Legends is the free online co-op mode that Sucker Punch added to Ghost of Tsushima on October 16, 2020, with four classes and missions drawn from Japanese folklore. Anyone who owns the game can download it at no extra cost, it was also sold on its own on PlayStation for $19.99, and as of November 2026 it is still running with cross-play between PlayStation and PC. Do not confuse it with the Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime from Crunchyroll, which is a separate project that has now slipped to 2028.
We checked this against the PlayStation Blog posts for the Legends launch and the Rivals update, the official PlayStation and Nixxes game pages, Crunchyroll's October 2026 announcement and the Ghost of Tsushima Fandom wiki in November 2026.
What Legends Is and How You Get Into It
Legends arrived in version 1.1, the same free update that added New Game+ to the single-player campaign. The premise is a storyteller's version of events: Gyozen the Storyteller, who you meet in towns across the island, retells the war as a myth in which four resurrected warriors fight both the Mongols and the Oni. Instead of playing as Jin Sakai, you build your own character from one of four classes and play through the mode from Gyozen's lobby.
Access depends on what you own and where you play:
- Owners of the base game on PS4: Legends is a free unlock from the PlayStation Store. The original announcement said you download a free unlock and then talk to Gyozen to start.
- Director's Cut owners: the PlayStation listing names "Legends online co-op mode" as part of the package on both PS4 and PS5.
- Players who only want the co-op: Sony began selling Legends as a standalone purchase on September 3, 2021, priced at $19.99 on PS4 or PS5. The standalone version leaves out a few cosmetics that only unlock through the campaign.
- PC players: the Director's Cut on Steam and the Epic Games Store includes Legends, but it is the one part of the PC release that needs a linked PlayStation account. Our Ghost of Tsushima PC guide explains that requirement in detail.
On PlayStation, online play needs a PlayStation Plus membership. The Fandom wiki notes that you can still run Legends solo without one, but most of the content is designed around a full team.
The Four Classes and What Each One Brings
Every class has a unique ultimate ability, a skill tree, and gear that only fits that role. The official Legends page describes them like this, and the descriptions match how they play in practice:
- Samurai: the front-line fighter. It sustains its own health while it fights, and its ultimate is Hachiman's Fury. The Samurai's look borrows heavily from the Samurai Clan Armor that Jin wears in the campaign.
- Hunter: the ranged damage dealer, built around the bow and explosive arrows. Its ultimate is Eye of Uchitsune.
- Ronin: the support class. The Ronin can summon a spirit dog to fight alongside the team, and its ultimate, Breath of Izanami, can revive the team.
- Assassin: the stealth class, built on teleports. Its ultimate is Shadow Strike.
You do not get all four at the start. The 2020 launch post explains that you unlock the next class by ranking up, and players can mix classes freely in a squad, so there is no requirement to bring one of each. That said, a team revive is the kind of safety net that matters most on difficulties where a single death ends the run, which is why many groups like to have a Ronin along for the harder content described below.
The Modes: Story, Survival, the Raid and Rivals
Legends has grown since launch. At release it offered two-player Story missions and four-player Survival, with a raid promised for the following weeks. The Tale of Iyo raid then went live in patch 1.14 on October 30, 2020, and Rivals followed on September 3, 2021.
- Story: two players work through multi-chapter tales drawn from Japanese mythology. The wiki lists arcs such as Severed Hearts, The Curse of the Onibaba and The Fire Spirits of Yarikawa, each split into three chapters.
- Survival: four players defend three zones on a map against waves of enemies, with a boss wave every third wave.
- Raid: The Tale of Iyo is a three-part adventure for a team of four, and finishing all three chapters earns the Transcendence trophy.
- Rivals: two teams of two race through waves of enemies. Each kill earns Magatama, which you spend on Curses, Shades or Hwacha fire to slow the other team. Spend enough and you unlock the Final Stand waves; the first team to clear them wins.
Missions run on graded difficulties. The higher the grade, the better the gear that can drop, but the margin for error shrinks quickly.
| Difficulty | Continues | Minimum gear level | Recommended gear level | Best gear reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | Unlimited | 0 | 5 | 35 |
| Silver | 3 | 25 | 35 | 80 |
| Gold | 2, any death fails | 75 | 85 | 105 |
| Nightmare (weekly) | 0, any death fails | 90 | 100 | 110 |
Survival follows a similar ladder, and a Platinum Survival tier was added later, in patch 2.15. Nightmare is the weekly challenge difficulty, and it is where the best drops come from.
Gear, Ki and the Road to Level 120
Your power in Legends is measured by Ki, a gear level averaged from everything you have equipped. Each piece rolls with perks, so two items of the same level can play very differently. Resources such as Honor, Essence and Blessing are used to buy skills, reshuffle daily challenges and reforge gear, according to the official Legends page.
