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The Black Myth Wukong Sterness of Stone and Keeness of Tiger key items let you open the tally that seals the door of the Rat King of Flowing Sands in Chapter 2. But, it's not clear how exactly you get these items in Black Myth Wukong, or what you're even looking for, with the surrounding sprawling wasteland giving few hints.
While getting these key items isn't easy, it's an essential step on your journey as the Destined One, so here's everything you need to know about finding the Sterness of Stone and Keeness of Tiger in Black Myth Wukong.
How to use the Tally in Black Myth Wukong
After defeating the King of Flowing Sands and Second Rat Prince in Black Myth Wukong, you're shown a huge door with a "tally" next to it - a lock device that will open it with the right items. If you try and trigger it, it'll simply say: Required: Sterness of Stone, Keeness of Tiger.
This isn't about personal improvement - though your character won't know it yet, the Tally needs two different items by that name to unlock the door and let you progress. Each one is dropped by a specific boss you'll need to hunt down and slay.
Black Myth Wukong Keeness of Tiger location
The Keeness of Tiger is dropped by the Tiger Vanguard boss, who is found at the entrance to the Temple of the Crouching Tiger. To find the Tiger Vanguard, go to the Valley of Despair checkpoint (next to the Tally itself), and head along the path into the cave. You'll encounter the King again in a cutscene with a boss you don't have to fight - pass the boss, keeping it on your left, and push through a crack in the rocks ahead of you.
This will lead you on a path that curves to the Temple, and once you go inside, you'll be able to fight the Tiger Vanguard; a monstrous cat warrior literally drinking from a pond of blood. He's a tough fight; you might want to grind a few levels before fighting him (maybe do the nearby quest to sober up the drunk Black Myth Wukong pig), and make sure you're ready for close-quarters combat. The Tiger has no real ranged capabilities, so he'll try to close the distance and press the advantage, using broad swings and sudden flashes of steel that test your ability to Perfect Dodge.
Once you beat the Tiger Vanguard, you'll get the Rock Solid Spell (one of the best spells in the game, and tied to many of the best Black Myth Wukong skills) as well as the Keeness of Tiger Key Item.
Black Myth Wukong Sterness of Stone location
From there, you need to find the Stone Vanguard, who you can only access after beating the tiger first. Past the Tiger's arena you'll enter a new village area, marked by the Windrest Bridge checkpoint.
The route is actually fairly direct from there - there are all sorts of paths branching off it to try and lure you with optional fights and loot, and you can absolutely do them, but keep pushing forward and eventually, after a fight on a bridge with a warrior called the Tiger Acolyte, you'll have to fight through a long tunnel before eventually reaching the Stone Vanguard, a big rock golem.
The Stone Vanguard is the easier of the two fights, despite coming second. If the Tiger is more offensive, the Stone is more defensive - a slower foe with a large health pool who uses AOE strikes and summons explosive rock minions. Fortunately, it's very easy to evade its worst moves, especially if you learn the timing for jumping over its earthquake attacks. The downside is that with no nearby checkpoint, the tunnel leading up to it can drain your health - but a wise player will simply sprint past all the enemies there without engaging them.
Break the Stone Vanguard, and you'll get Sterness of Stone, another key item. You can now teleport back to the Valley of Despair and open the Tally, but keep this arena in mind: you'll want to come back here for a reward when you find all the Black Myth Wukong Buddha's Eyeballs in the area.
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