Xuan-Yuan Sword VII Beginners Guide

Xuan-Yuan Sword VII, with its deep Chinese history and addictive ARPG combat, has recently seen some fanfare in the West. Featuring lots of systems and some pretty tough boss fights, it seems a few tips are in order. From combat to inventory management, here are our best tips for starting out.

In Xuan-Yuan Sword VII, Learn Your Stances 

Xuan-Yuan Sword VII has a stance system that changes throughout the game to accommodate certain play styles. Initially, you are given the “Ox” stance that changes your heavy attack to a high-stun whack. You can change between two selected stances tactically. 

Each boss fight gives you something to add to your “Martial Art” tab that can then be upgraded through use. Your first boss, Emberwolf, will give you the “Wolf Stance,” which focuses on thrust moves and high damage. You can also further upgrade them through the use of Elysium. Planning out your playstyle, learning what your stance is, and favoring its special moves is one of the best ways of having a high-damage, high-control Taishi. 

Force Executions

All standard enemies in Xuan-Yuan Sword VII have a stamina bar, of sorts. Your starting stance, “Ox,” does very well in this regard. The Ox’s heavy attack stun often pauses enemies in their tracks, so you can essentially spam the heavy attack until you defeat them. Once an enemies bar is depleted, you can use an execution move that kills them immediately.

Direwolves can be dispatched with just a few right clicks and an execution. As well as being the fastest way of dealing with enemies early game, it also gives you a few frames of invincibility. This means in a tough situation or boss fight, you can leave a wounded animal or enemy at the side to execute when you need some breathing room, a nice way of getting out of trouble. 

Stay Close To Enemies

I hate to be the one to say it, but if you’ve played Dark Souls, this tip will be something you’re used to. Staying close and attacking a lot is the best way to cut down numbers and activate executions. As well as this, moving with an enemy is a good way to avoid getting hit when fighting against groups. This isn’t the game to take things slowly. Rush in and defeat enemies quickly and efficiently.

Search for Treasure Chests

Unlike previous entries, Xuan-Yuan Sword VII is quite linear in its approach to the world. Usually, there’s a correct path to go down, so you take it. Exploration is rewarded well with nooks and crannies leading to chest and secrets.

If you truly want the best out of the game and some much-needed resources early in, try to avoid taking the obvious path until you’ve explored everywhere else. Chests are usually bountiful and help you upgrade much later on.  

As well as this, you should break everything that is shiny. This might seem obvious, but Xuan-Yuan doesn’t tell you to do so. After you get into the cave about an hour in, you’ll see shining pots. This is a sign they can be smashed, and doing so is important for things like upgrading the Elysium system.

They become easy to miss, especially in certain environments but even going back to search for them is a good move as, even if they have useless gear, selling them or using them to harness souls will be worth your time later. 

Figure Out the Xuan-Yuan Sword VII Elysium System

The Elysium system is a little strange. It’s sort of a palace in your mind that can be upgraded to further upgrade gear and a multitude of other things. Enclosed in it are the Buildings of Elysium that can be made with resources such as wood, nephrite, and others. This then gives you the opportunity to use your resources to upgrade other skills and gear

You should build every single thing you are able to here. Not only is it good for figuring out where you might want your equipment upgrading towards, but they all come in useful in their own ways as you further explore the world. Although things like the Harness Workshop might not make sense when you first see it, they will later on as you learn to harness souls.

Activate Fast Travel

Whilst this may seem obvious, it is rather easy to skip. The guard stones are fast-travel machines and also a way of saving. Walking by them or even up to them isn’t a sufficient interaction to activate them. You have to directly interact to open them up to use later.

This is necessary as you might find yourself fast travelling around the world for quests or to find some gear you’ve missed. Furthermore, the save system may mess you around a little bit if you don’t regularly save, so make sure to do so at your nearest saving spot, as frequently as possible. 

Keep Your Materials Stocked Up 

Hoarding materials is important in most games, but Xuan-Yuan has more of a focus than most—and you shouldn’t be afraid because there’s no inventory limit. From its upgrade systems to its harnessing system, very specific types of items are important so, if a vendor is selling them, make sure you have lots. If you get too many, you can just sell them or scrap them to upgrade your souls. There doesn’t appear to be a downside to hoarding in Xuan-Yuan Sword VII, so get out there and steal everything not nailed down. 

And with that, you should have a decent grasp of what you should be doing throughout your time in Xuan-Yuan Sword VII. From combat to upgrades to resources, this should have a little bit of all that covered.

For more guides and a review of Xuan-Yuan Sword VII, keep an eye on TechRaptor over the next week and slay away.