Jin Sakai vs. Connor Kenway (Ghost of Tsushima vs. Assassin's Creed)

 

(TN by Cryotechnics)

“No man of honor ever quite lives up to his code, any more than a moral man manages to avoid sin.” - H.L. Mencken

Jin Sakai, the honorable samurai turned Ghost of Tsushima.

Connor Kenway, The Kanien'kehá:ka hunter brought up as an Assassin.

To make sure the peace is kept we all put on our own restrictions to keep us out of trouble. This is our creed. But what happens when events push us too far? How much can what man take before they crack and give in? That’s the question these two warriors try to answer on their quest to get back at the men who wronged them.

Before We Begin

First off this blog will have plenty of spoilers for both Ghost of Tsushima and Assassins Creed 3 and other AC games. We heavily recommend these games to anyone reading with the right platforms/money as they are both incredible experiences. But if you don’t plan on playing or don’t care for spoilers then proceed.

The media list is very simple. Jin will be given base game content for Ghost of Tsushima along with the Iki Island DLC (No we will not use Secret Level…) 

Connor will obviously be given the base game for Assassin’s Creed 3, the Assassins Creed 3 Forsaken novel and Connor’s issue of the Assassin’s Creed Reflections comic . However, we will also be looking into other Assassin's Creed games and their alternate media to determine what he may scale to from those titles. Some information and pieces of the Tyranny of King Washington DLC from AC3 will be used as well.

As always not all of the research, scans and calcs come from us. Credits to the Connor Kenway and other Assassins Creed profiles on VSBW for some feats and scans.

Background

Jin Sakai 

“Desperation can bring out the demon in the best of men.”

The Japanese Island of Tsushima was once a place of peace and prosperity. Ruled by powerful Samurai the land was beautiful and lucious. This was until the attack on Komoda Beach. In an instant the Mongol horde had arrived on Tsushima and wiped out almost all of the Samurai on Tsushima, taking the island for themselves. However, one Samurai was not like the others. A man with such resilience and power he took back the island with only the help of a few allies. This was no ordinary man, this was the Ghost of Tsushima.

But he was not always the Ghost, at one point he was Jin Sakai. Jin Sakai was lord of the Sakai clan after his fathers death and was respected by all residents of Tsushima. An honorable Samurai trained by his Uncle Lord Shimura he was destined to be remembered as a noble Samurai and lord. This was until he was almost killed at Komoda, only surviving due to a thief nursing him named Yuna. However, Jin’s Uncle was captured by the Mongol leader Kotun Khan and things began to look bleak for Tsushima. 

Yet Jin stood strong and began to hatch a plan to save Lord Shimura with the help of Yuna, her brother Taka, Lady Adachi and Sensei Ishikawa. But they alone would not be enough if they wanted to save Lord Shimura. Jin realized that the code of the Samurai would simply not be able to win this war. A code of honor and direct combat would simply not be able to fight the well prepared and underhanded tactics of the Mongols. So under pressure from Yuna, Jin began to master stealth and the use of “Ghost Weapons”.

With everything set into motion Jin’s plan to free his uncle succeeded, but it was also the catalyst to something terrible. At first Jin and Lord Shimura both worked as an unstoppable duo to take back Tsushima and Fort Shimura. However, as time marched on and Lord Shimura saw how far Jin had strayed from the honorable Samurai path he realized he had to force Jin to make a choice. Relinquish the Ghost or become an enemy of Tsushima. Jin decided to fully embrace the Ghost, turning to new methods such as poison to beat the Mongols, causing Lord Shimura to imprison Jin for a long time.

Until Jin escaped through his deadly methods and amazing allies, beat Kotun Khan and freed Tsushima from the Mongols. Yet, despite this win Lord Shimura still believed Jin was an enemy and challenged Jin to a duel. The duel was bloody and hard fought but when the dust settled Jin emerged victorious leaving him with another choice. Would he spare Lord Shimura or kill him? And since this is a Sucker Punch game, the choice is yours.

There’s also a DLC where Jin confronts his pasts and learns to move on from his father’s death after getting poisoned by the Mongol leader known as the Eagle. If you want more on this story or the incredible story in general please play this game it’s peak fiction…

The island of Tsushima will never be the same after the Mongol invasion, but it can rest easy now that it has a spirit watching over them. That of course being the legendary Ghost of Tsushima.

Connor Kenway

“I realize now that it will take time, that the road ahead is long and shrouded in darkness. It is a road that will not always take me where I wish to go—and I doubt I will live to see it end. But I will travel down it nonetheless.”

Ratonhnhaké:ton was born to the Kanien'kehá:ka tribe which resided in the Mohawk Valley of Colonel America. He is the son of Kaniehti:io (or Ziio) and Haytham Kenway who was the Grand Master of the Colonel Templar Rite. He would be raised by his mother alone and live a relatively peaceful life up until the age of 4. During a game of hide-and-seek with the other village children, he was attacked and captured by promident Templar members in search for an Isu storehouse being protected by his village, and led by Haythem’s right hand, Charles Lee. Before being knocked out, he promised Lee he’d find him one day, much to the amusement of the other Templars. Upon regaining consciousness, he’d rush back to the village, only to find it up in flames. Rushing through the flames, he’d eventually find his mother buried under rubble. Despite his efforts, he was unable to save her and was forced to watch her die as he was dragged away to safety.

Many years later at the age of 13, Ratonhnhaké:ton would remain deeply concerned about the threat the Colonists posed to his people, searching for any means in order to keep them safe. He would receive answers in the form of the Isu Goddess Juno who would show a vision of the world if the Templars managed to gain access to the storeroom, and sent him on a mission to find the mentor of the former Assassin Brotherhood to train. With the elder's permission, he left his village and found his way to an old homestead owned by the former mentor of the Colonel Assassin Brotherhood, Achilles Davenport. He promptly told the boy to get off his land, who refused until he was trained. This cycle continued until one night, a group of bandits snuck onto the homestead and planned to attack it. Ratonhnhaké:ton proceeded to fight them off, almost being killed by the leader when he was saved by Achilles at the last moment. From then on, Achilles would inform him of the conflict between Assassin and Templars, finally taking him on as a student. Going by Connor Kenway, the name of Achilles’ late son, his training would hit many bumps in the road. From being framed for the Boston Massacre, to aiding the Patriots in the lead up to the Revolution and well into it, his actions would eventually lead him to meet George Washington who'd succeeded in preventing a Templar assassination plot on him in the middle of the war. His hunt for the Templars would eventually have him encounter his father Haytham and after some time, consider the possibility of an alliance between the two in order to put an end to the war, an idea Achilles promptly scoffed at. Connor’s faith in the Patriot cause and his father were dashed when he found out that Washington himself was responsible for the attack on his village all those years ago, and Haytham knew the whole time. Hearing of an upcoming attack by his village on the Patriots, he went in order to stop them. In the process, he would be forced to kill his best friend who was tricked by Lee into believing he had betrayed their people for the Colonists. From then on, Connor would swear never to aid the Patriots again and cut all ties with his father.

He would eventually take up ownership of the homestead after Achilles passed away in his sleep, holding a burial with the community he helped to build, and continuing his vow to see the fight to its conclusion. Connor, believing he finally tracked down Lee, made an evaporate plan to get close and finally kill him, only to be injured and coming face-to-face with Haytham for one final time. After a grueling fight, he managed to land a fatal blow on his father, who remained steadfast in his beliefs. Connor bid him farewell, leaving to finish the job once and for all.

He would finally kill Charles Lee, however this victory was hollow. Upon returning to his village, he found it completely abandoned and his people nowhere to be seen. Juno would come to him, explaining that everything he did was for a greater purpose yet to come, even as the conflict between the Assassins and Templars would always persist. Despite everything he had been through and what it led to, Connor remained faithful to the Assassins’ ideals and maintained their legacy up until his death. He may not be Ezio, but he’s certainly the one who brought honor back to the Creed.

Wait what do you mean he’s a furr- TYRANNY OF WHA-

 

Experience/Skill/IQ/Other

Jin Sakai

One of Jin's best traits in battle is that he pulls from his experiences with different groups. He learned to master sword fighting, emotions and honor from Lord Shimura. Then he learned stealth and assassination from Yuna. He then studied the Way of the Bow under Sensei Ishikawa. The Way of the Bow specifically is a special form of archery developed by Ishikawa that allows his students to shoot from tens to hundreds of meters away with speed and precision on foot or horseback. He also has learned techniques such as the Heavenly Strike and the Dance of Wrath just by fighting opponents who knew the respective techniques. Jin even developed different sword stances to counter Mongol weaponry which he learned by observing Mongol leaders. This also extends to his Ghost Weapons, which take heavy inspiration from the Mongol’s with items such as the Black Powder Bomb. All of this culminates into a melting pot of a fighter who is incredibly hard to keep up with. One who doesn’t have a style you can point down as he can take a fight in any approach he wishes. Though in 1v1’s Jin seemingly prefers close range melee duels.

Stealth is incredibly important to Jin's fighting style. Jin uses stealth to help against the numerically superior Mongols, whittling them down until he can take them on himself. Or if he wants Jin can just take down an entire Mongol base without anyone realizing he was ever there. Stealth kills mostly come in the form of assassinations, chain assassinations and air assassinations. But Yuna didn't just teach Jin how to get in. She also taught Jin how to get out of a tight spot, like when he escaped a fully guarded samurai prison without any gear. Or when he broke into Castle Shimura and reached the top when it held almost all of the samurai present on the island. He also did this without killing any guards or raising any suspicion.

Throughout his relatively short time on the battlefield Jin has gone against a plethora of fighters in a variety of standoffs and/or duels. Along with hoards of standard Mongol’s he has battled against Ryuzo (leader of the Straw Hat Ronin), Kotun Khan (leader of the Mongols) and Lord Shimura (leader of the Tsushima’s samurai). Even as a child Jin beat Ryuzo in Lord Nagao‘s tournament. Another for Jin beat was the Eagle, who he beat while still trying to move past his fathers death after being poisoned by her. This isn't even factoring in the variety in the Mongolian army. Between the spears, shields, brutes, bombers and shaman Jin is no stranger to unique fighting styles. Jin has even gone up against a literal tengu. 

Another one of Jin's best traits is his keen eye. He is an expert at tracking people down via blood, footprints or any evidence left by his target. Jin is also a master at noticing weak spots, capable of spotting weak points in an enemy base and using the environment around him to defeat his foes. This comes in many forms such as igniting grass while foes stand in it, making barrels explode when enemies get close and even angering nature's creatures to attack the Mongols.

A final note on Jin is that he is incredibly book smart and knows his stuff. He is aware of most battles, towns, routes and pretty much anything that’s happened on Tsushima. He can even read in Chinese and has studied Sun Tzu.

Connor Kenway

Connor, although not being raised as an Assassin, was raised as a Native American hunter. He has been a master with a bow and hatchet since a young age. Being taught by the Kanien'keha:ka also makes him a master at tracking animals based on common grazing spots and left behind prey. Conner’s hunting skills were so impressive he could teach it to fellow members of his tribe. This skill also came in handy when it was time to become a member of the Order of Assassins where Connor used this skill to track people down and understand his surroundings.

After leaving his tribe Connor trained with Achillies in the ways of the Assassin. With this training Connor gained unparalleled levels of stealth. He became able to blend into crowds with ease, eavesdrop on important conversations and learned the best places to hide for whenever he needed to escape. Conner also became very agile, capable of traversing across tall buildings, trees and even frozen waterfalls, before jumping over his enemies before taking out multiple men at once. 

How Connor takes out said men can come from a massive arsenal of weapons he has on his person and tools he finds in his surroundings. Any weapon Connor touches is a deadly weapon from sword to club to hatchet. Even the weapons Connor takes directly from the hands of his foes he can find useful. This style of fighting means Connor is never out of options in combat and is consistently able to weaken individual enemies. When it comes to groups Connor tends to rely on using the enemies own recklessness against themselves. Connor tends to slam enemies into one another, have enemies hit each other or even take an enemy as a bullet shield. 

