How to beat Guangmou in Black Myth: Wukong
They have some nice moves, I’ll give them that.
It doesn’t take long for Black Myth: Wukong to throw some tough enemies in your path as the Destined One, and in an unavoidable arena in Chapter 1's Bamboo Grove, you must face a powerful Yaoguai Chief, Guangmou.
As a mandatory battle, Guangmou is the first enemy in the game to push your abilities a little bit further. This boss has a large number of skills which they use in varied sequences, giving you little time to breathe. This encounter requires a good initial understanding of the Destined One’s combos, as well as keen eyes and quick reflexes to dodge their attacks. Facing Guangmou also forces you to learn how to use your all-important Immobilize spell.
To make sure you’re ready to face this boss, we've prepared this guide covering all the information you need on how to beat Guangmou in Black Myth: Wukong.
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How to prepare for the Guangmou
The battle against Guangmou marks the middle of Chapter 1 in Black Myth: Wukong. You find them in an arena in the Bamboo Grove, after following ahead the path from the 'Snake Trail' shrine.
On your way to Guangmou's arena, avoid fighting the snake yaoguai and skeletal yaoguais you come across, as you'll want to save your health for the fight ahead. Eventually, you descend some stairs and get to a dark, oppressive area with patrolling snakes. Just ignore them and go straight ahead to find an opening which leads you to the arena.
Considering where you are in the game at this moment, you should be levelled up enough to face Guangmou without much trouble. However, you can always spend some time killing regular enemies to gain one or two levels. In general, it’s always a good idea to invest Sparks to raise your Health and Stamina. If you have enough of both stats, consider upgrading Immobilize for this battle.
Although it’s not mandatory, you can increase your chances of beating Guangmou if you have a Spirit skill to use. At this point in the game, you can have either the Wandering Wight or the frog Baw-Li-Guhh-Lang.
You don’t want to enter this fight without having crafted – and equipped! – the first available set of armour, either. Guangmou is harder to defeat than the usual enemies you have found so far in the game, making any extra upgrade a safe bet when dealing with them.
How to beat Guangmou
Guangmou is a step up in terms of difficulty compared to the other major enemies you have fought so far. They have a larger variety of attacks and they are faster, too. Nonetheless, they aren’t unbeatable! You just need some practice and learn how to respond to each of Guangmou’s attacks.
During the fight, Guangmou can use two types of projectile attacks. One is a volley in which the projectiles eventually converge on your location. This is a long-range ability – and Guangmou always starts the fight using it. The second projectile variation is a frontal cone attack. Guangmou shoots the projectiles toward the ground in melee range. To avoid these two attacks, you should prioritise dodging toward Guangmou.
When you’re far from them, Guangmou can also summon a small tornado to where you are, or send a flurry of leaves toward you. You can easily bait these attacks and dodge them because of how well-telegraphed they are. When you see Guangmou using their fan and the wind starts to gather around you or some leaves are gathered from the ground, prepare to dodge. When they use these abilities, you have a great window to attack Guangmou.
Now, if you stay too long attacking Guangmou, they might use a skill to push you away – and cause some damage – or spill venom. It’s possible to dodge these abilities, but if you are unsure whether you can escape from it or not, I advise you to land a full combo and then get some distance. Only when Guangmou uses the venom ability, can you go behind them and keep attacking. You should always keep in mind that dodging and attacking cost Stamina and you don’t want to run out of it, leaving you open to take all the following attacks.
As the fight goes on, Guangmou will get more creative, combining all the aforementioned attacks and using a teleport to get closer or further away from you. They might get behind you to spill out venom or shoot projectiles. Pay attention and be ready to get away from them if needed.
Guangmou’s signature move is to summon four snakes from the ground. You know they are about to invoke them because Guangmou starts to wave their arms. It might look like a dance you have seen in old movies, but they are actually summoning these snakes that will all of them shoot venom at you once they appear. The best way to avoid this attack is using Immobilize while Guangmou is moving their arms. Doing so stops the casting of the ability and gives you time to attack them. The other option, in case Immobilize is on cooldown, is to run outward around the arena.
Guangmou rewards
Once you have learned how to deal with Guangmou’s venomous snakes and dance moves, defeating them is only a matter of time. Beating them rewards you with 700 XP, which will probably at least get you closer to levelling up. You also get 515 Will, 1x Stone Spirit, and a Blood Of Iron Bull material.
The best reward you receive from finishing this fight, though, is the Guangmou Spirit Summon. When equipped, this spirit gives you access to Guangmou’s signature move, allowing you to summon a couple of snakes onto the battlefield. The Guangmou skill works better in a single target scenario, because you concentrate all the venom on one enemy, making it easier to inflict poison. This skill costs a lot of Qi, but it’s worth it because it gives you the chance to damage enemies even when you’re not directly attacking them.
Considering the number of duels you will still face in Black Myth: Wukong, Guangmou spirit is a powerful skill to have with you - especially when it comes to the next boss fight in Chapter 1: the Whiteclad Noble.