Where Winds Meet is an open-world action RPG set in ancient China during the final years of the Ten Kingdoms period. The world is built with a lot of wuxia-style movement. The game throws a lot at you when you’re just getting started with its vast open world exploration. Combat has several layers, like basic attacks, Art Skills, and Mystic Arts. Side quests, mini-games, and exploration help build your character.
1. Game Modes
Where Winds Meet is not your typical MMO. It offers both a solo and online mode, which you can freely switch between at almost any time. Both are useful for certain aspects of progression. Solo play is what you start with from the very beginning of the game.
However, if you choose to play Journey mode (Online), you will not be able to continue the story in solo mode, and there are no mobs in Journey that you face in the regular story world. Don’t miss this detailed guide on the game modes to understand all the differences.
Solo and Co-Op Story Mode
The Solo and Co-Op Story Mode in Where Winds Meet allows players to experience the rich single-player story while offering the option to team up with friends. In solo mode, you’ll primarily follow the main storyline, complete side quests, and enjoy various mini-games, making it the core of your early gameplay experience.
Where Winds Meet supports party co-op with up to three additional players, letting you take on missions and challenges together for a more connected adventure. Go to the Mode Switch option at the top of the screen, and go to Solo and click Solo/Co-op Mode and make a room; other available co-op rooms can also be seen on this page. However, levels for both solo gameplay and co-op gameplay are different, and you can check them in the Solo screen.
Online Play
The Online Play mode in Where Winds Meet becomes available later in your adventure, offering a shift from solo storytelling to large-scale multiplayer experiences. You can unlock Online play at level 10, and to unlock it faster, do world interactions to gain more XP. While you’ll explore the same expansive map, main and side quests are disabled, making way for MMO-style gameplay.
In this mode, players can join guilds, participate in PvP battles (optional), take on group dungeons, and challenge open-world boss raids for rare loot and powerful rewards. For those aiming for the best endgame gear and resources, Online Play is where Where Winds Meet truly opens up into a shared, competitive experience.
2. Difficulty Settings
In Where Winds Meet, the game allows you to select from multiple difficulty levels: Story, Recommended, Expert, Legend, and Hardcore. You can change most difficulties anytime except Legend and Hardcore, which have special rules.
Combat
Base Difficulties
Story Difficulty
- Lowers enemy difficulty during exploration.
- Grants extra time stop, and prompts when enemies use skills (if chosen in the settings)
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Ideal for players who want to focus on story and exploration without intense combat challenges.
Recommended Difficulty
- Balanced difficulty is suggested by the developers.
- No extra time stop or skill prompts.
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Perfect for players seeking a fair and balanced challenge.
Expert Difficulty
- Enemies deal more damage and have higher health.
- Assist deflection is disabled.
- No time freezes or skill prompts.
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Recommended for players who enjoy a tougher challenge.
Tip: Story, Recommended, and Expert difficulties can be changed at any time. Experiment to find what suits you best.
world where winds meet
Special Difficulties
Legend Difficulty
- Enemies are extremely strong and have high health pools.
- Defeating bosses grants unique identifiers, badges, and cosmetic rewards.
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Extra time stop, and skill prompts are unavailable.
Important: Once you leave Legend difficulty, you cannot return to it on the same character. A new character is required to play Legend again.
Hardcore Difficulty
- The most punishing mode, where character death is permanent.
- Once selected, you cannot change this difficulty.
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You must create a new character if your Hardcore character dies.
3. Character Creation
Permanent Choices
Some elements of the character creator cannot be changed freely once you start the game:
- Gender – fully permanent after creation.
- Name – can only be changed with a Rename Certificate, a paid item available in the in-game shop.
Starting Talent
You choose a starting talent during creation. It determines your opening playstyle, giving bonuses to combat, crafting, or movement. Talents work like a small skill tree, and you will unlock more as you level up — so the starting talent shapes your early game, but doesn’t lock you into a permanent build, and the first choice is not really important.