Yet the most important lessons Connor learned from Achilles were about mental fortitude. For every bit of physical training Connor did he did twice as much to perfect his mind. This shows in Connor’s most standout trait. That being his tenacity. When it comes to finding someone or something such as Charles Lee, he will hunt them until he physically can no longer stand. And even if he can't stand he will still make an attempt to get to where he needs to be. Connors sheer will and determination comes from a place of both skill and emotion. His lust for everyone to be free mixed with his mental training from Achillies makes Connor really hard to keep down.

As a whole Connor has 14 years worth of combat experience under his belt as he began training in 1769 after meeting Achillies. And in his time fighting Connor has taken on countless red coats and Templar. This includes his own father. Haythem of course being an incredibly skilled Templar. This victory is even more impressive under the context that Connor was badly disoriented from a cannonball explosion while Haythem was fully prepared. He has also obtained victory in a Boston Brawlers Tournament, where he fought many different combatants with many different backgrounds. In one of these matches he was even poisoned and still came out on top.

And, perhaps on an odd note, Connor has lived through an alternate reality created by an Apple of Eden showing him and George Washington an alternate reality where the latter became a tyrannical king with the Apple’s power in his hands. Not only did he possess his memories of the real world, but in this reality he had been raised alongside and got to train with his mother and possibly his father since he was young. While he does gain mostly spiritual, possibly Apple of Eden-based, powers that don’t carry over outside this simulation, he does get to fight King Washington while he was using the Apple, meaning Connor isn’t unfamiliar with fighting more supernatural opponents.

Abilities

Jin Sakai

Guiding Wind

Jin's guiding force (and maybe late father) is the wind. The Guiding Wind's main function is to point in the direction of his next objective or wherever Jin wishes to go. Not incredibly important for a VS fight but it's a significant thing for Jin.

Resolve

Using his inner strength, Jin can use his Resolve to heal himself in the midst of combat and cure poison. Jin has 10 Resolve that he builds up overtime through killing and various other methods linked to armors and charms. Resolve can also be used to perform powerful Mythic Abilities.

Deflection

By holding his sword up, Jin moves a blow aside like a spear or sword; however he can deflect arrows with ease even if they’re point blank. As one of Jin's important samurai teachings it can be enhanced with upgrades such as…

Perfect Parry	Parrying at a specific time allows Jin to use a deadly counterattack
Perfect Healing Parry	Perfect Parries allows a small amount of health regeneration.
Unyielding Sword Parry	Jin can now parry previously unblockable sword attacks.
Deflect Arrows	Jin can now deflect incoming projectiles.
Resolved Parry	Gain Resolve from parrying.
Unyielding Spear Parry	Jin can now parry previously unblockable spear attacks.
Terrifying Parry	Counterattacks from Perfect Parries have a chance to Terrify enemies.

Evasion

By dodging at just the right time Jin brings his sword up and stabs his enemy as they’re vulnerable. It can be a fatal blow but is mainly used to start a combo. This powerful samurai principle can be upgraded with techniques such as…

Roll	Jin can dodge roll away from attacks.
Dodging Slash	A strike that can be done after a dodge. Great for punishing slow attacks.
Sprint Strike	A low aiming sprinting attack to quickly cut foes.
Shoulder Charge	Jin can do a shoulder bash to knock down enemies.
Delayed Strike	A delayed strike with extra damage and stagger due to its unique timing.
Mounted Strike	Jin leaps off his horse, dropping onto a Mongol foe with high stagger.
Perfect Dodge	Dodging at the last moment allows Jin to perform a fatal attack.

Mythic

Techniques of Legend Jin learned on his journey across Tsushima, these are ncredibly powerful and learning them gave Jin a supreme edge over his Mongolian opponents. (We will only cover two of the Mythic Techniques in this section as the other two aren't abilities)

Heavenly Strike

Legends say that when Tsushima was first settled a thunderstorm had ravaged the island. To make matters worse, the storm had created beasts of lightning to attack the new inhabitants. Only one man can stop these beasts, Shigenori. Shigenori was an unstoppable swordsman who never lost a duel and mastered a technique he named the Heavenly Strike.

Many years later Jin found himself hunting down the revenge-filled Yasuhira Koga. Yasuhira had been researching Shigenori to learn the Heavenly Strike as a way to take out Lord Shimura. However, throughout their battle Jin had learned the Heavenly Strike and used the technique to defeat Yasuhira… and then Yasuhira got struck by lightning.

The actual technique is much more simple than the legend would make it out to be. It's simply a strike that moves at such speeds and can't be blocked. The legend even states it moves faster than the eye can track.

Dance of Wrath

Legends tell of the Spirit of Yurikawa. Villagers would send offerings to the spirit and in turn the spirit would strike down anyone at the villagers request. Eventually the Spirit of Yurikawa was given an offer to slay the Ghost of Tsushima. However, Jin managed to beat the spirit and would learn their technique known as the Dance of Wrath.

The Dance of Wrath is a surprisingly simple attack. It allows Jin to strike multiple targets in quick succession. It also can be used to strike the same target 3 times for high damage.

Stances

Learned by killing Mongol leaders, these stances are Jin's bread and butter. Jin has 4 stances to pick between at any given moment to fight different fighting styles. He also has another stance that he needs to build up but when he does, you don't want to be near the Ghost.

Stone Stance

Jin’s first and most commonly used stance. This stance uses stiff, heavy blows to break through sword based blocking. Once the enemy's guard is broken Jin will then use the Piercing Strike to skewer his sword through the opponent.

Puncture	Allows Jin to perform a second Piercing Strike.
Strength of Mountains	Makes it easier for Jin to stagger sword enemies with his heavy attacks.
Full Puncture	Let's Jin do 3 Piercing Strikes to make sure the kill is confirmed
Momentum	Increases the speed Jin can swing his sword during heavy attacks or Piercing Strike.

Water Stance 

Jin’s second stance uses heavy flowing moves to overpower shields, breaking the guard of shield-bearing enemies. Using the unique move flurry strike it rains several blows down at once upon a foe’s shield breaking the guard and dealing some of the highest damage of any move in Jin’s arsenal.

Flowing Strikes	Flowing Strikes allows the player to perform an additional strike during Flurry Strike that goes from the bottom right to the top left.
Strength of Tides	Strength of Tides increases how much Stagger damage Jin deals to shieldmen with any of the Water Stance's Heavy Attack moves.
Surging Strikes	Surging Strikes allows the player to perform one more strike during Flurry Strike that goes from the top left to the bottom right, modifying the combo.
Downpour	Downpour increases the damage dealt by Flurry Strike, where for every strike that lands, the next strike will deal more damage. This allows Jin to be rewarded for hitting enemies with all five strikes of Flurry Strike.

Wind Stance

Used for spear wielders using fast unpredictable movements and kicks to deal massive stagger damage. Its unique attack spearbreaker is a charged kick that launches the foe's feet off the ground and staggers even the biggest of foes.

Strengthened Typhoon Kick	Strengthened Typhoon Kick improves Typhoon Kick to knock enemies further back while dealing increased Stagger damage. With more distance made, the player has more opportunity to remain on the offensive.
Strength of Gales	Strength of Gales increases how much Stagger damage Jin deals to spearmen with any of the Wind Stance's Heavy Attack moves.
Spear Defense	Allows the player to automatically parry spear attacks if they are attacked during any Wind Stance attack. When this occurs, Jin will stop attacking to perform the parry, which can instantly lead into a counterattack.
Typhoon Kick Finishers	Typhoon Kick Finisher improves Typhoon Kick once more, causing enemies kicked by it to be knocked down. Knocked down enemies are vulnerable to being mercy killed

Moon Stance

The fourth stance Jin unlocks is used against brutes using strikes to overwhelm them. The unique attack is a spinning strike which does massive damage against foes.

Whirlwind	Whirlwind allows the player to perform an additional spin attack during Spinning Strike.
Strength of Heavens	Strength of the Heavens increases how much Stagger damage Jin deals to Brutes with any of the Moon Stance's Heavy Attack moves.
Finishing Strike	Finishing Strike causes the third attack in Heavy Strike to deal increased Melee and Stagger damage, increasing its potency when the player successfully lands a blow.
Tornado	Tornado allows the player to perform one more spin attack during Spinning Strike.

Evolving Tactics

Outside of his Ghost Weapons and Stances Jin picked up many different abilities, tactics and methods of fighting across his journey.

Recover Health	As discussed in the Resolve section, Jin can heal himself using Resolve.
Iron Will	If Jin is on the brink of death he can use 3 Resolve to stay in the fight. However, this is a one time use.
Standoff	When starts a fight Jin can enter a “Standoff”. This is a one-on-one duel where the enemy runs towards Jin and he must time his strike well. If Jin times his attack right he defeats his opponent In one shot while gaining a massive sum of Resolve. If the timing is wrong Jin takes a large amount of damage.
Standoff Streak	If Jin is successful in a Standoff, another enemy will open themselves up to be attacked.
Improved Standoff Streak	If Jin is successful in a Standoff, a third enemy will open themselves up to be killed.
Archery	Jin uses the Way of the Bow taught to him by Sensei Ishikawa.
Concentration	Jin slows down his perception of time for a few seconds, dramatically improving his aim.
Mental Fortitude	Reduces the cooldown of Concentration by 15%.
Improved Mental Fortitude	Decreases Concentrations cooldown by 30%.
Assassination	A skill that goes far away from the traditional Samurai code, assassination allows Jin to kill his opponents quickly and quietly.
Safe Landing	Jin rolls right before landing to save himself from high falls.
Chain Assassination	Jin swiftly performs a second assassination after killing someone.
Chain Assassination Master	Jin can kill up to 3 people in quick succession with assassinations.
Focused Hearing	One of Jin's most important skills in stealth, Jin can gauge where enemies are just by using the sound they make.
Far Hearing	Jin's hearing range becomes much further.
Stealth Hearing	Movement becomes much faster while using Focused Healing
Killer’s Instinct	Jin perceives if an enemy will see the death of a comrade after an assassination.
Shoji Assassination	Jin can assassinate enemies who are behind shoji doors.
Ghost Stance	After Jin slaughters an enemy leader Jin enters “Ghost Stance”. In Ghost Stance all nearby enemies become terrified allowing Jin to perform 3 fatal blows under the stance's effect.
Ghost Kill Streak	If Jin kills 7 enemies without taking damage he can enter Ghost Stance.
Horse Charge	Jin's horse rapidly charges through enemies, damaging anyone caught in its path. This does, however, come at the cost of draining Jin's resolve.
Horse Charge Efficiency	Decreases the rate at which Horse Charge burns Resolve.
Horse Charge Recovery	Adds a 10% chance that Jin recovers 3 Resolve whenever Horse Charge hits an enemy.
Terrifying Horse Charge	Hitting enemies with Horse Charge has a 25% percent chance to Terrify them.

Resistances

• Cold Temperatures: Despite having no gear, Jin was able to move through the Kin Sanctuary during Act 3. At the time of Act 3 Kin was under a snow storm and was extremely cold. With gear Jin could survive the extremely cold Mount Jogoku for a limited time before needing warmth.

• Poison: While Jin is still notably affected by poison he is able to fight through it relatively well. This is shown by Jin fighting through poison capable of killing Mongols in seconds. This is backed up by him being dramatically less affected by the Eagle’s Poison than the residents of Iki, which is noted by Tenzo.

Connor Kenway 

Eagle Vision

The main gimmick/ability of all Assassins is the Eagle Vision, a sort of “sixth sense” that allows Assassins like Connor to sense or see things normal humans can not. This is mainly used to differentiate friend, foe and target. However, Connor has also used Eagle Vision as a way to look into the past to find details in older events.

While Connor doesn’t use his Eagle Vision for much, other Kenway Saga assassins can use their abilities to investigate clues, footprints, and even other assassins in hiding.

Resistances

• Cold Temperatures: Survived the frigid waters of the Northwest Passage. Just being in that area made Captain Hendrick Van der Haul freeze to death.

