The Dual Blades weapon type in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is not for the timid. Out of all five weapon classes in the game, this is arguably the one that demands the most aggressive playstyle in order to get the most out of your build.
If you're someone that doesn't like to always be on the offensive, this is not the weapon for you. Might I suggest a lovely, long-range spear instead?
But for those of you that swear by the Sellsword Twinblades in Dark Souls 3 and simply enjoy slicing anything and everything to bits that dares stand in your way, the dual blades are still a great option for that in Wuchang.
Of course, exploiting the high DPS rate of the dual blades isn't as simple as "Get close, slash away, and win." You're going to need to properly build this loadout in order to get the most out of it and have a fighting chance. Everything below will get you ready for the action.
Unlike FromSoftware titles or most other Soulslikes, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers lets you respec whenever you feel like it at a shrine, and for no extra cost. Even if you aren't sure you'll like the dual blades or any other weapon type, you might as well try everything out to be positive you're making the correct weapon choice.
Best Dual Blades Build
While other builds place a premium on survivability, a dual blades user is going to want to focus on speed and aggression. As such, all the selections below will mostly focus on making you as dangerous as possible, sometimes at the expense of some defense.
This trade-off will typically be okay, and we'll also get into some options and strategies you can implement in order to keep yourself alive as best as possible despite your focus on damage output. Let's get to the slicing.
Best Early Game Dual Blades
Thunder's Call is my favorite option for an early game set of dual blades. They come with a passive buff that increases the effectiveness of lightning attacks, which is great since it comes with the Lightning Conduit weapon skill.
A dual blade with lightning? Might as well call it the DualShockers build. *Holds For Applause*
Jokes aside, you can't go wrong here, and Thunder's Call will be one of the earliest weapons you pick up in the game. They scale equally with Agility and Strength, but you should focus slightly more on Agility since the next weapon in this guide will scale better with Agility anyway. Doesn't hurt to get a little ahead of the curve.
Stacking as much Skyborn Might as possible is always the move for any build in the game. To do this the easiest, have a one-handed sword with the Biding Time skill tree node unlocked. This skill allows Skyborn Might to build up passively when you have a one-handed blade equipped. Explore with a one-handed sword to constantly build Skyborn Might, then switch back to your dual blades for combat.
Best Late Game Dual Blades
Twin Bandits don't actually have the best base stats of all the dual blades in the game, but they do have one huge advantage over the rest of the field. For those of you unaware, not every weapon type in Wuchang comes with the ability to block, counter, and/or parry attacks.
The Twin Bandits come with the Block skill, and they're the only weapon in this class where you don't need to make it the weapon's actual Discipline Skill in order to keep that perk. In other words, you're freed up to commit to an entire additional skill if you're using Twin Bandits, which can go a very long way in your ultimate success.
This weapon scales with Strength and Agility, but is much more highly rated as an Agility scaler. There are plenty of Agility upgrade nodes in the Dual Blades skill tree, so Twin Blades become a bit of a no-brainer with the Level IV rating in Agility scaling.
You'll find this weapon in Cloudspire Outskirts during the mid-game, so you don't even have to wait that long to get it. Just defeat the armored enemy guarding it, and the best dual blades in the game are yours for the taking.
Best Upgrade Nodes
Since you're focusing on the dual blades, it would be (mostly) silly to worry too much about unlocking the skill tree nodes of anything else besides what's on the Dual Blades Path. However, you'll want to make sure you also pay attention to the Illusive Path on the left side of the tree, since this section features skills that apply to everything.
Regardless of you likely unlocking everything you need eventually anyway, it doesn't hurt to have some suggestions to work towards first. Here's what I'd recommend.
- Dual Blades Path - By default, your first two nodes here will be Sudden Strike and Feather Chaser. The first is an awesome, twirling slash, and the second allows your weapon to clash with an enemy's, blocking most of the incoming damage. After these, try to prioritize Swift Warrior, which gives you bonus Skyborn Might for the fourth hit of a light combo, and Steel Edge, which exposes an enemy to punishment after a deflection. From here, get any and every skill you can. They all turn you into an offensive powerhouse once you've gotten it all.
- One-Handed Sword Path - Here, just grab Biding Time, the second node on the One-Handed Sword Path. As mentioned above, this is to guarantee passive Skyborn Might stacking whenever you wield a one-handed sword.
- Illusive Path - The obvious one here is to work straight left to eventually upgrade to Skyborn Call III, which will help you build Skyborn Might stacks ASAP. It's also advisable to grab Rapid Temperance to temper your weapons more quickly, which also unlocks five new Bone Needles in the process. You'll want Lightning for this build. Fury Of The Skyborn will unlock another five bone needles as well, including Leech, which is also one of the best you can attain. I'd also point out Health Siphon, which returns HP after a combo, provided your Madness is above 90% (and it will be often).
The other obvious suggestions are to make sure you're appropriately upgrading your dual blades' proficiency level and then capacity and potency for your Manna as you work through the Dual Blades Path and the Illusive Paths, respectively.
These are the equivalent of using shards in Dark Souls to upgrade your weapons, and buffing up your Estus flask, which should illustrate how vital all of these things are to long-term success and survival.
Best Benedictions
I don't really feel like Benedictions make the biggest difference in the world in Wuchang, but it never hurts to ensure you're doing everything you can to try to give yourself an edge.
These function like Blood Gems in Bloodborne, and you can equip three to any given weapon at a time to add some nice little buffs and perks. Because of the aggressive nature of the dual blades, which will drain stamina while trying to constantly gain the upper hand in combat, you have some options here.
