If you’ve spent even a few hours roaming the snowy feudal Japanese landscapes of Ghost of Yotei, you know that picking the right loadout makes all the difference between clearing a bandit camp without being spotted and getting swarmed by 10 armored ronin at once. The weapons in Ghost of Yotei aren’t just reskinned tools with different damage numbers either—each comes with unique perks, move sets, and lore ties that fit specific playstyles, even if you’re the type who prefers to avoid fighting entirely. I’ve put 70+ hours into the game, tested every weapon you can unlock both in stealth and open combat, and pulled together all the details you need to pick the perfect tools for your run.
Core Types of Weapons in Ghost of Yotei, Explained
All weapons fall into four core categories, each built for specific use cases. You can carry one primary and two secondary weapons at any time, so you don’t have to lock yourself into a single playstyle for the whole game. Katana (primary melee) is the default weapon for most of the early game, balanced for speed, damage, and parry windows, making it a safe pick for any scenario. Yumi Bow (primary ranged) lets you take out enemies from a distance, with different arrow types for stealth takedowns, armor piercing, or area of effect damage.
Secondary weapons are where you can customize your loadout to fit your preferences. Tanto (secondary stealth) is designed for instant silent takedowns, with upgraded versions letting you take down enemies from the front or from slightly further away without alerting nearby guards. Ono (heavy melee secondary) deals massive damage to armored enemies and breaks shields in one or two hits, but has a very slow swing speed that leaves you open to counterattacks if you mistime your moves. Most weapons in Ghost of Yotei can be upgraded up to level 5, with each level boosting base damage by 15% and unlocking an extra perk slot if you haven’t filled them all already.
Every weapon you find falls into one of four rarity tiers, which dictate how many upgrade slots and unique perks they have:
- Common (gray): Basic starter weapons, no unique perks, only 1 upgrade slot. You’ll replace these within the first two hours of gameplay, no exceptions.
- Uncommon (green): One unique perk, two upgrade slots. Solid options for early to mid-game if you find one that fits your playstyle.
- Rare (purple): Two unique perks, three upgrade slots. These are the sweet spot for most of the mid-game, and some rare weapons are good enough to keep through the endgame if you upgrade them fully.
- Legendary (gold): Three unique, non-removable perks, four upgrade slots. These are the best weapons in the game, tied to specific side quests or boss fights, so don’t skip side content if you want to unlock them all.
Top Weapons for Stealth Playstyles
If you prefer to sneak past guards or take out entire camps without being detected, you’ll want to prioritize weapons that minimize noise and boost your takedown range, rather than raw damage. The Shadow Stitch Tanto is the best legendary option for stealth players, with a unique perk that lets you perform silent takedowns from up to 2 meters away, even if the guard is facing your general direction. That means you don’t have to wait for a guard to turn their back completely to take them out, which saves a lot of time when you’re clearing tightly packed camps.
For your ranged weapon, the Hollow Reed Yumi is an underrated uncommon pick that I used for almost 30 hours before I found a legendary equivalent. Its unique perk makes all arrow shots completely silent, even if you miss, so you don’t alert the whole camp if you botch a headshot on a guard patrolling near a cliff. It only has two upgrade slots, but if you add a damage boost perk to it, it’s still powerful enough to one-shot most regular guards with a headshot all the way through the endgame.
You don’t need a heavy melee weapon for a stealth build, but if you want a backup for when you get caught, the Silent Step Katana (rare) has a perk that makes your footsteps 25% quieter when you have it drawn, so you can slip away from guards even if they’ve already spotted you for a split second. Just don’t waste your upgrade materials on it unless you find it early on—it’s not worth replacing a higher rarity katana for the quiet step perk alone.
Top Weapons for Aggressive Open Combat
If you’re the type who runs straight into a camp waving your sword instead of sneaking around, you’ll want weapons that boost your damage output and help you handle groups of enemies at once. The Blossom Dance Katana is the best legendary primary for aggressive play, with a unique perk that gives you a 10% damage boost for every consecutive hit you land, stacking up to 5 times. Once you get the full stack, you can take out regular unarmored enemies in one hit, and even armored ronin go down in 2 or 3 strikes.
For a secondary heavy weapon, the Iron Ogre Ono is unbeatable for dealing with shielded or heavily armored enemies. It breaks any standard shield in one hit, and deals 30% extra damage to armored targets, but it’s very slow so you have to time your swings carefully. Don’t use it against fast, unarmored enemies like ninja, because you’ll get hit 2 or 3 times before you can land a single swing. I like to keep it in my secondary slot just for shielded enemies, and swap back to my katana for everyone else.
The Thunder Strike Yumi is the best ranged option for aggressive play, with explosive arrows that stun groups of enemies for 3 seconds on impact. I usually fire one shot into the middle of a group of guards before I run in, so half of them are stunned and I can take them out quickly before they can attack me. The only downside is that the explosive arrows are pretty rare, so don’t waste them on single low-level guards.
How to Upgrade and Customize Your Weapons Effectively
One of the biggest mistakes new players make is wasting rare upgrade materials on common or low-level uncommon weapons. Only upgrade rare or higher rarity weapons, because you can’t transfer upgrades between weapons, and you’ll find better options within a few hours of gameplay anyway. I made this mistake early on, upgrading my starting common katana to level 3, and then had to grind for 2 hours to get enough materials to upgrade a rare katana I found in a side quest chest.
All non-unique perks on weapons are swappable, so if you find a rare weapon with one great unique perk, you can replace the other perks with ones that fit your playstyle. For example, if you have a rare katana with a parry reset perk as its unique bonus, you can add a 20% damage boost perk and a 15% faster swing speed perk to the other slots to make it perfect for aggressive combat.
Weapon affinity is a hidden mechanic that a lot of players miss. If you use the same weapon for 10+ consecutive kills, you get a permanent 5% damage boost to that weapon, which stacks with all other perks. It’s worth sticking to one or two main weapons instead of switching every time you find a new one, so you can build up that affinity bonus early. Special forges in hidden mountain villages can also add unique elemental perks to your weapons, like fire damage that burns enemies over time, or frost damage that slows them down. Just note that elemental perks don’t work on all enemies—if you’re fighting fire oni, a fire weapon will heal them instead of dealing damage, so keep a non-elemental backup handy.
At the end of the day, there’s no single “best” loadout—what works for you depends entirely on how you like to play the game. The weapons in Ghost of Yotei are designed to reward experimentation, so don’t be afraid to test out a weird rare weapon you find in a hidden chest, even if it doesn’t fit your usual playstyle. You might end up finding a new favorite tool that changes how you approach every camp and boss fight for the rest of your run.