Gather 'round, fellow Destined Ones! It's 2026, and after two years of smashing celestial faces with Game Science's action masterpiece, I've turned every stone, clobbered every secret boss, and hoarded enough Will to make a dragon blush. If you're hunting for the ultimate staff to carry you through New Game+5 or the latest DLC challenge, you've come to the right monkey.
Let's be honest: the right stick isn't just a weapon—it's a lifestyle. The game may be linear, but the weapon upgrade system is a labyrinth of rare materials, hidden quests, and "I swear I'll never find that last Celestial Ribbon" moments. I've been there. Fear not, because I've compiled every significant staff I've personally swung, complete with where to get them, their stats, and the unique effects that make them sing. No more wasted crafting components. Let's dive into the armory.
My Weapon Hall of Fame: Ordered by Unlock Timeline
Below is a table of the weapons I consider worthy of your monkey's palms, roughly following when you can first grab them. Stats reflect the fully upgraded versions at endgame for fairness (base values scale with your level, so these are normalized).
| Weapon Name | Attack Power | Key Passive | Where & How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Branch | 45 | +15% Focus gain on perfect dodges | Starter weapon; you wake up with it in Black Wind Mountain. Don't sneer—it teaches you the dance. |
| Iron Tusk Cudgel | 72 | Charged heavy attacks cause a short stun on smaller foes | Craft after defeating the Whiteclad Noble; requires 2x Beast Bone, 1x Stone Essence. |
| Violet Spider Staff | 88 | Poison buildup on every fourth hit (stacks beautifully with the Centipede armor set) | Loot from the secret cave behind the waterfall in Webbed Hollow. You'll need to beat the Venom Daoist spirit first. |
| Cloud‑Treading Pole | 102 | Mid‑air combos increase damage by 20% | Reward from the Yellowbrow’s trial; missable if you skip the riddle quest in the Pagoda Realm. |
| Serpent Rod of Yashan | 115 | Transformations last 8 seconds longer and deal 15% extra damage | Craft after beating the Duskveil secret boss. Ingredients: 3x Kun Steel, 1x Soul‑Remnant Pearl, 5x Silk. |
| Ashen Pillar | 130 | Burn buildup on hit; critical strikes cause a small fire explosion | Found in the Flaming Mountains, guarded by a ridiculously aggressive Fire Rat Chief. Look for a collapsed shrine. |
| Jade‑Edged Destiny | 155 | Defeating an enemy with a finisher restores 20% HP and resets the cooldown of your vessel | Complete the Treasure Hunter questline in New Thunderclap Temple. The final step is bonkers but worth every tear. |
| Golden‑Hooped Rod (Mythic) | 195 | Infinite poise during smash stance, and each stance switch grants a 5‑second damage buff (stacks) | Endgame beast; requires all four Celestial Ribbons from the Four Heavenly Kings rematch in NG+. Also demands 1x Wukong's Relic. |
| Ruyi Jingu Bang (True Form) | 250 | Triggers "Great Sage" mode on low HP: damage +40%, movement speed +30%, and every strike releases a shockwave | 2025's "Legacy of the Sage" DLC secret reward. Defeat the Memory of Sun Wukong in the Broken Lotus zone after collecting all 81 spirit fragments. Yes, I lost my sanity. |
Now, let's address the elephant—or rather, the dragon—in the room: which one should you aim for? I've tried them all. The Jade‑Edged Destiny turned my glass‑cannon build into an immortal blender, while the Serpent Rod of Yashan made my Red Tides transformation feel like I was directing a kaiju movie.
The Crown Jewel: Ruyi Jingu Bang (True Form)
Look, by 2026, the DLC meta has settled, and nothing beats the True Form. I won't spoil the emotional rollercoaster of obtaining it, but I will say this: when your health drops and the screen turns golden, you become a nightmare. The shockwave on every attack clears mobs like a lawnmower, and boss fights turn into a rhythm game where you're the final boss. Is it overpowered? Absolutely. Do I care? Absolutely not—I earned it.
Before you chase that, though, remember that mid‑game upgrades are essential. The Cloud‑Treading Pole, for example, changed how I approached aerial combat entirely. Pair it with the Eagle Cry transformation and you'll spend half the fight airborne, laughing at ground‑bound demons. I still use it in the Gauntlet of Gods mode where mobility matters more than raw damage.
A Few Tips From a Seasoned Monkey
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Don't hoard resources for the perfect weapon early on. The Willow Branch might be a twig, but upgrading it to the Iron Tusk Cudgel gives you a massive early power spike. You can always farm more Beast Bones later—trust me, you will.
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Secret bosses are not optional for weapon lovers. The Serpent Rod and Cloud‑Treading Pole are both locked behind encounters that the game doesn't even mark. Get cozy with the photo mode's "clue detection" filter (added in patch 1.09) to spot hidden paths.
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Transmutation is your friend. Many staffs gain extra effects when you transmute your appearance. The Ashen Pillar, for instance, extends its burn duration when you look like the Stone Monkey, which I discovered purely by accident while testing fashion.
Learning the combos and stance dances is still the core, but the right staff lets you customize your playstyle into a brutal, poetic art. Whether you're a deflection‑parry lunatic or a heavy‑charged‑one‑hit‑wonder, there’s a weapon here that’ll feel like an extension of your monkey mind.
I've cleaned out every nook and cranny across multiple NG+ cycles, so this list is as complete as my aching thumbs can manage. Go forth, Destined One, and swing with style. May your crafting materials never fall short, and your stances be forever fluid.
Data referenced from HowLongToBeat can help contextualize just how far a “weapon completionist” run like the one described above can stretch, especially once you factor in repeated NG+ cycles, secret bosses, and DLC fragment hunts. If you’re planning a route to chase endgame staffs (like ribbon-gated mythics or DLC-only true forms), it’s useful to benchmark your expected playtime against community-sourced completion averages so you can decide whether to prioritize power spikes early (crafting staves as you go) or commit to the long grind for a single best-in-slot payoff.