Black Myth: Wukong Combat Guide - Tips and Tricks

Black Myth: Wukong stands out for its intense combat, drawing clear inspiration from the challenging Soulslike genre. While the game’s difficulty may not reach the peaks of notorious titles by FromSoftware, it presents its own unique challenges that will test both newcomers and seasoned veterans alike. This guide is designed to arm you with crucial combat strategies to help navigate the game’s rigorous battles more effectively. Read on to discover essential tips that could make the difference in your journey through this mythic adventure.

Learn About All Types Of Evading Enemy Attacks

Our initial advice for excelling in combat within Black Myth: Wukong emphasizes the importance of understanding stamina and mastering evasion techniques. Given the absence of block or parry options, dodging becomes your main defense against enemy assaults. While sprinting is an option, it’s not always the most reliable method to avoid damage.

You’re probably already accustomed to the basic dodge mechanic, which lets you roll away from threats in any direction. Beyond this, the game introduces Stances, each providing distinct evasion abilities that further enhance your capacity to maneuver around enemy attacks effectively.

Pillar Stance

The Pillar Stance in Black Myth: Wukong offers a strategic advantage by allowing you to balance atop your staff, elevating you above the fray. This maneuver is particularly effective against normal-sized enemies. To make the most of this stance and ensure effective evasion, it’s recommended to have at least one Focus point, which provides the necessary height to dodge incoming attacks properly.

Employing this stance not only offers a tactical pause during intense battles but also enables you to study enemy attack patterns more closely. However, be cautious: if your staff is hit while you are perched on it, you’ll lose the stamina invested in maintaining the stance, potentially leaving you vulnerable to further attacks.

Thrust Stance

The Thrust Stance, unlocked later in Black Myth: Wukong, includes the valuable “Offense in Defense” skill. This skill transforms your approach to combat by allowing you to execute a tactical retreat during a sequence of light attacks. Mastering this skill requires precise timing, but once proficient, you may find it reduces your need to rely solely on dodging.

Rather than distancing yourself from foes through dodging or sprinting, this stance enables you to strategically retreat just enough to recuperate—be it regaining health or stamina—while still keeping pressure on your opponent. This approach not only maintains your offensive momentum but also enhances your ability to manage combat dynamics effectively.

As you encounter over 80 diverse bosses in the game, understanding and utilizing different dodging techniques becomes crucial. Each stance or technique may offer specific advantages against certain enemies, necessitating a flexible and adaptive combat strategy.

Try To Always Have A Focus Point

The Focus meter, displayed as a yellow bar on the bottom right of the screen in Black Myth: Wukong, is crucial for executing powerful maneuvers. You can build Focus by landing attacks, performing perfect dodges, or charging attacks. Initially, you begin the game with just one Focus point, but as you progress and gather Sparks, you can unlock additional points from the Staff Stances skill tree.

Having Focus points at your disposal enables you to unleash devastating heavy attacks that have the potential to stagger enemies, with the damage increasing with more accumulated Focus. Moreover, the amount of Focus you have also influences the variety and potency of combos you can perform using different stances. Therefore, it’s advantageous to always keep at least one Focus point in reserve to quickly deal significant damage when the opportunity arises.

Press Dodge To Recover Faster

In Black Myth: Wukong, when facing bosses, it’s common to be interrupted or knocked down by their attacks, which can leave you momentarily vulnerable as you struggle to get back on your feet. However, you don’t have to passively wait for your character to recover. An unmentioned game feature allows you to quickly rebound from these setbacks.

By pressing the dodge button immediately after being knocked down, you can hasten your character’s recovery. This quick action lets you regain control and re-engage in the battle swiftly, minimizing the downtime and reducing the risk of follow-up attacks from your opponents.

Start Fights With Full Focus Charged Heavy Attack

When engaging in combat in Black Myth: Wukong, leveraging Focus Points for a fully charged heavy attack at the start of a fight can set a powerful tone. Building up your Focus quickly through charging is key, but it’s crucial to execute the heavy attack immediately after since Focus cannot be held indefinitely.

This tactic might vary depending on the situation, but it becomes particularly effective once you unlock the Force Unbound skill—one of the first skills you should aim to acquire. This skill allows you to sprint while charging, enabling you to maintain distance from your enemies, fully charge your Focus, and then swiftly close the gap to deliver a potent heavy attack. This approach not only maximizes the initial impact but also positions you advantageously right from the start of the encounter.

Always Aim To Get Better Gear

In Black Myth: Wukong, your combat efficacy heavily relies on the quality of your gear. Instead of stumbling upon new equipment during your travels, you’ll predominantly gather crafting materials required to forge advanced weapons and armor.

Each time you find a new crafting material, it’s crucial to visit the nearest Keeper’s Shrine. There, you can access the Craft menu to explore the possibilities for upgrading or crafting new gear. This proactive approach ensures your equipment is always optimized for the challenges ahead.

By regularly updating your gear and crafting superior armor and weapons, you enhance both your offensive capabilities and defensive resilience. Therefore, it’s wise to invest in the best available gear as soon as possible, rather than holding out for future, potentially better items. This strategy will bolster your performance in battles, allowing you to tackle adversaries with increased effectiveness.

