Ghost of Tsushima: All Straw Hat Ronin Duel Locations
The Straw Hat warriors of Ryuzo will duel you if you can find them across the lands of Tsushima. We'll show you where to find them and how to beat them.
In the aftermath of Ghost of Tsushima's first act, you'll be able to search the world to find multiple one-on-one duels with Ryuzo's Straw Hat Ronin, all of whom are willing to test themselves against the legendary Jin Sakai. We've listed all the Straw Hat Ronin duel locations below, as well as how you can defeat them.
On this page:
- All Straw Hat Ronin Duel Locations in Ghost of Tsushima
- How to Beat the Straw Hat Ronin
- Yasumasa
- Tomotsugu
- Kiyochika
- Hirotsune
- Kanatomo
- Straw Hat Ronin Duel Reward
All Straw Hat Ronin Duel Locations in Ghost of Tsushima
There are five duels with the Straw Hat Ronin in Ghost of Tsushima, followed by a secret sixth duel that unlocks after beating them all. We've laid out where to find them all below, as well as the Ronin you'll be fighting at each location. When you're there, use the golden bird to home in on the exact location, usually an open space with a banner and NPC waiting for you. All the duels are in the Toyotama region, so you'll be able to find them in Act 2.
| Duel | Ronin | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Duel in the Drowning Marsh | Yasumasa | North-West of the Drowned Man's Shore and South of Old Kanazawa Marsh, exactly where the river meets the lake. |
| Duel of Crashing Waves | Tomotsugu | On the east coast, North of Urashima's Village. Follow the Shrine Path on the peninsula just above the village to its furthest point, down at the beach where he'll be fishing. |
| Duel Under Falling Water | Kiyochika | Follow the river Southwest from Kishibe Village and it'll be at the bottom of a waterfall. |
| Duel Among the Spider Lillies | Hirotsune | North of the Field of the Equinox Flower, just South of the unnamed bridge crossing the river. On a risen plateau above the flowers. |
| Duel Under Autumn Leaves | Kanatomo | East of Yamabushi's Peak, on Toyotama's North-East coastline. There's a nub of land with a path leading down it - the duel is there. |
How to Beat the Straw Hat Ronin
Each Ronin you'll fight is similar, using swords and with a few shared attacks, but with specific moves and strengths that'll force you to adapt and learn new attack patterns. We've laid out all our best tips to defeating them below, but here's some general advice first:
- The following techniques are very helpful: Unyielding Sword Parry, Resolved Parry, and the Perfect Healing Parry. These enable you to block some unblockable attacks, and get health and resolve for doing so.
- You should always be in Stone Stance, and ideally have bought some upgrades on its skill tree.
- Whenever an enemy sheathes their sword, they're planning a big, unblockable attack which is best dodged by rolling directly backwards.
- The Sakai Clan Armor, Samurai Clan Amor, Ronin Attire and Gosaku's Armor are all solid choices going into these fights.
- It's best to go into these battles with as much resolve as possible.
Yasumasa
The ronin of the marsh favours big, sweeping attacks and utilises the occasional fast kick to try and break through your defence. It's better to dodge his attacks than block them, but his fighting style often leaves him open to counterattack. When he raises his sword above his head for an overhead strike, you can hit him with a quick attack and stop him from completing the move.
Tomotsugu
The fisherman fighter is all about agility, starting the battle with a fast, unblockable shoulder charge and even able to dodge your attacks and counter them when your guard's down. You can block his kicks, which he tends to do two-at-a-time, and when he lowers his sword, immediately roll backwards to avoid getting hit. Make the use of small, fast strikes whenever you see an opening, and be wary of his overhead strike. Like Yasumasa, it leaves him open, but it's a shorter window and he'll follow it up with two more hits if he goes through with it.
Kiyochika
Kiyochika is probably the easiest fighter, though he has a lot of health to make up for it. His attacks are big and dramatic, highly-telegraphed and rarely unblockable, though they do a lot of damage when they do land. Unyielding Sword Parry makes a big difference here, allowing you to deflect the vast majority of his attacks.
If you want all the guides you'd ever need on Ghost of Tsushima, why not check out our full Guides Hub here? Whether it's bosses, collectibles or getting the best armor and weapons, we've got everything you'll need to liberate Tsushima here.
Hirotsune
Hirotsune fights like a brute, with big, heavy attacks and charging moves, nearly always followed up by at least one more swing. His windows of counterattack are much smaller, but the stagger damage done when you do land one is much more significant, potentially giving you the chance for a powerful Heavenly Strike attack when his guard is down. Dodge directly backwards whenever he does an unblockable attack, and be careful - Hirotsune can do half a health bar of damage in one hit, even when you're wearing armor.
Kanatomo
Undoubtedly the hardest and most evil of the Straw Hats, Kanatomo has killed several people when you arrive and clearly plans on killing more. He uses flourishing, spinning attacks that are hard to read, somewhere between Moon and Water Stances. Most of his attacks lunge forward more than you think, so it's better to sidestep and strafe around him when dodging, rather than just head backwards. His rising attack is especially dangerous - when he lowers his sword, leap immediately to the side, then get ready to parry a second swing that's coming straight afterwards. He'll also do a fast, unblockable kick which damages and punches through your defence. Perhaps his biggest weakness is the sheathed-sword-strike that all the Ronin know, which is relatively easy to dodge and opens him up for a counterattack.
Straw Hat Ronin Duel Reward
The final reward isn't something you'll get just yet, as defeating all the Straw Hat Ronin will unlock a Mythic Tale where you'll be able to battle their leader, the deadly Kojiro. We've laid out how to find and defeat Kojiro here, as well as the very special reward you'll get for doing so.
Hats off to you for conquering the five ronin. Why not celebrate with some quality Ghost of Tsushima content from USG? Mike's review of the game can be found here, or check out one of the game's cutest hidden features right here.