Black Myth: Wukong is a challenging action game with RPG elements. Whether you are a fighting expert or not, there are many valuable tips and tricks you can learn as you follow in Sun Wukong's footsteps. Here are important tips for exploration and combat to get you started right.
General Tips
- Harvest everything you find. You will find harvestable plants at the beginning of your adventure, but they will only be useful when you reach Chapter 2 and find someone to help you make your own medicine. Don't wait until then to start collecting—it's still a good idea to grab whatever you find to make the supplies you need when the option is available. The more supplies you have, the more benefits you can bring into battle, including buffs to attack power, damage negation, and resistance!
- Try different playstyles and stances. Since you can reset your skills at any time while resting at a Shrine, try You can experiment with different playstyles or pay attention to a specific stance in case you encounter an obstacle. Many skills can improve different aspects of your gameplay, and there's nothing wrong with investing in a particular tree.
- Upgrade and customize your gourd. Your healing gourd can have many customizations as you go deeper into your adventure. You'll find various Gourds that have specific uses or additional effects, Potions that can heal you all at once or gradually, and Soaks that provide additional effects along with a health boost. Try to tailor the Soak or Drink to the current challenge: the higher health boost in exchange for gradual healing is better when exploring versus against a fast boss, and some soaks can give your resistance to a specific enemy attack.
- Once your Gourd is upgraded to absorb Spirits, you can also get an additional benefit: Absorbing Green Wisps. Not only it gives you Will, but also replenishes an extra item for your Gourd. If you defeat a difficult enemy or Miniboss that leaves his Spirit, you'll get the full Gourd back once you've got it!
- Not all enemies respawn when you rest at a Shrine. Some unique enemies or encounters, or those that give Spirit when killed, does not respawn. The same goes for very difficult enemies like the Bandit Chief in the Forest of Wolves, and the Wolf Assassins in the Black Wind Cave.
- Equipping a Spirit isn't just about using their attack. Each Spirit also provides a passive buff when you're not using the Spirit Attack, which you can tailor to enhance your playstyle -- like dealing more damage when you're low on health, or increasing your defense if you feel like you're getting hit a lot.
- Regularly check-in to Shrines to see new stock. New items become available after clearing areas or defeating the bosses. It's important to stop by Shrines after big battles to see what new Armor and Equipment are available.
- Upgrade your staff when possible. The staff is the only weapon you need to use, but you can find different branches and upgrades this to have specific effects and buffs from the Keeper's Shrine. Always check what you're using if you're having a hard time with bosses. Some staffs give you buffs to stances or spells. But if you don't use these specific ones, you can replace it with another staff version.
Combat Tips
- Know when to use your Heavy Attack in a combo versus when to charge or unleash it alone. You can- upgrade each stance to have different actions for your Varied Combos which can help in some fights, but using all Focus Points at once for a charged hit can easily stagger tough bosses.
- Sometimes you have to face archers or ranged attackers on high ledges with no easy way to reach them. In fact, there is a way to get close there -- you can jump and perform a heavy attack in the air to gain extra height before falling, which often gives you the boost you need to reach their platform.
- Instead, Cloud Step can help you sneak past ranged attackers without being seen. If you prefer the stealthier way, or if you're trying to get past a line of archers, using the Cloud Step spell can help a lot. Enemies will focus on your replica and leave you to escape.
- You can't parry naturally, but you can unlock spells that allow you to deflect. Continue to progress through the game and you'll unlock the ability to stagger enemies and open them up for counterattacks.
- You'll know you dodged correctly when replicas of your character appear. You can even see multiples of yourself if you can make chains of dodges . If you're good at dodging attacks, invest in skill points in the Stamina tree that will allow you to dodge without breaking light attacks, increase the focus you get from dodging, and even create the illusion of your character will explode.
- Enemies with shields have a separate durability bar for their shield above their health. To save time destroying it, smart attacks that leave them open, get behind them, or use Immobilize and Cloud Step to get through their defenses.
- Don't forget that the Destined One has jump attacks too! A light jump attack can be a safe opener to jump towards an enemy who with a kick while jumping back to avoid danger. A heavy jump attack, on the other hand, can instantly drain all of your Focus Points for a super-fast smash attack -- and can often be used to knock out regular enemies before they can react.
- Understanding the difference between Spirit Attacks and Transformation Spells is essential to surviving difficult encounters. Spirit Attacks will temporarily transform you into a Yaoguai to perform an attack before returning to your form. During this time, you cannot defend, and you can still be hit. When under the effect of a Transformation Spell, you'll have a different health bar - along with status effects - which means you can either transform to survive or be hit with a status effect that doesn't persist when you transform back.
Exploration Tips
- Follow the golden path. If you are not sure where to go, when you are near a shrine, a golden trail will appear. This will take you to the nearest Keeper's Shrine, so let the light show the way.
- There are treasure chests and boxes to discover along the way. Some treasure chests are golden in color and obvious, while others are harder to find and look like wooden logs. Additionally, you can find smaller boxes near the altars where you can collect important upgrade items, Gourds, Soaks, and more.
- Look for gaps and holes in walls. It's not always easy to see all the hidden passages and places you can explore in Black Myth: Wukong, but if you see a crack in the wall, it's worth investigating. Sometimes, they will lead you to hidden treasures, valuable items, and spirits that you would otherwise be unable to reach.
