Starter Hints and Tips: Tips And Tricks

Growth: Atsu gains health from bathing at new Hot Springs. Completing Bamboo Strikes permanently increases Spirit, up to six tabs with passive regeneration. Praying at Altars or Shrines grants Technique Points for skill trees. Clearing Wolf Dens enhances the bond with your wolf, allowing more points in Wolf skill trees. Seek out masters for new weapons and techniques, unlocking new or existing skill trees. Explore map icons for rewards like weapons, stat boosts, and charms. Finding more charms unlocks more charm slots and major charm slots.

Equipment: Finding more charms increases equipable charms and upgrades minor charm slots to major ones. Upgradeable charms progress towards their upgrade requirements even when not equipped, as long as you possess them. Resources like textiles, young bamboo, and metal are common. Precious woods and metals are rarer, found in secluded areas. Oni Raider Mask Pieces drop from Oni Raiders in Ishikari Plain, Shinobi Steel from Kitsune minions in Teshio Ridge, and Gun Parts from Saito’s elite soldiers in Oshima Coast. Flowers can be used to buy cosmetics like hats, masks, and weapon/armor dyes at Dye Houses. Keep weapons upgraded for increased damage, especially against The Oni and The Kitsune.

Exploration: Gain map and quest information by defeating random enemies or helping settlers. Some info is automatic; vague directions may yield a Traveler’s Map requiring manual placement, often solvable by aligning rivers, coastlines, or region boundaries. The Cartographer sells Traveler’s Maps at Yotei’s Shadow Inn, Huranui’s Rest Inn, Northern Ferry, Red Crane Inn, and Ishikari Market. The Golden Bird guides you to points of interest like shrines, wolf dens, hot springs, and bamboo strikes. Campfires can lead to settlements, enemy camps, or encounters with settlers, merchants, or ronin. Pick up resources like bamboo and flowers while on horseback (carry 999 of each). Trade bamboo to Ainu merchants for metals (1:1) and sell metals to other merchants for 7 mon each (vs. 3 mon for bamboo) for profit.