Black Myth: Wukong – Best Curios & How To Get Them

Key Takeaways

• Curios in Black Myth: Wukong can enhance playstyles with various bonuses like cooldown reduction and increased defense.
• Specific curios like Tridacna Pendant, Snow Fox Brush, and Gold Spikeplate offer unique benefits for players.
• Players can strategically obtain curios like Golden Carp and Amber Prayer Beads to improve resource gathering and combat efficiency.

While Black Myth: Wukong isn’t the most versatile action RPG in terms of creating diverse combat builds, it does allow players to tailor their playstyles to some extent. With a variety of skills, transformations, crafted weapons and armor, and curios (analogous to amulets or talismans), the game offers potent combinations that can greatly simplify even the most challenging boss fights.

Initially, the Destined One begins with two curio slots, but there’s a way to expand this to three. To unlock the third slot, players must progress to the Zodiac Village area in Chapter Three and defeat the Yin Tiger blacksmith character. Among the rewards, which include his colossal sword, players gain the ability to equip three curios at once.

Updated December 1, 2024 by Vlad Mazanko:Curios are among the most versatile gear in Black Myth: Wukong, enabling players to adapt their playstyle and gain additional bonuses on the fly. Whether favoring offensive or defensive strategies, these items cater to various preferences, enhancing combat flexibility or granting progression-focused benefits. This list has been updated to highlight even more of the best curios, proven to be invaluable across a wide range of combat scenarios.

10 Tridacna Pendant

For Spellcasting Monkeys

• Available in Chapter Three
• Slightly reduces Cooldown of all Spells

Spells are a cornerstone of every player’s strategy in Black Myth: Wukong, often turning the tide in battles against the game’s most formidable foes. Maximizing the frequency of spellcasting can significantly enhance a player’s effectiveness, making the Tridacna Pendant an invaluable curio. This rare talisman reduces the cooldown time for all spells, allowing for more frequent use of magic throughout the game. Its benefits extend to powerful abilities like A Pluck of Many, one of the most potent spells, which has a notoriously long cooldown of 120 seconds.

To obtain the Tridacna Pendant, players must first collect a secret Loong Scales item in Chapter Two. With this in hand, they must locate and defeat the Black Loong, an optional boss in the Fright Cliff – Hidden Loong Cavern (the nearest shrine is Rockrest Flat). After defeating Black Loong, the pendant can be found in a reward chest that appears in the arena.

9 Snow Fox Brush

For Monkeys Who Favor Transformations

• Available in Chapter Three
• Increases the duration of Transformations

The Snow Fox Brush is one of the best curios in Black Myth: Wukong for players who frequently use transformation spells. This talisman moderately extends the duration of all such spells, allowing the Destined One to maintain various Guai forms for longer periods. This can be especially helpful during challenging boss encounters.

Players can obtain the Snow Fox Brush by completing the Fox questline in Chapter Three: White Snow, Ice Cold. To start the quest, head to the Forest of Felicity Keeper’s Shrine, where players will find a wooden gate and a body that can be interacted with, granting them the key item Snow Fox Brush. Upon returning to the body after defeating the Yaoguai Chief Non-Void at the New Thunderclap Temple, the item transforms into the Snow Fox Brush.

8 Gold Spikeplate

For Armored Monkeys Seeking Retaliation

• Available in Chapter Three
• Increases Defense by 32
• Deals damage to surrounding enemies upon taking hits

The Gold Spikeplate is a versatile curio that enhances both defense and offense, particularly useful when the Destined One is surrounded or overwhelmed by enemies. When equipped, this curio significantly boosts defense and deals minor damage to nearby enemies each time the player takes a hit.

Players can acquire the Gold Spikeplate in Chapter Three. The nearest Shrine is the Valley of Ecstasy – Longevity Road. The curio is a guaranteed drop from one of the Giant enemies encountered exclusively in this area.

7 Thunderflame Seal

For Spell-Casting Monkeys

• Available in Chapter Three
• Increases maximum Mana by 30

The Thunderflame Seal is an invaluable amulet for players following the wizard path in Black Myth: Wukong, especially those who rely heavily on Mana-consuming spells. For much of the game, Mana cannot be regenerated except by resting at a Keeper’s Shrine, making the Thunderflame Seal a potential life-saver. This curio significantly increases maximum Mana (+30), allowing players to cast an extra spell during tough boss fights.

The Thunderflame Seal is a random drop from the tricky, agile dual-blade-wielding enemies found in the New Thunderclap Temple area. As a result, players may need to farm these enemies to obtain this curio.

6 Beast Buddha

For Hard-Hitting Monkeys

• Available in Chapter Three
• Moderately increases Critical Hit Damage

The Beast Buddha is a must-have curio for any high-damage build in Black Myth: Wukong, as it provides a significant boost to Critical Hit Damage by an impressive 9%. This enhancement becomes even more impactful as players progress, acquire more powerful weapons, and level up their damage-focused passive skills. To maximize its potential, it’s recommended to pair the Beast Buddha with staves or gear that enhances Critical Hit Chance, enabling the Destined One to land devastating critical blows with remarkable frequency — often every third or fourth strike.

