In Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, players have access to 10 Bone Needles via the Tempering menu. Each needle bestows unique advantages to your character or the weapons they wield. However, the question remains: how do these needles measure up against one another?
Should you opt to inflict burn damage or weaken your opponent’s stamina? Is enhancing your magic more beneficial than empowering your weapon? After extensive testing of all Bone Needles, I’ve determined which needles have proven most advantageous throughout my gaming experience, and which ones you should prioritize in various situations.
This ranking is based on my experiments with the standard versions of each Bone Needle, both in isolation and when complemented by additional Stone Needles that enhance damage and status effects.
10 Blight
You’re Toxic
Blight functions similarly to the Black Flame magic seen in Elden Ring, gradually reducing the maximum health of enemies. However, this effect falls short against opponents. As the green bar indicating max health reduction fills, Blight rarely activates before your opponent is defeated, making it ineffective in most encounters.
In my trials with bosses and standard foes, the slow activation of Blight resulted in little to no practical effect. It’s often more effective to rely on the Blight spell instead.
9 Frostbite
Chilling
The Frostbite needle aims to inflict significant harm and slow opponents. Unfortunately, I found this effect more beneficial for the player than for enemies. The health reduction on opponents was minimal, and any potential stamina loss was negligible, especially critical in a high-paced game environment.
Moreover, throughout various sections of the game, enemies displayed high resistance to Frostbite, making it challenging to utilize this effect effectively. For example, against formidable foes like the Mistress of the Night, Frostbite failed to apply.
8 Corruption
It’s Like Poison
Corruption mirrors the poison mechanic familiar to Dark Souls aficionados. It gradually drains an enemy’s health as you continue to strike. Although it can be situationally useful, it often feels underwhelming, as your weapon damage will generally far exceed the slow drain of health from Corruption.
This needle finds its best use in scenarios where you can ignore a single enemy while focusing on others, letting them succumb slowly.
7 Magic
Yes!
The Magic needle is arguably overpowered in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. I frequently relied on my initial spell throughout my journey, using it strategically to eliminate enemies from a distance.
This Bone Needle boosts spell potency rather than affecting magic scaling for your weapon, enhancing the power of follow-up spells. While effective, it’s less viable for close-range encounters, and I found my primary spell, Ethereal Form, did not utilize the potency increase. However, it does enhance the healing from the Divine Blessing spell, which can be advantageous.
6 Poise Break
Basically Bleed
The Poise Break needle offers considerable utility when it activates. Mirroring the Bleed effect in other titles, it deals a percentage of an enemy’s maximum health as damage once the bar fills up. This is particularly advantageous against boss characters.
However, I experienced difficulty with activation during fights against normal enemies, as they typically fell before triggering Poise Break. This needle shines best against larger foes that can absorb more hits, yielding substantial returns when it does activate.
5 Feathering
Fallen Feathers
The Feathering needle stands out in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers as a unique mechanic that enhances attack damage. When utilized through the Temperance ability, it increases overall damage output, particularly against enemies weak to it. My tests revealed consistent damage increases, even without the highest Feathering stat.
While Feathering significantly enhances damage, it lacks the additional status effects of other needles, which places it slightly lower in the rankings.
4 Arcane
Magic, But Not
Contrary to expectations, the Arcane needle applies Magic damage to your weapon, rather than the Magic needle. Similar to Feathering, it offers a direct damage boost. I found the Arcane needle to provide a more significant damage increase than Feathering, making them comparable in effectiveness.
Ultimately, the choice between Arcane and Feathering may depend on personal play style and preference. Both needles synergize well with optimal starting skills.
3 Lightning
Shocking, Isn’t It?
The Lightning needle marks the transition into more effective options, granting both a damage increase and imparting the Paralysis status effect. When enemies are paralyzed, they inflict reduced damage, which is particularly beneficial in boss encounters where damage mitigation is crucial.
I frequently alternate between this and other needles, experiencing consistent benefits from its effects. Given the game’s dynamic nature, being able to paralyze opponents can turn the tide in challenging situations.
2 Leech
Siphoning Health
The Leech needle is one of the most advantageous despite not enhancing weapon damage directly. Instead, it enables health siphoning from enemies with every successful strike. This feature is particularly valuable in fast-paced boss fights where I faced numerous assaults.
Relying solely on my Manna Vase for healing can be precarious, so the Leech effect allows me to restore health consistently through combat. It’s invaluable against both smaller foes and larger bosses, ensuring survival when facing multiple threats.
1 Fire
Burn, Baby, Burn
The Fire needle stands out as the sole Bone Needle initially provided in the narrative, obtained alongside the Lightzen Key, making it one of the most impactful choices. This needle inflicts extra damage on flesh-based enemies — a significant advantage given the prevalence of such opponents throughout the game.
Not only does Fire enhance the weapon’s immediate damage, but it also induces a burn effect that continuously damages foes over time. This makes the Fire needle my top recommendation, as it requires no additional investment and consistently performs well in various combat scenarios.
Leave a Reply