for that one fight, then turned it back up immediately after. There's no shame in adjusting the game to fit your skill level, especially when the only reward for beating a hard boss on max difficulty is a tiny bit of extra gold.
If you're on the fence about starting a second playthrough, new game plus Ghost of Yotei is absolutely worth your time, especially if you loved your first run through the game. It adds just enough new content to feel fresh, while letting you use all the powerful gear and skills you spent hours unlocking in your first run. You don't have to be a completionist to enjoy it, and even if you only play through the main story again, you'll get access to some of the best gear and lore content in the entire game. Just don't forget to grab that Shadow Samurai Armor first thing.