Wu Xuan, The Fallen General: boss guide

PowerPyx names him Wu Xuan, The Fallen General; Game8 lists him as Wu Xuan, a Perfect Transcension-type boss of The Heart's Trail. The Chinese guide we cross-checked, from Gamersky, calls him 堕落将军-武轩. We matched the two by name, epithet, place and reward, and found no official English-Chinese pairing. Reported · PowerPyx

At a glance

How the fight goes

The shield: two answers

Gamersky says he starts with an unusually thick shield bar that is hard to wear down by attacking, so block his attacks: each successful block takes off a large part of the bar. When it is empty you can execute him and keep hitting while he is broken; it says one cycle takes about half his health and two cycles end the fight. PCGamesN instead says to bring a shield-breaking weapon, since that is how you damage him. PPE.pl agrees with PCGamesN and suggests the Outlaw Warblade with an axe as side weapon, using the axe from the start and not spending skill points on other side weapons for this fight. These are different approaches, not a tested ranking.

Phase one: mobile melee

PPE.pl says he is quite mobile in the first phase. Block when he turns half-way round, then dodge the finishing blows, which drain a full stamina bar. Most of his attacks are very fast but can mostly be parried. PCGamesN adds that when he spins his hammer overhead a blue attack follows, which you should parry.

Phase two: purple energy

PPE.pl describes a second phase. He charges purple energy; when he lies down and marks part of the arena, dodge quickly out of the marked area. He then fires projectiles; attack while sidestepping or backstepping into the gaps. Watch for a very dangerous back attack when he faces away, and keep a parry ready. When he is on the ground his long weapon reaches low, so parry those strikes. When he gets up and spins, keep parrying and releasing the parry at very short intervals. Only PPE.pl describes this phase; Gamersky and PCGamesN do not mention a phase split.

After each stun

PPE.pl says that after each stun you press the button shown on his body to start a combo that deals heavy damage by hitting his eyes through the gap in his helmet.

How to beat Wu Xuan

• Choose your shield plan: block to drain the bar and execute (Gamersky), or bring a shield-breaking weapon (PCGamesN, PPE.pl).
• PPE.pl suggests the Outlaw Warblade with an axe as the side weapon, using the axe from the opening.
• Parry the blue attack that follows his overhead hammer spin (PCGamesN).
• In phase one, block his half-turns and dodge the finishers that drain a full stamina bar (PPE.pl).
• Dodge out of the area he marks when he lies down, then weave through his projectiles (PPE.pl).
• Keep a parry ready for the back attack, and parry his low ground strikes (PPE.pl).
• When he spins after getting up, tap parry repeatedly in short bursts (PPE.pl).
• After a stun, press the on-screen prompt for the heavy combo (PPE.pl).
• After the fight, PowerPyx says the arena leads on to a chest and Zhang's Hideout, so you can restock and save there.

Blue marks mean parry, red marks mean dodge Reported · TheSixthAxis Reported · TheSixthAxis. The combat guide covers timing and the Sha-Chi meter.

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