The only drawback of the Beast Buddha is its acquisition method, which relies on RNG. This curio drops randomly from Dual-Blade Monks, common enemies that are most frequently encountered in the Valley of Ecstasy during Chapter Three. As a result, players may need to farm this enemy repeatedly before obtaining the amulet.

5 Celestial Registry Tablet

For Knowledge-Seeking Monkeys

• Available in Chapter Four
• Slightly increases the experience points you gain from defeating enemies

The Celestial Registry Tablet is a highly desirable curio in Black Myth: Wukong, especially for players aiming to maximize their progression. This item slightly boosts the experience points earned from defeating enemies, including bosses and mini-bosses. With the Celestial Registry Tablet equipped, players can earn skill points faster, enabling them to unlock new active skills, passive bonuses, as well as spells and transformation upgrades at a quicker pace. Over time, this curio can result in players gaining several additional levels compared to playing without it, making it a valuable asset for improving combat effectiveness.

This curio is particularly helpful when farming or grinding for rare resources or drops, as it complements other utility items like the Goldflora Hairpin and Golden Carp, which enhance resource acquisition. For players looking to streamline their leveling process, the Celestial Registry Tablet is a must-have.

To obtain the Celestial Registry Tablet, players can venture into Chapter Four’s secret area, Purple Cloud Mountain. It is located in a small gazebo near the Petalfall Hamlet shrine. Acquiring it early in the chapter is highly recommended for long-term benefits.

4 Golden Carp

For Treasure-Seeking Monkeys

• Available in Chapter Four
• Increases the chance of obtaining materials from enemies

The Golden Carp is one of the most valuable items in Black Myth: Wukong, as it moderately increases the chance of obtaining materials from enemy drops. This bonus applies to nearly every rare and epic material in the game, including Mind Cores (used for crafting Celestial Medicine), rare upgrade materials for armor and weapons, and other essential items the Destined One will need on their journey.

However, obtaining the Golden Carp curio is no easy feat. Players must locate and defeat the secret Yellow Loong boss, one of the most difficult bosses in Black Myth: Wukong. Yellow Loong can be found in Chapter Four: Rosy Cheeks, Gray Hair, near the Relief of the Fallen Loong Shrine, but he will only appear after players have located and defeated three other secret Loong bosses in previous chapters.

3 Goldflora Hairpin

For Greedy Monkeys Who Like To Shop

• Available in Chapter Two
• Slightly increases Will gained from defeating enemies

The Goldflora Hairpin is an essential curio for players focused on resource management and in-game economy in Black Myth: Wukong. Similar to the Golden Carp and Celestial Registry Tablet, this talisman helps streamline progression by slightly increasing the Will gained from defeated enemies, providing approximately a 10% boost in earnings. Since Will serves as the game’s currency for purchasing items and upgrading equipment, the Goldflora Hairpin is invaluable for ensuring that players have enough funds to buy and enhance the gear they need throughout the journey.

Given the limited availability of Will, equipping this curio is highly recommended, as it allows players to accumulate wealth more efficiently. However, obtaining the Goldflora Hairpin requires some investment first. It is purchased from Man-in-Stone, an NPC encountered in Chapter Two at Yellow Wind Ridge (the nearest shrine is Squall Hideout). To access his inventory, players must first complete his questline and then defeat him in combat.

2 Amber Prayer Beads

For Monkeys Who Are Skillful In Combat

• Available in Chapter Five
• Increases the speed of building up Focus points

The Amber Prayer Beads curio is one of the most valuable amulets for hand-to-hand combat in Black Myth: Wukong. It’s especially useful in situations where bosses are immune to the Immobilize spell, prompting players to rely on the Spell Binder instead. This curio moderately increases the rate at which players gain Focus points, enabling more frequent use of varied combos and heavy charged attacks. Additionally, each Focus point the Destined One spends heals them, boosting their chances of survival during tough battles.

Players can find the Amber Prayer Beads in Chapter Five: Golden Child, Crimson Blood. The closest Shrine is Woods of Ember – Height of Ember. After defeating the Father of Stones boss, follow the main narrow path and search for a small chest in an opening of the nearest cave to obtain this curio.

1 Celestial Birthstone Fragment

For Monkeys Who Conquer The Four Banes

• Available in Chapter Six
• Ignores the enemy’s Four Banes resistance
• Legendary curio

The Celestial Birthstone Fragment is one of the few Legendary curios in Black Myth: Wukong, unlocked in the final chapter. When equipped, it allows the Destined One to bypass enemy resistances to the Four Banes (burn, frost, shock, and poison). This means that the protagonist’s elemental attacks will deal increased damage and build up their respective status gauges faster. For certain combat builds, this curio is one of the most powerful items available in the game, although given how late players can get this amulet, it is best suited for an NG+ run.

The Celestial Birthstone Fragment is a guaranteed drop from the Ling-Baw-Baw frog mini-boss encountered in the game’s final chapter. The nearest Shrine is Foothills – The Verdant Path. To reach the boss, players will need the Somersault Cloud ability and should look below the Shrine location.