• Poison: While he was still affected by the poison, Connor was able to fight in the Boston Brawlers Tournament against a Surgeon and win after he had been poisoned.

• Disease: Completely unaffected by those carrying Smallpox.

• Mind Manipulation & Madness Inducement: In Tyranny of King Washington, Connor was immune to directly being controlled by the Apple of Eden and fended off mental assaults from Washington. Control from the Apple is described as clouding a target's thoughts and controlling them so that they cannot think for themselves. He also resisted drinking the effects of tea made from the Great Willow, which drives people mad and makes them succumb to violent urges (Debatable).

Arsenal 

Jin Sakai

Armor

Covering their whole body with the armor in Ghost of Tsushima is the main reason Jin didn’t die on the beach. Made of leather, metal, gold and cloth they provide full protection from head to heel.

Armor	Ability
Gosaku’s Armor	Increases health by colossal amounts. Gain health upon killing staggered enemies.
Ghost Armor	Kills have a 40% chance to Terrify a nearby enemy. Reduces the number of kills needed to enter the Ghost Stance by 2. Reduces enemy detection speed by 50%.
Sakai Clan Armor	Massive increase to melee damage. Colossal increase to health. Increase the Standoff Streak by 2. Winning a Standoff has a 25% chance to Terrify nearby enemies.
Sarugami Armor	Regular Parry is disabled. Perfect Parry becomes a chain of 3 attacks, and Perfect Dodge becomes an attack that blinds enemies. All Resolve gains are increased by a Colossal amount. Perfect Parry and Perfect Dodge windows are increased by a massive amount.
Kensei Armor	Massive increase to Resolve gains. Ghost Weapons deal 40% more damage. Striking an enemy with a Ghost Weapon causes that enemy to deal 50% less damage and receive 50% more damage.
Samurai Clan Armor	Reduces all damage by a Major amount. Taking damage grants 45% Resolve. Colossal increase to health.
Travelers Attire	Track Artifacts with the Guiding Wind. Traveling clears 10% more fog of war on the map.
Ronin Armor	15% increase to Melee damage. Reduces enemy detection speed by 10%. After leaving pampas grass while crouched, enemies will be much slower to detect you
Kensei Armor	15% increase to Resolve gains Ghost Weapons deal 15% more damage Striking an enemy with a Ghost Weapon causes that enemy to deal 25% less damage and receive 25% more damage
Tadayori’s Armor	Increases nocking and reload speed by 15% Increases total Concentration time by 1 second. Headshots restore 25% of the Concentration meter
Mongol Commander Armor	Major increase to health Reduces all damage by a Major amount Disguises you while out of combat, massively reducing Mongol detection speed
Fundoshi	Running and sprinting no longer create noise
Deadly Rivals Attire	15% increase to Melee damage. Reduces enemy detection speed by 10%. After leaving pampas grass while crouched, enemies will be much slower to detect you
Archery Master Attire	Increases nocking and reload speed by 45%. Increases total Concentration time by 3 seconds. Headshots restore 50% of the Concentration meter.

Sakai Katana

The storm of the clan Sakai, the Katana was passed down generation to generation. Jin takes pristine care of this blade, upgrading it to be as sharp as possible; it cuts through armor and flesh and bone as if it were paper. It is capable of cutting Bamboo in swift strikes. Used in every boss fight, it has tasted the blood of countless foes but their blood is a mark of those whom the storm's lightning has struck.

Sakai Tanto

The knife of the Samurai, it is mainly used for Harakiri but Jin found many uses for it stabbing into Mongol backs and slitting throats. It is also used to finish off wounded foes such as Ryuzo or Lord Shimura stabbing into their hearts.

Half Bow

A bow gifted to him by Ishikawa, it is made of Yew wood. This isn't just for show either Jin is remarkably skilled with it being the second best student of Ishikawa. The bow can hold up to 20 Normal Arrows and 10 Flaming Arrows. Fire arrows will burn enemies, causing light damage, and can start large fires if fired into dry grass. They can also cause barrels of gunpowder to explode and burn all nearby enemies.

 Longbow

After fighting a tengu for the privilege of using this weapon Jin obtained Uchitsune's Longbow. This bow can fire two types of arrows. Heavy arrows are similar to normal arrows but they are much stronger and can pierce through armor. The other type of arrow is the explosive arrow. Explosive arrows… explode, dealing massive AoE damage while setting enemies on fire. At its highest level the Longbow can hold 10 heavy arrows and 8 explosive arrows.

Blowgun

Made of a river reed with some leather and string to make it more wieldy it fires darts coated in a poison used by his caretaker these darts consist of the poison and the hallucination darts and Jin is able to carry five of each. Poison darts are the big darts used to inject foes and cause them to violently shake and vomit blood. There is no counter if you are pierced by these darts. We see in game this same poison wipe out a camp of mongols when consumed by food. Meanwhile, hallucination darts send the affected enemy into a blind rage and attack anyone they see. The enemy gains an increased health pool and attack power for the duration of the effect.

Ghost Weapons

When honor did not prevail for Jin he began using the equipment of his enemies. These weapons consist of…

Kunai

Used for throwing. Jin throws out multiple at a time, slicing the throat of all enemies in front of him with multiple levels of Kunai. At max, he carries six. 

Black Powder Bomb 

Taking the Mongol’s explosives, he throws a bomb of black powder killing multiple enemies at a time but it is predominantly used for stunning and staggering.

Sticky Bomb

Like the Black Powder Bomb, it is an explosive, however, this bomb will stick to any enemy and blow up in their face.

Smoke Bomb

When Jin is caught in a sticky situation, he can throw down a smoke bomb which blinds any foe in his vicinity.

Wind Chime

Taken from the corners of houses, these wind chimes are thrown like balls to lure foes away from Jin in stealth as they send a loud ring when they connect with the ground.

Firecracker

Made of gunpowder and coated in a paper, it deals no damage but when tossed it can distract enemies. Jin can carry up to 4 of these at once.

Way of the Flame/Incendiary Oil

A mythic item in the art of combat. Legend tells of an undying fire that can be harnessed into a weapon of war. While not exactly undying or unlimited, Jin can use incendiary oil that allows him to light his sword on fire. This makes Jin’s strikes more potent and nearly impossible to block.

Charms

Charms are found all throughout Tsushima and grant minor or massive buffs to Jin. These can bolster his defense, increase his damage or add a new dimension to the techniques and weapons of the Ghost.

Defense Charms

Amaterasu	Killing enemies restores a moderate amount of health.
Izanami	Iron Will now revives Jin at 50% of your maximum health.
Okuninushi	Slowly recover health while out of combat.
Mizu-no-Kami	Parries, Perfect Parries, and Perfect Dodges are easier to perform.
Mashira's Protection	Whenever Jin heals, Perfect Parry and Perfect Dodge windows are extended for a limited time. Healing costs 1 additional Resolve.
Fortitude	20% chance to survive lethal damage and gain Resolve.
Hachiman's Favor	Killing enemies restores a small amount of health.
Immunity	15% chance for enemy arrows to deal no damage.
Rejuvenation	Slowly recover 2 Resolve while in combat.
Resistance III	Reduces all damage by a Major amount.
Unyielding II	Majorly reduces damage taken while at 50% health or less.
Vitality	Moderate increase to health.
Deadly Return	Recover ammo for your currently equipped quickfire weapon after using Iron Will.
Distraction	When performing Iron Will, wind gusts and hornets will distract and damage enemies.
Broken Barriers	Breaking an enemy's defense grants 15% of Resolve.

Melee Charms

Kagu-Tsuchi	Deal bonus damage while at 50% health or less.
Shinatsuhiko	Staggering an enemy prevents interrupted melee attacks for 6 seconds.
Susanoo	Staggered enemies have a 30% chance to be knocked down.
Takemikazuchi	Killing an enemy increases Melee damage by a Minor amount for a few seconds.
Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto	Deal moderate bonus damage while at full health
Dual Destruction II	Attacks have a 10% chance to deal double damage.
Ferocity	Moderate increase to Melee damage.
Inari's Might	Increases health and Melee damage by a Minor amount.
Charging Bull	Increases the power of shoulder charge and sprint strike techniques.
Descending Talons	Jump attacks can stagger and knock down enemies. Attacking from greater heights yields greater damage.

Ranged Charms

Azumi-no-Isora	Arrows are silent on impact.
Izanagi	Landing a headshot has a 40% chance to return an arrow.
Sugaru's Sight	Bows can shoot up to 3 arrows at once if Jin have enough ammo.
Efficiency	15% increase to nocking and reload speeds.
Precision	Moderate increase to arrow damage.
Swift Return	Missed standard arrows have a 25% chance of being recovered.
Yuriko's Keepsake	Arrows have a 15% chance to poison enemies.
Iron Grip	Jins wim will never shake or force a shot
Desperate Measure	If Jin has no arrows, you can gain one by successfully blocking an enemy arrow.
Terrifying Aim	When Jin kills an enemy with a headshot, there is a 30% chance of terrifying a nearby enemy.
Concentration	Increase Concentration time.

Ghost Charms

Advantage	Ghost weapons deal 20% more damage
Ikazuchi-no-Kami	Perks and abilities that Terrify are 25% more likely to occur.
Hoori-no-Mikoto	Remain hidden when Assassinating enemies from grass.
Tsukuyomi	Assassinated enemies drop additional ammo or supplies.
Nekoma's Hunt	Throw Kunai at a target during chain assassinations to extend your range.
Reflexive Sight	Jin is able to focus on an enemy who has begun to detect him.
Fire Doctrine	Burning enemies have a 15% change to terrify enemies
Hidden Sight	Enemies stop hunting Jin 40% faster.
The Lost Mind	Hallucinating enemies do 50% more damage to enemies
Hidden Blade	Throws an extra Kunai with input
Serrated Blade	Kunai’s damage is doubled per Kunai
Ryuujin	Recover 1 Kunai after performing a Perfect Dodge.
Shadows	Reduces enemy detection speed by 10%.
Enduring Affliction	Status effects last 50% longer and deal 50% more damage.
Toxic Demise	Wind Chimes release toxins to those who pick them up
Unseen Respite	Smoke Bombs restore 25% of your health

Heavenly Strike Charms

Heavenly Rebuke

On performing Heavenly Strike, there is a chance for lightning to strike a nearby enemy.

Way of the Flame Charms

Blazing Flame	The Way of the Flame inflicts additional damage. Heavy attacks spread fire to nearby enemies.
Steadfast Fire	Greatly increases the length of time Jin can use the Way of the Flame.

Kaginawa

Created by the blacksmith Taka, the Kaginawa is the first of its kind. This special rope and hook is capable of latching onto rope and wire to gain elevation or cross large gaps. It can also pull down large pillars of wood through grappling points.

Flute

Jin has a flute made for playing only the most beautiful of melodies. However, this flute does have some special abilities outside of gripping music. It can both change the weather through different songs and attract deer.

Horse

Stolen at the start of the game from a stable Jin’s horse is his main way of moving and they grow very attached through their time together. Tragically the first horse is shot and killed in his escape attempt from the samurai prison. However, Jin is later given a new Samurai war horse like your first one. Loyal to the end, horses are as much a part of Jin’s arsenal as his sword. And no matter which horse you're riding with, they will always come to Jin via a Clan Sakai whistle. 

Jin even equips his horse with a saddlebag. In this bag he stores extra ammunition and Ghost Weapons so that even if he runs out of items in battle he can replenish his resources on the fly. Later on Jin also gets the Sakai Horse Armor, which allows his steed to deal more damage while charging and take more damage before Jin is forced to dismount.

Connor Kenway

Hidden Blades

The signature weapon of most assassins is a hidden blade shoved at the cuffs of their wrists, which they can extend to use for various stealth kills. However, Connor’s is a bit different. Instead of the usual short blade that extends forward and back in, In Assassin’s Creed 3, Connor’s blades can extend as well as rotate for better conventional use, akin to a small knife or dagger.

Bow

One of Connor’s oldest and most trustworthy weapons. While it is best used for hunting small prey, it's great for silently piercing Red Coats, picking them off from afar.

