Ghost of Tsushima Patch Adds New Lethal Difficulty, Accessibility Features

Ghost of Tsushima’s 1.05 patch adds a few game improvements that players will likely appreciate, including a brand new “Lethal” difficulty setting.

Sucker Punch also added accessibility features like the ability to increase text size and a Lower Intensity mode. 

Ghost of Tsushima Patch Adds New Lethal Difficulty, Accessibility Features

Ghost of Tsushima players looking for a real challenge are getting a treat today in the form of a brand new difficulty setting aptly named Lethal. 

In the 1.05 patch notes provided by Sucker Punch Productions, the Lethal difficulty setting was broken down as follows:

• Enemy weapons are more deadly, but Jin’s katana is also more deadly.
• Enemies are more aggressive in combat.
• Enemies detect you faster.
• Tighter Parry and Dodge windows.

As with other difficulty settings in the game, you’ll be able to toggle Lethal difficulty on or off as needed. Ghost of Tsushima has no difficulty trophies, so beating the game on Lethal difficulty is completely optional.

On the flip side, if you’ve been struggling with Ghost of Tsushima’s combat for whatever reason, the 1.05 patch adds a Lower Intensity mode that’ll make combat a bit more approachable. 

Lower Intensity combat is part of the accessibility menu and it sounds like it can be extremely helpful for gamers with disabilities who may have a hard time with aspects of controller dexterity, or visual reaction time.

Features of the new Lower Intensity mode in Ghost of Tsushima include the following, text courtesy of Sucker Punch.

• Most enemy attacks which are normally unblockable become blockable when Lower Intensity is enabled. Blocking with L1 will keep you safe from more attacks than standard combat, though some attacks must still be dodged.
• Enemies break off their attack combos after damaging you, giving you a chance to recover before the next wave of attacks. In addition, your heavy attacks will interrupt attacks from Brutes, giving you another way to stop their combos.
• Enemies will not attack you while you’re using Resolve to heal.
• Enemy awareness builds more slowly, giving you more time to recover after being spotted.

Another nice addition to the game’s accessibility features include text changes. With these changes, gamers should have an easier time reading text depending on whether they need the text to be a larger size, or a different color. 

• Large Text option: Increases text size of subtitles, mission objectives and interact prompts by 150% when enabled.
• Added option to turn speaker name off when subtitles are enabled.
• New subtitle text color options in addition to white: Yellow, Blue, Red, Green.

Last, but certainly not least, Sucker Punch mentions that the 1.05 patch includes bug fixes, though nothing specific was named. If you’ve experienced any bugs while playing Ghost of Tsushima, it sounds like Sucker Punch is on top of it when it comes to fixing the things that need to be fixed.  

Overall, the 1.05 patch sounds like it has a little something for everyone with the new Lethal difficulty setting, approachable Lower Intensity mode, and text changes such as increased text size which is great for those who may need larger text in order to be able to read subtitles comfortably.

Related: Ghost of Tsushima: Hidden Trophy Guide

After going over the 1.05 patch for Ghost of Tsushima, we have a few guides we think you’ll find useful as well including: 

• How to Get Tayadori’s Armor in Ghost of Tsushima
• Where is the White Dye Merchant in Ghost of Tsushima?
• How to Get and Use the Grappling Hook in Ghost of Tsushima