Best builds in Black Myth Wukong
From early game to endgame, these loadouts make even the toughest Yaoguai cry
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
Guide
by
Marloes Valentina Stella
Contributor Published on Sept. 19, 2024 Follow Black Myth: Wukong
Looking for the best builds in Black Myth Wukong? With so many weapons, armour pieces, Curios, Gourds, and Spirits to choose from, finding the best combinations isn't easy. In this Black Myth Wukong build guide, we'll show you some of the best options from early game to endgame.
Keep in mind that the possibilities are endless, so feel free to experiment with your build!
Wind Bear Build
This early game build will make your Cloud Step overpowered. |
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
- Weapon: Wind Bear Staff
- Armour: Ebongold Armour, Grey Wolf Mask
- Spirit: Wandering Wight
- Vessel: Fireproof Mantle
- Curios: Tridacna Pendant, Tiger Tally, Cat Eye Beads
- Gourd/Drinks/Soaks: Old Gourd, Coconut Wine, Gall Gem, Steel Ginseng
What good are the best Black Myth Wukong builds if you can't obtain them yet? While the other builds on this list are far stronger, this early-game build has the great advantage of becoming available in Chapter 1. You just need to defeat the Wind Bear Guai in Black Wind Cave to craft the Ebongold Armour, as well as the Black Wind King to obtain Cloud Step.
The Wind Bear build maximizes damage dealt through the Cloud Step ability. The Wind Bear Staff increases the critical hit chance of the "Unveiling Strike" (attack while emerging from Cloud Step) while the Ebongold Gaiters will increase Unveiling Strike's damage. Furthermore, with the three-piece Ebongold set equipped, enemies near you or the Cloud Step's decoy will be attacked by shrouding black wind. Since that leaves a slot for headgear, you can equip the Grey Wolf Mask to deal more damage against enemies at critical health.
Once you've got some Sparks to spend on your skill tree, start upgrading Cloud Step's passives. Try to get Thunder Strike as soon as possible; this allows you to use a charged heavy attack as your Unveiling Strike. It works really well together with the Focus-building ability of the Fireproof Mantle Vessel, which is obtainable by ringing the three bells in Chapter 1 and defeating Elder Jinchi. I also recommend upgrading the first part of the Smash Stance tree to unlock a damage reduction buff following charged heavy attacks as well as a charged attack damage boost.
Of course, the 35-second Cloud Step cooldown isn't ideal, but you can reduce this (and other Spell cooldowns) with the Tridacna Pendant. Combine this Curio with the Tiger Tally to gain a damage bonus after a successful light attack combo. As both are obtained in Chapter 2, you can carry the Cat Eye Beads dropped by Wandering Wight in the meantime. Speaking of which, the Wandering Wight Spirit is the earliest and best Spirit available in early game, making it the number one choice for this build.
Spellbinder Build
All you need is high mobility, critical rate, and Mana - lots and lots of Mana. |
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
- Weapon: Jingubang or the best Staff you've got
- Armour: Pilgrim Armour
- Spirit: Gore-Eye Daoist
- Vessel: Weaver's Needle
- Curios: Thunderflame Seal, Cat Eye Beads, Beast Buddha
- Gourd/Drinks/Soaks: Immortal Blessing Gourd, Loong Balm, Tiger Relic, Breath of Fire, Steel Ginseng
This unconventional but incredibly powerful build sacrifices all Spells, Vessels, Transformations, and Soul Skills in return for a massive attack and critical hit boost. Since all you need is the Spell Binder ability, which is obtained by defeating the Green-Capped Martialist in Chapter 3, you can already create this build in mid-game, and develop it further as you progress.
Since this build works best with the Smash Stance's charged heavy attacks (more on that below), use the Pilgrim Armour set to increase your damage while sprinting, as well as the Jingubang Staff, which offers a fourth Focus Point. If you haven't reached endgame yet, you can use any good weapon as a substitute for the Jingubang, but especially the ones offering critical rate. Be sure to upgrade the Pilgrim Armour in the Zodiac Village as you progress - once it's fully upgraded, you gain the ability to build Focus while sprinting.
As the Spellbinder build converts Mana into a damage boost, this is the most important stat. Get additional Mana from the Gore-Eye Daoist Spirit (also offers a useful attack bonus), Thunderflame Seal Curios, and Essence Decoction (medicine). Next, improve your critical rate and critical damage with the Weaver's Needle Vessel, Keen Insight Relic, Tiger Relic Soak, and the Cat Eye Beads and Beast Buddha Curios. All remaining equipment slots can be used for damage bonuses or Focus gain.
Since you don't need any Sparks for Spell upgrades, you can spend them on the Spell Binder tree and survival tree, where you should get the maximum attack boost, critical rate, critical damage, and Mana. As mentioned earlier, the Smash Stance works best with this build as it allows you to sprint while charging your heavy attack, thus activating the Pilgrim Armour's damage bonus. The only downside is that you'll need to hit the enemy immediately after the sprint ends or the bonus will disappear. You will need the "Force Unbound" Smash Stance passive at the very least, but get more upgrades as you gain more Sparks - "Smashing Force" is also very handy.
