Black Myth Wukong Tips, Tricks and Guides
Here are some tips and tricks to aid with your journey to the West in Black Myth Wukong.
Black Myth Wukong is a huge game following you, your less-than-average monkey, on a journey to the West. It’s packed to the brim with intense boss battles that require mastery of both martial arts and patience, and as you dive into the game for the first time, there are a few tips and tricks to be aware of that might help you out.
There’s a lot to learn during your journey, so let’s get started. Here are some tips and tricks to help you with Black Myth Wukong, as well as some of our guides to help you out with the world and its myriad of mythological creatures.
Black Myth Wukong Tips, Tricks, and Guides
Experiment with alternative combat styles
When you first start out in Black Myth Wukong, you are limited to using the Smash Stance for your staff. Your staff actually has two more stances that you can experiment with, and each stance has its own pros and cons.
There’s the Thrust Stance, for example, which can make stunning an enemy out of their attack easily attainable. Then there’s my personal favorite, Pillar Stance, which allows you to perch atop your pillar before slamming into an enemy for a heavy attack. I have found this is great for dodging bosses who have multiple AoE attacks in their arsenal, and for closing large distances safely.
To unlock either of the stances, you need to open your Self-Advance menu and put at least one Spark into either Thrust or Pillar Stance to unlock either of them. You can then use your D-pad while in-game to switch between stances.
Respec, respec, respec
Do not be afraid to respec your build at any point in Black Myth Wukong. You can do it as many times as you like and there’s no punishment — such as lost Sparks — for doing so, and you’ll find that specific fights and challenges may need you to hyperfocus on specific parts of your kit.
To respec, visit a Keeper’s Shrine and choose to ‘Reignite the Sparks’. Here, you can reset and redistribute all of your Sparks at no cost, or choose to reset just a couple of skills if that’s all you feel you need to change.
For example, later challenges in the game require you to have plenty of stamina. If you find you have neglected this, you can simply move some Sparks over from your Transformation skills over to your Stamina skills, and vice versa. Definitely do not be afraid to spend some time experimenting with what works for you, and what works in different situations.
Experiment with weapons and armor
In a similar vein to not being afraid to respec, do not hesitate to experiment with the different staffs and armor that become available to you as you progress. Most armor sets have effects, with one piece of each set typically possessing a unique and powerful effect; make the most of these depending on your upcoming challenges.
For example, during Chapter 1 of the game, you gain access to the Serpentscale armor set that allows you to regenerate stamina faster while fighting in water. There are a few fights following this that happen to take place in water, so get that armor set — or at least one piece — equipped. It can make a huge difference, especially early on in your run.
Keep the effects of both your armor sets and staffs in mind as you collect more and more gear; some of them can make a significant difference if you’re facing a particularly troubling boss.
Use your Focus points
There are a lot of different bars and guages to keep an eye on during a fight in Black Myth Wukong. There’s your health, stamina, and mana, but also your Qi meter (used for Spirit Skills) and Focus meter (used for charged attacks).
Your Focus meter is more important than you first think. If you attempt to heavy attack without at least one Focus point in the bank, your heavy attack will be less swift and powerful than you may have planned for. Use your light attack combos to build up Focus before unleashing heavy attacks, ensuring that they do additional damage.
Pay attention to the skills available in the Self-Advance screen, too, as you’ll find a fair few skills that allow you to charge Focus significantly faster so that you can unleash more charged heavy attacks.
Exploration is vital
Exploration is vital in Black Myth Wukong. You can discover all manner of secrets and pieces of loot by wandering off the beaten path, and the game regularly encourages you to explore every nook and cranny available to you.
This necessity to explore becomes ever more apparent in Chapter 2 and 3 of the game, when suddenly, which path to go down next can be a daunting prospect. Make a note of all the paths you come across and be sure to explore each one; you might find a useful NPC, a secret boss, or key items necessary for upgrading your gear and so forth.
This also means that you shouldn’t hesitate to return to past chapters or areas and try exploring them again. In some instances, you can get key items that allow you to access new, secret bosses in these areas. For an example, take a look at our Loong Scales guide — this is a secret, hidden item that can lead to multiple secret bosses across the game — but be aware that there are spoilers on the page.
Use Keeper’s Shrines
You will, of course, use Keeper’s Shrines as checkpoints to travel to and from during your Black Myth Wukong adventure. But don’t neglect the fact that these Shrines have stores, too. They often possess resources that can be used for weapon and medicine crafting, and so forth, but sometimes they’ll have Curios and other items too.
With that in mind, I also highly recommend returning to Keeper’s Shrines from previous chapters as you progress with the game; this goes hand in hand with exploring everything you possibly can.
For example, those who move onto Chapter 2 and then return to a Keeper’s Shrine in Chapter 1 will find that they can purchase the previously inaccessible Back Scratcher Curio. Black Myth Wukong is full of small secrets like this for curious players to discover.
Check in with NPCs
Like Keeper’s Shrines, NPCs with stores will change their stock as you progress with the game. The first you meet is the Shen Monkey; a small monkey who can upgrade our Drinks for us. If you return to him following the conclusion of Chapter 1 and so forth, he will have new items available for purchase. The same can be said for the Man-in-Stone in Chapter 2.
There are other NPCs you’ll meet who do not have stores, but check in with them regardless when you can. Some have quests to follow that lead to some very interesting story developments and boss fights, such as the Boar quest.
Become a gatherer
This, again, goes hand in hand with exploring Black Myth Wukong to the best of your ability, but whenever there is a plant, make sure to pick it up. These plants can be used to craft medicines and new gear and will always come in use. So, even if you’re roaming around Chapter 1 for the tenth time and have your pockets full of medicines, still continue to grab all the Jade Lotus that you can.
You never know when you may need it, and you’ll need these items often for crafting. The same goes for destroying various chests and vases you find. These will often provide you with a small amount of Will to spend, but can sometimes yield useful resources such as Yarn or Silk.
On top of that, don't forget to craft Medicines. If you help the Xu Dog NPC found at the beginning of Chapter 2 by defeating the boss near him, he'll teach you how to craft medicines and other potions, which you can then do at a Keeper's Shrine. Later in Chapter 2, you'll find him again, and here, he can apply Celestial Medicines for you. These can be used to boost certain resistances, your health, your mana, and so forth, and can be reset, so take advantage of them.
Black Myth Wukong Guides
To help you out with your journey to the West, here are some of our other guides — not linked above — to help you with discovering secrets and facing challenges throughout Black Myth Wukong.