How to sheath your sword in Ghost of Tsushima for the perfect photo op

Ghost of Tsushima has finally been released, so PlayStation 4 gamers can now tear through the Mongols invading 13th-century Tsushima with samurai Jin Sakai's trusty sword. Whether or not you're a fan of Ghost of Tsushima's exploration, there will be plenty of times throughout the game when you might want to sheath that sword.

While it's definitely possible to manually sheath your sword in Ghost of Tsushima, the game doesn't make it entirely clear how you do that.

If you're still in the early hours of Ghost of Tsushima and are wondering how to sheath your sword, the process is actually pretty simple. Here's what you need to know.

Check out our review of Ghost of Tsushima.

Can I sheath my sword in Ghost of Tsushima?

Yes, you can! If you want to sheath or unsheathe your sword in Ghost of Tsushima, you can do so by simply swiping right on the PS4's touchpad. While this is a button and feature of the PS4's DualShock 4 controller that most games ignore, Ghost of Tsushima takes full advantage of it.

You can swipe right on the touchpad to sheath your sword.

The most useful function of the touchpad, however, is to swipe up. That will intensify the Guiding Wind that leads Jin and the player to their next objective. Swiping left will cause Jin to play his flute. Swiping down will make Jin to bow at passerby.

While this button placement, or lack thereof, might be a bit annoying for some, you at least don't have to unsheath it to start combat. As soon as you press a button to attack or defend against an enemy or initiate a standoff, Jin will unsheath his sword automatically.

Why you might need to sheath your sword in Ghost of Tsushima?

While it's possible to sheath your sword in Ghost of Tsushima, it isn't something you'll need to worry about too often. The sword will automatically unsheath if you start fighting. It will also automatically sheath itself if you jump in the water, hop on your horse, or get too far away from combat. As such, this is really only something you'll really need to do if you care about aesthetics, are looking to take a specific photo using Photo Mode, or if you're leaning heavily into the roleplaying aspects.

Random Tsushima residents won't react negatively if Jin has his weapon drawn in most towns, with the exception of Azamo Bay. Whereas in many other open-world games, such as Skyrim, having a weapon drawn in a residential area could cause problems. You rarely need to stress about where Jin's sword is, which is probably why the game doesn't explain the sheath/unsheath command to the player.

Still, if you want to fulfill that samurai fantasy by sheathing and unsheathing Jin's sword at your whim, that functionality does exist.

If you need some help with other parts of Ghost of Tsushima, you should check out Inverse's guides for the best upgrades to get early, bamboo strikes, technique upgrades, and some of the game's more complicated Shrines.

Ghost of Tsushima is available now for PS4.