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Preparation
Recommended Skills
- Qi Boost
Qi Boost: Yingzhao is only the first boss of Nine Sols, so we’re not really far enough into the game to actually acquire many skills. That said, I highly recommend grabbing the first Qi Boost from the top of the skill tree for 1 Skill Point. This will let you store 2 Qi charges, and will increase the damage of Qi Blast, which is helpful for chipping down Yingzhao throughout the fight.
Recommended Jades
- Quick Dose Jade
Quick Dose: Spoiler for the rest of the guide – I always recommend running Quick Dose. You can buy it from Chiyou for 1250 Jin the first time you encounter them at the Power Reservoir, and it’s incredibly useful for the entire game.
Quick Dose will increase the speed that you can use Yi’s Healing Pipe by roughly 40%. This makes it way easier to sneak heals in throughout a fight, which can be the difference between successfully finishing a boss, or dying just before you score the final blow.
Recommended Equipment
- 1 Pipe Vial
I feel like this is fairly self explanatory: more Pipe Vials = more chances to heal = you can afford to make more mistakes. You can obtain more Pipe Vials from the 3D Printer in the Four Seasons Pavilion. The first Pipe Vial costs 1000 Jin, which you should be able to scrap together with some careful exploration.
If you don’t have enough Jin, make sure that you’ve fully explored the Power Reservoir for all of the available chests. You can also double-back to the Apeman Facility, and use the Tai-Chi Kick to access a few chests that weren’t accessible during your previous visit.
How to Fight Yingzhao
Phase 1
Yingzhao is the first major boss of Nine Sols, and as such has a fairly straightforward moveset. There are only 2 different attacks that you’ll need to learn to parry to finish the first phase of the fight.
Overview of Phase 1 Attacks
| Attack Name | Short Description |
|---|---|
| 2 Strike Combo | 2 consecutive melee attacks. Yingzhao is vulnerable to counterattack afterwards. |
| Sweeping Combo | 2 sweeping charges, followed by a spear thrust. Yingzhao is also vulnerable to counterattack after completing this attack. |
Here’s what both of those attacks look like:
Tips for Phase 1
It’s always better to attempt to parry than to try and dodge Yingzhao’s attacks. Successfully parrying, but missing the perfect parry timing, will still negate damage. Instead, you’ll take internal damage. This turns a portion of your health bar red. This will slowly recover over the course of the fight, and is only turned into actual damage when you take a hit. Ergo, as long as you continue to parry Yingzhao’s attacks you’ll be safe.
It’s also worth noting that internal damage can NOT kill you. You’ll always have 1 HP provided you keep parrying. Yingzhao has to actually score a hit to kill you.
You’re able to use a Qi Blast after Yingzhao finishes both of its attacks. In both cases, you’ll get 2 Qi charges for parrying the attack, so you’ll be primed to use Qi Blast for the maximum amount of damage that you’re capable of at this point in the game. Qi Blast also woefully out damages Yi’s melee strikes, so you’re going to want to rely on it for the majority of your damage output.
Thanks to the Quick Dose Jade, you’ll be able to heal after successfully parrying any of Yingzhao’s attacks.
Remember, internal damage (red health) can be recovered by simply waiting, so don’t lose your cool and waste a Pipe Vial to heal this health. The one exception to this is if your entire health bar is red. Then, and only then, it might be a good idea to take a shot from your Healing Pipe.
If you get hit by any of Yingzhao’s attacks then Yi will be sent flying, and will land prone. You can be hit while you’re prone, so you need to recover with a dash. If Yingzhao is using the 2 Strike Combo then dash away from it. If Yingzhao is using the Sweeping Combo, then dash into the attack. This should ensure that the invulnerability (iframes) on the dash line up with the attack, so you’re not hit while getting back on your feet.
Phase 2
Phase 2 is Yingzhao’s final phase. It changes a couple attacks from the first phase of the fight.
Overview of Phase 2 Attacks
| Attack Name | Short Description |
|---|---|
| 2 Strike Combo | Yingzhao can now perform a Crimson Spear Thrust after completing the 2 Strike Combo. |
| Crimson Spear Thrust | Yingzhao performs a crimson attack by thrust its spear forward. This can be countered with a Tai-Chi Kick. |
| Sweeping Combo | Yingzhao now performs a crimson slam as the fourth, and final attack in this combo. |
Here’s what that all looks like:
Tips for Phase 2
Similar to phase 1, you’re able to attach a talisman to Yingzhao after it completes the Sweeping Combo. You can’t counter the newly added 4th attack (yet), so either walk, or dash away from Yingzhao when it performs this portion of the combo. You have plenty of time to Qi Blast while Yingzhao pulls its spear out of the ground.
You’re also able to attack (or heal) after successfully performing a Tai-Chi Kick to counter the Crimson Spear Thrust.
Unlike the first phase, you can no longer reliably use a Talisman attack after the 2 Strike Combo. There is a chance that Yingzhao will perform a Crimson Spear Thrust afterwards, so you can’t blindly commit to counter attacking every single time. As such, I’d advise against taking the risk.
You can heal during any of the windows where you can counterattack Yingzhao. Keep a level head, and don’t try to sneak a heal inbetween Yingzhao’s attack as you might open yourself up to taking unnecessary additional hits.
Example Fight
Here’s a video with a full fight against Yingzhao to illustrate the tips outlined above. I hope this visual aid helps to iron out any gaps from my description of how best to approach the fight.
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