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Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut: How to unlock Sarugami Armor

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Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut made sure to include new Mythic Tales. Arguably one of the most interesting parts of the base game, Mythic Tales tell stories of Japanese folklore, sending Jin on epic quests to unlock legendary items. Gosaku’s Armor and Tadayori’s Armor are just two of many examples. New to Iki Island is the Sarugami Armor and The Legend of Black Hand Riku. Here’s how to unlock the Sarugami Armor in Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut.

The Tale of Black Hand Riku

Jin squares off against Black Hand Riku in the pit of darkness.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Upon arriving on Iki Island, you’ll be free to travel anywhere you’d like. Unlike areas of Tsushima that were locked by story progression, Iki Island is wide open. However, we suggest completing the main tale called Jin from Yarikawa before embarking on Mythic Tales.

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Open your Journal, tab down to Mythic Tales, and track The Legend of Black Hand Riku. Follow the Guiding Wind to the storyteller, and listen to the story of Black Hand Riku, a ruthless pirate who was overthrown by his crew. Thankfully, his cursed Sarugami armor saved his life, but the mutiny left him blind. The captain had to rely on his pet monkey to guide him to safety. Riku is starting to sound a lot like Captain Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Jin’s journey will take him to the base of Thunderhead Cliffs and down into a dark cave on the northeast coast of Iki Island. While exploring the cave, you’ll find plenty of flaming arrows and unlit braziers. Shoot the braziers to light the path and explore the cave. You’ll pick up notes along the way, presumably written by Riku himself. The notes tell of a man who’s become one with darkness, obsessing over the treasures he’s collected. Out with Captain Barbosa, in with Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.

How to beat Black Hand Riku

Jin finally comes face to face with Riku himself, claiming to have been “reborn in the darkness.” Out with Gollum, and in with Bane, we guess. Either way, Riku uses the same moves you’ve grown accustomed to in boss fights. Like most duels, you’ll be using Stone Stance to fight. Parry blue attacks and dodge away from red ones.

Be careful when you lock swords with Riku. He’ll follow up with a quick attack that can be parried if you know it’s coming. Also, look out for a whirlwind attack, and dodge backward to get out of range.

Sarugami armor stats

Stats for the Sarugami armor in Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Once defeated, Jin will claim Riku’s armor for himself. Its description reads, “Imbued with the power of a fearsome monkey spirit, pushing its owner to embrace risk and danger.” The description is an excellent nod to what the Sarugami armor does.

While wearing the Sarugami armor set, your regular parry is disabled, but your perfect parry becomes a chain of three attacks. The Sarugami armor, in a sense, buffs your perfect parries with the Heavenly Strike ability. Perfect dodges also damage nearby enemies. You’ll see a significant increase in your resolve gains, and your perfect parry/dodge window is broader.

Upgrading the Sarugami armor to level four increases resolve gains by a massive amount. It also broadens the perfect parry/dodge window even more and blinds enemies upon perfect dodges instead of damaging them.

So is the Sarugami worth it? Yes, but only if you level it up all the way. Furthermore, you have to be a skilled player to take advantage of it. Otherwise, you’re handicapping yourself. You’ll see how much you rely on normal parries once they’re stripped away from you. However, upgrading the Sarugami armor and opening that window a little more makes it easier to use.

What to pair with Sarugami Armor

Charm-wise, you’ll want to equip any charms that further increase your perfect parry window, overall defense, and resolve gains. Here are some good ones to use:

  • The Charm of Amaterasu: Killing enemies restores a moderate amount of health.
  • The Charm of Mashira’s Protection: When you heel, your perfect parry and dodge windows are extended for a limited time. Active for six seconds. (This charm is unique to Iki Island and can be upgraded by finding and completing Monkey Sanctuaries.)
  • The Charm of Broken Barriers: Breaking and enemies defense grants 15% of resolve.
  • The Charm of Unyielding II: Majorly reduces damage taken while at 50% health or less.
  • Hachiman’s Favor: Killing enemies restores a minor amount of health.

Cosmetic-wise, the Petals’ Caress headband and Mashira’s Bite sword kit match the base green color of the Sarugami Armor. You can find both of these items on Iki Island. What good is the Ghost if he isn’t looking fashionable?

Mike Colucci
Mike Colucci
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Michael Colucci is a lifelong video game fan based out of the greater Boston area. He's the one insistent on searching every…
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