Ghost Of Tsushima Iki Island Crimson Dye Guide – How To Find The Red Dye Merchant

Throughout Ghost of Tsushima, you can find special characters who will let you purchase dyes for your armor sets. There’s a new dye merchant in the Iki Island expansion, who sells special red armor customizations you can otherwise get. You can’t just come across the Crimson Dye Merchant by exploring the island, however–you need to complete certain other objectives in order to unlock it.

Here’s everything you need to know to find the Crimson Dye Merchant in the expansion. Check out our Iki Island guide roundup for more info to find everything the expansion has to offer.

How To Find The Crimson Dye Merchant

Unlock Fune’s Refuge

First, you’ll need to work your way through the Iki Island Tales that unlock when you first arrive on the island. Continue through them until you meet Tenzo and he takes you to Fune’s Refuge. Once you have access to the town, you’ll find a dueling tournament in the back corner. The Crimson Dye Merchant is one of the participants in the competition.

Complete The Hidden Cove Tournament

Next, you’ll have to win the dueling tournament so that you can get a chance to talk to the Crimson Dye Merchant. There are four combatants to beat in total, and in each fight, you’ll have to land five total blows against your enemy before they land five blows on you. All the fights are pretty tough, with the combatants using special moves to get in under your defenses and requiring you to play fairly reactively.

The trick, generally, is to use Perfect Parries and dodges to get clear of your enemies’ attacks and to hit them while they’re off balance. Spend some time practicing dodging each enemy’s attacks to see what they’ll throw at you–each one has a specific fighting style and only uses a few key attacks.

Take Down The Crimson Dye Merchant

After you beat the first three combatants, the Crimson Dye Merchant will show up for your challenge. He fights a lot dirtier than the other characters you’ve seen up until now. His main move is to drag his katana across the ground to spray sand in your face, then to follow up with a quick blow you can usually block. Use your dodge to stay clear of the sand attacks–you’ll often find the Dye Merchant is vulnerable after he throws a handful of sand at your face, which you can sidestep fairly easily. After that, parry his incoming attack to open him up for a strike.

Visit The Crimson Dye Merchant’s Shop

After you win the final duel, the Crimson Dye Merchant’s shop will appear on your map. Fast-travel to the location, which is east of Fort Sakai and just north of Tatsu’s Ladder. Travel there and the merchant will offer you one free armor dye. Once you’ve picked a freebie, you’ll be able to get more armor customizations from the merchant, but you’ll have to buy them with flowers like usual.

Buying something from the Crimson Dye Merchant is the first step in unlocking the Blood On Your Hands Trophy. The second step is to visit the Horse Armor Dye Merchant and buy something. To do that, you’ll first need to complete the Legacy of Kazumasa Sakai Mythic Tale, then bring five Sakai Clan Banners to the Horse Armor Dye Merchant to earn a look.