Black Myth: Wukong Endgame Guide: New Game Plus and Hardest Bosses
How New Game Plus works, which bosses hit hardest, and the path to Wukong's true ending.
Beating Black Myth: Wukong once is really just the warmup. The credits roll, you feel unstoppable, and then the game quietly slides you into New Game Plus with a stack of side bosses most people never even bump into. The endgame is where the actual fight lives, and it gets nastier every time you loop back through the story.
This breaks down what survives the jump into NG+, how the difficulty really scales (the rumors are mostly true), and the bosses that will flatten you if you stroll in cocky. You'll also find the spell and transformation combos that carry late-game builds, plus the full checklist for the true ending and its secret boss. Nothing in here is missable, so there's no rush, but knowing the order saves a whole lot of wandering.
What Carries Over Into New Game Plus
Short version: most of your power, almost none of your progress.
When you start a new cycle, the game hands back the big stuff and rewinds the story to Chapter 1. That's the whole deal. You keep your toolkit and replay the campaign with it, which sounds light until you realize how much you actually own by the end of a first run.
Levels, skills, and sparks
Your character level comes along in full. So does every skill point you've spent and every talent you've unlocked, which means you walk into NG+ already specced out. Even better, you can fully respec at any Keeper's Shrine whenever you like, so if a build stopped feeling good, this is the clean moment to scrap it and try something new. Sparks, the currency you pour into your skill tree, carry over too, and a few of them are flat-out easier to re-earn now that you know where they hide.
Gear, spells, vessels, and spirits
The whole loadout travels with you. That covers your weapons, armor sets, and curios, the small trinkets that tweak your stats. Your spells stay unlocked. Your vessels stay, which matters more than it sounds (more on those in the combo section). Your spirits stay, leveled up exactly as you left them. And your transformations stay, including the ones you had to scrape side quests to find.
What gets reset
Here's the part that trips people up. Story progress snaps back to the start, so every chapter replays from scratch. Quest items and key items, the things tied to opening doors or pushing a boss fight forward, also reset. Shrine unlocks and the map fog reset, so you'll be finding your shrines again. Functionally you're walking the same path with a way bigger sword.
New stuff that only shows up in NG+
A fresh cycle isn't purely a replay. There's a boss chief plus a couple of characters that only spawn in NG+, and a handful of new soaks get added to the pool (soaks being the consumables you slot into your gourd for bonus effects). So if you're the completionist type, that first loop is worth a clean sweep even when the combat feels easy.
What to grab before you jump
Before rolling into NG+, it's smart to clean up a few things in your current run. Grab any spirits you're missing, max out the ones you actually use, and chase down any transformations you skipped, since a couple are a pain to re-find once the map reseats. Top off your gourd upgrades and stockpile soaks and seeds. It's all faster to do now while the map is still uncovered than to hunt everything down again in NG+.
Difficulty Changes and Enemy Scaling in NG+
The funny part is your first NG+ is usually easier than your first run. You keep your whole kit while the enemies only get a gentle bump. A lot of players call it a "reward run," and that's about the size of it. The trouble is what happens on the cycles after.
The first cycle is a victory lap
Enemies hit a bit harder and soak a bit more damage, and sparks get rarer to find. But you're walking in with endgame gear and a full spell bar, so for most of the run you're the scariest thing on screen. It's a fun, breezy victory tour, not a wall.
Scaling ramps from the second cycle on
This is where the game stops being polite. Each new cycle past the first makes bosses tankier and their hits heavier. Somewhere around NG+4 the back half of the game starts genuinely hurting, and a lot of players hit their first real wall there after a smooth ride. Bosses that were pushovers start overwhelming you if your timing is even a little off.
Where does the scaling stop?
Community testing points to the scaling capping out around NG+6, which is the NG+5 cycle, give or take. Past that, extra cycles don't seem to add much, though a few testers think it creeps up just a touch further. Treat the cap as "around there" rather than a hard number, since the game never spells it out.
Here's roughly how the cycles shake out, based on player reports rather than hard stat files:
| Cycle | How it feels | What to expect | |-------|--------------|----------------| | NG (first run) | Baseline | The normal difficulty you learned on | | NG+ | Reward run | Easier than your first run, in most cases | | NG+2 to NG+3 | Starts biting | Bosses get noticeably tankier, hits sting more | | NG+4 to NG+5 | Brutal | Late-game bosses can flat-out overwhelm you | | NG+6 and beyond | Capped | Scaling is mostly flat, more skill than stats |
Why it still feels rough at the top
The squeeze is simple. Bosses keep gaining health and damage, but your gear has a ceiling. Sooner or later their curve outruns your offense, and from there every fight is a test of dodging clean and not getting greedy. That's the real long-term skill check the whole game is built around.