Appearance Customization
The appearance editor is built around deep, granular control:
- Facial sliders for eyes, brows, jawline, nose, and mouth
- Body shape adjustments
- Hair, makeup, scars, and accessories
- Presets for players who prefer a faster start
AI-Assisted Tools
- Photo import to generate a character face based on your picture
- Voice generation to create a matching voice profile
- Combined AI model that builds a full appearance from both photo and voice inputs
Sharing and Importing Designs
- Export your character using a share code
- Import codes from other players to use their creations
- Adjust imported characters after loading them into the editor
4. Bosses
Boss fights Where Winds meet
Where Winds Meet offers two distinct types of bosses. While the main bosses are story-related, the optional bosses can be located while roaming the world. Defeating the story bosses allows you to progress in the main story quest.
Story Bosses
- Integral to progressing the main story.
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Must be defeated to continue the narrative.
Optional World Bosses
- Can be fought in any order—they are not tied to the story.
- Require strong combat skills to defeat.
- Shadow Puppet – Muqi is the first world boss available under the “World Bosses” tab in the journal.
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A full list of world bosses is provided, but players must locate them in the world to engage.
5. Traversal
Lightness Skill Where Winds Meet
Traversal in Where Winds Meet goes far beyond typical open-world movement, offering a true wuxia-style freedom of exploration. In addition to running, horse riding, and fast travel, players can master advanced movement abilities like parkour, triple jumps, air dashes, and wall running, all of which make navigating the world fluid and exciting.
Traversal Tips
- Master Lightness Skills: These are the most crucial movement abilities in Where Winds Meet, allowing unmatched freedom across the world.
- Soar Through the Skies: Unlock powers that let you glide and fly across vast landscapes, feeling like a true wuxia hero.
- Use Meteor Flight and Fan Glider: These early unlocks let you travel great distances quickly and explore hard-to-reach areas.
- Explore Without Limits: Once requirements are met, you can roam over mountains, rooftops, and open skies seamlessly.
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Run on Water: The water-running skill doubles as a powerful super sprint, letting you dash swiftly across rivers and lakes.
6. Combat Overview
Combat Where Winds Meet
Where Winds Meet focuses heavily on skill-based real-time combat. While the system is easy to learn, mastering it takes time and precision—especially for new players. The game offers multiple difficulty levels, including a hardcore mode designed to challenge your reflexes and timing. Combat revolves around perfect dodging, blocking, and parrying, each mapped to its own control button.
Blocking helps reduce incoming damage, but true mastery comes from learning when to dodge or parry to counter enemy attacks and gain the upper hand in battle.
7. Weapons
All Weapons
Where Winds Meet features a wide variety of weapons, including swords, twin blades, spears, fans, umbrellas, rope darts, mob blades, and bows. However, players can only equip two weapons at a time, making choice and strategy essential. Many weapons are unlocked through side content, often requiring you to study masters and learn their move sets firsthand.
Tips for Weapons
- Explore Each Weapon Type: Each category offers multiple weapons with unique playstyles and abilities.
- Choose Based on Role: Some weapons excel at DPS, others at tanking, ranged damage, or even healing support.
- Equip Strategically: Since only two weapons can be carried, select ones that complement each other and your preferred combat style.
- Unlock Through Exploration: Engage in side quests and master studies to unlock advanced weapons and techniques.
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Experiment and Adapt: Try different weapons to find the best fit for your approach to combat and traversal.
8. Parrying in Where Winds Meet
How to Parry in Where Winds Meet
- Red-glowing attacks — these can be parried.
- Gold-glowing attacks — these cannot be parried or blocked; they must be dodged.
- PC: Press E right before the attack hits
- Console: Tap R1 at the moment of impact
Practical Training Tips
If you’re having difficulty learning the precise window, the game offers a helpful tool:
- Assist Deflection (enabled by default on Story difficulty) slightly widens the parry timing.
- It’s subtle but useful for players who struggle with strict rhythm-based combat.
Limitations in MMO Mode
- Dodges
- Spacing
- Movement timing
- Learning opponent patterns
9. Dodging in Where Winds Meet
Dodging Where Winds Meet
In combat, dodging is a core survival mechanic in Where Winds Meet. A well-timed dodge lets you avoid heavy hits, slip behind enemies, and maintain momentum in fast-paced fights. Mastering dodge timing early makes tough encounters, bosses, and open-world battles far easier to manage.
How to Dodge in Where Winds Meet
Dodging allows you to quickly move out of an attack’s path by dashing in any direction at the moment the enemy’s strike is about to land. Positioning matters as much as timing.