Swords

Normal Sword	A fast and efficient blade for killing quickly.
French Rapier	A balanced blade with solid speed and damage. The tip is very sharp.
Light Cavalry Saber	An incredibly quick blade that cuts down enemies at high speed. Good for cavalry use.
Hanger Sword	A blade whose lack of elegance is overcome by its bashing and brutal hand to hand efficiency.
French Cutlass	A short, broad-bladed slasher often utilized for easier maneuverability, along with a sturdy guard able to both protect the user’s hand and club enemies.
Officer’s Sword	This blade is often worn by officers to show off their prestige and rank. What it lacks in defense, it’s lightness and maneuverability can outpace most swords when used by proper hands.
Cuttoe Sword	This shorter hanger blade serves as essentially a big hunting knife, yet it can also be helpful in settling heated disagreements.
Lincoln’s Sword (Replica)	A replica of the blade used by General Lincoln who accepted the British surrender at Yorktown.
George Washington’s Sword (Replica)	A replica of the battle blade used by George Washington throughout the Revolutionary War.
Captain Kidd’s Sawtooth Cutlass	Said to have belonged to Captain William Kidd himself.

Small Weapons

Connors bread and butter weapons are his smaller, more agile weapons. Weapons like tomahawks and daggers that he gained as a member of the Kanien'keha:ka tribe.

Assassin Tomahawk	Connor’s signature weapon, once said to have belonged to the First Colonel Assassin in the New World and was passed down to Achilles who then passed it down to Connor once he became an Assassin.
Stone Tomahawk	These were the norm for war hatchets before the trading of iron heads. It was also Connor’s main weapon before becoming an Assassin.
Iron Tomahawk	A multi-purpose tool favored among the frontier, its materials often indicate the social status of the wielder. Brass, bronze and copper were the ingredients for its highly specialized head.
Stone Dagger	Made of flint, though less precise than steel, it has been sharpened for an effective cut as told by its grooves.
Iron Dagger	This short blade was commonly used by riflemen, its styling showcasing its heavy British origins
Dirk	A short blade that was originally worn by the Highlanders, this is a copy of the blades carried by the Royal Highland emigrants while in service in North America. Similar long and piercing blades were also worn by Junior Naval Officers.
War Tomahawk	Its heavier head is a showcase of its great value and durability, its butt helps counterbalance its weight and allows for mightier/deadlier strikes. It has also been used as a projectile.
“Broken Sword” Knife	This knife was made with the shortened parts of a once longer hanger sword. A masterpiece of its kind, each part of the blade has been expertly cut and melded. Its durability and sturdy build should not be underestimated.

Clubs

Gunstock War Club	A Native American club with an iron blade. It is in the shape of a gun stock with decent damage and combo potential.
Wooden War Club	A middle of the road club that doubles as a tool for hammering.
Stonehead War Club	A stone club that is slow but deals powerful damage. It's also used for ceremonies.
Obwandiyag's War Club	Wielded by a chief of the same name this club is incredibly powerful but as slow as a weapon can get.
Iron Blade War Club	The iron spear on this club gives the weapons increased damage and combo potential though it is relatively slow.

Axes

Hessian Axe	Intended both for felling and hewing, this dual purpose explains its curved blade and heavy head. The unbalanced weight often means it has to be held with both hands.
Naval Axe	A compact axe intended to serve as a multi-purpose tool on ships of any size, it is sharp enough to go through any unlucky soul facing its end.
Boarding Axe	Typical of the European naval style, this axe is ideal for cutting ropes and destroying masts to prevent any ship’s escape.
French Naval Axe	This weapon’s quality and efficiency truly represents a nation’s determination to rise anew from defeat.
Pirate Boarding Axe	You don’t need both eyes to see the fine craftsmanship put into the axe. Its shagreen strips covering its handle allows for easier handling in the midst of intense conflict.

Firearms 

Flintlock Pistol	Despite being less powerful than the musket due to its short range accuracy, it’s more comfortable and easier held versatility often lead to greater results. These are often dual-wield with fellow pistols.
Double-Barrel Pistol	Featuring a side-by-side barrel design, this English flintlock allows the user to take two shots in a row, allowing for easier and consecutive takedowns without the need of reloading.
Duckfoot Pistol	A multi-barreled pistol that can fire three bullets at once, its intended use is to scatter threatening groups at close range, making it a popular choice for jail keepers and naval officers to discourage mutiny.
French Coat Pistol	Using a clever double trigger, it allows the pistol to shoot two shots consecutively, creating a decisive advantage against slower reloading pistols. It’s short length also helps to conceal it and add to the element of surprise.
English Flintlock Pistol	An exceptional .71 caliber pistol that may have belonged to General Edward Bradock would have given it to George Washington himself.
Royal Pistol	This marvelous double-barreled pistol is a work of art crafted by famous gunsmith Francois-Alexandere Chasteau.
Naval Duckfoot	A useful tool for keeping your mutinous crew from doing anything they might regret. (Similar to the other Duckfoot Pistol)
Italian Flintlock	Covered by silver gilded linework, its longer barrel ensures increased precision.
Pitcairn-Putnam Pistols	These are exact replicas of the Scottish ram’s-head-butted pistols that are believed to have belonged to British Major John Pitcairn, which were lost, and later given to General Israel Putnam after the Battle of Lexington.

Consumables

A set of craftable items that Connor has limited uses of. Despite their limited use, these items can turn the tide of battle with their power and must be used at the right time to see maximum effect. Connor can gather materials from the world around him in order to craft these items.

Poison Darts

Made from a combination of lead ore and sulfur, these darts allow Connor to take out targets and prey alike while remaining out of sight. Once making contact, the injected toxin enters the victims’ bloodstream, killing them with little delay.

Rope Darts

Created by securing a sharp, metallic blade to a long rope, three to five meters in length, it can be employed in a variety of ways, such as grabbing and bringing them in for a close quarters kill, or by hanging enemies from above. Connor is quite “efficient” with them you can say.

Smoke Bombs

These trusty tools can be dropped any time and stun any enemies within its radius, allowing the user to escape, or regain the element of surprise before said enemies recover.

Snares

These are primarily used for hunting small animals on the frontier. Larger animals will easily destroy it upon stepping on it. Snares can also be used without being placed on the ground as a tool to choke out enemies after parrying their attack.

Trip Mines

Trip mines acted in a similar fashion to the bombs used by the Ottoman Assassins in that they were placed at a strategic location on the ground. When stepped on they detonate a small explosion usually killing the victim.

 Pouch

Connor has the ability to craft a wide variety of pouches and similar items that increase the capacity of his consumables and ammunition.

Quiver	Increases the amount of arrows Connor can hold from 6 to a whole 16 arrows.
Cartridge Pouch 3	The best cartridge pouch Connor can afford which lets him hold 40 bullets at a time.
Rope Dart Pouch 1	Allows Connor to carry 5 rope darts instead of 3.
Smoke Bomb Pouch Upgrade	Increases Connor’s smoke bomb capacity to 5.
Snare Pouch 1	Allows Connor to hold more snares at once.
Trip Mine Pouch 1	Let's Connor have 5 trip mines in his inventory.

Twin Holsters

A special set of holsters that lets Connor hold two pistols at once. This means that instead of reloading, Conner can immediately switch to another pistol.

Shard of Eden

A special artifact found within Captain Kidd’s treasures. This powerful piece of technology was created by the Isu to be used as an electromagnetic forcefield. By using magnetism the Isu would have metallic projectiles go around them instead of making contact. Connor uses his Shard of Eden in a similar way, using it to deflect gunfire and other small metallic objects away from him. However, it isn’t surefire and doesn’t always work.

Trophy

Back in the olden times of the Spike Video Game Awards Connor was awarded “Character of the Year.” What to most would be an awesome trophy they put on a shelf or in a case for display Connor uses for murder. Classic Connor!

Horse

Connor is capable of using a whistle to call upon a horse for him to ride around on. On his horse he is able to move across large expanses with relative ease and take fights at high speeds. Connor can even craft saddle bags for his horse, which lets him replenish ammo and supplies from his steed.

Stats 

Jin Sakai

Feats

• Stopped the Mongol Invasion of Japan

• Bested General Temuge, Lady Masako, Black Hand Riku, Ryuzo, The Eagle, Kotan Kahn and Lord Shimura

• Mastered the Way of the Flame, Heavenly Strike and Dance of Wrath

• Became the Ghost Of Tsushima

Attack Potency

• Can slice through multiple pieces of bamboo with a single swing (shown above)

• Can cut through skin, bone and Mongol armor

• Able to kick Mongols high into the air

• Capable of pulling enemies through doors using just his sword

Durability 

• Survived being thrown off a bridge by Kotun Khan

• Tanks being shot with multiple Arrows through out the game

• Can take point-blank blasts from a Mongol Fire Lance

• Capable of surviving Mongol artillery like cannons and hwachas, which create large explosions (0.43 Tons of TNT)

Speed

• Dodged a Mongol siege weapon

• The Dance of Wrath can quickly dash between targets (33.06 - 62.2 M/S)

• Can dodge and deflect arrows at close ranges (171.44 M/S)

• Capable of dodging hwacha and cannon fire (118.58 - 285.90 M/S)

• The Heavenly Strike can dash large distances quicker than the eye could follow (606 - 1752 M/S)

• Jin can even dodge Koga doing the Heavenly Strike. While Koga’s version is likely not perfect, it should allow for a downscale

Connor Kenway

Feats

• Aided in the 13 Colonies winning several battles against the British Empire, along with beating the Templars in the area

• Assassinated William Johnson, John Pitcairn, Thomas Hickey, Benjamin Church, Haythem Kenway and Charles Lee

• Created a thriving community around the Davenport Homestead

• Became the Assassins Creed 3 (doesn't work as well does it?)

Attack Potency 

• Can effortlessly pick up and knockout men

• Using hidden blades can pierce the skull rather easily 

• Kicked Haythem through a barrel

• Earlier in the game Connor speared Haythem through a wooden wall 

• Capable of wrestling with elk and bears

Durability

• Survived being crushed and impaled by pieces of wood after falling into a collapsing ship (shown above), only to continue his chase of Charles Lee

• Took an explosion capable of opening a hole into a limestone cavern

• Able to take direct impact shots from a cannon, which can destroy large building chunks (0.25 Tons of TNT)

• Can survive point-blank explosive barrel detonations (0.98 - 2.36 Tons of TNT)

• These barrels can also which destroy solid stone (0.25 Tons of TNT)

Speed

• Was able to knock, draw and lose a single arrow in a single jump

• Outran a bear chasing him as a child

• Can react to attacks from wolves, bobcats and cougars

• Escaped a collapsing cavern in under 25 seconds

Scaling

Jin Sakai

Residents of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is a game about becoming a legend. One that surpasses every other legend that has existed on the island. Jin, obviously, being the legend to surpass all these other legends should be able to scale above everyone else on the island. This is even backed up as him being the main force who defeated Kotun Khan and freeing Tsushima from Mongol rule, a feat no one else on the island ever got close to achieving. 

• Yuna can take down Mongols quickly

• Sensei Ishikawa hit a pirate captain from the shore while the captain was presumably far away on a boat

• Jin’s Horse broke a skull in with a kick

• This Horse also survived the large storm that shipwrecked him and Jin

• Kojiro fought an army of Straw Hat Ronin “from dawn till dusk”

• Shigenori used the Heavenly Strike to hit “Beasts of lightning” (Debatable, see Before the Verdict)

• By defeating the Lighting Beasts, Shigenori had cleared the large thunderstorm sweeping over Tsushima (Debatable, see Before the Verdict)

The Mongols

As the main enemy faction in Ghost of Tsushima Jin should be able to scale to the Mongols. He’s taken on hoards of low level Mongols while also defeating their best generals and leaders.

• Most Mongols can overpower the average Tsushima resident with ease and as a whole butchered the Samurai on Tsushima.