How to prep for the brutal cycles
Once you're past NG+3, your build matters more than your level. Lean into crit and raw damage, since boss health pools are your real enemy, and lean on Spell Binder to fold your spells into flat stats. Spirits that add raw damage or freeze, like Wandering Wight and the Apramana Bat, keep paying off. And honestly, some of these fights just take reps. There's no gear that dodges for you.
Ranking the Hardest Optional Bosses
The crown goes to two fights, with a clear third right behind them. Here's how the worst of the optional content stacks up and why each one leaves bruises.
1. Erlang Shen, the Sacred Divinity
For most players this is the hardest fight in the game, full stop. He's locked behind the true-ending path, so you can't even reach him until you've cleared all the secret area bosses and finished the Chapter 3 Treasure Hunter quest (covered in the last section). What makes him so nasty is that he shrugs off Immobilize and a lot of your spells for stretches, throws a fast multi-hit string that chips you even when you're playing safe, has an instant grab you have to watch for, and drops a petrify-style move people call "Pluck." The popular answer is Spell Binder, which folds your spells into raw stats so you can just out-hit him instead of juggling tools. Save your vessel for his second phase, when the strings get longer and the grab comes out faster. Beat him and you feel like you've actually beaten the game.
2. Yellow Loong
The capstone of the Loong questline and the real test of the four dragons. He's relentless, hard to read, and he punishes panic dodging hard. He's also immune to Shock and can see through some of your usual tricks, so the crutches that carry you through easier fights don't help much here. Cloud Step is your friend in this one, since his melee chains are long enough that the clone eats hits you'd otherwise take. Expect to learn his patterns the hard way, because reaction alone won't save you.
3. Yin Tiger
The martial-arts tiger you fight to unlock his vendor services, and a sneaky brick wall if you go in blind. He resists Immobilize, which throws off the combo most players lean on, so the clean answer is Cloud Step into a charged heavy, over and over, while you dodge between cooldowns. The Apramana Bat's freeze is the cheese that turns this fight from a wall into a rout. The payoff is the Ebon Flow transformation, which is a genuinely great reward for the pain.
Honorable mentions
A few others deserve respect. Bishui Golden Eyed Beast is a two-phase tanky slog in Chapter 5's secret cave. Duskveil hits hard in Chapter 4's Purple Cloud Mountain. And then there's the Great Sage's Broken Shell, the final story boss, who isn't technically optional but sets the benchmark every other fight gets measured against. If you can hang with him, you've got the raw skill for the rest.
Best Late Game Spell and Transformation Combos
By the back half of the game you've got options stacked on options, and a good loadout matters more than raw reaction. Here are the combos that actually hold up against the hard stuff.
The spell core: Immobilize, Cloud Step, A Pluck of Many
Three spells form the backbone of most strong builds. Immobilize freezes a target in place, which buys you a free damage window whenever it's up. Cloud Step drops a clone and lets you vanish, reposition, or safely line up a charged heavy, which is why it's the safe-pick answer to so many bosses. A Pluck of Many summons copies of yourself that pile onto whatever you're fighting, great for melting a single big target or splitting a crowd's attention.
Spell Binder: the late-game nuke button
This is the spell that turns the endgame into your playground. Spell Binder folds your other spells into one big surge of attack and defense, so you trade utility for raw power. It's the go-to pick for Erlang and the higher NG cycles, where you'd often rather just hit harder than juggle four tools. The trade is real, you lose your safety nets, but against a boss you're going to out-stat anyway, it feels broken in the best way.
Top transformations for tough fights
- Red Tides (the Wolf Guai): your early reliable transform, and it still pulls weight late. It inflicts Scorch Bane, a burn that ticks the enemy down over time.
- Yellow Loong: the questline reward and arguably the best all-around transform. Immune to Shock, and it can see through enemy moves so you read the fight better.
- Hoarfrost: a strong frost burst that's great for chunking big health bars in a hurry.
- Ebon Flow (from Yin Tiger): fast hits and good stagger, perfect when you need to keep a boss flinching.
