The Way of the Bow (Ishikawa Tale 4 of 9) is a side tale in Ghost of Tsushima. This walkthrough will guide you through all objectives of the The Way of the Bow Side Quest.
The Way of the Bow is unlocked when you’ve completed The Past Never Passes.
Side Tale: The Way of the Bow
Act: 1 – Rescue Lord Shimura
Region: Izuhara
Quest Giver: Ishikawa
Requirement: The Past Never Passes completed
Rewards: Minor Legend Increase, Minor Defense Charm, Flaming Arrow
Mission Info: (Ishikawa Tale 4 of 9). Sensei Ishikawa’s traitorous former student, Tomoe, seems to be training Mongol archers for an attack on Hiyoshi Springs.
Objectives:
- Speak with Ishikawa
- Defeat the Mongols
- Speak with Ishikawa
- Follow Ishikawa
- Speak with the Peasants
- Follow Ishikawa
- Survey the battlefield
- Defeat the Mongols
- Speak with Ishikawa
Starting Location: The Way of the Bow
Speak with Ishikawa
Travel to Hiyoshi Springs and speak with Sensei Ishikawa. You’ll find him sitting on the edge of the cliff behind his dojo. While discussing Tomoe with Ishikawa, he suddenly realizes it’s too quiet.
Defeat the Mongols
Wade through a couple of waves of Mongols who charge you while their archers pepper you with arrows from the top of a nearby hill.
Speak with Ishikawa
Talk to Ishikawa, and realize the attack was probably a diversion.
Follow Ishikawa
Jin and Ishikawa quickly hash out a plan while running to the village’s defense.
Speak with the Peasants
Ishikawa tells some peasants you encounter on the road to gather the village in the inn and to stay out of sight while you and he defend the village.
Follow Ishikawa
Together you reach the place where you will mount your defense.
Survey the battlefield
Ishikawa tells you to survey the battlefield and to find things that can be exploited to your advantage. Take note of the dried grass and the barrels of black powder in the center of the battlefield.
How best to exploit these items you ask? Flaming arrows. Oh. Hell. Yes.
Defeat the Mongols
Flaming arrows are clearly the name of the game in this fight. Not only are the arrows themselves deadly setting a Mongol hit with them on fire and causing him to flail around screaming, but they can also be used to great effect by setting fields of pampas grass ablaze, potentially killing multiple Mongols at once. If the arrows and fire don’t kill the Mongols outright (which they usually do) it will bring them right to the brink of death. Pampas grass usually remains on fire for quite a while too, damaging any other Mongols in the area, and forcing them to travel in a much narrower fixed path making for easy kills.
There are plenty of regular arrows in the corpses around you, allowing you to reload if you’re running low. If you combine the bonuses of Tadayori’s armor with the flaming arrows, this fight should basically be a shooting gallery for you.
Speak with Ishikawa
All of these Kentucky Fried Mongols, and no Tomoe? That’s suspicious.
Oh man, not the Nagao banner! Now it’s personal. The hunt for Tomoe continues, but this tale is complete.
This finishes The Way of the Bow quest in Ghost of Tsushima.
For all other Quest Walkthroughs, check out our complete Ghost of Tsushima Walkthrough (All Tales).
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