Those who have spent even just a few hours withWuchang: Fallen Feathersare likely more than familiar with the game’s preference for magic. If its narrative isn’t explicit enough about it, the overpowered nature of the Vorpal Blade spell is. For one thing, Wuchang’s unique Feathering disease grants her supernatural abilities that make her just as much a boss on the battlefield asWuchang: Fallen Feathers' actual bosses, but spells like Vorpal Blade show how possible it is to get through 99% of the game relying solely on magic.
It’s not uncommon for Soulslikes (or any RPG, for that matter) to grant magic more damage output than anything else. In fact, with the right build ingames likeElden Ring, players can have a great balance of high damage output and survivability through distance maintenance. Such is the case withWuchang: Fallen Feathersas well, though it approaches spellcasting survivability in a different way. Rather than encouraging players to maintain their distance,Wuchangis all about more aggressive play, and that includes anyone who favors magic over melee.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' Magic System Redefines the Glass Cannon Archetype
Skyborn Might Encourages Spellcasters to Stay on the Offensive
While most RPGs tie spells to a resource like mana, every singleskill inWuchang: Fallen Feathersis fueled by Skyborn Might, though it’s generally not something that players can just use a consumable to maintain. Instead of using a flask as they can in other Soulslikes, players are encouraged to perform Perfect Dodges instead, which generate Skyborn Might in turn. However, what this ultimately means is that if players want to be most efficient in combat, they need to stay on the offensive, as they can’t pull off a Perfect Dodge if they have nothing to dodge.
Rather than encouraging players to maintain their distance,Wuchangis all about more aggressive play, and that includes anyone who favors magic over melee.
Sure, many enemies andbosses inWuchang: Fallen Feathersuse ranged attacks, but the majority of what players will end up facing in the game comes from close range, whether those enemies are using blades or simply launching their bodies with full force at Wuchang. As such, even spellcasters are encouraged to get up close and personal with enemies inWuchang: Fallen Feathersto subject themselves to an attack, thereby giving them something to dodge and generate Skyborn Might with in the process.
Skyborn Might isn’t the only wayWuchang: Fallen Feathersencourages more aggressive play from spellcasters either. Whereas most RPGs see spellcasters wielding wands and staves that empower their use of magic, this particular RPG ties magic use to an actual melee weapon: one-handed swords. They aren’t inherently the most effective meleeweapon inWuchang: Fallen Feathers, as they have lower damage output across the board, but it isn’t as significant as it generally is with the typical magic-based weapons players might expect from these games.
In other words, the very fact thatWuchang: Fallen Feathers' primary magic weaponis a sword suggests it wants players to put themselves within melee range, and also to still be effective in melee combat when they’re not using spells. Add an armor system that features dozens of different options to mitigate and resistWuchang: Fallen Feathers' many status ailments, and it blends magic and melee combat in a way that many Soulslikes and RPGs in general struggle to imitate. The “glass cannon” label that this playstyle normally gets in other games is thus dissolved inWuchang: Fallen Feathers' unabashed love for build diversity and player freedom.
