9 Black Myth Wukong tips we wish we'd known before playing

Having some Black Myth Wukong tips and tricks to hand will give players a boost, especially if this is their first introduction to the Destined One and the fast-paced martial arts they deliver in combat. There's a lot to take in during the opening hours of the game, and while initial progress is quite linear you do move on to some expansive areas that can take considerably exploration to cover.

In a soulslike title such as this there's plenty to consider, which means you should make sure you learn as much as you can about the best things to do early on in your adventure. Put it this way, if you want to get the most out of Black Myth Wukong, then our tips and tricks will point you in the right direction. From navigating the skill tree to beating boss fights, we certainly wish we'd known these nine Black Myth Wukong tips before we started playing, so it’s only fair that we share them with you.

1. Resting at checkpoints isn't automatic - or necessarily a good idea

Finding a checkpoint shrine for the first time activates it as a respawn point and somewhere you can fast travel to, but you won't get your health and gourd refilled until you choose specifically to rest at it from the checkpoint menu. However, this also causes all enemies to respawn.

There's two factors here - namely that it's easy to forget to rest after activating the checkpoint and progress at reduced health. On the other hand, if you're searching an area and trying to clear it out, you might not want to rest and bring them all back. Remember the option, but use it wisely.

2. Invest in Foundational Skills first, as you'll get the most out of them

The Black Myth Wukong Skill tree is massive, and will only get bigger as you progress through the game and unlock new spells and abilities that can be modified and enhanced.

However, as a rule you want to start off by working on skills in the "Foundational" and "Martial Arts" brackets - the sorts of skills that you'll use throughout the entire game. Your spells and stances may become redundant when new, better ones replace them, but the stuff that's Foundational will always be relevant. if you want some further pointers, we've got the best Black Myth Wukong skills listed here.

3. Spells should be used sparingly, and more for defence than offence

Your Black Myth Wukong mana bar is not especially substantial and there's very few ways to refill it - especially early on in the game. But that's sort of the point - your spells aren't something to be cast liberally, but special powers to be used at strategic moments.

In fact, I found they were more useful not as offensive powers, but as defensive ones. When a boss is beating you up, using the Immobilize spell is usually more useful as a means to heal and consume medicines rather than do some free damage, with Cloud Step working similarly.

4. Build your focus for Heavy Attacks, not Varied Attacks

Focus points are largely used to perform high-power strikes, but there's two significant versions: Varied Attacks, which are mixed into ongoing light attack combos, and standalone Heavy Attacks which can be charged.

To be blunt, it's the latter that do HUGE damage, and the ones you should be trying to do more often, especially in boss fights. Varied attacks are quick to use, but if you can fully charge a heavy attack in the Smash Stance, you'll do an unbelievable amount of damage: it's just the better investment in combat.

5. In boss encounters, go wild with special skills

Your first move in any boss fight should be to start triggering every special skill you have - your spirit powers, your shapeshifting transformations, your Vessels, all of them. Not only are they effective, but the cooldowns on them are generally to the degree where you can get two uses out of them only if you trigger them early on.

6. Don't craft every weapon and armor you unlock…

New recipes for crafting weapons and armor in Black Myth Wukong usually unlock along with certain milestones for defeating certain bosses, getting some key crafting component from them that can forge new equipment or improve existing stuff, such as upgrading armor in Black Myth Wukong. However, unless you're willing to spend a while farming Will and components, you probably don't want to craft everything that's put before you.

This isn't even about specific builds - you just get these pieces slightly more often than it's worth replacing them. A new set of gear every chapter should generally suffice for most players - it's economical and allows you to spend Will elsewhere.

7. … But do craft Medicines whenever you can

Black Myth Wukong undersells the importance of Medicines, the consumables that grant temporary buffs, but these unassuming potions are game changes when used right. You can buy potions from the fox merchant that appears in Chapter 2, but also craft them yourself from many of the plants you find around. Keep in mind that certain plants are limited to certain regions, so you may want to head back to the locations of previous chapters to stock up on the necessary materials.

8. The Smash Stance is the first, and best stance

Black Myth Wukong introduces several stances that determine the nature of what Varied and Heavy attacks you do - and the best of them is the first one the game gives you, Smash Stance. The fact it can be charged while moving, is straightforward, and integrates fluidly into combat with few upgrades means that while the other Stances work, there's rarely anything as effective as bashing an enemy's skull in.

9. Chapters have hidden Vessels that can be game-changers in boss fights

The different chapters in Black Myth Wukong have secret or hidden side quests that ultimately lead you to find a Vessel, a special item that can be triggered for a temporary buff, like damage reduction or immunity to fire.

These Vessels are incredibly powerful, and not only that, some of them have contextual abilities that hamper specific bosses - using the Wind Vessel, for example, can take away one boss's ability to summon tornados, on top of all the other effects. If you haven't found a Vessel in the chapter, go back to find it - you'll be happy you did. And if you want some starting advice, go ring all the Black Myth Wukong bells in Chapter 1.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.