Wuchang: Fallen Feathershas finally arrived, a brand-new Soulslike by Chinese developer Leenzee, and despite some initial performance roadblocks on PC, it has still managed to attract a great number of players. While many have had the opportunity to experience all that it has to offer, many ofWuchang: Fallen Feathers' deepest systems and nuances aren’t fully realized until late in the game.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathersmight look like atraditional Soulslikeon the surface, but there is far more to it than meets the eye. Beneath its familiar exoskelton lie numerous systems that players can take advantage of that the game is not forthright about in order to encourage experimentation. Add that to numerous things that players can only discover inWuchang’s world through trial and error, and there are plenty of unwritten rules they could benefit from before taking their first steps in Wuchang’s shoes.
The Unwritten Rules of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' Combat
Vorpal Blade Is Almost Too Good
SinceWuchang: Fallen Feathers' protagonist has been afflicted by a disease called the “Feathering” that grants her special abilities, the game understandably places an emphasis on magic, although melee is still very much a regular part of the combat rotation. While there are plenty of different spells players can unlock and even benefit from, though,Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' Vorpal Blade spellis by far one of the best. Not only is it extremely cheap to use, as it only costs one Skyborn Might, but it can also deal decent damage, especially for players who invest in Magic on the skill tree.
Frequent Armor Changes Are Almost Necessary
Many Soulslikes allow players to wear one armor set or armor archetype the entire time they’re playing without much punishment, butWuchang: Fallen Feathers' armor systeminsists that players regularly change what they’re wearing according to what they’re facing. This is especially true in the game’s boss fights, as many of these foes can inflict status effects and debuffs that can slow, wound, and even kill Wuchang if players aren’t attentive. This often requires a bit of trial and error to determine what is actually required to effectively resist a boss' attacks, but it’s worth it in the end for players to change their armor to suit the moment, as it can quite literally mean the difference between life and death.
Dying in a Boss Arena With Full Madness Doesn’t Trigger the Inner Demon
One thing the game never mentions but can actually be quite helpful is that dying in a boss arena with a fullMadness meter inWuchang: Fallen Feathersdoesn’t trigger the Inner Demon upon return. This means that players can die repeatedly to a boss until they’ve maxed out their Madness, and then their Madness will remain maxed out until the next time they die outside the boss arena. This can either be a benefit or a disadvantage, depending on how players look at it, but it at least means they won’t have to face both the Inner Demon and the boss simultaneously, should they die with full Madness.
The Skill Tree Is Larger Than It Looks
At first,Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' skill treemight look fairly manageable, despite still being rather large from the get-go. However, it is, in fact, much larger than it initially seems. It’s actually very easy to miss out on the outskirts of the skill tree, as it doesn’t become visible until players unlock skills on the edges that are visible. Those areas aren’t entirely visible, but they can be looked over. As such, players should venture to the edge of the branch that looks most befitting of their playstyle if they want to get the most out of it.
The Unwritten Rules of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' Exploration
Wandering Takes Confidence
One of the louder complaints aboutWuchang: Fallen Feathers' explorationin particular has been its world design, which looks linear at first, but actually consists of multiple branching paths that can lead to players feeling lost at times. It’s true thatWuchang’s map is pretty large and there is a lot of ground to cover in exploration, and rather than there being only one fork in the road, there are frequently several. However, those who choose to wander off the beaten path should do so with confidence, as each path will either eventually lead to a dead end or back around to familiar territory again. In other words, it’s fairly difficult to get lost inWuchang: Fallen Feathers, as every area in the world is interconnected.
Birds Offer a Helpful Item When Killed
Something players will regularly hear as they explore the world ofWuchang: Fallen Feathersare Goldwing birds tweeting at them from a nearby perch. What the game never explains is that these birds drop Aurum Feathers when killed, which grant a random temporary buff to health, stamina, or damage dealt. While the buff is random, there are countless birds throughout the world, and Aurum Feathers can often help tremendously inWuchang: Fallen Feathers' boss fights.
Armor Is Built for More Than Just Combat
While changing armor can indeed help in various combat scenarios, players are just as encouraged to change their armor for the environment as well.Wuchang: Fallen Feathersis chock-full ofenvironmental hazardsthat can kill or severely wound Wuchang in an instant if players don’t have the right armor equipped. Most of these hazards are indicated by a color, with green corresponding to Blight, for example, and purple meaning Corruption. Should players encounter these hazards as they explore (and they will), they are advised to change their armor set to mitigate whatever danger lies in front of them.
