How to get the Wood Talisman in Sifu

If you’ve looked at the trophy list for Sifu, you’ve probably seen mention of the five Talismans: Wood, Fire, Water, Metal, and Earth. But getting them is a bit tricky, and it requires a spoiler. Consider this your spoiler warning before we tell you how to get the first Talisman.

Once you’ve beaten final boss Yang and finished Sifu, you’ll get a short ending implying that mercy is the true measure of strength. To get the Wood Talisman, you need to spare the first boss, Fajar. First, however, you need to know how to beat the Botanist — you can’t pull this off until the second phase of the fight.

Once the battle moves to the bamboo forest, you can start working toward getting the Talisman. To do so, you first need to fill up Fajar’s structure meter and break his defenses. Focus on parrying and countering over dealing straight damage to build it up quickly. When he breaks and becomes vulnerable to a takedown, do not use one. Instead, wait for him to recover. The structure meter will still be just about full, so get in a few more hits to break his defense again. At this point, you’ll get a new option to spare him.

Press that button, and you’ll walk away from the fight, sparing Fajar and earning the Wood Talisman. It doesn’t give you wood-based powers or anything like that, but it will make you feel pretty accomplished.