Spirit is the most important resource in Ghost of Yotei that increases Atsu’s healing, gives special abilities, and makes the difference between winning a tough duel and falling in the dirt. Spirit Meter appears as yellow orbs on top of your health bar in the game. While health upgrades come from hot springs, increasing Spirit requires you to complete special tasks. If you want to stand a chance against the dangerous Yotei Six and the endless blades waiting in Ezo, learning how to restore Spirit in Ghost of Yotei should be your priority from the moment you set foot in the Grasslands.
How to Increase Maximum Spirit in Ghost of Yotei
The only way to increase your Spirit is through Bamboo Strikes, which can be found all across the Yotei Grasslands and beyond. Each Bamboo Strike is a mini-challenge where Atsu must slice through bamboo stalks by hitting specific button combinations. The sequences start simple, maybe two or three inputs, but become fast and more complex as the number of bamboo increases. To complete Bamboo Strike, first go to Settings > Accessibility and change Rapid Button Presses to Simplied so you can perform a quick strike.
What makes Bamboo Strikes important is that every completed set permanently adds another “pip” to your Spirit gauge. This means more healing, more Onryo powers, and much more room for mistakes in long battles. Read our complete guide on all 15 Bamboo Strike locations to find and complete each minigame to increase Spirit.
How to Replenish Spirit in Ghost of Yotei
Building a big Spirit bar is only half the battle, you’ll also need to know how to refill it during long stretches of exploration or combat to keep the Spirit gauge filled. Here’s how to restore it:
- Drink Sake: Sake jars are like portable Spirit batteries. A quick sip tops up your gauge, good in the middle of long fights or between waves. If you drink more than twice in a row, Atsu gets hit with blur, followed by a vomit stun if you put a third in mouth. The safe way is one or two drinks in battle, then switch to combat gains. You can restock sake at merchants, from caches in liberated towns, or by clearing occupied outposts.
- Complete Onryo bounties: Bounties reward you with Mon and often partial Spirit refills. They’re one of the most sustainable ways to keep maximum Spirit bar orbs.
- Fight with special moves: Spirit is also earned through skill. Parries, Executions, Assassinations, and advanced techniques feed Spirit back into your gauge. Some armor sets and charms level up this, letting you restore quickly.
- Camp and cook: Resting at camp always refills Atsu’s full Spirit. Cooking a meal can also add a Spirit pip and a temporary perk that lasts for a full in-game day.
Why is Spirit Important?
In Ghost of Yotei, your powerful techniques and Onryo powers depend on Spirit. If you run out in fight, it means no emergency heal, deadly finishers, and edge in duels. When facing brutes or bosses, Spirit usually decides if you dominate or barely scrape by. That’s why you should dedicate time to Bamboo Strikes early on in your playthrough to enter every fight with extra resources, especially to complete Atsu’s family revenge against the Yotei Six.
If you only take one lesson away, hunt down Bamboo Strikes early and often. Combine that with drinks, camp and meals for fast Spirit refills. The more you build, the more flexible and deadly Atsu becomes, strong enough to chain assassinations, unleash hard finishers and recover from near-death with ease.
