Looking for a Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty first boss guide? We’ve got you covered. While many games like to ease players in with a relatively simple first boss fight, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s Zhang Liang, General of Man is one boss that’ll keep you on your toes and even make you feel a little frustrated. The fight basically cranks everything up to 10, at least when compared to the enemies you’ve fought until that point.

Though it can take quite a bit of time to get used to Zhang Liang’s moves, the fight isn’t impossible, and as long as you react precisely to his attacks, you’ll be able to progress through the story in no time. Do note that this guide does basically spoil the whole fight, including all of his major attacks, so if you’d rather go in blind, check out our other Wo Long content instead. 

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty First Boss Guide

Overview

Zhang Liang is, for the most part, a pretty standard Soulsborne-type boss. He has an array of attacks that gives him options whether you’re right on top of him or striking from a distance, and this means that he can always get the jump on you if you’re not careful. 

After defeating Zhang Liang in his human form, he transforms his body and enters his second phase, where you’ll have to deal with an entirely different set of attacks, including some that could flat-out kill you if you’re not careful. As it can take a bit of time to reach the second phase after every death, progressing this part of the fight can be tough, but fortunately, you actually don’t have to kill him. Instead, you need to get him to just under half his HP before you’re able to use a particular move, after which a cutscene plays and the fight ends.

Strategy

While there are a few ways to approach this fight, Fatal Strikes are arguably the best way to take down Zhang Liang. They do impressive damage, especially if your Spirit gauge is in the positive range. The easiest way to trigger opportunities for Fatal Strikes is through Deflections against his attacks, especially Critical Blows. This doesn’t mean you have to be on the offensive at all times; instead, you can wait for Zhang Liang to make a move, Deflect or Deflect Counterattack, land some return hits, and then wait for his next move.

As you’ll need to know the timings of his moves in order to Deflect them properly, here are some attacks that you’ll definitely want to look out for. Of course, nothing beats first-hand experience, so don’t feel discouraged if you missed your Deflect timings even after learning his moves.

First Phase

Zhang Liang starts off with a simple frontal slam. He will always start with this slam, which will not hit you unless you purposefully walk in front of him, so you can use this moment to throw out spells or ranged attacks. After this, he’ll use various short-range and long-range attacks.

When you’re out of his direct melee range, he will sometimes use a forward leap. This leap is one of the harder attacks to Deflect, as it has a fairly short wind-up time.

He will also attempt to chain a series of strikes with his weapon, and these can be somewhat difficult to deal with properly. Fortunately, if you Deflect his first couple of attacks and/or stagger him with a Spirit Attack or Martial Art, this will stop him from performing the combo. As such, you’ll want to stop him in his tracks as soon as possible and Deflect his first attack whenever possible. 

The Deflect window for his first strike is fairly straightforward, and you should have no problem getting the timing down after a few attempts.

Occasionally, Zhang Liang will leap high into the air before landing, and you’ll want to time your Deflect just before he lands.

Zhang Liang has a couple of different Critical Blow attacks. Both of these require different timings to Deflect, though the timings are delayed, so you’ll need to be patient when you see the red glow on him. It is also possible for Zhang Liang to use two of these Critical Blows in succession, so be ready to press Deflect again in the event that he winds up for a follow-up attack. 

While it’s somewhat easy to dodge away from these attacks by double tapping your Deflect button, you’ll be rewarded by Deflecting the attacks instead, as this will break his stance and eventually allow you to go for a Fatal Strike. 

Second Phase

Zhang Liang gains long-range coverage during his second phase, boasting a monstrously long arm that can deal significant damage if not dealt with properly. During this phase of the fight, you’ll want to be even more aggressive with your Deflects, as successfully landing them is key to getting him low enough to use your Divine Beast, which ends the fight as soon as you activate it.

He begins the fight with a pair of wide-range swings, a move that he can use at times throughout the fight. There’s a long enough delay that you can fit in a quick strike between the swings, and if you’re confident enough, you can use this time to get into melee range while dodging, as shown below.

Zhang Liang can use a shove as well as a pair of quick strikes when fighting him in close range. The double strikes happen in quick succession, so be ready to time your Deflects accordingly.

When Zhang Liang points his weapon toward you while at a distance, this means that he’s about to charge at you. Like the forward leap in Phase 1, this has barely any wind-up, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for it while standing far from Zhang Liang.

He can also use a fissure-based attack by striking the ground. This attack has a delayed Deflect window but you can simply dodge your way out of it as you won’t be able to land a return attack at a distance anyway unless you use a spell or ranged weapon.

Zhang Liang also slams the ground before leaping high in the air, much like the leap in his first phase. You’ll want to Deflect both parts of this attack in order to avoid the damage.

He will also sometimes glow red (not a Critical Blow) before unleashing black roots around him. You can Deflect or dodge away from this if you’re inside its radius.

During Phase 2, Zhang Liang has two different sets of Critical Blow attacks—one short-range and one long-range. The short-range attack is actually a series of Critical Blows. This does immense damage if not Deflected at all, but you can Deflect successive hits even if you’re struck by the first one. Successfully using Deflect during this rush will stagger Zhang Liang and leave him vulnerable, giving you the perfect opportunity to deal damage and break his stance even further for a chance to land a Fatal Strike.

The long-range Critical Blow involves Zhang Liang readying his monster arm before grabbing you from a distance and slamming you onto the ground. This attack hurts a lot, so if you fail your Deflect, you’ll be severely punished for it. The Deflect timing on this attack is very delayed, with the window occurring just before Zhang Liang extends his arm. 

Successfully deflecting this ranged attack is as rewarding as deflecting the melee Critical Blow, however, as you’ll land right on top of him after the Deflect, which will allow you to unload all your damage onto him. 

Zhang Liang is one hell of a first boss, even for a Souslborne game, but with enough patience and practice, you can Deflect your way to victory and finally progress through the game’s story.