• Mongols can survive black powder bombs

• Mongol Leaders can take the force of a black powder barrel explosion (0.26 - 0.61 Tons of TNT)

• They can even survive full carts of explosive barrels exploding next to them

• Khotun Khan ripped Taka’s head off (RIP the goat)

• Khotun Khan can also tank multiple explosive arrows

Connor Kenway

The Kenways

It runs in the family as they say. The Kenways are pretty much the family that drove the events of the colonial era and it stands to reason that Connor would be comparable to his namesakes. For a direct scaling chain Edward should be on par with Adewale, who was killed by Shay Cormac who Haythem Kenway is comparable too. Obviously Connor scales to Haythem via being the one to assassinate him.

• Haytham Kenway defeated Achilles Davenport in direct combat

• Haythem also threw a dagger accurately enough to cut the rope hanging Connor

• Edward Kenway…

• Can tank explosions from gunpowder barrels

• Can survive beams capable of vaporizing 3 people (0.22 Tons of TNT)

• Can move fast enough that he completely blitzes other sailors

• Can block ninja stars and thrown swords from close range, later stating he was rusty

• While bloodlusted, could kill multiple mercenary shieldmen, who could survive a large gunpowder explosion exploding right on top of them (1.03 Tons of TNT)

• Dodged a bullet (216 M/S) (Debatable, see Before the Verdict)

• Is able to match all three surviving members of the Chinese Brotherhood, who deflect close range musket fire (265.87 - 531.75 M/S)

Aveline De Grandpré

Among all of Connor’s Assassin brethren, Aveline De Grandpré stands out as one of his very few peers, essentially having the same legendary reputation in the South as Connor does in the North. As the pair have fought alongside each other with neither being treated vastly beyond the abilities of the other, it should be more than fair to scale Aveline’s feats to Connor.

• Can wrestle with and kill alligators

• Broke the base of a water tower with one kick

• Tanks an explosive barrel, which is able to destroy walls (0.15 Tons of TNT)

• Dodges attacks from a whip

Shay Cormac

Shay Cormac is one beast of an Assassin. Or at least he would have been if he didn’t go “Rogue” and move over to the side of the Templars. As we pointed out in the section above Shay and Haythem Kenway are comparable fighters and Connor defeated Haythem meaning he can likely scale to the feats of Shay.

• Survived and outran the Lisbon Earthquake 

• Capable of surviving gunpowder barrel explosions 

• These same barrels can cause a cliff to collapse

• Can survive lasers capable of vaporizing people (0.07 Tons of TNT)

Weaknesses

Jin Sakai

While he has been trained in the art of the Samurai for a good while Jin is still young and often rash in decisions. Jin may be successful in the storming of Mongol camps but it is still incredibly dangerous and his open treason to the samurai code led to him being imprisoned for a long time. Another example of Jin being rash is when he provided the Mongols with poison after he used it during the siege of Castle Shimura.

Jin’s arsenal isn’t perfect either. A lot of his arsenal is very limited in how much they can be used before the item runs out. Jin’s sword stances are also very specific in what they counter and require much more finesse to work against weapons that they don’t immediately counter.

Connor Kenway

While Connor is a master assassin and incredible warrior he is not without faults. Connor may be extremely dedicated but he is also extremely tunnel vision and usually tends to get hot headed when people go against his ideals or wrong him. This is obviously most shown through his infatuation with hunting down and killing Charles Lee, which almost led to his own death at multiple points. Connor is also very naive at many points due to his wish to see everyone free, causing arguments with others that he simply does not need to have.

For less personal weaknesses many of Connor’s weapons are very limited in how many he can carry on him like rope darts and smoke bombs. He also can leave himself open to being countered often if he is not careful and breaks his opponents guard before going for stronger attacks.

Before We Decide 

The Tale of Shigenori and his Heavenly Strike

The tale of Shigenori and his Heavenly Strike technique has provided Jin with an impressive skill to pull from when it comes to breaking through his opponents defense. However, the tale of Shigenori also brings a lot of questionable elements to scaling and feats to the fold.

Starting off, let's talk about the legitimacy of tales in Ghost of Tsushima. Tales and Mythic Tales are stories passed down to various storytellers across Tsushima and Iki. These tales are then told to Jin who uses the information to gain a piece of gear or an ability he can use in combat after a small quest relating back to the tale. This immediately makes you question if the tales have any truth to them at all. Especially in the case of the Heavenly Strike, which talks about demon lightning dogs. And with Ghost of Tsushima being a very grounded game along with Japanese folklore aesthetics of the tales, you may think to simply write the story off as nothing but a backdrop for the quest.

However, these tales have shown multiple times that Tsushima is very willing to get supernatural with its story. The most obvious of the supernatural tales is Uchitsune's Longbow. In this tale Jin comes face to face with a Tengu Demon who attempts to keep him away from the sacred Longbow. The Tengu appears multiple times and even sends Jin to some sort of spiritual plane to fight him in a duel. There is no mistake that this is some sort of supernatural happening.

Then there is the Sarugami (monkey demon) in Black Hand Riku’s armor. While this one is more debatable than the Tengu the tale seems adamant on insisting the Sarugami is real. First off, the storyteller for this mission is different from most storytellers in the game in the fact that they used to sail with Black Hand Riku and were part of his crew. This adds more credibility to the storyteller’s claims. Then there is Riku himself, who calls to the Sarugami during the fight. Finally, once Jin obtains the armor, both he and the game itself claim the Sarugami still possess the armor. Safe to say the storyteller isn’t lying and the story here is true.

Now while none of this inherently means the story of Shigenori and the Heavenly Strike are 100% real this does at least show there is an argument to be made the tale could have been real and had happened. To go back to the point of the tales also lining up with that of the present in some form, lightning is a heavily used piece of imagery for the Heavenly Strike. It’s what finishes off Yasuhira and Jin can call down lightning with the Charm of Heavenly Rebuke. None of this definitely proves the tale is real but it at least gives us plenty of symbolism between the Beasts of Lightning and the Heavenly Strike.

So if the tale is real, what does it do for Jin? Well it would give Jin scaling to Shigenori’s use of the technique, which allowed him to defeat the Lightning Beasts. These beasts both moved at presumably Lightning speeds and kept a powerful storm going over Tsushima. 

Unfortunately regardless of the tale's legitimacy, both feats have problems. When it comes to speed scaling there is the major problem that Shigenori doesn’t scale to the beast's full speed. As the storyteller says, Shigenori took the Beasts of Lightning down to a beach where the sand slowed their movements. This means even the Heavenly Strike likely couldn’t naturally tag these beasts making it very hard to actually scale Shigenori to their full speed. You could make the argument Shigenori had to outrun the Beasts of Lightning to get them to the beach but this is unsubstantiated by anything in the tale. Saying he “lured” the beasts does not mean he himself had to find the beasts and run away from them. So the Heavenly Strike isn’t lightning timing. 

Where the Heavenly Strike should likely land in speed is actually told to us by the storyteller. The storyteller says the Heavenly Strike can move faster than the eye can track. This lines up with the fact that the attack is unblockable and almost always hits the target. 

Then comes the Beasts of Lightning seemingly holding the storm together. Outside of exact measurements for the storm being hard to pinpoint, we simply have no idea how the Beast’s held the storm together, and no proof that that power should scale to their physical AP and durability. And if we can’t prove that holding the storm together scales to the beast's physical stats, we can’t prove Shigenori or Jin scale to this either. Overall it seems way more likely the Beasts of Lightning just held the storm together by some storm creation ability that does not scale to their physical stats. You also could likely call this feat an outlier however, Jin’s flute can also create a storm so that it's not the most out there feat for the verse.

To wrap up this large section into a short package we believe that it is very possible the events that the tale described could very likely have happened for real. However, we do not believe Shigenori and this Jin can scale to lightning speeds nor a powerful feat of storm creation.

Edward Kenway’s Bullet Dodge

In Assassin's Creed the Forgotten Temple, Edward Kenway “dodges a bullet” fired from an enemy gunman. What seems like it would be a simple calc is in all reality a nightmare to calculate due to the weird formatting, layout and inconsistency caused by it being a Webtoon. This sparked much discussion in a Jin VS Connor debate on the DBJ (Death Battle Judgement) server and now we come here to bring you our opinion on the feat and its two drastically different ends. But first let us present the ends originally given during the DBJ event. 

End One: A calc done by user Stars determined that the dodge gets around 54 M/S. This is through a combination of Ang sizing using the panel before the gun is fired to determine that the distance between the Edward and the Gunman is 2 meters meaning the room is very large as well and the perspective is crazy.

End Two: Done by Oleggator this calc uses Stars as a framework (using the same distance for Edward’s movement) but instead pixel scaling Edward and his distance from the gun from the shot of the gunman aiming at Edward to determine the distance is 0.19 meters between the gunman and Edward. This would make the room much smaller. This gets 729.7 M/S.

Obviously both of these calcs have to deal with some fun perspective shenanigans and we will get to their evaluation in a moment but first.

Is this a bullet dodge? Short answer, yes. This is based on two things. 1. The order of events shown in the comic. You can read here to see the order yourself starting from when the gunman aims at Edward. First, we see the gunman aim directly at Edward, this is backed up by the next shot which shows the exact same thing. Then, we see the gun fired before finally a bullet that was dodged by Edward moving. Unless the guy somehow didn’t see Edward move his head before firing or he was randomly distracted there is no reason to believe he missed. Based on the order in the comic Edward had to have dodged. This is backed up by number 2. the onomatopoeias. In the last two shots we see the words “Bang” and “Thwack”. Bang being the firing of the gun, and thwack being the hitting of the bullet against the wall. This means Edward had to have moved before the bullet reached its target destination being the wall based on sounds. So once again unless the gunman miraculously missed Edward had to have dodged the shot.

Now we need to discuss the validity of the calcs. First up let’s take a look at Stars calc. Immediately we believe that this calc has a major issue in its distance. The calc uses a shot of Edward being aimed at from off screen and during a very stylized panel. Based on the panel previously shown there is no way these distances can co-exist. However, the shot before the one Stars uses to calculate the distance is heavily stylized and less grounded in the reality of the scene. It’s a shot meant to show Edward’s fear and dread in regards to the gun being aimed at him over emphasis on the gunman aiming. We also can look at the room itself and very clearly see that the room isn’t 2 meters long and likely wouldn’t be 2 meters wide either. So if the room itself isn’t that big neither can the distance between the gunman and Edward. The rest of the calc should be fine.

Next is Oleggators calc. While the distance makes much more sense it actually has the opposite problem of Stars. As the measurement here is using the first panel of the gunman aiming at Edward. However it only measures the distance between the gun and Edward’s hair which doesn’t work due to the perspective of the shot. The perspective clearly implies that the gunman is further than from the tip of the gun to Edward’s head so this calc also shouldn’t be used. Though it is worth noting that the arm measurement for the gunman, while a little interesting, isn't a big deal. At least when compared to an over 2 meter room. Based on the aiming shot the guy's arm is likely 1 meter long. While this is a little above average it isn’t completely impossible, especially for a person as built as our gunman. It’s also a Webtoon meaning the proportions tend to be a little wonky like that. There is a major difference between a room obviously not being 2 meters due to a stylized, unrealistic shot and a guy having slightly above average arms due to being built and consistently styled for a Webtoon .

So what is the correct calc for this feat?While we can’t exactly gauge anything perfectly, Oleggator once again does the calc and simply increases the distance to be the whole head of Edward. It’s not perfect but we get a speed of 216 M/S which matches with other calcs for the Webtoon. So consider this to be the calc to put an end to the discourse from the original DBJ event.

Should Connor scale to Non-Colonial Era Assassins?

While many people believe all of the main Assassins are just comparable based on the fact they are all Assassins, this can be disproven. Because despite them all being Assassins it should still be required that you have proof for Connor scaling to the Non-Colonial Assassins as otherwise you are making a massive assumption. Especially when that assumption can be easily disproved by Assassin's Creed Rogue, an entire game showing Shay Cormac (A former Assassin) kill almost all of his former comrades by beating them in a fight. This already should show not all Assassins are equal and there can be disparities in strength. However, the real evidence comes from seeing differences when it comes to how Assassins handle the Pieces of Eden and other Isu’s.

