Competitive Horde Mode Coming To Ghost Of Tsushima

Last October, Ghost of Tsushima received a surprise multiplayer expansion called Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, which pit teams of players against waves of enemies in various cooperative scenarios. Nearly one year on, Legends is on the edge of some big changes, including a new competitive mode and a standalone release, Sucker Punch announced in a blog post today.

Read More: I’m Going To Play The Shit Out Of Ghost Of Tsushima’s New Co-Op Mode

On September 3, Legends will receive a competitive mode called “Rivals.” Rather than a traditional battle—in which you’d straight up fight against your human opponents—Rivals sees two teams of two face off via indirect means, kind of like how Russia and the United States did for several decades last century. As you defeat waves of enemies, you’ll gain an in-game currency called Magatama. You can then burn that to afflict the opposing team with various debuffs. Spending enough Magatama triggers a final wave of enemies. Whichever team defeats their final wave first wins. Here’s a trailer:

Alongside the release of Rivals, Sucker Punch will roll out an update that allows players to level up some of their highest-powered gear to Ki levels of 120, opening up a second perk. And the length of Survival mode sessions will apparently be shortened somewhat, though Sucker Punch didn’t specify by how much. (Hopefully this means Gold runs won’t last an hour anymore!)

What’s more, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends will be made available as a standalone release for $20. The way today’s blog post is worded, a specific release date remains unclear. Sony, Ghost of Tsushima’s publisher, did not immediately respond to a note from Kotaku seeking clarity. (Update, 2:30 p.m. ET: A Sony rep told Kotaku that Legends’ standalone edition will come out on September 3.)

Later this month, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut comes out on PS4 and PS5, offering PS5-specific enhancements and a new expansion, alongside a baffling PS4-to-PS5 pricing scheme. Through early October, Legends will receive new content based on Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, including Survival maps based on the forthcoming Iki island region setting for the expansion. You don’t need to own the Director’s Cut to get access to the new stuff in Legends

When Legends dropped out of the blue last year, I played…well, let’s just say my headline wasn’t lying. But Legends isn’t designed to be an infinite timesink, as there is a ceiling to how much gear you can earn and level up. The new additions should be as good a reason as any to hop back in. Hell yeah.