Black Myth: Wukongis all about fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping combat. Whenever you’re in the heat of battle, chances are you’ll take a few punches and strikes to the jaw. In that case, having a reliable gourd wrapped around your waist to restore your HP can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Out of the gourds available in the game, each categorized into separate rarities and having their own abilities, pros, and cons, only a select few are truly game-changers. Depending on your playstyle, you may favor one’s perks over the other, but most consider the premium options as optimal. So, with that being said, which ones should you prioritize for maximum efficiency?

The Destined One holding the Plaguebane Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

10Plaguebane Gourd

The Plaguebane Gourd is one of two Rare Gourds inBlack Myth: Wukong, and by only offering an underwhelmingfive sips, it’s arguably the worst. The main trick about this gourd is that ithalves your health recovery in exchange for increasing your Attackfor a short period.

However, considering how limited your sips already are, this ismainly seen as a drawbackrather than an advantage. Unless you’ve mastered the game’s combat,prioritizing defense should be key, and with the Plaguebane Gourd actively lowering your chances of making a comeback, it’s not the best choice for any long boss fight.

The Destined One holding the Trailblazer’s Scarlet Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

9Trailblazer’s Scarlet Gourd

The Trailblazer’s Scarlet Gourd is another Rare Gourd withfive available sips, with the first sip replenishing full HP.Although it has the same number of sips as the Plaguebane Gourd, the Trailblazer’s Scarlet Gourd is a much better healing alternative, since the first sip restores your HP to full, no matter how low it is, making it effectively as powerful as two or three sips from other gourds.

Ideally,you should use the first sip when your HP is almost zeroto maximize the ability’s usefulness because the following sips won’t have any additional passive effects.

The Destined One holding the Fiery Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

Unless you pre-order the game, the Trailblazer’s Scarlet Gourd is an easily missable item asit’s tied to the Horse Guai’s quest.

8Fiery Gourd

Having ample stamina to attack and dodge enemies is crucial in Black Myth: Wukong, so getting a moderate boost to it could give you that slight edge you need to overcome any challenge. This is where the Fiery Gourd comes in: an Epic-tier gourd withseven sips,the ability to grantChill Immunity,and anincrease to your Maximum Stamina for a short duration.

Although the additional stamina is a welcome bonus in itself, getting aBane Resistancefrom this gourd shouldn’t be scoffed at either, as it comes in extremely handy againstFrost-inflicting enemies, mostly found inChaptersthree and onward.

The Destined One holding the Qing-Tian Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

7Qing-Tian Gourd

When looking at the best healing options for exploration, the Qing-Tian Gourd stands out as the most unique and intriguing gourd in Black Myth: Wukong. It offers asingle sip, but with the benefit that it can recover an infinite number of times. Though, it’s worth noting thatit takes roughly 25 seconds before you can indulge in another sip.

Looking at the effect with its innate cost,the Qing-Tian Gourd is clearly meant for explorationwhere you need multiple sips that aren’t necessarily bundled together. On the other hand, though, this is probably the worst gourd to use against bosses because of the restrictive replenishing time.

The Destined One holding the Immortal Blessing Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

6Immortal Blessing Gourd

Upon observing the Immortal Blessing Gourd, it may seem familiar at first glance—becauseit has the same effect as the Trailblazer’s Scarlet Gourd but comes with three more sips.However, unlike the Trailblazer’s Gourd, the ability makes more sense here because the healing aspect isn’t nearly as underwhelming.

Havingeight sipsputs the Immortal Blessing Gourd among several other alternatives in the game, and the buff to your Attack gives a fair balance to the Gourd’s offensive and defensive capabilities. It gives you aunique and viable choice, which you may opt for if you prefer the multi-faceted approach.

The Destined One holding the Multi-Glazed Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

5Multi-Glazed Gourd

If you favor raw damage output over defense, the Multi-Glazed Gourd is perhaps the best choice for you. By grantingsix sipsand being one of the twoMythical Gourdsin the game,it can massively increase your Attack Power with its last sip.

Most players use the Multi-Glazed Gourd for theirBerserker builds, and it’s understandable after experiencing the damage boost yourself. While the below-average sips are a noteworthy pitfall, this gourd istargeted explicitly toward aggressive players, so if you fall in that demographic, it’s a great pick.

The Destined One holding the Stained Jade Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

4Stained Jade Gourd

Getting hit when trying to heal yourself is easily one of the most frustrating points in a fight. Thus, to minimize that window of vulnerability,the Stained Jade Gourd can allow you totake its seven sips much more quickly.

Compared to other gourds in Black Myth: Wukong,this heals you roughly 35 percent quicker, and when you’re against quick bosses who always keep the pressure on you, that extra healing efficiency is often the deciding factor between utilizing and wasting a valuable sip. Of course, quicker healing isn’t too beneficial when you’re just exploring the world, but it’s a convenientboost in the encounters that matter.

The Destined One holding the Xiang River Goddess Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

Don’t forget to beatThe Scorpionlordbefore besting the final boss of Chapter Four’sSecret Area, or you’ll miss this gourd!

3Xiang River Goddess Gourd

Burn and Shock are the most common status effectsenemies like to afflict, and seeing that the Xiang River Goddess gives a moderate, yet noticeable, resistance to the former already pushes it up the list. The gourd also provides immunity to lava-covered terrain,which is extremely useful in Chapter Five, where you’ll often find yourself traversing through massive lava lakes.

Aside from that, though, you’ll rarely find any fiery terrain to test the River Goddess Gourd. Overall,with eight sips in total, it’s the standard you’d expect with a Legendary Gourd but with effects significantly more pronounced and valuable.

The Destined One holding the Jade Guanyin Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

2Jade Guanyin Gourd

The Jade Guanyin Gourd’s strong synergy with Black Myth: Wukong’s most popular spell,A Pluck of Many, makes it the best Legendary Gourd in the game by far. In addition toproviding eight healthy uses, it heals all nearby Duplicates, making them more durable against endurance-based bosses.

Being tied to a single spellmay seem limiting at first. But, seeing how A Pluck of Many is one of the most powerful spells in the game and the onlyStrand spelluntil NG+, it’s evident why the Jade Guanyin Gourd is praised so much, especially on initial playthroughs.

The Destined One holding the Supreme Gourd in Black Myth Wukong.

1Supreme Gourd

Despite simply being an upgraded version of theOld Gourdyou get at the start of the game,the Supreme Gourd offers a whopping ten sips—the highest of any other gourd. Although it doesn’t provide any passive effects, you may imagine how crucial having those extra uses can be against powerful enemies.

When paired with apowerful Soakreplenishing a large percentage of HP with each sip,it often feels like the Supreme Gourd never runs out.It ditches any situational perks to have more usability, and after fighting any boss or challenging encounter, you may see why it’s more valuable.

You can only obtain Supreme Gourd at the end of themissable Old Man quest, so be sure to follow it!