You see, Connor never really gets to interact with any of the Pieces of Eden in a combat scenario so already it’s a bit tough to scale him to the Pieces directly. He also never really encounters anyone who does make use of these Pieces of Eden unlike say Ezio or Arno, nor does extended scaling to the Colonial Era Assassins and Templars grant him this. This whole section of AC history is oddly absent of the more potent Pieces of Eden, making it very difficult to make a case as to why he scales to any of these higher-end feats.

Now sure there are cases where normal humans can combat and kill armed and armored Isu, and heck it’s a plot point that humanity was winning their war against the Isu simply due to attrition. The difference though is that these are all nameless, fodder Isu compared to actually named characters like Demeter or Juno, who can overpower the likes of Kassandra/Aletheia, who in turn very easily can plow through whole groups of nameless Isu even without knowing how to properly use the Staff of Hermes and kill abominations like the Hekatoncheires, which was stated to be a threat to everyone in Atlantis. In the opposite direction, in-universe, some non-hybrid humans are really just built differently as characters like Cesare Borgia, Elise de la Serre, or Darius for instance are all comparable to their games’ protagonists, can evenly fight against them, and damage Pieces of Eden.

Similarly, the other Assassins all have their own justifications as to why their Pieces are especially powerful and unique compared to all the other misc. Isu weapons we see in Odyssey. While Odyssey’s Isu weaponry certainly have special effects, they don’t display things like the energy projection or shockwave generation we see with Arno’s or Deimos’ Swords for instance. Poseidon’s Trident and Hades’ Bident also clearly demonstrate unique energy abilities beyond buffs or debuffs to their wielder.

• Apples of Eden have a variety of different abilities from mind control to energy projection to cloaking/invisibility on top of its ability to amp people to fight Staff of Eden users.

• The Papal Staff & Alexander’s Staff were similar to the Imperial Sceptre in enhancing physical ability and granting physical protection like the Imperial Sceptre we see in The Fall, amping up Alexander the III to superhuman levels like lifting train cars even while he is physically away from the sceptre and protecting Nikolai Orelov at the epicenter of the Tunguska Event.

• The Staff of Hermes has its own independent city level scaling as when its power is combined with two Artifacts of Olympos, it has the power to sink the Isu city of Atlantis.

• The Sword of Eden encountered by Arno and damaged by Elise was among the swords forged by Consus and Hephaestus, explicitly made to be devastating and end The War of Unification.

• Jacob & Evie’s Shroud is what amped the Isu Juno, who was already powerful enough to swipe away Kassandra near the end of the events of the Fate of Atlantis DLC, and it replicated some of her feats such as energy projection.

• Bayek’s Pharaoh projections in the Curse of the Pharaohs DLC that he faces off against are seemingly at the center of and maintaining their afterlife projections which are likely real given the Apple's ability to manifest objects into reality when empowered by collective belief and the DLC itself clarifying that there was a ritual specifically carried out by the line of Pharaohs in possession of the Apple to project godly power and was being used by the main villain to “recreate the afterlife”.

We also can’t go in the opposite direction of using Connor’s scaling to Edward to scale him to Bartholomew Roberts and other Aita Sages. While stated to consistently have 5-6% Isu DNA, the most in history outside of Isu themselves, Aita Sages vary in physical capabilities with the likes of Roberts being killed by fire from the Jackdaw and can instantly be killed by Edward via Hidden Blade, or how John Standish was killed by some gunfire from Abstergo guards. Meanwhile Francois-Thomas Germain can easily take several stabs from Arno’s Hidden Blade and remain in well-enough condition afterwards to use the Sword of Eden on him repeatedly and then damage it in a fight with Elise, as well as the WWI Master Spy being able to take numerous slashes, stabs, and shots from Lydia Frye before going down. In short, Bartholomew is…

And as our final nail in the coffin, in the dream/simulation created by the Apple of Eden in Tyranny of King Washington, a Post-AC3 Connor gets absolutely decimated in his first fight with an Apple using Washington, as opposed to literally every non-Colonial era main game protagonist putting up a great fight on their own or outright winning against Isu constructs or individuals amped by them. While this is a dream/simulation scenario, Connor mentally retains all his memories and experiences of the main game and physically, just looking at his build, doesn’t look to be any weaker nor does he comment on that, and he’s able to do everything he can normally do in the base game. The only counter to Connor losing badly to a PoE user compared to the other Assassins this is that King Washington would’ve used and mastered the Apple longer than anyone we’ve seen on screen outside Altair and the Isu, but that defense still doesn’t give him any sort of scaling to Piece of Eden users.

All that said, we'd like to mention that the Forgotten Temples Webtoon/manhwa is still ongoing and features Edward as its main protagonist on the hunt for Pieces of Eden. As of the time of writing this blog, it still has yet to even start its planned third season so there’s very much time for things to change. Here’s the official link to the public Webtoon if you wanna check it out!

Presently Edward has only encountered and fought against someone using the Amulet of Lapu-Lapu, which has amped its users to take on small armies single handedly, but so far it has no scaling to the other Pieces of Eden quite yet. Its abilities revealed so far include mind manipulation, hallucinations, clairvoyance into the future/possible futures, and a rage amp. So far there is no way to compare it to other Pieces of Eden as it hasn’t been revealed to be some semi-common or recurring Piece like Apples, Staves, or Swords of Eden. However it has been teased that this artifact is only one of a three-piece set, so we’re likely to see more impressive feats from these Pieces in the future. Until then though, still no scaling through Edward. Sad. 

Legends/Tyranny of King Washington

For anyone who has played either of these games you may notice GoT’s Legends mode and AC3’s Tyranny of King Washington DLC have not been brought up often if at all. This is because both are very awkward to bring up due to their questionable canonical status’. Legends is Ghost of Tsushima’s multiplayer mode while Tyranny of King Washington is a DLC for Assassin’s Creed 3 with some strange happenings to say the least.

Starting with Legends it seems pretty clear that this mode is not meant to be serious. Ghost of Tsushima is no stranger to the supernatural but demon Mongols and multiple Ghosts aren’t exactly the norm for the verse. It also is very clearly meant to be a story, as it comes from Gyozen, a storyteller. A common fan theory that would explain everything is that Gyozen is getting all his information about the Ghost from second hand retelling. He is then weaving them into one story about Jin’s fight against the Mongols. The multiplayer aspect of the Legends mode being due to Gyozen not believing all of this could be done by one man. While this is only a fan theory it perfectly explains how Legends is very obviously not canon and just so the developers could tag in a multiplayer mode. Even without this theory the mode is still way out the norm for GoT and is just supposed to be a fun, non canon multiplayer mode. So in our opinion Legends should simply not be usable.

However, Tyranny of King Washington is a little less complicated. The premise is essentially an alternate universe story told in-universe, wherein George Washington becomes the tyrannical king of the American colonies with the Apple of Eden and Connor develops mystical powers to lead the revolution against him. At the very end, both fight to the death and awaken from their shared dream/vision of the alternate reality. However the origin of these mystical abilities Connor gains from visiting the Sky World aren’t really explained very well. He enters some sort of mental plane and seemingly communes with spirits, but there aren’t any obvious or explicit Pieces of Eden involved (other than the one creating this whole dream/vision of course), and the Great Willow tree itself isn't explained beyond granting supernatural power from the tea you can make from it. Connor also has no idea about the tree until he's told about it, meaning it is either undiscovered or doesn't exist in the real world. There is an engraving on the Red Willow Tree that lets Connor enter the Sky World that resembles an Apple of Eden, but again it isn’t clear if there is a literal Apple inside or buried under the tree or if its effects are entirely simulated by the Apple. Perhaps it is also a result of the dream version of the Apple granting Connor his powers via belief as with the Apple from Curse of the Pharaohs, but this is even more speculative as we’ve only ever seen the Apple conjure what its users wish it to create and King Washington never seems to acknowledge Connor’s power is coming from his own Apple. 

In any case, normal Connor obviously doesn’t scale to his dream self’s spirit powers, however his experiences in it likely can be given to him on top of all his skills up to that point. Time and time again across the franchise we’ve seen characters gain the experiences and abilities of lives lived through simulators like the Animus through the Bleeding Effect. As this is consistent between all Isu-Hybrids who go through such a thing, there’s no reason to assume it’d be any different for Connor. And while it’s a bit iffy to scale Connor’s mental resistance to events that basically occurred in a vision, it’s still a setting meant to give a glimpse as to what could have been and is fairly grounded in reality (minus the animal powers), and it’s established anyway that strong wills and personalities can resist the Apple's control.

Verdicts

Team Jin

Strength/Durability

When looking at strength and durability no matter what way you slice it, Connor does have a clear edge and Team Jin will not deny this. Both characters' best feats or feats they scale to involve the surviving energy of an exploding barrel but whereas Connor’s barrel gets 0.98-2.36 Tons of TNT Jin’s Mongol scaling only gets between 0.26-0.61 Tons of TNT. Even looking at middle ground feats, Jin is only raking in 0.43 Tons of TNT by surviving a Hwacha compared to Connor scaling to Edward and Chinese Soldiers surviving a 1.03 Tons of TNT barrel explosion in the Webtoon. No matter what, Jin will always be a little weaker unfortunately. However, he is never weaker to the point where he won’t be able to hurt Connor. Yet, this category still goes to Connor due to his superior feats.

I’d also like to use this section to talk about both and say they both have incredible endurance. While Connor still takes the section both of them have taking heavy beatings (Jin at Komoda Beach and getting thrown off a bridge by the Khan VS Connor fighting Haythem while dazed) along with walking long distances while extremely debilitated (Jin through cold and poison at Kin VS Connor chasing Lee after being impaled)

Speed

Speed is a far more interesting category than strength. To start, Jin and Connor should be very comparable using Connor’s low ends. Jin dodging a cannonball and Connor scaling to the Chinese Brotherhood deflecting bullets both get around 200 M/S. However higher ends for the Chinese Brotherhood do get higher than Jin’s regular speed with a speed of 531.75 M/S. This is a good bit faster than Jin who’s cannonball dodge gets exactly 285.90 M/S, but things take a turn in Jin’s favor when looking at the Heavenly Strike, a dash that moves 606-1752 M/S. Obviously Jin’s use of the technique would allow him to move this fast while using the technique, but Jin should even be able to somewhat scale this to his reaction speeds as he was able to dodge and study Koga using the attack. It’s admittedly only a downscale due to Koga only having just learned the technique but he was clearly using the technique well enough that Jin could learn the technique fully and use it against that of Koga so it should be ok to downscale.

So to put it all together, Jin and Connor are both comparable on lower ends but on higher ends Connor comes out on top. That is until Jin uses the Heavenly Strike which moves faster than Connor on both the low and high ends, but Jin likely would only physically downscale the low end of the feat. So since both have potential to be faster or equivalent to one another, we will call this section a tie.

Arsenal and Abilities

Both characters here have an expansive arsenal and a few abilities at their disposal to help them against one another. So let’s see how they stack up. To start, Jin has much more variety in his arsenal while Connor takes quantity. Jin has a wide list of unique items between different bombs, arrows, and blow darts. While most charms and armors just change around stats, they can have some powerful effects that let him change up his fighting style and special perks at any given moment.

As for specifics, let’s talk about poison first as it’s one of Jin’s best wincons. Jin has 3 main methods of poisoning his opponent. The Charm of Toxic Demise which allows him to add a poisoning effect to his windchimes, Yuriko’s Keepsake which poisons 15 percent of the time with arrows and the blow darts Jin has. While Connor does have a resistance to poison, it’s much weaker than anything we have seen from Jin’s, meaning the resistance likely would not be enough to save Connor from the poison. With Jin’s poison resistance letting him resist his own powerful poison, this should easily be comparable to Connor’s poison darts. This means that Jin can both survive and cure himself of any poison thrown at him.

