Black Myth: Wukong – Best Defensive Spells

Choosing among the best defensive spells in Black Myth: Wukong can be a bit tricky, especially considering that players only have access to two spell slots for pure defense. They can still get protective measures out of the other two, but things start leaning towards the offense in that case. Given that the game features a great variety of enemy types and bosses that can hit rather hard, choosing the best options becomes quite important.

The mana cost certainly plays a part when picking the best defensive spells in Black Myth: Wukong. The game is also constantly changing and what works best for a particular chapter or boss may not be the same for another. Thankfully, players can easily respec their build in Black Myth: Wukongif they wish to switch focus to another spell. Some item passives also allow them to build some mana back upon conditions like perfect dodges, so using spells multiple times during a fight isn’t always an issue. With that said, here’s a list of the best defensive spells inBlack Myth: Wukong.

7 Life-Saving Strand

NG+ Spell That Resurrects on Death

• Cost: N/A
• Cooldown: 600 Seconds

Life-Saving Strand is a good defensive spell in Black Myth: Wukong, but it’s not the best by any means. For starters, it becomes available only when players complete the story, start a New Game+ journey, and reach the first Keeper’s Shrine. By that point, they usually have the spells higher on this list already maxed out and a pretty good feel for the game’s combat rhythm. Further, while it doesn’t consume any mana, it takes up the slot that can be used for A Pluck for Many. Not only is the latter a better spell all around, it also comes with a 120s cooldown as opposed to the former’s 600s.

In case players choose to equip the Life-Saving Strand defensive spell in Black Myth: Wukong, they will have to bear in mind that it resurrects them upon death, instead of saving them outright. They can choose to max it out, which will result in a reduced cooldown, two gourd refills, some mana regen, and, in case they’re lucky, instant cooldown.

6 Spell Binder

Binds Other Spells, But Gives Health and Increased Attack

• Cost: Turns mana into increased attack power
• Cooldown: 90 Seconds

Spell Binder is an impressive defensive spell in Black Myth: Wukong if players take the The best defense is a good offense phrase to heart. It gets unlocked after they complete the Treasure Hunter questline and defeat the Green-Capped Martialist boss in Chapter 3 – New West. When talking about its defensive prowess, players should activate it when they’ve lost some health, since it gives them back a considerable chunk. It also removes all Four Banes States, which becomes increasingly handy as they progress towards more difficult areas.

Although it’s clearly not among the best spells, it converts a certain ratio of mana into attack power and even increases Critical Hit Chance when upgraded. This helps deal more damage and potentially stagger and end fights without the bosses pulling out their most devastating moves, at least as often.

5 Immobilize

Immobilizes Enemies for Certain Duration

• Cost: 50 Mana
• Cooldown: 50 Seconds

Players get the Immobilize spell quite early on by defeating Bullguard at the start of Chapter 1 – Black Wind Mountain. It’s an incredibly helpful spell as it can literally immobilize enemies and give players a few seconds to take a breather and use their gourd. When upgraded, it comes with better offerings like increased damage when immobilized while being struck and on crashing immobilization, among others. If players time it well and use it on a staggered enemy, they can prolong the state and get at least two combos off.

What places the Immobilize spell a bit lower on this list of the best defensive spells in Black Myth: Wukong is that it can be a bit tricky to pull off successfully. For example, stronger enemies like Black Bear Guai and Erlang Shen can either parry it right away or recover from it way too soon to be effective. And while players can get increased damage if they immobilize when the enemy is striking, they have to be quick to get a combo off to stagger. If they’re not, the enemy will just resume the move and deal a good chunk of damage.

4 A Pluck of Many

Spawns Duplicates to Fight Enemy

• Cost: 120 Mana
• Cooldown: 120 Seconds

A Pluck of Many is a pretty good spell in Black Myth: Wukong, one that has good offensive as well as defensive capabilities. The duplicates it spawns cause a decent chunk of damage and bring respite from enemy attention even when not upgraded. But more than that, it allows players to take a moment to use their gourd and medicines and revise their strategy. It is a very good spell when fully upgraded, easily one of the most powerful in the game.