Monkey King Build
With this Monkey King build, you never have to worry about critical hit chance ever again. |
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
- Weapon: Adept Spine-Shooting Fuban Staff or Jingubang
- Armour: Monkey King Armour (also known as the Gold Suozi set) and the Ochre Armguard
- Spirit: Tiger's Acolyte
- Vessel: Weaver's Needle
- Curios: Cat Eye Beads, Beast Buddha, Amber Prayer Beads
- Gourd/Drinks/Soaks: Supreme Gourd, Jade Essence, Tiger Relic, Turtle Tear, Steel Ginseng, Flower Primes
Do you find it hard to get a good critical hit chance in Black Myth Wukong? With this Monkey King build, you'll become a critical hit champion in no time. Just beware that this is a New Game Plus build as the Adept Spine-Shooting Fuban Staff isn't available in the first playthrough. However, you can easily turn this into an endgame build by swapping this weapon for the Jingubang - you still need to defeat several major bosses in Chapter 6 though.
Based on the number of Focus Points consumed by a successful heavy attack, the Adept Spine-Shooting Staff recovers HP while shooting spikes at surrounding enemies. It's a nice effect, but not as nice as the weapon's secondary stat, which grants a whopping 25% critical rate. With three pieces of Monkey King armour (head, body, and legs) and the Ochre Armguards equipped, you'll gain an increased critical hit chance whenever you cast a Spell or consume a Focus Point.
As for the remaining equipment slots, prioritize anything that increases critical rate, such as the Cat Eye Beads Curio and Tiger Relic Soak. Since critical rate is nothing without critical damage, the next priority is to find equipment like the Tiger's Acolyte Spirit, Weaver's Needle Vessel, and "Keen Insight" Relic to improve it. If you've got any slots left, try to get more Mana and Focus - remember: using Spells and consuming Focus also improves your critical rate. Finally, be sure to max out the critical rate and critical damage "survival" skill trees.
Despite all this effort, your base critical chance will only be about 44% by now (if using Adept Spine-Shooting Fuban Staff), which doesn't seem that reliable. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to consistently land critical hits during combat: consume medicine, land Focus-fueled heavy attacks, and use Whirling Thrust attacks. The amplification pellets medicine grants a 10% critical rate increase, consuming three Focus Points with a heavy attack adds 18% (Ochre Armguards), and with the "Force Cascade" passive unlocked, the Thrust Stance's Whirling Thrust attacks can gather up to 15% critical chance. Consider using the Rock Solid and Ring of Fire Spells with this Black Myth Wukong build to get Mana and Focus generation respectively.
Bull King Build
The strongest build of them all - but it's New Game+ only. |
Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
- Weapon: Dark Iron Staff
- Armour: Bull King Armour
- Spirit: Wandering Wight or Top Takes Bottom, Bottom Takes Top
- Vessel: Plantain Fan
- Curios: Gold Spikeplate, Agate Jar, Amber Prayer Beads, Gold Button
- Gourd/Drinks/Soaks: Immortal Blessing Gourd, Monkey Brew, Tender Jade Lotus, Steel Ginseng, Turtle Tear, Celestial Lotus Seeds
This Bull King build capitalizes on the Dark Iron Staff's passive effect, which increases attack power based on your defense. Since it offers more defense than any other set in the game, the obvious choice of armour set is the Bull King's armour. Besides boosting your damage, the Bull King set will make you incredibly difficult to kill and interrupt (an effect called "Tenacity"). Equipping the full set disables Perfect Dodges but grants Focus and extra defense upon taking damage.
Most of the remaining equipment pieces, including Wandering Wight, Gold Spikeplate, Agate Jar, and Tender Jade Lotus, are used for defense improvements. Any remaining equipment slots can be reserved for better Focus generation (the Amber Prayer Beads Curio and Steel Ginseng Soak) or unlock extra damage bonuses (Gold Button and Breath of Fire). With that much defense to keep you alive, it's quite safe to pick the Immortal Blessing Gourd for an additional attack bonus at the cost of HP recovery.
While you don't need to adopt a specific Staff Stance for this build, be careful not to waste any Sparks on Perfect Dodge-related Stance passives since you won't be able to use them. I strongly recommend using the Rock Solid Spell to recover Focus and Mana upon successful Deflection. With enough Mana left, you can cast Immobilize together with Pluck of Many and deal massive damage alongside your minions.
Offering amazing damage alongside high survivability, this Black Myth Wukong build is as overpowered as they get. Unfortunately, it suffers from one major issue; you can't get the materials needed to complete the full weapon and armour set until you've slain the Bishui Golden-Eyed Beast in Chapter 5 of a New Game Plus playthrough, so there's no viable first-playthrough version of this build.
That concludes this guide to the best builds in Black Myth: Wukong. If you'd like to further improve your build, take a look at the best weapons as well as the best armour in the game. Be sure to pair them with the best Spirits and the best Gourds too!