Both fighters also have their own bows. Thanks to Jin’s charms and variety of arrows however, he easily proves that a bow is much more useful in his hand. While Connor has a bow and 32 arrows at any given moment, Jin has 2 bows and 48 arrows between all his different types. It initially sounds like Connor has the advantage, but unlike his opponent, Jin has plenty of ways to counter and enhance his own Way of the Bow. Concentration allows Jin to slow down his perception of time and better his aim while also increasing the speed of his arrows. This will make it much harder for Connor to react to incoming arrows while also making it very easier for Jin to aim his shots. Jin also has plenty of ways to keep concentration going for longer like the Charm of Concentration and the Archery Master Attire, along with plenty of different ways to improve the power of his arrows. We already went over Yuriko’s Keepsake but there is also Suguru’s Sight, a charm that lets Jin fire 3 arrows at once. Even if Jin misses, he can have a 25% chance to recover his arrows via the Charm of Swift Return. Then there is the Charm of Iron Grip, which means that Jin will never accidentally fire a shot when taking damage or by holding onto a shot for too long. The final bow based advantage for Jin is the Charm of Immunity, which gives him a 15% chance to not take damage from arrows. Ultimately, Jin has too many counters and enhancements here so he gets the superiority in archery.

When it comes to Ghost Weapons VS Assassin consumables, Jin also has a clear edge. We already noted that poison was much better for Jin but his explosives allow him to deal high amounts of AoE damage which is increased by the Charm of Advantage and Kensei armor. Both items increase the damage on Ghost Weapons but the Kensei Armor specifically makes enemies weaker while increasing how much damage Jin does after landing an attack with a Ghost Weapon. With explosive AoE, it should be relatively easy to get this effect to happen so Jin can effectively help lower the stat gap using Ghost Weapons. Connor does have some nifty items in the form of the rope dart and trip mines but neither item will be a fight winner unless Jin is reckless and lets Connor climb a tree and hang him with the rope dart. 

The only real item that would give Jin trouble is the Shard of Eden. That pesky forcefield would give Connor a chance to block Jin’s kunai, windchimes and potentially even a blowdart if you think it’s made of metal. The issue is it’s only a chance for Connor to block the incoming attack and not guarantee. It also has never been shown working on metal melee weapons so it shouldn’t have a chance to block Jin’s katana or tanto.

Even Jin’s horse is a superior ally to that of Connor’s. Both horses allow their rider to replenish resources at their saddlebags so running out of ammo shouldn’t be an issue for this fight. However, other than that Jin’s horse is much more useful in a fight. It is shown more often to think for itself and has a confirmed loyalty to Jin, compared to Connor who takes any horse he can find. This loyalty allows for Jin’s horse to fight at the same time as Jim and even pull off techniques such as the Horse Charge which would be a powerful move against Connor. Jin’s horse also has the Sakai Horse Armor meaning it would be hard for Connor to kill the horse with ease.

The only two advantages Connor has in this category is his quantity of guns and melee weapons. While Jin has stances to counter Connor’s swords and axes, he doesn’t have much to counter clubs, small weapons or even the Hidden Blades (unless you believe the Moon Stance to work on Connor due to his size). And while depending on what speed ends you buy for Jin he could potentially react to a gun, the closest he has seen to a gun is the Mongol firelance. So Connor does have a solid advantage if you bring Jin to a closer range. And when it comes to the flintlocks all it would take is for Connor to land a single headshot…but you could say the same thing for Jin and his bows, which have increased speed and aim thanks to the boost from Concentration.

Jin also has his own advantages with melee, mostly in the form of the mythic abilities. The Way of the Flame would make his attacks almost unblockable and the Charm of Blazing Flame would let him spread fire to Connor and make him take damage from the heat.

The other two abilities are tied to one of Jin’s best advantages in a fight like this, Resolve. With Resolve, Jin can keep himself healed up, cured of poison and start to perform attacks like the Heavenly Strike and Dance of Wrath. Both of these attacks could overwhelm and deal heavy damage to Connor. Not to mention Ghost Stance which also uses hard to block, high damaging strikes. Though any Terrify effects from charms, armors or the Ghost Stance likely wouldn’t work with someone with Connor’s mental fortitude, Jin’s healing and powerful mythic abilities will make Connor struggle to keep Jin down even at closer ranges. And while Resolve is a limited resource, Jin has plenty of ways to get it back. The Charms of Rejuvenation and Broken Barriers both give Jin a way to build up resolve through staying alive and fighting well. Jin also has Samurai Clan Armor which gives Resolve for taking damage and the Charm of Fortitude, which gives Jin a 20% chance to survive lethal damage while gaining back Resolve.

All in all, Connor has plenty of weapons at melee ranges to fall back on and has guns that could end the fight quickly. However Jin’s wide variety of ranged options, Ghost Weapons and unique charms give him more options he can take to win the fight. Resolve is also a busted healing option that will sustain Jin throughout the entirety of the fight. Capped off with his superior steed, this category goes to Jin.

Stealth

Stealth is a tactic both Jin and Connor consistently rely on to win fights. Thus, it is a very important category to discuss during a match like this. When it comes to stealth training, Connor definitely has an edge. All his life Connor has been sneaking up on prey and taking them out. Whether he is hunting or assassinating, Connor is much more experienced in this field which helps a lot. 

Yet Jin has actually shown much more impressive feats of stealth over his much shorter time using the tactic. Between breaking into the fully guarded Castle Shimura and escaping the heavily guarded samurai prison with no gear, Jin’s showings are much more impressive than Connor’s, which usually just involve traveling across the tops of buildings and moving throughout large, chaotic battlefields (both shown off in this mission). These incredibly difficult experiences really show that Jin can keep up with Connor in the field of stealth. This makes sense when you think about how Connor’s main use of stealth is for eavesdropping while hiding in plain sight rather than always using it to traverse and kill. Not to say Connor won’t use his stealth for assassination, but Connor more often goes for information gathering with disguises and sneaking through tunnels.

Both also have powerful counters to stealth in the forms of Focused Hearing and Eagle Vision respectively. These are also paired with just general tracking expertise from both combatants. However, when you look at their stealth countering abilities, Jin’s is superior. Sure, Eagle Vision allows Connor to deviate between friend and foe and track footprints. However, Jin can see and hear his opponent through walls using Focused Hearing, meaning Connor can’t ever stay in stealth for very long before Jin hears him. And when Jin can track just as well as Connor, there is no reason to believe he can get away for long before being tracked down.

But does Jin benefit from stealth? Well yes. Jin’s biggest benefit from stealth is actually creating distance between him and Connor as his ranged options are much better than his. His black powder bombs, blowgun, bows, and variety of arrows are Jin’s best options so getting away from Connor to use them would be his best bet. In the time Connor is taking to follow Jin, he could be firing a poison dart, explosive arrow or throwing a bomb while Connor is stuck playing catch up. Jin can also use this time to get in close and get some easy attacks in with his Tanto, slowing Connor down for the rest of the fight.

Another set of tools that are above Connor are his bait tools. All of Connor’s bait and snares are meant for animals and not warriors like Jin. So during stealth, Connor won’t have much to do but set up a few trip mines. Meanwhile, Jin has tools he can use to lure Connor into situations that give him an opening. While Connor wouldn’t be stupid and rush in to check on a windchime, he would likely investigate any potential sounds that could be Jin, along with the firecracker. The only thing potentially stopping Connor from dying while investigating a Charm of Toxic Demise windchime for clues is the Shard of Eden pushing it away.

And while both have Smoke Bombs to enter stealth and get away, Jin can always track Connor with Focused Hearing and Connor can use Eagle Vision. The only advantage Jin has here is with the Charm of Unseen Respite, which heals Jin 25% after using a Smoke Bomb.

All of this comes together to say that while Connor is extremely skilled in stealth, Jin just has better showings and much more he can do during stealth. Making it a more effective strategy for Jin.

Skill and Experience

While both fighters are extremely skilled, they are skilled in very different ways. To properly analyze this section, we will list what each combatant is better in them and directly compare the two.

Jin is a master of adaptation. He is known to create entirely new stances with his sword just to counter different types of Mongols and shifted from being an honorable samurai to master in the bow and assassination in a very short timeframe. This level of adaptability mostly comes from his keen eye, which has allowed Jin to recognize and learn techniques over the course of a single duel. Jin’s ability to scout also extends to finding things he can exploit in his environment to get an edge over his opponent. Jin is also a superior archer. While Connor has some impressive aim, it’s nothing like shooting 10s-100s of meters in only a couple seconds or shooting arrows on horseback consistently. And while both have knowledge in swordfighting, Jin is far more trained in this field through his long term samurai training. Along with these advantages, Jin is clearly more skilled with his horse. Connor never permanently keeps a horse and bonds with it like Jin does. This means Jin is much more effective at working with his horse and attacking from on top of it. 

Credit where it’s due, Connor is much more experienced as a whole. We don’t know the passage of time for Ghost of Tsushima but we know it’s much less than 14 years, which is how long Connor hunted the templar for. Along with that, we know Connor is more experienced in fighting more esoteric foes thanks to his time in King Washington’s illusion where he fought giant bears and lived through weird Pieces of Eden shenanigans. Connor is also more skilled in hand to hand melee combat as a whole. Jin likely knows some martial arts training but nothing on the level of Connor throwing around grown men like it’s nothing. Connor is also just better trained using stealth and unorthodox weapons. Connor can disarm Jin and pick up anything from his surroundings to be used as a weapon. Even further, Connor is much better at traversal. The Kaginawa may let Jin traverse vertically but Connor’s climbing ability is equal to Jin’s and his parkour horizontally is much better than anything we have seen from Jin. Connor even has extra training as a hunter and mentor to other members of his tribe that Jin does not have.

So who ends up taking this category? Well both excel in very different ways. Connor is an amazing close range brawler who uses traversal to outrun and outmaneuver his enemies, using stealth to break his opponents line of sight before popping back up and killing them. He also tends to disarm his opponents and pick up weapons he finds in the area to keep his opponent on their toes and weakened. Jin is different in that he focuses on adapting to his opponent’s style, countering them with a combination of staggering sword swings and tricky ghost weapon usage. Stealth is used to pick off enemies before engaging in full on combat. Jin tends to take a plethora of approaches to stay unpredictable and malleable when taking on new challenges. To determine his approach, Jin tends to check the environment to gain advantages over his opponent and take them out as he sees fit. Jin is a more trained fighter and has been taught in many unique ways but different people. Connor is more a warrior shaped by his experience and training in the way of the Assassins. Overall, both have such different styles and approaches to combat that either can be effective against the other depending on the situation. Jin can adapt to Connor and focus on his range to take Connor out from a struggle point of his while Connor can disarm Jin leaving him with less options and beat him through superior strength and melee experience. There is no way to objectively call this section so it must be a tie.

Conclusion

“I will make sure you are remembered as a great warrior... A wise leader... And a father.”

Advantages:

• Resolve is busted, keeping Jin alive with healing and curing poison

• The Heavenly Strike’s high end outspeeds Connor 

• Heavenly Strike and Ghost Stance are likely guaranteed damage on Connor

• Incredibly potent ranged wincons

• Poison would instantly kill Connor

• Better at range and on horseback 

• Is better in stealth

• Can adapt to Connor quickly and is trained in a larger variety of styles. Charms and armor sets add onto this point further

• One of the best PS exclusives with ease

• Insane Charisma 

Equal (If necessary):

• Equal speed in most scenarios 

• Some consumables and Ghost weapons are equivalent 

Disadvantages:

• Weaker and less durable

• The Shard of Eden can potentially block some threatening Ghost Weapons

• Guns

• His opponent has many versions of each of his weapon types, making disarming inconsequential for Connor. but disarming Jin provides Connor a strong opening

• Less experienced

• Ryuzo is a bitchass motherfucker

• Almost let the Mongols poison all of Japan (is he stupid?)

