Stances unlock various heavy attacks inBlack Myth: Wukong, and the game gently encourages you to specialize in one of the three stances on offer.
You can be a jack-of-all-trades, of course, but you’ll get the most out of the game’s combat by really drilling into one stance and pairing it with the rightspells and transformations. Luckily, you can respec for free at any shrine in the game, so there’s no penalty for experimenting with your build.
Despite all relying on the same light attack combo, the stances inBlack Myth: Wukongfeel very distinct, and it didn’t take me long to find out which I preferred most. All the stances are viable, depending on your approach to combat, but some are much more broadly useful than others.
Smash Stance
This is the first stance you’ll gain access to, and it was my go-to approach through a good chunk of the game. The heavy attack has you jump into the air and slam your staff straight down into your enemy’s head. It’s a simple move that really doesn’t even require you to pay attention to timing or spacing. If you do put a little effort into perfecting the timing, you’re able to actually use this attack to jump over incoming ground attacks. With an extra skill point, you can unlock a follow-up jump attack that deals massive damage while letting you avoid even more hits. Add onto all that the fact that you can unlock the ability to charge heavy attacks while sprinting, and you’ve got an absolute workhorse of a stance.
Thrust Stance
Thrust Stance is by far my favorite inBlack Myth: Wukong, but I found it to be a little less broadly useful than Smash Stance. The heavy attack is, who would have guessed, a thrust that has a truly ridiculous range, but this stance also unlocks another move. By interrupting a light attack combo with the heavy attack button, you’re able to jump backward to avoid an enemy’s attack. The jump doesn’t use up any Focus, but immediately after jumping back, you can spend a Focus point to do a heavy thrust attack. The process of actually managing the spacing and timing the jump and thrust was really fun, but when a boss got me into a tight corner, or I needed to use Focus points quickly to restore some of my health, I’d always default back to Smash Stance.
Pillar Stance
Pillar Stance has by far the coolest looking, most cinematic heavy attack. Using your staff as a pivot point, you spin around and kick all the enemies surrounding you, which can come in handy if you run into a crowd while exploring. The downside to this stance is that charging it requires you to remain stationary because your character sits on top of the staff during the charge. This can be great for avoiding ground attacks – and it’s basically mandatory forbosses like Captain Wise-Voice– but it’s a noticeable limitation with only niche uses. I found myself putting this stance on the backburner and only pulling it out when a specific fight really benefited from the stationary charge.
