How to Beat Zhang Xianzhong (Fierce Tiger) in WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers

The Rebel King of Mt. Zhenwu

Zhang Xianzhong is the historical rebel leader turned dark fantasy nightmare, and he’s the wall that separates players who learned the combat system from those who button-mashed their way through Chapters 1 and 2. He guards the summit of Mt. Zhenwu in Chapter 3, and the fight is mandatory. No skipping this one.

I’d rank him mid-difficulty overall, but he punishes bad habits harder than any boss before him. If you’ve been relying on dodge-spam or face-tanking with an Axe build, Zhang Xianzhong will force you to actually engage with the game’s mechanics.

Phase 1: The Fierce Tiger

Phase 1 is a straightforward humanoid duel. Zhang Xianzhong wields a massive glaive with sweeping horizontal slashes and overhead chops. He’s faster than he looks for a guy swinging a pole weapon that long.

Attacks to Watch:

Three-hit glaive combo — Two horizontal sweeps followed by an overhead slam. The slam has tracking, so dodge sideways on the third hit, not backward. Punish during his recovery.
Thrust into sweep — He stabs forward, then immediately pivots into a wide horizontal arc. The thrust is easy to dodge, but players get hit by the follow-up sweep because they try to counterattack too early. Wait for both hits before going in.
War cry buff — He plants his weapon and roars. This buffs his damage for about 30 seconds. You can interrupt this with a charged heavy attack if you’re close enough when he starts it. If you miss the window, play more cautiously until the buff fades.
Grab attack — Steps forward and seizes you with one hand. Unblockable and will take a huge chunk of health. Keep medium range to give yourself reaction time.

Strategy: Stay at his 2 o’clock position—close enough to punish recovery windows but offset from his glaive’s swing arc. Most of his horizontal attacks come from his right side, so standing to his left gives you slightly more dodge frames. Land two or three hits after each combo ends, then reset to medium distance.

Deflect users: his glaive combo is rhythmic and predictable. This is one of the best fights in the game for Sword Counter discipline. Nail the deflect timing on his three-hit combo and you’ll stagger him in phase 1 before he even gets his war cry off.

Phase 2: Unleashed Fury

At roughly 50% health, Zhang Xianzhong gets a cutscene and transforms. His attacks gain a dark energy effect, his combos extend to five or six hits, and he gains two new moves.

New Attacks:

Shockwave slam — He leaps into the air and crashes down, sending a wave of energy outward in all directions. The wave has a fixed radius. Sprint away when you see the jump, and you’ll clear the AoE.
Dark glaive tornado — He spins his weapon in a multi-hit vortex while advancing toward you. Do not try to dodge through this. Run perpendicular to his path and wait for it to end. The spin lasts about four seconds and leaves him open for a long punish window.
Extended combo chains — His standard combos now have two to three extra hits tacked on. The biggest mistake I see players make is committing to a punish after what they think is his last swing, only to eat a delayed follow-up. Count the hits. In phase 2, don’t attack until you’re certain the combo is finished.

Strategy: Phase 2 is about patience. His damage output is higher, but his recovery windows after big moves are also longer. The shockwave slam is your best punish opportunity—sprint out of range, then sprint back in and unload your strongest combo while he’s stuck in the landing animation.

If you have the Empyrean Greataxe or any weapon with good aerial attacks, the shockwave slam recovery is long enough to land a full jumping heavy into a ground combo. That’s 25-30% of his phase 2 health in one window on a strength build.

Build Recommendations

Best weapons for this fight:

Longsword (Sword Counter) — Deflecting his combos is the fastest way to stagger him in both phases. If you’re comfortable with the timing, this trivializes phase 1.
Axe (Rampage) — The lifesteal from Rampage lets you trade hits during his shorter combos. Not ideal for his extended phase 2 chains, but the raw damage output shortens the fight.
Spear — The range advantage lets you poke him between combo strings without committing to close range. Steam Chain discipline is excellent here for pulling him into your attack zone after he finishes a combo.

Consumables to bring:

Full Manna Vase (obviously)
Any damage-boosting incense you have. Zhang Xianzhong doesn’t inflict status effects, so you don’t need Corruption or Frostbite cures. Pure damage and healing.

Common Mistakes

Punishing the war cry too late. If he’s already finished the roar animation, do not run in. The buff is active and he’ll immediately attack. Either interrupt early or wait it out.
Dodging backward against the glaive. His glaive has absurd forward reach. Always dodge sideways or diagonally forward through his attacks.
Ignoring the extended combos in phase 2. I cannot stress this enough—his phase 2 combos are longer than phase 1. Players who autopilot their phase 1 timing will get destroyed.

What You Get

Defeating Zhang Xianzhong grants his unique Echo spell, a large chunk of Impetus (roughly three levels’ worth at this point), and progresses the main story into Chapter 4. You’ll also unlock his boss weapon for crafting if you have the right materials.

He’s one of those fights that feels impossible the first three attempts, then clicks once you learn the combo counting. Stick with it.