How to beat Tiger Vanguard in Black Myth Wukong

The Tiger Vanguard boss makes its appearance in the middle of Chapter 2 and is sure to test the mettle of even the most skilled players. This boss blocks the pathway to the remainder of the zone so is a skill check you’ll eventually need need to take on, if only to get the Keenness of Tiger. It’s large and aggressive, dipping into an expansive moveset to make the fight anything but a walk in the park. Here’s how to beat Tiger Vanguard in Black Myth Wukong.

Tiger Vanguard general tactic

For the most part, the Tiger Vanguard has nothing particularly special; it’s more that it can surprise with a variety of moves that will have you guessing what’s coming next throughout the fight. These include different attack types, counter intuitive wind-ups with odd delays, and heavy-hitting attacks that will take massive chunks out of your health bar if you’re not careful.

We strongly recommended killing the optional boss, Earth Wolf, which you can find in the Village area before tackling the Tiger Vanguard, to get its powerful Spirit. It will serve you well in the upcoming fight. From the Village entrance shrine, head into town, then turn left instead of right. Follow the path round and go left again. This takes you to a large open space with a boss in the middle of the grounds. 

The Spirit you’re awarded for defeating the Earth Wolf allows you to charge an enemy and heavily stagger them. This gives you a vital window to unleash a light attack combo. Use Earth Wolf alongside Immmobize right after the boss has finished an attack to get an extended combo window.

Tiger Vanguard moveset

Below is a list of all the Tiger Vanguard’s moves and attacks. We’ve included tips on how to anticipate, avoid, and counter each one.

Jump Slam

The boss jumps high into the air and crashes down on your location with both fists. This is your basic jumping gap closer. It’s very easy to dodge so don’t worry too much about it. Once he lands, you can get in roughly three light attacks before its next move, giving you a second or two to trade blows.

Boxing Combo

The boss walks up to you and throws a two-punch boxing combo at you. The first is an uppercut from his right hand, and the second is a fist slamming down to the ground using his left hand. If you roll backward, the second combo move is instead a long-range jab, so dodge sideways when avoiding the first punch. You can normally tell which move it’s going to perform second depending on the distance between you and the boss at the time of the second attack. A close range position tends to trigger the slam down while anything further away results in the jab. In some instances, it uses its feet to kick, weaves in other punches, and even jump kick slams to the ground, though this variation is rarer. We recommend always side-rolling and aiming for a perfect dodge. Again, you can get a few attacks in after it finished the combo. 

Katana Slash

The boss puts its hand on his katana hilt and after a short 1 second delay, unleashes a large slash. You need to perfectly dodge this or quickly get out of range. It will often do this move as a follow up to moves like the Boxing Combo and Jump Slam. This is the boss’ hardest-hitting ability, so you need to dodge it at all costs. Don’t risk attacking it during the skill wind-up.

Blood Tornado

The boss slides his katana from his scabbard and slashes it around, conjuring two blood tornadoes that move towards your location one after the other. The boss then fires three ranged blood attacks: two horizontal slashes and another that’s vertical. You’ll need to dodge continuously through all the parts of this attack to avoid damage. There’s also a variation where the Tiger omits the Blood Tornado portion.

Tiger’s Roar

The tiger roars, interrupting your combos and staggering you. It’s a defensive move that’s triggered several times throughout the fight. You can normally tell the boss is about to roar when he stretches both arms outward. We recommend getting one of the best skills called Composure, which allows you maintain your combo through a dodge. With it, you can start a combo, dodge the roar, then wrap up you combo. The finisher will stagger the boss, giving you a window for an easy follow-up with a heavy attack.

Sword Dance

The boss kicks you forward and initiates a flurry of sword attacks – slashes, a vertical strike, and a spinning AoE attack before ending with an aggressive swinging combo. Avoid each attack by dodging. You can also bait out this attack with Cloud Step or Immobilize.

Charge

If you’re standing a considerable distance away, the boss will start charging forward towards you. He will then jump into the air and try to crash down on you. It’s similar to his the Jump Slam move mentioned above, except it has a faster landing and deals more damage. Wait for the jump, then dodge just as the boss is about to hit.

Turn to Stone

At around 50% HP, the boss will go on all fours and turn to stone, becoming immune to damage. After a short moment, it will reappear and try to strike you with aggressive strafing blows. You’ll need to dodge each of these strafing attacks skills. Nurse your stamina as best you can and pop a defensive potion if you need to.The attack is very similar to the one used by the Black Mountain King boss fight in Chapter 1.

Roll Around

The boss jumps onto its side and rolls around the arena, dealing damage if it hits you. This is followed up by the boss standing up and performing a fast light attack combo. Dodge and run away from the roll then the attacks as best you can to avoid some serious, if a little cheap, damage.

Combat Stance

The boss adopts a traditional fighting stance. Once it’s held it for a short duration, it unleashes a series of attacks – a spinning flying kick, a flurry of punches from both hands, and jump-ground-slam attack with a large AoE radius. Stay patient and use dodges wisely instead of spamming then as the timing window is relatively long between the moves that make up the combo.