The best charms in Ghost of Yotei are the Charm of Mount Yotei, Father's Charm and the Charm of Futsunushi for survival, the Charm of Onryo's Protection and the Charm of Hachiman for aggressive melee, and Mother's Charm or the Charm of Raining Arrows if you lean on the bow. Most of them come from shrines, puzzles and early vendors rather than from the end of the story, so you can build a strong loadout in the first two regions. Here is what each one does, where it comes from and how to combine them.
We checked effects and locations against Game8's best charms list, Allthings.how's charm guide, PowerPyx's Nine Tails puzzle box guide and the PlayStation Blog's posts on patch 1.100 and the Complete Edition in November 2026.
How Charm Slots and Upgrades Work
Charms come in two sizes. Major charms carry the bigger effects and only fit in Major slots, while Minor charms fit anywhere. Allthings.how says you start with two Major slots and four Minor slots, and that once you have collected 15 charms in total the Minor slots convert to Major ones, allowing up to six Major effects at once. Game8's guide describes the early game more cautiously, with slots opening up as you find charms, so expect a few hours before your loadout is complete.
Several charms level up through activity rather than through a vendor. Father's Charm improves as you complete Sumi-e paintings, Mother's Charm improves as you learn Shamisen Songs, and the Charm of Mount Yotei grows stronger with every Mountain Reliquary puzzle you solve. Allthings.how adds an important detail: most upgradeable charms will not progress while they sit in your inventory, so equip the one you are working on before you go collecting.
- Collect charms early: hitting 15 total is what unlocks the full six Major slots.
- Equip an upgradeable charm before doing its matching activity.
- Patch 1.100 added 10 new charms sold for Ghost Flowers, so New Game Plus has its own charm hunt.
The Defensive Core: Mount Yotei, Father and Futsunushi
If you only take three charms from this list, take these. Game8 ranks the Charm of Mount Yotei first. It reduces all damage taken, and from its third level it also restores health after a perfect parry, with the amount rising to major at level five. You earn it by solving the Reliquary of Courage, turning all four statues toward Mount Yotei, and you upgrade it by solving the other Mountain Reliquaries. Our collectibles guide covers where all five reliquaries sit.
Father's Charm, a Major defense charm found at the end of a path in the Mount Yotei Shrine, makes perfect parries restore health. Game8 points out that, paired with the Charm of Mount Yotei, a perfect parry can heal about as well as spending Spirit on a regular heal. The Charm of Futsunushi, found at the Faithful Leap Shrine in Tokachi Range, makes parries, perfect parries and perfect dodges easier to perform. That last one matters more than it sounds, because so much of Ghost of Yotei's best gear, including the Bounty Master Armor in our armor rankings, assumes you can land perfect parries reliably.
Together these three turn defense into offense. Every perfect parry heals you twice over and opens the enemy for a counter, which is why this trio shows up in almost every recommended build.
Best Charms for Aggressive Melee
The Charm of Onryo's Protection, bought from Taro the Scavenger, changes how kill streaks work. Normally taking damage resets your streak, but with this charm a hit only reduces it by two. Kill streaks power Onryo's Howl and Ghost Stance, so this is the charm that keeps those techniques available during messy fights in enemy strongholds.
The Charm of Hachiman, earned as you progress through The Oni, raises your maximum standoff streak by one, and after a successful standoff one more enemy rushes in and opens himself to a killing blow. Game8 estimates you can cut down four or five enemies in a single standoff once your standoff skills are upgraded. It is the best opener for camps where you are not trying to stay hidden.
Takezo's Charm of Bold Deflection is the duelist's pick. It is a Minor defense charm earned by defeating the third disciple at a Dueling Tree, and it makes parrying inflict additional stagger damage, rising from minor to major across its three levels. It fits neatly in a Minor slot next to the Major defensive core.
- Onryo's Protection: keeps kill streaks alive through hits.
- Hachiman: longer standoff chains.
- Takezo's Bold Deflection: parries break guards faster.
Best Charms for Bows and Firearms
Mother's Charm sits beside Father's Charm in the Mount Yotei Shrine and raises arrow damage. It upgrades as you find Shamisen Songs, so it grows naturally if you explore. The Charm of Raining Arrows, the reward for the side tale Secrets of the Heart in Teshio Ridge, makes the hankyu fire rapidly with automatic aim and moderately more damage, at the cost of headshots. Game8 recommends it for hit and run fighting from horseback.
For the rifle, the Charm of the Prepared, from praying at the Blushing Forest Fox Den, lets the tanegashima reload while it is stowed. That removes the rifle's biggest weakness and lets you open a fight with a heavy shot, swap to a blade, and have the next shot ready when you switch back. Our weapon rankings explain why the tanegashima otherwise sits near the bottom of most tier lists.
