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As a Soulslike,Wuchang: Fallen Feathershas a wide roster of terrifying bosses that will tower over you, all the while pelting you with nonstop, hard-hitting attacks to make sure that you stay down.
And true to the Soulslike tradition,Wuchangisn’t afraid to dip into the more eldritch horrors as the game’s story approaches its climax, with larger-than-life bosses that transform into a much more terrifying form in their second phase.
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The Reborn/Dragon Emperor is a late-game boss that you encounter inWuchang: Fallen Feathersand engages you in a brutal fight to the death. With the grand scale of a final boss and multiple phases, this boss is more of a marathon that tests your patience and your ability to run halfway across the cavern every time the boss teleports.
Here’s a guide on how to beat the Reborn and Dragon Emperor easily.
Warning: Mild story spoilers ahead!
Where To Find The Reborn And Dragon Emperor
The Reborn/Dragon Emperor is a main storyline boss,so fighting him is inevitable.
This boss fight occurs at the end of Chapter 4, in Worship’s Rise in Ruins. As you make your way from the Annalum, fighting through optional bosses like theNightmare DemonandBo Magus, you’ll eventually arrive at the Reverent Temple, which is one of the only locations relatively unscathed from the apocalyptic storm.
At the Reverent Temple, you’ll encounter He Youzai,Yu Xia, and Xuangyangzi.Make sure to wrap up their questlines if you plan on completing them.
Whether you give Xuangyangzi the Jade Ancient Chisel greatly affects the outcome of the story’s ending.DO NOT GIVE HIM THE CHISEL if you don’t want a bad ending.
Head up to the Burning Cavern as instructed by the NPCs in Reverent Temple. You’ll find a shrine on your way up, and you’ll wind up back at the Buddha statue where you woke up at the start of the game.
As you go through the cavern, you’ll come across some feathered enemies and then an immense arena in the form of a frozen lake. There, you’ll also find the Plain Warrioress, along withThe Reborn, who is waiting in the middle of the lake. Step forward and face The Reborn.
Preparations For The Reborn And Dragon Emperor
The Reborn/Dragon Emperor is a surprisingly simple boss to fight, to the point thatI only needed the default Pirate armor set and some Pendants to help me through the fight.Here’s the build I had when I fought this boss:
Lashing Whip
Pirate Hairpin
Pirate Armor
Pirate Bracers
Pirate Boots
Jade Pendants
Draocolich Pendant
Fiend-Felling Pendant
Ethereal Form
Divine Ward
Manna Vase
Temperance
Crimson Lantern Fruit
Bone Whistle (If you gave Xuanyangzi the Chisel)
Temperance Needle
Notable Impetus Repository Perks
Sword Saint, Windforce
As far as we can tell,neither the Reborn nor the Dragon Emperor has resistance or weaknesses to specific damage types.I recommend a well-balanced armor set like the default Pirate set just to be safe.
His most problematic attacks will most likely be his energy-based attacks, which may deal either Magic or Feathering damage.With that said, the Bo Magus, Night Spectre, andClerical armorsets have respectable Magic/Feathering damage mitigation stats with a trade-off on physical damage.These may be worth trying out if you’re taking more damage from his energy-based attacks.
As for items, you’ll need your healing vases,Temperance,bone needles,and whatever items you feel like you need the most, like stamina recovery consumables or extra healing items.
MyOP longsword buildis particularly effective against enemies wielding physical weapons due to its powerful Sword Counter ability, and as a monstrous enemy with a weapon of dubious parrying nature, the Reborn/Dragon Emperor can be defeated even without a counter.
As such, this makes room for whateverDisciplineyou feel most comfortable with. Whether you prefer the default Blink Kick or other acrobatic skills like Crescent Moon, the choice is ultimately yours.
AMagic buildis also viable for the fight against The Reborn, especially if you use the Echo of Lu Bingzhang, which has an almostinfinite range as long as you can lock on to your target.
Unfortunately,spells will be completely ineffective against the Dragon Emperorbecause of his d20 artifact that absorbs any offensive spell you throw at him. With that said, I would not recommend using magic for this boss fight at all.
Whether you choose a magic or longsword build,Ethereal Form is an absolute must for any boss fight,especially for large enemies like the Reborn/Dragon Emperor. It is the singularmost powerful spell in the game,giving you three seconds of near invincibility, only costing one stack ofSkyborn Mightand refunding a stack for any dodged attack.
I prioritized myBenedictionsto increase stamina gain and survivability, along withJade Pendantsthat further increase my damage,like the Tiger Pendant. Fiend-Felling and Dracolich are perfect for large enemies like the Reborn/Dragon Emperor, as they allow you to deal extra damage and prevent you from being stunned by his roar, respectively.