Players can unlock A Pluck of Many by defeating Stone Vanguard boss in Chapter 2 – Yellow Wind Ridge. The reason it doesn’t rank higher is because of its significant mana cost and cooldown. Using it with a lower mana pool and without significant upgrades can make fights difficult instead of easy. Not only will it really cut down on usage of more useful spells like Cloud Step and Immobilize, but it also won’t cause enough damage either to be impactful. Overall, it is a pretty good spell, but it should be upgraded for an appropriate level of impact.

3 Ring of Fire

Regenerates Health, Focus, and Gives Damage Reduction

• Cost: 60 Mana
• Cooldown: 50 Seconds

Ring of Fire is easily one of the top-rated defensive spells in Black Myth: Wukong, especially when its skill tree is upgraded. Players unlock it after defeating Macaque Chief boss in Chapter 3 – New West for the second time. One of the best points in its corner is its low mana cost of 30 and a mere 15s cooldown. As such, players can really spam it if needed. At lower levels, the amount of health it regenerates is a decent chunk, approximately half of a gourd use. Although, moving outside the ring stops the health regen.

Once Ring of Fire is upgraded, however, it’s simply amazing. It increases focus, recovers more health and faster, adds some damage reduction, and what not. When maxed out, stepping outside the ring also doesn’t cancel the health regen right away. What makes it a bit situational is that it can be tricky to use against aggressive bosses. There are some, like Erlang Shen in Black Myth: Wukong, that give barely any respite from attacks. As such, using the gourd itself becomes difficult, not to mention standing in place for the ring’s effect to really apply.

2 Rock Solid

Turns Player into Stone for a Quick Parry

• Cost: 30 Mana
• Cooldown: 15 Seconds

Rock Solid is quite a helpful defensive spell, but it can take a little bit of skill to pull off for maximum impact. Players unlock it after beating Tiger Vanguard in Chapter 2 – Yellow Wind Ridge. This spell is essentially the only form of “easy” parry that they have access to in the game, the other being Resolute Counterflow, which is extremely tricky to do right. It encases the Destined One in stone and deflects one strike.

What makes Rock Solid a great defensive spell in Black Myth: Wukong is that it’s instantaneous. However, it should be activated at the very last second to maximize its impact. For most enemies, it will completely kill their combo and may even stagger them if done right. Further, when upgraded, the cooldown is reduced, the Destined One gets a lot of focus build-up, attack power is increased, and damage reduction is added. When maxed out, it also gives a considerable amount of mana back, which is incredibly helpful in making it even more spam worthy. The deflection window is reduced, but it’s still a great defensive spell. This, however, comes more recommended for soulslike and experienced veterans than complete beginners.

1 Cloud Step

Disperse into Mist to Avoid Attacks and Heal

• Cost: 40 Mana
• Cooldown: 35 Seconds

Players unlock Cloud Step after beating Black Wind King boss in Chapter 1 – Black Wind Mountain; it’s the second-last boss. The strongest suit that makes it one of the best defensive spells is that it can be triggered whenever the Destined One is on his feet, it doesn’t matter if he’s right in the middle of an enemy’s combo. Also, the effect is instantaneous and doesn’t have any animation delay whatsoever. Essentially, it makes players invisible to the enemy and leaves a decoy in their place. During this phase, they can heal, move to another part of the arena, and come back to attack with the Unveiling Strike.

Once fully upgraded, Cloud Step is perhaps the most used defensive spell in Black Myth: Wukong. For example, the decoy lasts longer and blasts a shockwave when hit, the Unveiling Strike’s Critical Hit Chance stacks for 10s, players can deal a charged heavy attack, and more. Even its mana cost (slightly higher at max upgrade) and cooldown are excellent. The only issue with Cloud Step is that it doesn’t give back some mana like Rock Solid does and that the Destined One can be broken out of the phase if hit by an AoE attack. Even then, it’s easily the best defensive spell in Black Myth: Wukong.