The ceiling moved once. When Rivals launched, Sucker Punch introduced Gear Mastery: if you have gear at level 110, you can bind it to a class and complete Mastery Challenges to raise its Ki to 120 and eventually open a second perk slot. Mastery also unlocks a new ability and new techniques for each class. Because a bound item belongs to one class, it pays to bind only pieces whose perks suit the role you actually play.
A sensible progression path looks like this:
- Clear the Story arcs on Bronze to unlock the classes and learn the maps.
- Move to Silver once your gear sits around the recommended level, and start replaying the arcs that drop pieces for your main class.
- Push to Gold Story and Gold Survival with a party, since any death on Gold fails the run.
- Join the weekly Nightmare challenges and the Tale of Iyo for Ki 110 drops, then bind your favorite set and grind Mastery toward 120.
Skill from the campaign carries over more than you might expect. Blocking, parrying and dodging work the same way, so if Gold enemies are shredding you, our guide to parrying in Ghost of Tsushima is worth reading before you blame your gear.
Playing Legends on PC and Across Platforms in 2026
The PC release added a new pool of players. Nixxes lists cross-play that lets Windows players team up with PS4 and PS5 players in Legends, with in-game voice chat, and the Ghost of Tsushima wiki's patch history records that matchmaking between PC and consoles was switched on shortly after patch 2.24 in July 2024. Progress also carried between PS4 and PS5 since the 2021 update, so a console player who upgraded never lost their character.
On PC, Legends requires a PlayStation account. The Steam page lists the PlayStation Network as a third-party account requirement for online multiplayer and the overlay, and it supports linking that account to Steam. The single-player campaign does not need one. If you are deciding between platforms or editions, our Director's Cut guide lays out what each version includes.
If public matchmaking is slow for the content you want, use the Fill Party options added in patch 1.18. They let you search for players with specific goals, or only players with microphones, for Gold and Nightmare Survival, Nightmare Story missions and all three Raid chapters.
Not to Be Confused: The Anime and the Sequel's Legends
Search results for this name now mix three different things, so here is how to tell them apart.
- The game mode: what this page covers, the co-op mode inside Ghost of Tsushima, live since October 2020.
- The anime: Crunchyroll and Sony announced a Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime series in January 2025, adapting this co-op mode. It is directed by Takanobu Mizuno at Kamikaze Douga, with Gen Urobuchi on series composition. It was first set for 2027, but at New York Comic Con on October 9, 2026, Crunchyroll said it will now be released in 2028, and it will stream exclusively on Crunchyroll. Mayumi Saco, who voiced Tomoe in the game, joined the cast.
- Ghost of Yotei Legends: the 2025 sequel has its own Legends mode, a separate free update that the PlayStation Blog dated to March 10, 2026 on PS5, with different classes (Samurai, Archer, Mercenary and Shinobi). Progress and gear do not carry between the two games.
If you came here from the anime news, there is nothing to watch yet. If you came for the sequel's co-op, it is a different game with its own matchmaking.
Starting With a Stacked Legends Profile
The gear grind is the part of Legends that eats the most hours. If you would rather spend that time in Nightmare runs than farming drops, the store's Ghost of Tsushima page lists modded save services for PS4 and PS5. Its post-tutorial modded save includes a Legends section with more than 280 Legendary and Epic gear pieces at level 110 to 120, all Legends content unlocked, all character cosmetics, sword kits including the Hidden Heart kit, emotes, max resources and max Purification tokens for each gear class.
It is applied to your own PlayStation profile, you need to own the game already, and delivery works by submitting your account handover details at checkout so the save can be transferred. It is a PlayStation product only, so it does not apply to the PC version.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Legends free?
Yes, for anyone who owns Ghost of Tsushima or the Director's Cut. It was also sold standalone on PlayStation for $19.99, and online play on PlayStation needs PlayStation Plus.
Can you play Legends solo?
You can start it alone, and the Fandom wiki says solo play does not need PlayStation Plus, but Survival, the Raid and Rivals are built for teams of two to four.
Does Legends have cross-play with PC?
Yes. Nixxes lists cross-play between Windows PC and PS4 and PS5 players in Legends, but PC players must link a PlayStation account.
What is the max gear level in Legends?
Drops top out at 110, and Gear Mastery lets you raise bound gear to Ki 120 through class Mastery Challenges.
When does the Legends anime come out?
Crunchyroll announced on October 9, 2026 that the anime will now release in 2028, after first targeting 2027. No exact date has been given.
Do Legends trophies count toward the Platinum?
No. The PlayStation Blog confirmed that Legends trophies sit in a separate section and do not count toward the main game's Platinum.