The Destined One can switch between three different Stances. Smash Stance is unlocked from the start of the game, it focuses on mobility and is the only stance where you can charge your Heavy Attack while moving. Pillar Stance unlocks at level 5, it specializes in defense allowing you to hop up onto the top of your staff and avoid certain attacks. Then Thrust Stance unlocks at level 20 and provides tremendous reach along with the ability to instantly execute a charged Heavy Attack after dodging with 4 points of Focus. As you level up and put more points into your Stances, you unlock additional Focus Points and new talents. There are also some Generic Stance points which enhance your attacks. The first generic talent heals you when you consume Focus making it an excellent thing to pick up!
There are two important mechanics which interact with your Stances. Focus and Varied Combos. Focus is a resource that builds up as you strike enemies in combat, alternatively, it can be built up by holding down your Heavy Attack key to charge.
You start with a Max Focus of 1 but you unlock another Focus point by investing 3, 10, and 20 Sparks into your Stances. Spending Focus increases the damage of your Heavy Attack and sometimes adds new effects. Varied Combos refers to a sequence where you start with Light Attacks, then interrupt your combo by executing a Heavy Attack.
Each Stance has its own unique Varied Combo. For example, with Smash Stance you can execute a Varied Combo right as an enemy attacks you to See Through their attack completely negating damage. invest more points into a Stance to pull off increasingly complex sequences when using Varied Combos.
Smash Stance
First up, Smash Stance is great when you're running through an area and defeating regular enemies. You can charge your Heavy Attack while moving, and later even while Sprinting or executing a Perfect Dodge! The Damage Reduction on your Heavy Attack is important because you usually fight at close range.
When you're playing Smash Stance it pays to be aggressive. You don't have as much range as Thrust or Pillar stance, but you have way more mobility. Unfortunately, this lack of range can be problematic against bosses who spend a lot of time in the air, move around frequently, or otherwise have an awkward hitbox. Stick close to your enemies and use your Varied Combos to press the attack, pushing through their attacks with your own. If you ever need to retreat, or your foe runs away don't forget to start charging up a Heavy Attack as you Sprint back in.
Resolute Strike Varied Combos
The first Varied Combo for Smash Stance is Resolute Strike. Use this by using a Heavy Attack in the middle of your Light Attack sequence. Resolute Strike can See Through an enemy, negating the damage from their attack. The window for this is pretty short though, so time it carefully when you see an enemy attacking. After hitting an enemy with Resolute Strike you can use another Heavy Attack to spend a Focus point and execute Skyfall Strike, a powerful followup. These Varied Combos excel at negating enemy attacks and reward you for precisely timing your strikes to See Through your foe.
Pillar Stance
Pillar is the defensive Stance, and it works well for countering bosses with a lot of wide sweeping strikes. When you charge your Heavy Attack you hop onto the top of your staff, with each stage taking the Destined One to new heights. Most enemy attacks can't hit you when you're on top of your staff, but they do "damage" your stamina a bit. At first, you just fall to the ground when your stamina is depleted but later you automatically unleash a Heavy Attack.
Since Pillar Stance is primarily defensive you often find yourself in a standoff with bosses. This works well when bosses tend to use horizontal attacks. However, it's ineffective against bosses with ranged attacks, vertical strikes, and aerial moves as those can hit you even when you're perched on top of your staff. The higher your Focus the more effective this form of defense is.
Churning Gale Varied Combos
Use a Heavy Attack during your Light Attack sequence to consume a Focus Point and hop onto your staff then spin around it, damaging all nearby foes in the process. Sweeping Gale is one of the rare forms of AoE damage available to the Destined One. This doesn't offer much invincibility but does give you a good bit of Damage Reduction. Use another Heavy Attack during your Sweeping Gale to use Churning Gale, converting Focus into even more damage and ending the sequence.
Thrust Stance
On the other hand, Thrust Stance has great reach and provides a bit of mobility through its Varied Combo. As you continue to invest Sparks you reduce your Stamina costs and gain the ability to instantly unleash a 4 Focus Charged Heavy Attack. After accumulating 4 Focus points, dodge then use your Heavy Attack for a massive burst of damage!
You get a lot of range on your Heavy Attack with Thrust Stance which makes it great against all of those highly mobile and annoying bosses. This also gives you more room to execute your Charged Heavy Attacks from a safe distance, or maybe while sitting in a Ring of Fire to build your Focus. The Tactical Retreat Varied Combo is great for breaking up the flow of combat and helping you reposition.
Tactical Retreat Varied Combos
Your bread and butter Varied Combo is Tactical Retreat. Use a Heavy Attack in the middle of your Light Attack sequence to take a backstep, hopping out of danger and gaining invulnerability for a short duration if you use this right when a boss attacks. From here, you have two options depending on what attack you use next. Following Tactical Retreat with a Light Attack results in Whirling Thrusts, a rapid flurry of blows. If you use a Heavy Attack after your Tactical Retreat, the Destined One uses Forceful Thrust, a powerful lunge attack.
Hidden Stance
There's one more Stance in Black Myth Wukong, but this one is a bit of a secret. This is what you use when playing as Sun Wukong during the game's introduction. In terms of gameplay, it functions very similarly to Smash Stance but with an extended range. You can charge your Heavy Attack while moving, See Through enemies, and it very much rewards aggression making this Stance incredibly powerful.
You need to wear all 5 pieces of Heaven's Equal to use the stance. Initially, this is only possible in Chapter 6. You obtain the Heaven's Equal armor by defeating the Gold Armored Rhino, Emerald-Armed Mantis, Feng-Tail General, and Cloudtreading Deer. Then complete the set by obtaining Wukong's Jingubang in Water Curtain Cave. To use this Stance throughout the rest of the game you need to complete the secret ending 3 times to collect all 18 perk points then enter a new cycle. At that point, you can use this everywhere in the game provided you're wearing Heaven's Equal. After using a fully Charged Heavy Attack you gain the Stance for around a minute.
Summary
The Destined One can switch between and invest in 3 powerful stances. As you invest in the passives, you get access to different Varied Combos which are activated by alternating between Light and Heavy Attacks.
- You start with Smash Stance, which focuses on mobility and aggression.
- Pillar Stance unlocks at level 5, hop onto the end of your Staff to get out of danger.
- Thrust Stance unlocks at level 20, it provides great reach.
- Use Varied Combos to change up your gameplay and counter foes.
Written by: Tenkiei
