Black Myth: Wukong is taking the world by storm on launch day, beating out records left and right to become one of the most-played games on Steam on day one. It’s honestly impressive, and after playing the game for hours, I fully understand why. It’s phenomenal but certainly more challenging than many were led to believe. Here’s what you need to know before starting Black Myth: Wukong!
Tips Before Starting Black Myth: Wukong
We’ve compiled a handful of tips, and it’s sure to grow as I dive into the game more today, that should help you gain a foothold in Black Myth: Wukong. Here’s how to get the best start and beat your opponents as The Destined One!
Harvest Everything!
Let’s start with one of the most essential tips I can offer new players: harvest everything you see. As you explore each zone, you’ll stumble upon countless harvestable resources. These vary in type. You’ll acquire Aged Ginseng, Purple Lingzhi, Gentian, Jade Lotus, and many others. They’re all necessary to craft medicine, which can heal you, remove various effects, such as poison or fire damage, boost your damage output, and even increase your damage resistance.
Trust me when I tell you that you’ll want a few medicinal items on hand to defeat the game’s many bosses!
Explore the World Around You
Black Myth: Wukong isn’t an open-world game but is still relatively large. Every zone I’ve explored so far includes numerous pathways, multiple optional bosses, and countless weak and powerful enemies that provide you with Will upon besting them in combat.
Like in Elden Ring, there’s no shame in farming regular mobs before tackling a boss. You can quickly gain a level or two before each boss fight by clearing the entire zone. If you want to farm, let the last enemy kill you and repeat the process.
But more importantly, you’ll find secret routes, treasure chests, harvestable resources, and optional secret bosses that reward you with items and Will necessary to push further into the story.
Related: How to Replenish Your Gourd in Black Myth: Wukong
Don’t Fear Dying
While it certainly borrows from the Soulslike genre, Black Myth: Wukong isn’t technically a Soulslike. It’s still challenging, and there are still many bosses to challenge; there’s no penalty for dying. Should you perish in combat, you’ll respawn at the last Shrine you visited and then go about your day.
That’s right; when you die in Black Myth: Wukong, you don’t drop your Will. You keep everything in your inventory, and the only downside is now you must traverse the zone once more and clear its enemies out of your way. You lose time and nothing else.
Visit Shrines Often
Every Shrine you encounter is a checkpoint. Should you die in combat, you’ll respawn at the last Shrine. But there’s more to these offering points than meets the eye. Every Shrine allows you to:
- Rest: Replenish your resources, including health and stamina, but all regular enemies respawn (not bosses!).
- Travel: You can travel fast from one Shrine to another, which makes farming Will easier.
- Self–Advance: You can choose which spells you’ll wield and respec your skill points.
- Craft: Create weapons and armor using materials you’ve gathered in the world.
- Brew: Craft drinks to aid you in combat.
- Store: Purchase and sell items.
- Make Medicines: Create consumable medicinal items to aid you in combat.
Furthermore, don’t be afraid to buy items from the Store. It’s a helpful way to gain aid items that allow you to deal additional damage or take more damage from enemies. But also, the Store will periodically refresh with new items, so check back frequently!
Related: How to Level Up Fast in Black Myth: Wukong
Defeat Bosses to Gain Spirits
As you stumble upon bosses in Black Myth: Wukong, you have a choice. Unless they’re a story boss, you can walk away and find a different path to your objective or fight. It’s up to you. But I recommend you fight every boss you can, as they’ll reward you with Will, occasionally valuable items, and Spirits. You want to acquire as many Spirits in Black Myth: Wukong as possible.
As you unlock Spirits, you’ll unlock that boss’ attack. It expands your arsenal of combat moves, allowing you to mix up playstyles and deal additional damage to enemies. But more importantly, Spirits grant you passive buffs that alter crucial elements of combat. For instance, some Spirits work like a Bloodied build in Fallout 76, allowing you to deal more damage when at low health.
But if you find that you cannot defeat a boss, you can use the game’s fast travel system to return to an area at any point in the game to challenge them once you’re stronger!
Consider Your Armor Wisely
To aid you in combat, you will inevitably unlock the ability to craft armor. When you visit a Shrine, you’ll see the new choice in the menu, and by now, you should have the necessary resources to craft most of the first armor set: Pilgrim’s.
This is one of the key reasons why you should harvest everything! Every armor set in the game offers a unique buff to your stats and abilities. Take the Pilgrim’s set, for example. When you equip two pieces, your Sprint speed moderately increases. With four pieces equipped, as you Sprint, you gain a damage buff that stacks up to 10 times. It’s incredibly potent when used appropriately.
But as you progress through the game, you will unlock additional armor sets that buff damage, increase defense, and other boons that affect your play style. Find the right set for you, and the rest of the game becomes relatively easier!
Black Myth: Wukong is seriously impressing us and everyone else worldwide as it continues to break player number records. If you want more, we have a growing Black Myth: Wukong guides hub to help players through the game!
