Advanced Weapons for Followers

By Evil Chris Priestly

A little known fact in Jade Empire is that you can upgrade certain followers' weapons from your basic Elbow Strike level to a Cranium Splintering Assault of Ancestor-Jarring White-Knuckle Justice level. We asked Evil Chris Priestly from our Quality Assurance team to give us the goods on getting the upgrades for Dawn Star, Silk Fox, and the master of disaster himself, Black Whirlwind.

Dawn Star

Basic Weapon: Gujin's Favor

This blade is surprisingly keen and well balanced considering its humble origins. A standard militia blade, it was carried from the abandoned town of Broken Path by Gujin, the guard who would become weapon master of Two Rivers. Since then, the blade has been carefully rebalanced, honed, and cared for like a treasured heirloom. While it is not inherently magical, the blade seems to never lose its edge. Dawn Star keeps it with her as a reminder of the only place she ever felt she could call home.

Advanced Weapon: Thorn and Shining Carp

This blade is claimed by two legends, one from the Prosperous East and one from the Golden Delta. In the first, a flower girl was wronged by an official, and an outlaw incited revenge for his own purposes. Trapping the official, the woman beat him savagely with a bouquet of roses, the thorns raking eyes and skin. An observing fox spirit frowned on hatred abusing such beauty and transformed the flowers into a sword. The official was killed, leaving the woman to ponder the hardening of her heart. In the second tale, an outlaw instead urged restraint and suggested asking the river for guidance. A golden carp answered the woman's plea and, as it swam by, the sun on its scales took the shape of a blade that fell in the shallows at her feet. She took up arms in the spirit of justice and order was restored. Stories--and people--change with the influence that others bring.

Location: After the scene where Dawn Star sees the ghost, instead of heading left down the stairs to the bridge, head right down the stairs. The chest is invisible and is sitting behind the fountain. Walk near it and it will appear.

Silk Fox

Basic Weapon: Captain's Blade

When a soldier becomes Captain in the Imperial Army he is awarded one of these masterwork blades. Carefully balanced and made of the keenest steel, these deadly badges of honor are borne only by the best soldiers in the Empire; all except this particular blade, of course. Purloined from her father's armory, this blade has been at Silk Fox's side for many years, and in her hands it moves with deadly precision.

Advanced Weapon: Blade of the Broken Bough

The story of the Broken Bough is a sad page in the history of the Jade Empire. When Emperor Zuwan, ninth emperor in the time of divisions, died suddenly with no heir, his wife, Seng Si, assumed the throne to prevent chaos. Though respected, she was seen as merely a ceremonial caretaker. When war erupted a decade later the Imperial Army would not follow her orders, so she took up a sword and asked instead that they follow her lead. Emperors lead armies only in legends; Seng Si's commitment stunned her detractors, and her death shamed the nation. Seng Si the Broken Bough changed the face of the Imperial court, though the relics of her rule were never displayed.

Location: Same as the Dawn Star entry above. Note, you must choose either Dawn Star or Silk Fox at this point and so only one of the two can get their advanced weapon.

Black Whirlwind

Basic Weapon: The Twins

Like two old friends who happen to have razor sharp edges, Whirlwind's axes have been with him a long time. According to their engravings, they're called "Left" and "Right," though some suspect the names to be little more than a mnemonic. Whirlwind simply thinks of these axes as "The Twins" and considers them his most valuable--and possibly only--possessions. They may lack an epic history, but in Whirlwind's hands they're unquestionably deadly.

Advanced Weapon: Maker's Bane and Placid Guiju

Maker's Bane was forged from a falling star that tore from the heavens as the Celestial Dragon shaped the world. The loss of life resulting from its use is thoroughly predictable.

Placid Guiju is a sepulcher for the God of Agricultural Poetry. Guiju of Words and Land transformed into a plowshare to aid the workers of the Golden Delta, but was trapped when the farmers remade their tools into weapons to repel invading Horselords. Pounding plowshare to sword might have held ironic appeal, but being an axe causes injury to Guiju's poetic sensibilities. The effectiveness of this blade is agony for his gentle spirit, an insult that will eventually destroy him and strip "field verse" from the Lexicon of the Ages. It also makes the wielder slightly giddy.

Location: After the scene with Black Whirlwind and Hou, the combat with Assassins will begin. In the opening room (not behind you down the stairs) to the player's left, is an invisible chest against the wall between two of the standing towers. Walk near it and it will appear.

Want to comment on this article or read what others have to say about it? Join the official discussion!