Vessel Guide

Vessels are a crucial part of your equipment loadout in Black Myth Wukong. You obtain these by completing secret quests and defeating bosses. There are 4 vessels, the Fireproof Mantle found in Chapter 1, the Wind Tamer found in Chapter 2, the Weaver's Needle found in Chapter 4 and the Plantain Fan found by completing the final boss of Chapter 5. When equipped Vessels grant you a small passive effect, by building Qi you can activate them for a greater effect.

You can also use Vessels at key times to counter major boss mechanics or make certain enemies much easier. Usually, a Vessel counters the final boss of whichever chapter you obtain it in, with the primary exception being the Plantain Fan, since this item is obtained at the very end of Chapter 5, you use it in Chapter 6 and new game+.

Fireproof Mantle

You obtain the Fireproof Mantle by completing Elder Jinchi's questline in Chapter 1. This item passively grants Burn resistance and immunity to hazardous fiery terrain (including Lava). When you activate the Vessel you gain Focus and total immunity to fire damage.

The Fireproof Mantle is an effective counter to Black Bear Guai, the final boss of Chapter 1. It protects you from the patches of flame throughout the arena and you can activate it during the boss's transition to negate all the damage. This makes this fight much easier and leaves you with more resources going into the final phase.

You get a lot of use out of the Fireproof Mantle in Chapter 5 as well, there's a lot of lava around which you can only walk on safely after equipping the Vessel. Many of the Chapter's bosses also deal fire damage or have phases that heavily focus on fire abilities which you can negate by activating the vessel. A good rule of thumb is to use the Fireproof Mantle any time you see a boss use fire-based abilities, even if it doesn't completely negate a phase the Burn Resistance helps you throughout the fight.

If you have a significant amount of Burn Resistance, then activate the Fireproof Mantle something interesting happens. Instead of taking no damage from fire, you begin healing instead of taking fire damage. It is unclear if this interaction is intended, or due to a bug, but for the time being, you can get Burn Resistance, activate your Vessel then literally stand in the fire to heal yourself to full!

Wind Tamer

You obtain the Wind Tamer by completing the Yellow-Robed Squire's questline and defeating Fuban in Chapter 2. This item passively grants Damage Reduction, (a defensive stat). When you activate the Vessel you create a flash of light, staggering nearby enemies, in addition, you gain a significant amount of Damage Reduction and dispel wind-based effects.

The Wind Tamer makes the Yellow Wind Sage, Chapter 2's final boss much easier. When you use the Vessel it dispels his sandstorm and limits his move set by preventing him from using many of his wind-based attacks. Not only does this make the boss much easier to deal with but it vastly improves the visibility, making it easier to avoid his attacks.

Outside of this, the Wind Tamer is a great tool to use against flying enemies or anything that attempts to attack you from a distance with blades of wind. You can also use this vessel to dispel environmental tornadoes you encounter later on during Chapter 6. This is also a great item to use if you're ever struggling with a specific boss phase because the damage reduction it grants can get you through a tough sequence, or help you survive a grab attack.

Weaver's Needle

You obtain the Weaver's Needle by completing Purple Cloud Mountain and defeating The Duskveil in Chapter 4. Equipping the needle passively grants Critical Hit Chance and Critical Damage making it great for any crit build. When you activate the needle, it targets an enemy and then attacks them, dealing damage and sometimes inflicting a short stagger.

The Weaver's Needle makes the Hundred-Eye Daoist, Chapter 4's final boss much easier. At around 33% Health, he takes you into an illusion realm and then transforms. If you use the Weaver's Needle as soon as he enters this phase, it instantly shatters his illusion and leaves the boss much more vulnerable in his final phase.

There aren't many other enemies which are hard-countered by the Weaver's Needle. However, this Vessel continues to be exceptionally useful throughout the rest of the game. You can use it to deal additional damage, attack at a distance, or inflict small staggers on dangerous foes. In addition, if you're playing a crit build, you get +2% Critical Hit Chance and +6% Critical Damage just for having the needle equipped!

Plantain Fan

Unlike the previous Vessels, you don't need to go out of your way to get the Plantain Fan. Instead, you get this as part of the main story after defeating the Yaksha King, the final boss of Chapter 5. During the cutscene after the battle, Rakshasi gives you the Plantain Fan. This item passively grants Stamina Regeneration, meaning you can charge for longer or spam more attacks. When you activate the Vessel you create a tornado that crowd controls enemies and extinguishes fire patches.

The Plantain Fan is highly effective against almost everything you face in Chapter 6. While it does have some specific uses, like extinguishing fires during the Supreme Inspector fight or shattering Erlang Shen's defenses you should be using it as much as possible!

Being able to generate a tornado on command which crowd controls enemies is downright overpowered. You can use the Plantain Fan to completely trivialize most normal foes, knocking them helplessly into the air while you charge up a Heavy Attack to finish the fight. This is also great against bosses, you can use it to interrupt a particularly dangerous attack sequence and give yourself some breathing room to heal or cast A Pluck of Many.

Summary

Vessels are powerful items that grant both a passive and active effect. You obtain them by completing quests, exploring secret areas, and defeating bosses. The active effect of each Vessel is very effective at countering the most dangerous mechanics from a specific boss.

• Obtain the Fireproof Mantle by completing Elder Jinchi's quest in Chapter 1.
  • It is highly effective against Black Bear Guai.
• Complete the Yellow-Robed Squire's quest to get the Wind Tamer in Chapter 2.
  • Then use it to dispel the Yellow Wind Sage's sandstorm.
• Obtain the Weaver's Needle by exploring Purple Cloud Mountain, a secret area in Chapter 4.
  • It dispels the Hundred-Eye Daoist's illusion realm.
• You get the Plantain Fan by defeating the Yaksha King in Chapter 5.
  • Use it against Erlang Shen to break his defenses.

Written by: Tenkiei