Because so many of these Soaks are situational, the best is a bit harder to quantify here. So this guide covers 5 great Soaks but you should swap things up at a Shrine as a boss calls for it. For example, when you're going up against an enemy that inflicts a lot of poison like the Violet Spider, the Double-Combed Rooster Blood is amazing. But it won't help you against Yellow Loong's thunderous might.
Best Overall Soaks
Initially your drinks start with limited Soak slots, but later on, you have 2-4 slots which allows for a lot of customization. These 5 Soaks stand out as the best when you're primarily using your Gourd for healing. Iron Pellet definitely stands above the rest but most of the time you need to mix and match, changing things up as needed.
The Iron Pellet is an incredibly powerful Soak, Tenacity prevents your Gourd from being interrupted. You shouldn't be taking damage while drinking but if you make a mistake the Damage Reduction helps you to keep your health high.
Graceful Orchid / Celestial Lotus Seeds, most of the time you're drinking from your Gourd to heal, and these Soaks boost your healing. The recovery happens over a short duration, but especially across multiple uses it results in a significant amount of extra Health.
Steel Ginseng is an offensive Soak that helps replenish your resources. You can use this Focus to fuel your Varied Combos or unleash a powerful Charged Heavy Attack. Unlike temporary bonuses, you don't need to capitalize on this immediately after drinking.
The Flower Primes makes it so that your Gourd removes shock, chill, burn, and poison. Unlike the medicines, this doesn't raise your resistance. But for fights like the Hundred-Eye Daoist Master that inflict multiple Banes, this is incredibly powerful!
Lastly, if you want more uses out of your Gourd the best thing to use is a Bee Mountain Stone. It has roughly a 20% chance to activate, so it's best to combine this Soak with a Gourd that has more uses. This is especially effective in long fights when combined with the Qing-Tian Gourd.
Check out our Gourds, Drinks and Soaks Guide to learn about all the Soaks available in Black Myth Wukong and where to get them.
Specialized Soak Combinations
But you don't always use your Gourd for healing, you can use it for damage, Mana recovery or to enable a specific build. So here are a few of the best Soaks to enable these more niche playstyles.
Mana Battery Gourd
You can use the Jade Essence Drink to restore Mana with every sip. But you can make this even better with the Turtle Tear Soak. Now, every time you take a sip while at full Health you get even more Mana!
Alternatively, you can use the Slumbering Beetle Husk to reduce Spell Cooldowns with every sip. But be warned your movement is impaired after using your Gourd when using this Soak.
Self-Poison Setup
Now the Deathstinger seems like it's purely detrimental, who would want to poison themselves? This Soak enables the Poison Ward Set and Spider Celestial Staff both of which rely on the Destined One being poisoned.
The Poison Ward set reduces the damage you take from the Poisoned State while increasing your attack while poisoned. In addition, while you are poisoned the Spider Celestial Staff inflicts the Poison Bane on enemies. This is a unique playsyle that relies on the Deathstinger Soak so you can keep yourself in the Poisoned State.
You can combine this with the Double-Combed Rooster Blood which automatically removes the poison and gives you a buff. However, you're better off tossing on Tiger Relic for Critical Hit Chance so you don't tie up 2 different Soak slots.
Empowering A Pluck of Many
Mount Lingtai Seedlings enhances one of your most powerful Spells, A Pluck of Many. Remember, you need to cast the Spell shortly after drinking because the buff only lasts for a few seconds.
It's worth noting that there are other Soaks to support each of your other spells. However, all of these effects are shortlived so you should only use them when you can cast the Spell within a few seconds of drinking from your Gourd.
Summary
Soaks add additional utility each time you take a sip from your Gourd. Learn the best Soaks to use when you're focused on healing and a few Soaks that enable specific playstyles. There are a lot of different Soaks to find as you explore Black Myth Wukong, but several stand out as a cut above the rest!
Written by: Tenkiei