Let me give you a couple of suggestions for each Benediction type:
|
Benediction |
Type |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Wei - Blood Force |
Oath |
Boosts your DPS when your health gets low, so you can turn the tide even while trading blows. |
|
Wei - Vitality Force |
Oath |
Boosts damage while your health is full. This starts any fight off in your favor, and you're likely going to get good at dodging with this build too anyway. |
|
Sheng - Skyborn Rejuvenation |
Memory |
When you earn Skyborn Might, your attacks will briefly leech life from an enemy. You should be gaining Skyborn Might frequently, so this Benediction will help keep your health up as a result. |
|
Sheng - Lethal Might |
Memory |
After defeating an enemy, you'll gain a Skyborn Might stack and also get a damage boost. Mobs won't stand a chance. |
|
Ren - Combo Vigor |
Wisdom |
One of the best Benedictions in general, this allows Stamina to regenerate more quickly after consecutively landed blows, allowing you to stay on offense longer. |
|
Wei - Combo Force |
Wisdom |
DPS increases as you land consecutive hits, allowing you to quickly whittle down HP bars. |
While these are all great bets, there are other situational Benedictions to consider depending on preference and current loadout.
For example, if you're using Thunder's Call as your weapon at this point, which has Lightning skills, take that into consideration. A Wisdom Benediction like Fa - Combo Lightning could be great for you since it increases your weapon's lightning damage upon consecutive hits.
Best Jade Pendants
Jade Pendants are the same as rings in Dark Souls, which you likely know can make a huge difference to your build and odds of survival.
A lot of these won't help a dual blades build out too much, but you will still end up with some amazing options at your disposal eventually.
- Tiger Pendant - Increases all physical attack stats for your weapon. This means the Slash, Blunt, and Stab numbers of your current chosen dual blade will all increase, making you even more offensively overpowered in the process.
- Dragon-Fish Pendant - Found near the jail cell of a memorable boss (trust me, you'll know it when you see it) is the Dragon-Fish Pendant. This one lengthens your Stamina bar drastically, which allows you to hack and slash away.
- Dracolich Pendant - Reduces damage taken from every single hit. It doesn't reduce the number a lot, but every bit counts. This one also prevents flinching when a beast enemy roars, which is useful for certain bosses.
Of course, there are other great options too, but some are more situational. If you're great at avoiding damage, Child's Hope Pendant boosts your stamina gen, but increases all incoming damage – a risk/reward that will be worth it to some.
Fiend-Felling Pendant boosts damage against large enemies, so it's a great choice when entering most boss fights.
10 Best Soulslikes With Guns
Not all Soulslike games make you resort to using a sword and shield. In some, you get to bring a gun to a sword fight.
Lastly, Nameless Eye is one of the best pendants in the entire game, but you get it pretty late. It reduces all incoming damage with no penalty, however, which is obviously very nice.
Best Supporting Spells
Magic and Feathering spells won't be a huge focus for you if you're mostly wanting to be a melee fighter with your dual blades, but don't allow that to force you to overlook this system entirely.
One of these will be mandatory to your success, believe it or not. The other three you can equip can be great in a pinch as well, or to boost your overall damage output if you're down to drop a few levels into raising your Magic stat specifically.
- Ethereal Form - This is an offensive-minded player's best friend. Ethereal Form only costs one measly Skyborn Might, and it allows you to become invincible entirely for about three seconds. To be honest, this spell is currently a bit busted (in your favor). Cast Ethereal Form, slash away while invincible, stack a Skyborn Might, and repeat. You can beat anything in the game with this spell and a well-upgraded weapon.
- Vorpal Blade/Crimson Edge Incantation - Vorpal Blade is the first spell you get in the game. You literally can't miss it. This is the best long-ranged spell in the game, despite how early you get it. Vorpal Blade fires two projectiles at whichever target you're locked onto, and it works great for grunts and bosses alike. Crimson Edge is the same thing, but scales with Feathering instead of Magic. Use whichever spell you have the higher base stat in.
- Heavenly Thunder - Summons a giant lightning strike that also does AOE damage. This can chunk boss health mightily, and also is great crowd control since the lightning strike spreads out on impact.
- Divine Blessing - Similar to Holy Ground in Elden Ring, Divine Blessing places a circle on the ground which will raise your HP as you stand within it. This is great for a lot of boss fights if you cast it up arena entry and run back into it whenever you need to catch a breather for some extra health.
There are other great options to be sure. But if I'm being honest, all you really need is Ethereal Form. I'm not exaggerating by saying all five writers that covered Wuchang here at DualShockers used it nonstop once we picked it up off a corpse in Zhenwu Temple. It's truly that good.
Aside from that spell, feel free to experiment with the rest of your available slots and see what you like the best. But for the indecisive, everything above will serve you well.
How To Use The Dual Blades Build
If you haven't picked up on the vibe of the dual blades build already, the theme here is "Pressure, pressure, pressure." With all the attacks at your disposal from the skill tree as well as your fast rate of attack, you're wasting your time if you aren't almost always on the offensive.
Enemies don't always stagger or react to attacks quite like you may expect from Soulslikes, so don't get yourself trapped in a loop of just spamming attacks, either. You'll want to be very deliberate with each press of your light/heavy attack buttons to make sure you aren't stuck in an attack animation when you do need to dodge or block an incoming attack.
As soon as you attain Ethereal Form, equip it immediately, and start practicing with it ASAP. Once you get this down, you'll be able to get into a loop of spell casting and melee mashing that can topple any boss with enough repetition.
At the end of the day, your dual blades build is going to simply require you to apply so much constant pressure that your enemies don't even have a chance to respond before they fall in a heaping pile of death and destruction.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 76/100 Critics Rec: 69%
- Released
- July 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Leenzee
- Publisher(s)
- 505 Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- PC Release Date
- July 24, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- July 24, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- July 24, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Hack and Slash