Spirits and vessels that glue it together
Spirits are your active summons, and Wandering Wight, once maxed, is widely seen as the strongest all-rounder, a big reliable chunk of extra damage and utility. Earth Wolf, Commander Beetle, and Tiger's Acolyte are solid fallbacks depending on the matchup. Vessels are your big situational buttons: Wind Tamer (grabbed from Fuban in Chapter 2) cancels wind-type attacks and gives you space to heal, the Plantain Fan (a story pickup at the end of Chapter 5) clears crowds with a big area effect, and Weaver's Needle (from Duskveil in Chapter 4) is your precision tool.
Don't sleep on elixirs and food
Spells and transforms get the spotlight, but the consumables matter a ton at the top end. Elixirs hand you a long-lasting stat buff, and the right food before a fight adds another layer. For a real damage push, pop a damage-boosting elixir, eat a crit-boosting meal, then cast Spell Binder. Stacking all three turns a brutal fight into a short one. The buffs don't stack forever, so poke at what overlaps, but the basics are worth setting up every single time.
A sample late-game loadout
If you want one concrete setup, try this. Run Smash Stance for big punish windows. Take Spell Binder as your main spell, with Cloud Step held in reserve for panic repositioning. Equip the Yellow Loong transformation for tricky bosses and Ebon Flow as backup. Spirit up Wandering Wight maxed, and carry the Plantain Fan for crowd clear. Stack crit-focused curios so Spell Binder's damage spike hits even harder. Against Erlang specifically, this kind of raw-stat build is exactly what most players land on.
Chasing the True Ending and Secret Boss Requirements
The true ending is a checklist, not a hidden door. Clear five things, finish the story, then walk back to Chapter 3 and the game opens up the real final fight. Nothing here is missable, so you can mop it all up after the credits if you'd rather.
The five secret area objectives
Four chapters each have a hidden area with a tough final boss, and Chapter 3 has a quest instead. Knock out all five and the ending unlocks:
| Chapter | Objective | How to reach it | |---------|-----------|-----------------| | Chapter 1 | Elder Jinchi | Ring the three bells hidden around the level to open the Ancient Guanyin Temple | | Chapter 2 | Fuban | Push through the Kingdom of Sahali secret area (you also get the Wind Tamer here) | | Chapter 3 | Treasure Hunter quest | Find the Treasure Hunter and finish his painting-related side quest | | Chapter 4 | Duskveil | Beat the Venom Daoist twice to open Purple Cloud Mountain (also gives Weaver's Needle) | | Chapter 5 | Bishui Golden Eyed Beast | Talk to the Flaming Mountains NPC at every spot to open Bishui Cave |
A quick heads up on the Loong questline, since it overlaps but isn't the same list. Red, Black, and Cyan Loong sit in their own secret spots in Chapters 1, 2, and 3, and Yellow Loong lives in Chapter 4's Purple Cloud Mountain right alongside Duskveil. Beating all four dragons hands you the Yellow Loong transformation, which is one of the best in the game, so it's well worth the detour even though only Yellow Loong shares a spot with the ending checklist.
The Treasure Hunter quest (Chapter 3)
This is the odd one out. Instead of a boss at the end of a hidden area, Chapter 3 wants you to track down the Treasure Hunter and work through his side quest, which involves a painting and a bit of back-and-forth. It's the only entry on the checklist that's pure questing rather than a fight, so don't go looking for a secret door, just follow the man.
Easy ways to mess it up
A few pitfalls trip people up. The Chapter 5 NPC only opens Bishui Cave if you talk to him at every single spot, miss one and the final cart never spawns, and you have to backtrack. The Chapter 4 portal to Purple Cloud Mountain needs two Venom Daoist fights, not one, so don't assume you're done after the first. And the Loong questline needs the Loong Scales item from Chapter 2 before any of the dragon doors will open, so if a waterfall won't budge, that's usually why.
Triggering the ending
Once all five are done, finish Chapter 5's main story, which means beating Stone Monkey and then the Great Sage's Broken Shell. After the normal credits stuff, travel back to the Great Pagoda in Chapter 3. The arena opens up there, and you get the proper final gauntlet: Erlang Shen backed by the Four Heavenly Kings. Drop Erlang and the true ending plays out, plus you pick up his transformation as a reward.
Why it's worth the effort
The true ending is the "real" finish to the story, and Erlang is the ultimate skill check the whole game builds toward. Along the way you also scoop up serious loot, the Wind Tamer, Weaver's Needle, and the Yellow Loong transform, that you'd otherwise miss. Best tip: do the whole checklist on NG+ when you're strong enough to breeze the earlier chapters, then knock out Erlang once you're geared and practiced. The order is flexible, but clearing the secret bosses before the final story boss saves you a second trip through the credits.