This match is extremely close and could go either way in many scenarios, however we believe Jin to be a safer bet for a winner in this match. While Connor is definitely stronger in close range due to his experience, style and physical strength, Jin can still keep up in this department with his Ghost Stance and Mythic Tale Abilities. While at range, Jin absolutely stomps Connor with more range, better aim, Concentration and poison. So what this really comes down to is who can control medium range and win the battle of stealth. While Connor’s guns are a formidable mid ranged tool, Jin still has plenty of room to use concatenation boosted arrows that are extremely difficult for Connor to block and all of his Ghost Weapons, which are more useful than items like the rope dart or trip mines. Connor also only has 2 guns before he has to reload while Jin can pump out arrows much faster and with better aim. Jin even has better showing of stealth to base his performance on and more options he can use during stealth while countering Connor’s own stealth with Focused Hearing. Both may be even in speed but Jin’s better use of his horse and Kaginawa give Jin the ability to traverse the battlefield better than Connor can with his horse and freerunning. 

Try as Connor might, he couldn’t make his Kenway out of this one. The winner is Jin Sakai.

Team Connor

Strength/Durability

In terms of strength and durability, Connor should take these categories no matter how you slice it. Looking at both middle ground feats - 1 ton for Connor vs. 0.43 tons for Jin, and in higher ends, 0.61 tons for Jin vs. 2.36 for Connor. This would be a roughly 2.3 times advantage for Connor with lower ends, and a 3.87 times advantage for Connor with higher ends, meaning that Connor is physically overpowering Jin no matter what. Both do have weapons that are primarily piercing in nature, so you could argue this advantage isn’t necessarily that important in the long run, but for reasons that will be expanded upon later, this advantage is key to why we believe Connor wins this match. As a result, Connor should roughly take strength and durability, making him the winner of this category.

Speed

Speed is definitely a lot closer than strength is, with both having roughly relative feats across the board - with both having feats roughly around 200 meters per second with Edward’s bullet-timing and Jin’s cannonball timing. However, both also have higher arguments in this area - namely, Jin downscaling the speed of Heavenly Strike, and Connor scaling to the Chinese Brotherhood, which would land both relatively similar again, as while Heavenly Strike’s speed is far above anything Connor has shown in the past, Jin only downscales it, while Connor would fully scalpel to the Chinese Brotherhood’s speeds - as a result, this category would be a tie, due to both evening out overall, with at best case for either, Connor taking a slight edge.

Arsenal and Abilities

In terms of arsenal and abilities, both Connor and Jin have a lot of options, so let’s break down each of their options into categories, and see how they equal out.

First of all, close quarters. In this regard, Connor definitely has more overall options then Jin in close range, who generally solely relies on his katana and overpowering his foe. However, Connor has a multitude of close ranged weapons that Jin has never dealt with before. While yes, Jin does indeed adapt to foes who have items he’s never seen before every single day, this is a problem he’s not dealt with before, as Connor has a multitude of these. Hidden blades, clubs, tomahawks are all problems Jin would need to adapt to fast, and they are all extremely deadly weapons considering the nature of both combatants. Connor’s physical advantage also aids in this regard, as while Ghost Stance makes Jin’s attacks hard to block normally for his foes, Connor is stronger than anything Jin has fought before and would be able to overpower him in this regard, too. This also leads into another disadvantage for Jin in close quarters, that being his resources. Connor’s weapons have a quantity advantage, while Jin has limited resources primarily focusing on his katana. In addition, stuff like Way of the Flame, while helpful for Jin, would require time for him to execute due to its nature and wouldn’t instantly kill Connor, with his superior endurance aiding in this regard as well. Heavenly Strike is certainly a helpful tool to keep Connor on his toes and would be nearly undodgeable, but it’s only one move against Connor’s general physical superiority and variety of options, and in that regard, it’s fairly obvious Connor’s options would win out. It is fairly clear-cut that any close quarters encounter favors Connor by a wide margin.

Next, let’s talk about an encounter at far range, where things shift a bit - and at the same time, they don’t. Jin is certainly a better archer in terms of quantity and quality compared to Connor, with far more experience in this area and far more variety in arrows, as well as a general range that’s greater. Concentration also would help - however, it should be noted that Connor isn’t exactly slower then Jin or his arrows, so while this would certainly give Connor trouble, he can deal with it, especially since his base speed and his horse could close distance - though, admittedly, Jin also has an advantage on horseback in comparison. He’s fought on his horse more than Connor has, and his horse can actually fight, unlike Connor’s. However, Jin’s other ranged options have issues in comparison to Connor’s thanks to one little item Connor has - the Shard of Eden.

The Shard of Eden projects a magnetic forcefield around Connor, blocking small metallic projectiles - conveniently, this happens to consist of much of Jin’s arsenal. Both have poison darts at this range, but the Shard of Eden would block Jin’s, and Jin’s resolve would let him heal off damage from Connor’s. In addition, Jin’s kunai and wind chimes are also blocked by the Shard, essentially forcing him to rely on archery at a distance and negating poison as a win-condition entirely. While Jin’s side would argue that the Shard of Eden is chance-based thanks to its depiction in gameplay, we’d like to argue this isn’t entirely representative of the full scope of its abilities. After all, if the Shard’s chance in lore was entirely random, it’s a bit odd that Kidd was able to use it for multiple years to avoid getting hit by musket fire if its chance of saving him was random - and its mechanics also don’t really make sense with this in mind. In addition, blowdarts, kunai, and wind chimes are far smaller objects then musket shots, meaning that they’d comparatively have less force and thus due to the magnetic properties of the forcefield, would likely be blocked more often regardless. As a result, while poison may seem like a strong win-condition for Jin, it has far too many problems to be a reliable way for him to take it. 

Overall though, Jin’s superior archery means that any battle from a great distance would be in his favor. Thus, this point goes to Jin.

However, battles at medium range are quite interesting, as both have a few options in this regard. Jin’s explosives are tricky for Connor to deal with, however Connor’s seen the likes of them before. Connor’s flintlocks are also a tricky obstacle for Jin to overcome, however they don’t exactly have the best aim - though, if Connor managed to land a shot with them, it’d likely do a lot more damage to Jin then vice versa. In addition, the rope dart would allow Connor to impale Jin from a distance and bring him to him, forcing him to bring the fight to close range and bringing it in Connor’s court again. Overall, their options in mid range generally equal out, with both having a few ways to take care of the other, making this point a draw.

Now, Jin’s resolve may seem like a game-breaking ability in this battle, but in truth his healing and other Resolve based abilities have their own problems - namely, the fact that Resolve is limited. Jin has ways to get it back with certain weapons and armor, but many of these builds come with their own drawbacks against Connor. Him needing to take damage, for instance, is not exactly ideal against an opponent like Connor, who also has far better endurance feats then Jin and is physically tougher then him to begin with, letting him match with Jin’s Resolve in terms of longevity in some regards.

Overall, both Jin and Connor have a lot of arsenal items, but for the most part they cancel out. Jin has superior long ranged options, Connor at close range, and they equal out at mid ranges, meaning that overall their arsenals and abilities are a draw. 

Stealth

Of course, in a battle like this, stealth is just as important as the other advantages, as in a battle of mid-range, finding your opponent or being able to sneak up on them is a vital advantage. And Connor certainly has a lot of feats within this regard. Having been trained as an assassin since birth, Connor has been doing stealth for longer than Jin ever has been, and has been doing things in this area for years.  However, Jin has far more quality to Connor’s quantity in stealth, and generally has more feats of impressive stealth across his game then Connor does, and generally uses his stealth for more devious means. In addition, he gains more off of stealth than Connor does, with his smoke bombs helping him gain health, a serious advantage, and his weapons benefitting from such a strategy.

However, both ways of detecting the other’s stealth more or less equal out in the end as while yes, Jin has slightly better ways of doing it, it’s worth noting he’s been snuck up on just as much as Connor has in the past, and his senses aren’t perfect. In addition, both’s smoke bombs let the other get around, and Connor has more context-specific traps that could aid him like the rope darts, especially considering the likely setting of a battle like this - Jin’s not perfect, and Connor having more general traps to set down would help him a bit in this battle, even though dealing with Jin’s own stealth options would be difficult, and this is still a category Jin should take, meaning only our last section can determine our winner…

Skill and Experience

And fittingly for such a close matchup, our final category is an incredibly close call… but not necessarily in the ways you’d think. In terms of raw experience, Connor absolutely dominates Jin. Connor’s been hunting the Templars for 14 years, which is far longer than any reasonable estimate for the events of Ghosts of Tsushima could have taken place. And Connor’s trained under many different styles of training - archery, tomahawks, swordfighting, hidden blades, and so on. 

Jin’s adaptation is frankly absurd and Connor would have difficulty keeping up with him in a straight sword fight for some time and he could adapt to Connor’s own fighting styles if he had the chance, but that leads into one of the most important tertiary advantages for Connor; fighting styles.

Jin’s general approach in one on one fights is to try to challenge his opponent to a one on one fight. However, Connor excels at disarming opponents in one on one fights, and especially given his significant strength advantage and wider variety of opponents he has fought, him being able to disarm his opponent, who also has limited resources, gives him a significant advantage.

Overall, both Connor and Jin have a wide variety of skill and experience in their fields, however, Connor’s advantages matter in this discussion, and as such, he should take this category - and as such, the win.

Conclusion

“It’s better to have faith in something, than none at all…”

Advantages:

• Stronger and more durable

• Fighting style hard counters Jin in close quarters

• Has many weapons Jin has never seen before, forcing his opponent to adapt quickly

• Has multiples of his weapons in comparison to Jin, meaning that losing weapons is far less disadvantageous for him then vice-versa

• Guns are a useful mid-range option

• Shard of Eden negates many of Jin’s projectiles as factors entirely

• Superior endurance would allow him to tank many of Jin’s attacks

• More skilled and experienced

• Is 6 feet tall (massive)

Equal:

• Speed

• Poison is ineffective as a win-condition for both

• Generally has a few items that cancel out with Jin’s own arsenal

Disadvantages: 

• Far less advantages at a distance due to his opponent being a generally superior archer

• Horse is far less useful then Jin’s

• Resolve is tricky to work around

• Slightly inferior stealth and methods of countering Jin’s stealth

• Charles Lee is a bitchass motherfucker

This was an insanely close match, make no mistake - both Jin and Connor have a lot going for them - however, going over things in-depth, Connor should take the win more often than not. 

Jin may have an advantage at long range with his superior archery, but the fact that his other projectiles are negated is a huge problem for him, and negates him of several of his possible win conditions. His horse may be better then Connor’s, but realistically they aren’t going to get into an horse fight in any circumstance, and his other advantages matter more. 

His guns give him good advantages at mid ranges as well as his ways of bringing Jin closer, and he has a huge advantage at close range, being able to dominate any close range fight with his superior physicals and weaponry. His variety of styles in comparison to Jin also ensures his victory, as while Jin specializes in adaptation against new foes, Connor has too much to let him adapt quickly, especially in a fight with two relatively grounded characters who could die to most attacks.

Jin Sakai was a strong warrior, and certainly would beat many other opponents. However, Connor’s skill, experience, strength, and arsenal would win out more often than not. Guess the Ghost of Tsushima died just like his honor did so long ago - he shouldn’t have underestimated the assassin’s creed.

The winner is Connor Kenway.

Votes

Team Jin Sakai [6]: (Coach Boomer, Fenic, Tru, Yerm, Z1, Round 1 Fight)

Team Connor Kenway [4]: (Cryotechnics, Darth The Paradox, door-kun, The Cardinal King)

Thank You/Next Time

Wow, I finally dropped another full blog. It’s taken a while but we have dropped a real passion project. Thank you to Coach Boomer, door-kun, TheCardinalKing, Darth the Paradox for helping all the large amount of research and writing done for this blog. Thank you to Cryo for all the pieces of art that actually look good (TN and Background images). Thank you to Kaiser, Normal and Stars for looking over calcs and doing some calcs of their own. Finally thank you to yall for sticking with us and reading this blog. While I have learned not to promise Megatron VS Skeletor is next, I can say we are getting close to finishing research for that blog and it should drop sometime soon-ish. In the meantime we will have another main project going on while we chip away at Megator. This is…

Master Hand VS Polygon Man

(Super Smash Brothers VS PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale)

Until next time…