Ghost of Tsushima how to lock onto enemies

Ghost of Tsushima, once a Sony Playstation exclusive, is releasing for PC on the 16th of May 2024. With an existing devoted fanbase soon to have a lot of new members, let's take a look at one of the elements of the game’s combat, locking on to enemies.

Whether you've already been spending time with Jin Sakai, or are new to him, you might be wondering how to take control of the direction of his attacks, or more specifically lock-on. Over different updates, Ghost of Tsushima has seen many changes, with the addition of the ability to lock on to enemies as one of the key major additions.

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Ghost of Tsushima: How to find the lock-on setting

First Ghost of Tsushima players will need to head to the gameplay section in the main menu. There, under the 'Enable Armor Loadouts' setting, they can spot ‘Target Lock’. Initially, the toggle will be set off, but it can be changed to one of two modes, ‘On’ and ‘Swap on Defeat’.

The ‘On’ feature lets you lock on one enemy and manually switch opponents mid-fight. The up button on the d-pad lets you quickly enable and disable the lock-on. By flicking the right stick you can change the target enemy by pointing in their direction.

In the ‘Swap on Defeat’ mode, however, the concept of lock-on is the same, but once you defeat an enemy, the game will automatically set the target to a new opponent. This means you don't have to manually switch enemies and can fight them one at a time.

Ghost of Tsushima: Lack of lock-on option in the past

Before the Ghost of Tsushima's 2.04 patch that launched the new Iki Island expansion, a lock-on feature did not exist in the game. It was a matter of much contention with fans debating online whether the lack of the option was a huge miss or if the lock-on was even required at all to the game’s unique style.

In the end Ghost of Tsushima listened to those that wanted the feature and made it a part of the game. But for the purists, the option remains to enjoy the fighting without the lock-on in its original form.

While you’re here also check out how to clean your sword in Ghost of Tsushima and learn just how big is the game’s map?.