Ghostwire: Tokyo Guides - Guide Hub

Last Updated: March 24, 2022 12:43 PM /

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A man in a dark cloak and a hannya mask surrounded by a neon tokyo street

Welcome to the Ghostwire: Tokyo Guides Hub. You've started your journey into the abandoned district of Tokyo and need a bit of help against the supernatural visitors. If you're looking for solid beginner tips and tricks you're in the right place.

Several faceless visitors bearing down on the camera
Alright, this is gonna be tricky.

Ghostwire: Tokyo – Beginner's Guide

If you've played through the prologue of Ghostwire: Tokyo, the game does a decent job of explaining how your magic spells and combat abilities work. But since a good chunk of these tips only pop up once, here are is a summary.

As you fight visitors you'll gain a collection of elemental spells. Wind is rapidfire and can be charged up to fire multiple homing darts. Fire launches explosive fireballs which is great for crowd control Water fires out wide waves of damage that only really work at short range like a shotgun. Eventually, you'll even gain talismans which you can use to set down traps, distractions, or even give yourself temporary cover.

If I had to give some big early tips it would be these. First, always charge your spell attacks. They might take longer but they only cost you one SP (the number of spells you can fire) the same as a regular attack. This is important because you will need to make the most out of every single attack due to your limited SP pool.

If you somehow run out of SP, you are not completely helpless either. You also have a protective shield that you can use to block incoming attacks. There's even a parry mechanic where if you block right when an attack almost hits you, you'll knock back the enemy and do some damage. Second, you do have a melee attack. The game says you use this attack to destroy distorted objects to get more SP, but this quick attack can be use on enemies as well. The damage is pitiful compared to your spells but it's better than nothing.

A fully charged arrow, aimed as a ghost with their back turned
Be vewwy quiet, I'm hunting ghosts.

In fact, this is why stealth is important in the early game. Pay attention to your screen whenever enemies are nearby. There will be visibility markers on the screen, starting at yellow and slowly turning red once they've spotted you. Stay crouched, wait, and try to break their line of sight. However, if you can sneak up on these enemies you can do a quick purge, which is basically an instant stealth takedown. It costs you nothing and will even reward you with SP.

Furthermore, if you want to lean more into stealth or long-range, you do get a bow and some arrows. If you're undetected and get a headshot with a fully charged arrow, you'll instantly and silently take down an enemy. Bear in mind, if you want to hold more arrows, you have to upgrade them through your skill menu compared to getting more SP from Jizo statues.

Finally, it is good to invest a little bit with stealth and arrow upgrades as you play. Even if you prefer being more direct, there are a few scripted sequences in the main game where you won't have access to your magic and just have a bow and stealth takedowns to rely on. Plan ahead.

A map of Tokyo with a torii gate highlighted
Get to these and cleanse them as soon as you can, it's worth it.

Ghostwire Tokyo - Tips and Tricks

As for exploration, Ghostwire: Tokyo's open-world structure is relatively straightforward. The first landmarks you should seek out are corrupted torii gates. These will usually be patrolled by enemies. Take them out then cleanse the gate. Not only will doing this cleanse the area of the deadly fog covering the city, it marks the torii gate as a fast-travel point.

In addition, cleansing torii gates marks your map with areas of interest. There are side missions, which reward magatama. Magatama are used for more advanced skill upgrades, see our Skill Guide for more info there. Furthermore, there are fortune boxes. Throw in some money and you will get a list of options. Pick one of them and you'll be given a temporary benefit. However, I highly recommend being able to find more Jizo statues if you can. Jizo statues are miniature shrines found throughout the city, and by praying to them you can increase your SP pool. If you don't want to be caught completely unarmed, look for these as soon as you can.

But the biggest items to invest in by far can be found at the cat vendors. First, stock up on cans of dog food. This is important because you will find a bunch of dogs wandering around Tokyo. Get into the habit of hitting the Read Thoughts button when looking at them and giving them some food. Worst case scenario, they dig up some money, usually more than how much you paid for the tin of dog food to begin with, but best case scenario they can lead you to areas of interest or hidden useful collectibles.

A character absorbing lost spirits into a katashiro
This gets tedious quickly, so stock up.

The second, more expensive item to invest in are katashiros. You use katashiros to absorb the spirits of people that were killed by the supernatural event that has rocked the city. You only start with ten and once you've filled those up, you cannot absorb any more spirits. You have to then track down a psyphone in the world and then deposit these spirits, which grants you XP and money. Naturally, since there are tons of lost spirits in Tokyo you do not want to keep running to a phone every twenty minutes, so buy up katashiros as soon as you can. They might cost a lot at first, but they're extremely convenient.

As for other things to look out for in the world of Ghostwire: Tokyo, here are some more tips. First, look out for food. In addition to the various food you can buy from storefronts that give you mild increases to your max help, keep an eye out for spectral food. These are usually foodstuffs that are floating or have a blue aura around them. Consuming these will grant you more health as well as an ongoing buff like "+10% spell damage" or the timing window for your parry being extended. Every little bit helps, especially if you're playing on higher difficulties. Second, if you hear the cawing of a crow while running around, look up. More often than not, you will find a tengu flying overhead. Grapple on to it and you can get up to the city's rooftops. You will want to do this since you'll find lost spirits and money here. This is great if you need to power level for the next story mission, so it's a good habit to get into.

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Hopefully our Ghostwire: Tokyo starter guide helped you - for more guides, check out the links below:

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


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| Staff Writer

Ever since he was small, Tyler Chancey has had a deep, abiding love for video games and a tendency to think and overanalyze everything he enjoyed. This… More about Tyler

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Ghostwire: Tokyo
Game Page Ghostwire: Tokyo
Developer
Tango Gameworks
Publisher
Bethesda Softworks
Platforms
PlayStation 5, PC
Release Date
March 25, 2022 (Calendar)
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