How to Absorb Spirits in Black Myth: Wukong
“Cannot absorb spirits without guidance” is a cryptic message that you may encounter early in your life Black Myth: WukongHowever, there isn’t much guidance to be found in the game.
Us Black Myth: Wukong guide to absorbing Spirits will explain how the mechanics work, what it has to do with the Blessed Gourdand how Spirit Skill transformations work.
Where to find spirits to absorb in Black Myth: Wukong
Certain enemies will drop these blue energy balls when you defeat them. The first place you might (power) find a Spirit who the “cannot absorb spirits without guidance” message is when you fight against the Wandering Wight.
We should note that this differs from the Red Tide Spell you pick it up when you defeat Guanghzi.
If you get the “cannot absorb spirits without guidance” message, it’s because you haven’t encountered the correct NPC yet. Once you have the ability to absorb spirits, return to any shrine and claim any spirits you may have missed.
Meet the wise old man to get the blessed gourd in Black Myth: Wukong
After you defeat the giant wolf, Lingxuziin chapter 1, continue to the Bamboo Forest Snake Path SanctuaryFrom there, go up the stone stairs.
At the top, go right to meet a wise master. He will upgrade your gourd to The blessed gourd and unlock the ability to absorb the Will of Spirits.
How do Spirit Skills work in Black Myth: Wukong
Not far from there you will find the giant frog Baw-Li-Guhh-Lang in a swampy area. Defeat him and you will be able to to take His Spirit with your new Blessed Gourd.
This unlocks a new type of skill called Spiritual skills. You can equip one Spirit Skill at a time, which gives you two benefits. First, you gain a unique passive bonus while you have that Spirit equipped, such as increased defense. Second, you can build up Qi as you adventure and fight in the world, which you can spend on a special skill that briefly transforms you into the Spirit you have equipped.
There are a wide variety of Spirits you can collect in Black Myth: Wukongincluding minibosses like the Wandering Wight. But you can also collect Spirits from certain basic enemies. When you approach some enemies, you’ll see them glow with blue fire. If you manage to defeat them — they’re tougher than normal versions of that enemy — they won’t respawn and will drop their Spirit for you to absorb.
How to upgrade Spiritual skills in Black Myth: Wukong
Image: Game Science via Polygon
Like most mechanics in Black Myth: WukongSpirits have their own upgrade track and materials. Go to any shrine and select the Growing Spirits option under the Self-Advance menu. This will bring up a complete list of Spirits you’ve collected. Each Spirit — both rare and epic — has six tiers, and they all start at tier 1. Each upgrade tier increases both their passive bonus and the power of their active skill. However, it also increases the cost of the upgrade.
At first, most Spirits only need Will to upgrade. As they get stronger, you’ll need additional resources, such as the Blood of the Iron Bull that you find from powerful enemies. The last levels require a resource called Knot of Voidness, which is extremely rare and can be found in a few chests in Chapter 2 and beyond.
Looking for more help on your adventure as the Destined One? Check out our other Black Myth: Wukong guides, which can help you find all three hidden bells in Chapter 1, sober up the Squire in the Yellow Robe in Chapter 2, figure out how to make medicine, and track down all of Buddha’s eyeballs.