WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers has a lot of different systems to get used to. There’s weapon-enhancing systems, such as Tempering and Benediction, then there’s the in-game skill tree, the Impetus Repository, to name a few. On top of all that, though, is the oft confusing Madness mechanic, which can drastically alter how your next fight pans out.
Madness is a status that Wuchang can be inflicted with, increasing as she kills non-feathered humanoid enemies or dies to foes, and will only decrease upon killing her Inner Demon – which spawns when her Madness level peaks – or by offering up Divine Gifts to the God of Shu. To help you make heads or tails of this system, here’s WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers’ Madness and Inner Demon system explained.
WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers Madness and Inner Demon explained
Madness is a mechanic that will keep you on your toes in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, and it can take some time to get to grips with. The short of it is that this system will punish you for dying or killing non-feathered humanoid enemies, but it will also reward those who choose to play around it. Whether you utilise Madness – as much or as little as you’d like – or ignore it all together is up to you, however.
Wuchang has a Madness gauge in the lower left-hand corner of the screen (pictured above) that will show you what percentage of Madness she is currently at. This increases every time you die, or whenever you kill a non-feathered humanoid enemy, and as it increases, you’ll experience various effects.
Below, we explain what to expect (and do) as the Madness gauge fills up, how to increase it, and how to cleanse it.
What Madness does in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers
As Wuchang’s Madness gauge slowly fills up in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, you’ll experience a few different effects. The first is that at 90% Madness, Demonic marks begin to appear on Wuchang, allowing her to deal more damage, but also take more damage when attacked.
After this point, it’s also likely that your Inner Demon may spawn. She looks a lot like the Plain Warrioress you meet in Tang Emperor Palace, and she is not happy to see you. You’ll need to kill your Inner Demon to continue, or die to it and cleanse your Madness before returning to wherever you currently are in the land of Shu.
Fortunately, the Inner Demon isn’t too hard to take down, especially as you level up. Once felled, your Madness will reduce and you will receive a Fragment of the Divine Gift (used for cleansing Madness) among other rare items. There are also scripted encounters with the Inner Demon throughout the game that may occur regardless of what percentage Wuchang’s Madness gauge is at.
On top of that, your Madness percentage also determines how much Red Mercury you lose upon dying. Dying while at 50% Madness or lower sees you lose some Red Mercury, but dying between 50% and 90% Madness sees you lose a lot of Red Mercury. Dying at above 90% Madness has you lose all Red Mercury.
Now, let’s talk about increasing and cleansing Madness.
How to increase Madness in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers
As previously mentioned, there are two core ways of increasing Wuchang’s Madness gauge in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers. The first is killing non-feathered humanoid enemies, while the second is to die to enemies in the land of Shu.
That said, if you’re wanting to actively play around Madness and enter your next tough fight while at 100%+ Madness, you can also consume Maddening Incense. This will increase Madness and prevent the loss of Madness for a time.
Similarly, you can select ‘Invoke’ at any Shrine to consume various items to increase your Madness (shown above). These tend to be minor consumable items such as the Flameward Pill, which you’ll find plenty of, so this option is worth considering.
But why would you want to increase Madness given that you take more damage when it’s active? Well, for a start, Wuchang also deals more damage – as well as taking more of it – which is a benefit for skilled players who don’t plan on getting hit.
That said, there are multiple Skill Nodes to be unlocked in the Impetus Repository that make playing around Madness – especially during boss fights – worth your while. For example, the ‘Conversion’ Node in the leftmost branch of the Impetus Repository allows Swift Draws to become more potent and restore health on hit while inflicted with Madness.
There are multiple Skill Nodes like this to be unlocked that ultimately buff your kit when Madness is present, and these are what make the Madness mechanic actually worth paying some attention to. Madness might seem like a debuff from the get go, but as you level up and have more Red Mercury Essence to play around with, you’ll find that Madness can actually be very powerful at times.
How to cleanse Madness in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers
Madness can be cleansed in a few ways in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers. The first is by killing your Inner Demon whenever it eventually spawns, and the second is by giving Divine Gifts or Divine Gift Shards to the God of Shu at Shu’s Golden Statue.
Shu’s Golden Statue is found at Shu Sanctum at the beginning of the game (shown below). This is a temple home to multiple NPCs, including core merchants Tao Qing and Wu Gang. As you progress with the game, however, there are more Shu’s Golden Statues to be found that you can offer Divine Gifts to.
For example, the second Shu’s Golden Statue is found near Tang Emperor Palace. Upon entering the palace, keep left and go through the red double doors that you must interact with to open. Once through them, go up the rightmost path – which has some golem-like enemies on it – and you’ll find the Statue at the top.
For more on WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, take a look at our tips and tricks to help you with your adventure, as well as how to summon.