Use Staff Spin To Deflect Projectiles

The Staff Spin maneuver in Black Myth: Wukong is not only effective against arrows, as highlighted in the game, but it can also deflect a wide array of projectiles from various enemies, including some challenging boss attacks. This move is incredibly versatile, allowing you to turn an opponent’s ranged offense into an opportunity for your advance.

To enhance its utility, consider investing in the Mobile Spin skill from the Martial Arts skill tree. This enhancement allows you to execute the Staff Spin while advancing towards your target, effectively deflecting incoming projectiles while closing the gap between you and your adversaries. This dual functionality not only keeps you safe from ranged attacks but also positions you advantageously to strike quickly once the enemy’s barrage ends, making it an essential tactic for maintaining offensive pressure.

Never Forget To Use Medicines!

If you’re finding yourself stuck in a tough boss battle in Black Myth: Wukong and leveling up isn’t an option, it’s time to consider using Medicines. These consumables can significantly tip the scales in your favor by boosting your damage output, enhancing your resistance to damage, or providing immunity against certain effects.

There’s no reason to hold onto Medicines if you’re facing repeated defeats. Concerns about their scarcity should be alleviated by the fact that you can craft these items relatively early in the game. The ingredients needed are readily available in the world, easily identifiable by their distinctive shimmer, ensuring you can continually replenish your supply.

Initially, the Medicines you craft might be basic, but as you progress and explore, you’ll discover new Formulas that unlock the ability to create more advanced versions with substantially more potent effects. These higher-tier Medicines can be game-changers in difficult encounters, so make sure to utilize them to their fullest potential.

Always Determine What Works Best For The Situation

In Black Myth: Wukong, higher gear stats don’t always equate to the most effective strategy, especially given the unique abilities that different pieces of gear can offer. For instance, if you’re battling a boss in a watery environment, and you possess an armor set specifically enhanced for such conditions—even with slightly lower stats—it’s wise to use that set over another with higher general stats.

This principle extends beyond just your armor and staff to include your Gourd components—Drink and Soak—as well as your Curios. Each item you discover on your journey comes with special effects, ranging from extra Gourd charges to increased attack power when health is low, or immunity to certain status effects.

With over 80 unique bosses featuring varied attack patterns, it’s essential to continually tailor your gear and strategy to the specific challenges you face. Don’t lock yourself into one approach; instead, remain flexible and adapt your gear to optimize your performance against each distinct boss encounter.

Always Use Everything The Game Has To Offer

In Black Myth: Wukong, utilizing the full arsenal provided by the game—including Spirits skills, Transformations, and various Spells—is not just advisable, it’s essential for keeping combat both effective and exciting. Just as no one would fault you for summoning help in games like Elden Ring, leveraging these abilities in Wukong is a smart strategy.

From the outset, you start with the basic Immobilize spell, and as you progress, more spells unlock either through storyline advancement or by completing quests given by NPCs. Additionally, early in your journey, you gain the capability to absorb Spirits, enabling you to utilize their unique skills in battle.

Transformations offer a dynamic shift in gameplay, allowing you to assume different forms each with unique attack styles, strengths, and weaknesses, though using this ability consumes Might, which replenishes over time.

Knowing when and how to deploy these tools is crucial. For example, using the Immobilize spell to halt an advancing enemy can give you the necessary breather to regain stamina or heal. Conversely, starting a boss fight with a Transformation is highly strategic, as it not only gives you a fresh health bar but also allows the ability to cool down and be ready for a second use within the same fight, maximizing your effectiveness and resource conservation. This tactical flexibility enhances your combat options and can be the key to navigating the game’s challenges more smoothly.

Take A Break

Black Myth: Wukong might lean towards the easier side compared to titles like Dark Souls or Sekiro, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its challenges. Some bosses might not be overwhelmingly difficult, but they can certainly test your patience and reflexes.

If you find yourself hitting a wall, especially against a tough boss like the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master, it might be beneficial to step away for a moment. Taking a break to breathe, hydrate, and clear your mind can make a significant difference. I found this to be true myself—after a brief pause and returning with a fresh perspective, I managed to defeat the boss on my first attempt back.

This story underscores a simple yet effective tip: never underestimate the power of a short break. It can refresh your focus and enhance your gameplay more than continuous grinding ever could.

Conclusion

Mastering combat in Black Myth: Wukong requires a blend of strategic skill use, effective gear management, and a deep understanding of evasion and attack techniques. The game presents a formidable challenge that echoes the rigor of soulslike games but is uniquely its own with a variety of stances, spells, and transformations to exploit. Whether you’re strategizing the use of Medicines, optimizing gear for specific battles, or knowing when to deploy powerful transformations, each element plays a critical role in your success. Remember, sometimes taking a step back to breathe and strategize anew can be as vital as any combat move. Armed with these combat tips, you’re better prepared to tackle the mythical challenges that await in the world of Black Myth: Wukong.