The Reborn And Dragon Emperor Moveset
The Reborn
Because the fight starts with the boss far away,he’ll most likely come at you with a wide leap attack,giving you plenty of time to prepare for a dodge.
As a beast-like monster,this boss will mostly attack you with slow yet devastatingly wide claw swipes and slams,which are thankfully easy to read if you pay attention to his arms.
Unlike bosses likeGluttonous Monstrosity,you don’t have to worry about bite attacks.The only real problematic limb you should keep an eye out for is his enlarged left hand,which can easily knock you down with his slamming attacks.
If you’re in front of him, he can either do a leaping attack or punch the ice to send forth a shockwave.
If you stand close to him,there’s always a chance that he may let out a piercing roar,which will stun you until you button-mash your way out of it.If you have the Dracolich Pendant, then you become utterly immune to this attack.
Another attack that you should look out for is when he winds up to do a spinning attack, which will knock you back and deal considerable damage even when you’re flanking him.
Other than that, the Reborn fight is quite simple and is only a taste of the Dragon Emperor’s true power.
Dragon Emperor
After you beat the Reborn, you’ll get a cutscene where he revives and turns into the Dragon Emperor, now wielding a sword in one hand and a giant magical D20 in the other.Roll for initiative.
This time, his moveset becomes much more complicated, relying more on low sweeping attacks with his sword and magical attacks with large AOEs. Occasionally,there will be red lightning bolts striking randomly within his vicinity.
The Dragon Emperor retains one attack from the Reborn, which is the ability to stomp on the ground to send a shockwave of ice in front of him.
The Dragon Emperor also becomes highly mobile andcan teleport to anywhere in the arena while dealing damage to his landing spot.Make sure to dodge or avoid being near him when he does teleport.
The Dragon Emperor will most likely gain some distance from you first before summoning a slow-moving, giant ball of energy to nuke you,reminiscent of Goku’s Spirit Bomb.This attack is intimidating, as it deals one instance of damage, pulls you in closer, and then detonates a second time.
To precisely time your dodges on the Spirit Bomb attack, make sure to dodge as soon as the edge of the sphere touches the ground.
The Dragon Emperor uses his sword and d20 separately, so thankfully, it’s easy to read what kind of attack he’s about to unleash on you.
It’s hard to say whether you’re able to parry his sword attacks, but since he can mix them up with magic,it’s better not to risk it and focus on dodging.
On top of his basic two-to-three-hit swings, he can execute the following attacks with his sword:
As for his d20 attacks, the Dragon Emperor can swipe in front of him and leave behind a cloud of dust that detonates after a brief delay, which reminds me of Astel, Naturalborn of the Void inElden Ring.
When the Dragon Emperor raises his d20,he’ll start charging a powerful attack while regenerating his healthbefore detonating and raining down magical flames around him.
Because I’ve only fought this boss with a longsword, it’s hard to say what will happen if you attack him while he’s charging the absorption attack with spells. But if his Echo spell is anything to go by, it’s better to err on the side of caution and just stay far away from him when he does that.
Once he reaches half health, the Dragon Emperor will teleport to the far side of the arena whileconjuring around eight giant ice comets before flinging them at you.
The rest of the fight more or less works the same, with a slight difference in his absorption attack, which heals him more, making himrather annoying (but not difficult) to kill.There’s also a clear circle around him that indicates the range of his absorption.
How To Beat The Reborn And Dragon Emperor
As with most large enemies, it’s easy to vanquish them if youstay close to their flank and back,as their large swinging attacks won’t be able to hit you as accurately due to their extended reach. Don’t get too comfortable, though–it’s safe to still dodge even when you think that attack isn’t going to land.
To best use the longsword build, all you need to remember is a very basic formula.As long as you have at least one stack of Skyborn Might, you may very easily strike him twice to activate “Sword Saint” and immediately cast Ethereal Form if you feel an attack coming,which refunds that Skyborn stack.
This strategy turns you almost perpetually untouchable,as it automatically triggers an evade animation whenever you get hit while Ethereal Form is active (for three seconds).
As you’ll see in the clip below, the strategy to beat this boss encounter–and for almost every large enemy–is simple: stay close, flank them, and keep damaging them to stagger them for an easy Obliterate attack.
With patience, practice, and the above strategy, you can easily first-try this boss fight without ever needing to summon Xuanyangzi, who is practically useless for this fight, and his presence might indicate that you’re going to get a bad ending, anyway.
After you defeat the Reborn/Dragon Emperor, you’ll be treated to a brief cutscene, a new region, and the following rewards:
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