Utility Charms and Safety Nets
Some of the most useful charms are cheap. Taro the Scavenger sells the Charm of Last Chance for 150 coins, which triggers your heal automatically when you take lethal damage, and the Charm of Healing for 300 coins, which boosts heal potency below half health. Both are worth buying the first time you meet him, especially on higher difficulties.
Spirit charms keep your techniques running. The Charm of Assassin's Resolve, from the Flowing Water Fox Den, makes assassinations grant extra Spirit, and the Charm of Enduring Resolve, from the Twin Path Fox Den, gives Spirit abilities a chance to refund a point. Toku's Charm of Blessings raises all Spirit earned. For resource farming, Allthings.how highlights the Kanayago charm from the Fall's Rest Shrine, which increases metal and black powder drops, and the Charm of Bountiful Harvest for wood, flowers and plants.
Puzzles hand out charms too. The first Nine Tails puzzle box you open always rewards the Charm of the Wary Opponent, and the sixth gives the Charm of Drunken Adversary, according to PowerPyx; our puzzle box guide has every location and solution. Owners of the Complete Edition also receive the Charm of Hokkyokusei, which the PlayStation Blog lists among the edition's contents.
Three Charm Loadouts That Work
Once your six Major slots are open, these combinations cover most of the game. Treat them as starting points and swap one charm for the situation in front of you.
- Parry tank: Mount Yotei, Father's Charm, Futsunushi, Onryo's Protection, Hachiman and Takezo's Bold Deflection. Every perfect parry heals and staggers, and kill streaks survive mistakes.
- Silent hunter: Assassin's Resolve, Enduring Resolve, Mount Yotei, Futsunushi, Last Chance and a stealth charm such as Wolf Stalking from Masujiro the Melodious, which can summon the wolf for an extra assassination.
- Archer and gunner: Mother's Charm, Raining Arrows, the Prepared, Mount Yotei, Father's Charm and Last Chance, for players who fight from range and only parry when something reaches them.
A few mistakes come up again and again with charms. The first is leaving an upgradeable charm in the inventory while doing the activity that should level it, which wastes progress you then have to repeat. The second is stacking three charms that all trigger on the same thing, such as several assassination bonuses, and then fighting a battle where you never get to assassinate anyone. The third is ignoring the cheap vendor charms: at 150 coins, Last Chance is one of the cheapest safety nets in Ezo, and on Hard or Lethal it can matter more than a flashy Major charm. Finally, remember that loadouts can store whole setups, so it costs nothing to keep a stealth loadout and a brawling loadout ready and switch between them before you attack a camp.
Most of these charms come from shrines, fox dens and side tales spread across Ezo, so our quest list by region is useful for planning a route that collects several in one trip.
If You Would Rather Not Hunt Every Charm
Tracking down every shrine climb, fox den and reliquary is a long checklist. If you want to experiment with loadouts right away, the store's Story Mode modded save lists all charms, all armor, all weapons, all masks and all hats, with Story Mode fully completed and infinite money, ammo and crafting materials so you can upgrade without farming.
The page is clear about its limits: it is a PlayStation 5 save, you must already own the game, PlayStation Plus is required on the same account being modded, and it covers single-player Story Mode only, with Legends and the Most Wanted DLC sold separately. Those other saves are listed on the Ghost of Yotei hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best charm in Ghost of Yotei?
Game8 ranks the Charm of Mount Yotei first because it reduces all damage taken and, once upgraded, heals you after a perfect parry. It is earned from the Mountain Reliquary puzzles.
How do you unlock more charm slots in Ghost of Yotei?
Collect more charms. Allthings.how reports that reaching 15 charms converts your Minor slots into Major ones, giving you six Major slots in total.
Where is Father's Charm in Ghost of Yotei?
At the Mount Yotei Shrine in Yotei Grasslands, at the end of the shrine path. Mother's Charm is found at the same shrine.
How do you get Takezo's charms in Ghost of Yotei?
Takezo's Charm of Bold Deflection comes from beating the third disciple at a Dueling Tree, part of the path that leads to the Takezo the Unrivaled mythic tale.
Do charms upgrade on their own?
Some do, through activities such as Sumi-e paintings or Shamisen Songs, but most only progress while equipped. Others, like the Charm of Mount Yotei, level up as you solve their linked puzzles.
Are there new charms in New Game Plus?
Yes. Patch 1.100 introduced Ghost Flowers, a currency that buys more than 30 cosmetics and 10 new charms from a dedicated vendor.