How to Unlock the Zodiac Village and Upgrade Armor - Black Myth: Wukong Guide - IGN (2024)

If you're tired of hopping from shrine to shrine to see NPCs, or you're wondering how to upgrade armor in Black Myth: Wukong, then Zodiac Village is the place for you. This central hub for NPCs can be unlocked in Chapter 3 and will introduce a new smithing character to cater to all your armor and weapon needs, along with additional perks from those you've already met.

• How to Unlock Zodiac Village
• How to Upgrade Armor
• Challenge Yin Tiger
• Request Medicines from Xu Dog
• How to Use Seeds and Harvest Ingredients

How to Unlock Zodiac Village in The Painted Realm

In Chapter 3, you'll arrive at a snowy beach near the Bitter Lake accompanied by an NPC called Admiral Bajie. If you turn back on yourself from the North Shore of the Bitter Lake shrine and go right to the end, you'll see a hut in the distance.

Go toward it, and as you get closer, you can see a dragon playing with lightning in the water to the left. As you approach the area, Admiral Bajie will tell you he sees a familiar face.

Head into the water to meet Chen Loong, and a fight will automatically begin with Admiral Bajie helping you out. When it's done, he won't be very happy and he'll exclaim that only one of Xu Dog's pills can save him.

To progress Loong's questline, you'll need to go back to Xu Dog. If you've been following our Walkthrough, by the time you reach Chapter 3, Xu Dog will have moved to the Cellar underneath the Crouching Tiger Temple in Yellow Wind Ridge.

The option to talk to Xu Dog will appear when you approach him after the battle with Chen Loong, and he'll hand over a formula for Fortifying Medicament and a Special-made-Bone-Strengthening Pellet. Return to the beach where you fought Chen Loong, and you'll find him waiting by the hut.

Hand over the potion, and in exchange, he'll give you the Ruyi Scroll, which will take you to the Zodiac Village in the Painted Realm.

Now you have the scroll, a number of NPCs you've already encountered in your journey will be reunited in the village. This will now act as a central hub where you can find Xu Dog, Shen Monkey, Chen Loong, and a new character - Yin Tiger.

How to Upgrade Armor

It's with the Yin Tiger that this new ability to upgrade armor can be found. When you speak to him, three options will appear in his menu:

• Craft
• Store
• Challenge

Crafting with Yin Tiger not only offers the usual ability to craft Weapons and Armor but also has the Upgrade Armor option, meaning you can finally improve your armor in Black Myth: Wukong!

Depending on when you reach the village, you might find there are brand-new Weapons and Armors to craft as well.

Upgrading your armor will, of course, require materials, and you'll need the following depending on rarity:

Challenge Yin Tiger

As mentioned, one of the options is to challenge Yin Tiger, which will end up in an intense fight between the two of you. It can be a tough battle, especially as he uses both wind and fire and performs a range of heavy attacks.

When you manage to beat him, however, you'll be able to unlock a few rewards:

• You'll earn the Ebon Flow spell. This will allow you to transform into the Yin Tiger, blocking attacks with the giant sword and getting close to foes by dashing forward.
• Return to speak to him and the Challenge option will become Equip More Curios. This will give you an additional slot for another Curio to be loadout.
• You'll also unlock the following Legendary armor:
  • Iron Horned Helmet
  • Iron-Tough Armor
  • Iron-Tough Gauntlets
  • Iron-Tough Greaves

Request Medicines from Xu Dog

Interacting with Xu Dog in the Painted Realm now offers the option to Request Medicine. Each time you do this, Xu Dog will provide you with potions.

You'll need to wait a little while before new medicines are available, but you'll know when they are if the red dot next to Request Medicines appears.

How to Use Seeds and Harvest Ingredients

If you've acquired any seeds so far in your journey, you can give them to Chen Loong. He sits behind the Shen Monkey and Xu Dog, up the stairs. Just before the stairs, you can find baskets where you can harvest ingredients, or you can speak to him and the option to harvest the ingredients will appear.