Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is designed to test soulslike newbies and veterans alike with its challenging combat and dangerous world. And there’s nothing I can say that’s going to change the fact that you’re probably going to die quite a lot throughout your journey. However, after spending some time with this intriguing and unique entry in the genre, I’ve got some tips I think may at least help you during the opening hours of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. Let’s dive in.
Experiment with skills and weapons for a bit
When it comes to skills, you’ll definitely want to make sure to invest in the tree to the immediate left of the Starting Point orb. There are some obvious skills you should invest in early here, such as the Manna Capacity and Manna Potency upgrades for your healing item (more on that below).
However, many of your skill investments should be based on what type of weapon you decide to use. As you find weapon types you haven’t seen before, you’ll discover that the skill tree begins to offer a branch for them. Go ahead and buy the first skill for any new tree that appears, then instantly refund it (if you want to). The tree will remain open for you so that you can browse the skills without needing to invest in any of them yet.
It takes some time to really understand the full breadth of the skill tree, and it goes much deeper than you may initially think; it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at first. Since you can respec your skills at any time, you should spend the first few hours of the game trying out different builds with any new weapon types you come across to see what works best for you. You can always swap things around later.
Get these Manna Vase upgrade materials ASAP
A rechargeable Manna Vase is your primary source of healing in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, so you’ll want to take advantage of any skills that provide upgrades to these as you work your way through the game. You can access the Manna Capacity and Manna Potency skills in the skill tree at basically the very beginning of the game, but you’ll need special materials to buy these upgrades — Forgotten Remembrance and Lost Remains.
The first of these is found right after defeating the Tang Palace Maid along the main path. Before you continue through the upper exit, head down to the bottom of the arena and outside to a chest containing a Forgotten Remembrance.
A bit later, you’ll reach the Lightzen Temple shrine. Head through the door directly behind the shrine to enter an open courtyard with a few enemies (one of which is hiding just to the right as you enter the area). Look on the right side of the courtyard for a building with a chest in plain sight. Open the chest to receive the Lost Remains.
With these obtained, you’ll be able to grab the first tier of Manna Capacity and Manna Potency skills from the skill tree, giving you a slight leg up in upcoming battles. Now, be sure to keep an eye out for more Forgotten Remembrances and Lost Remains so you can continue upgrading your Manna Vase.
Refine Red Mercury essence every chance you get
Refined Mercury Essence is what you use to buy most skills in the skill tree, so it’s among the most important resources in the game. Each time you get enough Red Mercury (EXP), make sure you head back to a shrine and refine it in the Impetus Repository.
Why is this so important? Well, if you die before refining Red Mercury, you’ll drop a significant portion of it. You’ll then have to run back to the spot where you were killed and try to pick it up. If you die again before doing so, you’ll lose the Red Mercury you dropped. That’s a huge bummer.
With this in mind, even if you don’t use the Refined Mercury Essence immediately (for whatever dumb reason, you weirdo), it’s much better to have this permanent resource available than to be walking around with unrefined Red Mercury.
Only dorks don’t refine their Red Mercury. Don’t be a dork.
You should kill those annoying birds you keep hearing
If you hear a bird annoyingly chirping nearby, take a look around and try to find the irritating little bastard. You’ll want to kill them—and not just because they’re obnoxious.
These birds will often perch above you on rocks, trees, or random structures, which can make reaching them with your melee weapon difficult. In this case, fire a spell or a throwing knife at them to get ‘em dead in a single hit.
For slaying these feathered loudmouths, you’ll earn a consumable item called an Aurum Feather. While you don’t want to go using them randomly, they can be very useful against tough bosses since they’ll temporarily increase a random attribute—either health, stamina, or damage dealt by any source.
That’s a pretty sweet payoff for just kicking a bird’s ass.
You can cross the broken bridge with the glowy thing
Outside the Shu Sanctum is a dilapidated bridge with a glowy thing floating between the two broken sides. And look, “glowy thing” isn’t a good descriptor in a guide. I get that. But you’ll know exactly what I mean when you see it, so don’t start with me.
Anyway, there’s an invisible walkway here that you can walk across. That’s all. You’ll reach the other side via other routes anyway as part of the natural progression of the area, but I’d argue shortcuts are always welcome.
I dunno. I just thought it was cool. No one’s making you go over it.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and Windows PCs.