- Gold-glowing attacks — these must be dodged. They cannot be blocked or parried.
- Red-glowing attacks — these can be parried, but dodging still works if you prefer mobility.
Most enemies signal incoming strikes with clear animations, so pay attention to their step-ins, shoulder drops, and weapon angles to judge when to move.
Controls
PC: Press Shift right before the attack connects
Console: Tap Circle at the moment of impact
Hold the dodge button to sprint or wall-stride, giving you more movement options in both exploration and combat.
Practical Movement Tips
Early enemies and low-tier elites are excellent for practicing dodge timing. Their attacks are slower and easier to read, helping you learn which direction to dash for each telegraph.
Smart dodging includes:
- Qi-based dodge control: Dash forward, backward, or sideways depending on attack type.
- Repositioning: Use dodge to circle behind enemies for counter opportunities.
- Pattern study: Many foes repeat combos, making their timing consistent.
Stamina Management
Dodging consumes stamina, so monitor your gauge closely. If you exhaust it mid-fight, you lose access to evasive movement, leaving you vulnerable to high-damage follow-ups.
10. Character Progression
There is a deep progression system at play here around multiple different types of abilities, skill trees, and many more upgrades on top that you can unlock. All of these come in handy in the open world to fight different levels of enemies.
Martial Arts
Martial Arts in Where Winds Meet are combat skills directly linked to your equipped weapons. Studying a martial art not only grants access to its weapon category but also unlocks a unique skill tree with bonuses and effects to enhance your abilities.
Get to at least level 20 with all the styles that you’re interested in. After that, you can reset them to gain 80% of the resources that you spent.
Tips for Martial Arts
- Level Up Skills: Regularly use and train martial arts to unlock new moves and strengthen your combat potential.
- Explore Skill Trees: Each martial art has its own skill tree, offering unique bonuses and effects to tailor your playstyle.
- Master Multiple Weapons: While it requires time and resources, investing in martial arts lets you eventually master all weapon types.
- Strategic Combos: Combining martial arts from different weapons can create powerful synergies in combat.
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Prioritize Favorites Early: Focus on the martial arts that complement your preferred weapons to maximize early-game effectiveness.
Internal Arts
Internal Arts are largely passive abilities that provide extra combat benefits, such as damage buffs, healing, resource generation, and other useful effects. While they often interact with martial arts, their effects can extend beyond specific weapon skills.
Tips for Internal Arts
- Trigger Effects Strategically: Many Internal Arts activate through certain actions—learn what triggers them for maximum benefit.
- Mix and Match: Combine Internal Arts that complement your weapons and playstyle to enhance overall combat efficiency.
- Enhance Build Synergy: Properly selected Internal Arts are critical for creating strong, cohesive builds.
- Focus on Core Benefits: Prioritize Internal Arts that improve your primary attack style or support your team.
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Experiment for Optimization: Test different combinations to find the Internal Arts that best amplify your preferred martial arts and weapons.
Mystic Arts
Tai Chi Mystic Art
Mystic Arts are special active abilities independent of your weapons. They include skills like fire breathing, drunken fist, AoE debuffs, and more, often unlocked through side quests or secret interactions.
Tips for Mystic Arts
- Pick by role: Choose Arts for single-target DPS, AoE, debuffs, or self-buffs based on the fight.
- Use utility too: Some Arts solve open-world puzzles or grant movement—not everything is combat.
- Unlock through exploration: Do side quests and hidden interactions to expand your Arts wheel.
- Build synergy: Pair Arts with your weapons and Martial Arts that match crit, attack speed, or cooldown needs.
Talents
Talents are part of a dedicated skill tree that grows as your character levels up. By earning skill points, you can invest in these mostly passive abilities that significantly enhance your character’s combat and exploration potential.
Tips for Talents
- Unlock Mystic Art Slots: Some talents increase the number of Mystic Arts you can equip in combat.
- Boost Core Stats: Many talents improve damage, HP, critical chance, and other key attributes.
- Strengthen Passive Effects: Even passive talents can have a major impact on overall performance.
- Plan Your Build: Allocate points strategically to create synergy between your weapons, martial arts, and Mystic Arts.
- Adapt As You Progress: Reassess talent allocation as you unlock new abilities or change your playstyle.
