How Morale works in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty introduces some inventive concepts to the Souls genre, one of which is the Morale system. It’s not immediately clear how this works in the beginning, so let’s clear up Wo Long’s Morale system and simplify its mechanics for you.

Nioh fans will be very familiar with many of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s stylings and features, but one way that Team Ninja rips up the rulebook is with the game’s Morale system.

Morale can have a major bearing on how you progress in Wo Long, what you should and shouldn’t do, and is very important overall.

If you’re a bit unsure of how it works, how to increase it, or how to sustain it, then we’ve got everything you need to know right here.

Team Ninja

What is Morale in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty?

Morale in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is both a metric of your character’s current power level in an area, as well as an indicator of how strong an enemy is compared to you.

When you load into a new level, you will always start with a Morale rank of 1. If you encounter an enemy that has a Morale of 10, then you’re going to be quite outmatched by the opponent, your attack power will be reduced against them, and their attack power will be far greater than normal.

The idea is to build your Morale so that it’s equal to, if not greater, than enemy creatures and humans. If you manage to boast a superior Morale rank to an opponent, then your attack damage will be increased and theirs will be decreased.

How to increase Morale in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Increasing Morale in Wo Long: Dynasty primarily occurs in one of two ways: killing enemies or claiming Marking Flags and Battle Flags.

Enemies

This concept is straightforward as you just need to run around the level you’re in, rack up kills, rest at Battle Flags to make enemies respawn again, and so on and so forth. This is a surefire, grindy way to increase your Morale, and it’s very effective.

You can also just play the level normally instead of farming one area as each level will provide the player with multiple encounters against much higher-leveled foes – vanquishing them can offer a nice boost to your Morale rank.

Flags

Following on from the point about just exploring the level, each main mission and certain side missions will have a plethora of Battle Flags and Marking Flags for players to find and capture.

Doing so will not only increase your Morale Rank between one and several points, but this will also increase your Fortitude rank too. What this means is that if you die, your Morale rank cannot drop any lower than your established Fortitude rank in a given level.

Team Ninja

How to lose Morale in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

You are just as susceptible to losing Morale in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty as you are to gaining it. It’s possible to drop Morale, again, through one of two different ways: Dying or being hit by Critical Blows.

Dying

A fairly self-explanatory one here, but if you lose all your health, then not only do you lose some of your Genuine Qi, but you also lose levels on your Morale rank. The easy solution for this one is staring you in the face – don’t die.

Critical Blows

Critical Blows are super attacks that virtually every enemy is capable of landing but are usually well-telegraphed in the form of a big, glowing red circle that appears on your opponent’s body.

If you are unable to deflect a Critical Blow or roll out of the way in time, it will drop your Morale by 1. So being hit by several of them can quickly become quite devastating to your damage output potential and make you weaker – especially against bosses.

That wraps up everything you need to know about Morale in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. If you want more content for the game, we have additional guides here:

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty PC system requirements | Will Wo Long Fallen Dynasty be on Steam Deck? | Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty PC system requirements | Will Wo Long Fallen Dynasty be on Steam Deck? | Does Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty have co-op multiplayer? | How to get Genuine Qi fast in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | Best Wizardry abilities in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | Wo Long Fallen Dynasty stats explained: How to plan your best build | Wo Long Fallen Dynasty review | Best weapons in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | How the Spirit system works in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty