Since even before it was released, Black Myth: Wukong has constantly been compared toElden Ring.Certainly there are parallels thanks to both games' free-roaming qualities and focus upon difficult boss encounters. In terms of combat, though,Black Myth: Wukong is a very different game,and that’s thanks mostly to its Stance system.
Review: Black Myth: Wukong
The legend of the Monkey King has come to life like never before in Black Myth: Wukong.
Players will spend most of their time in the game using and mastering three stances, each of which caters to a different playstyle or strategy. They each have their uses and favorable builds, strengths and drawbacks, yet some of those strengths and weaknesses are nonetheless more pronounced than others.
3Pillar Stance
Be immovable!
Combat in Black Myth: Wukong is, for the most part, fast-paced, with heavy emphasis placed on staying mobile and outmaneuvering opponents. Pillar Stance pretty much defies this, rooting users to the spot and having them balance on top of the staff. It’s an almost purely defensive stance that seeks to punish whoever tries to challenge its user. It can be devastating with the right build, but bringing out its full effectiveness requires both patience and keen observation.
Though it looks a bit silly in practice, the advantages of Pillar Stance are immediately apparent. By using Pillar Stance, the Destined One can put himself out of harm’s way when fighting normal enemies and weaker bosses. While perched atop his staff, the Destined One gets massive damage reduction and can charge up devastating heavy attacks at his leisure. Seriously, when a charged Pillar Stance heavy hits, it does so like an actual freight train. So long as he doesn’t get knocked off, he can engage in any fight whenever and however he wants.
Effective Pillar Stance strategies largely focus on maximizing stamina and boosting heavy attack. Both charging Focus Points and withstanding attacks require stamina, so getting as much of it as possible is vital. The same goes for both reducing charge times and enhancing damage for charged heavy strikes.
Can You Change the Difficulty in Black Myth: Wukong?
Black Myth: Wukong’s bosses are so tough. Can you change the game’s difficulty?
Sure, one can take their time, but time won’t always be on the Destined One’s side, so the less time onehasto stay on the pole, the better. Investing in Ring of Fire is important too, as it will both buff attack power and boost maximum stamina, making it much more difficult to knock the Destined One down while he’s inside.
One aspect that puts Pillar Stance at something of a disadvantage to Black Myth: Wukong’s other two stances is that one needs to pay closer attention to enemy types and behaviors. Against large enemies, those that hit high and those that hit hard, Pillar Stance can be hard to use. The Destined One still takes damage if hit directly, and boss attacks can quickly drain stamina, so at least in the early game, Pillar Stance is best deployed against smaller, weaker enemies or only briefly against stronger ones if players need a short rest.
2Thrust Stance
Be untouchable!
While Pillar Stance seeks to punish enemies that get close to the Destined One, Thrust Stance seeks to keep them at bay entirely. Perhaps the best way to describe this stance is to say that it’s “aggressively defensive.” It’s fast and is good at keeping enemies off-balance, but it only does so from a distance. The extra range comes at the cost of raw damage, meaning that relying on Thrust Stance can often extend encounters a bit, but that’s fine if the enemy can never get close, right?
Basically, Thrust Stance enables the Destined One to quickly engage and disengage from his opponent. He can get in, land a few quick hits to chip away health and build Focus and then jump back out at pretty much any point in the combo thanks to Thrust Stance’s main special ability:Tactical Retreat.Once it’s been significantly upgraded, Thrust Stance also allows players to unleash a near-instant four-focus point heavy attack immediately after a roll orperfect dodge,making it a safe method of getting in heavy attacks. It also pairs well with the Immobilize and Cloud Step spells.
How to Beat Black Bear Guai in Black Myth: Wukong
The Black Bear Guai in Black Myth: Wukong doesn’t want honey like Winnie the Pooh, it wants blood.
One way to make good use of Thrust Stance is to incorporate it into a hit-and-run focusedCloud Step build.This way, one can continually engage and disengage the enemy to quickly build Focus before activating Cloud Step, charge up a three- or four-point heavy attack, and then use it to dispel Cloud Step, getting both the charged hit and the damage bonus from the Unveiling Strike.
Since the Thrust Stance heavy attack pushes the Destined One far away from big enemies, he can immediately go into a transformation for follow-up, reapply medicines or swap to another stance until the time comes for either another Cloud Step cycle or a meaty heavy attack. Just like with Pillar Stance, though, getting the most out of Thrust Stance can be tricky.
For starters, most bosses have a way to quickly close the distance, which often quickly nullifies the player’s range advantage. Also, bosses tend to have (and often use) at least one rush combo, which applies immediate pressure and reduces the usefulness of Tactical Retreat. In other words, be careful in Thrust Stance and don’t just monkey around.
1Smash Stance
Be unstoppable!
Smash Stance is both the starter stance of Black Myth: Wukong and its overall best. It’s the only purely offensive stance of the three, enabling users to put out more and more monstrous amounts of damage the further they get in the game. These stunning rewards often come with equally great risks. After all, even just one poorly-timed attack can result in defeat. To focus on Smash Stance is to throw caution to wind and end the fight as quickly as possible.
Smash Stance’s key feature is “Resolute Counterflow,” which is more or less Black Myth: Wukong’s version of a parry. Triggering this enables the Destined One to phase through the attack and deliver an enhanced blow of his own. This often stops enemy light combos and staggers long enough for bonus damage.
How to Beat Whiteclad Noble in Black Myth: Wukong
The Whiteclad Noble is a tough cookie as he uses the water around him in a violent manner.
Even better, if at least one focus point is available, then the attack can be launched early as a less-efficient Tactical Retreat. It’s perhaps the most powerful stance ability, but the true strength of Smash Stance comes mostly from its ability to compliment most of Black Myth: Wukong’s combat features.
Just like Smash Stance, features like Perfect Dodges and theRock Solidspell naturally lend themselves to offense-oriented strategies, and they complement it further by creating more chances to attack and arrest boss momentum.Spellbindertoo seems tailor-made for it, seeing as how it converts the entire mana bar into raw power. Builds focused around these won’t necessarily make the game easy, but they can give a leg up to players who like to live dangerously.
The main problem here is that success relies almost entirely on player skill. Mistiming attacks, especially resolute strikes, is probably the fastest path to defeat in Black Myth: Wukong. ActivatingResolute Counterflowonly negatesoneattack at a time, so getting overconfident with it in the middle of an enemy combo can be downright devastating. Those who have difficulty with timing may be better off sticking with the other two stances, but mastering Smash Stance is worth a bit more pain and frustration in the beginning.
Smash Stance can also be abused in combination with Ring of Fire in many fights as well. Ring of Fire can disrupt enemy behavior, so if one wants to, they can sit in the ring while charging up a three- or four-point heavy attack, hop out, hit for massive damage and repeat until the fight is over. It’s the lame way to handle a boss encounter, but the optionisthere for those who just want to get on with the game.
Honorable Mention: Wukong Stance
While this stanceisunlockable, one can only get it by completing the game three times and getting the true ending all three times. Even after acquiring it, it can only be activated by launching a four focus point heavy attack and only lasts for a minute. The stanceispowerful, as seen in the prologue and final fights, but it’s otherwise inaccessible for most players.
As such, Wukong Stance cannot truly be included along with the main three. It’s fantastic, but short-lived in the same way that the Fierce Deity’s Mask fromThe Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Maskor the Metroid Suit fromMetroid Dreadare. It’s a fun, occasional taste of supreme power, and that’s all.
Black Myth: Wukong Database
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