Beginner's Guide

Where Winds Meet is an open-world Wuxia RPG developed by NetEase, set in the tumultuous era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (10th century China). As a wandering martial artist, you will explore a vast and beautifully rendered world inspired by classical Chinese landscape paintings.

After creating your character, you will begin in the prologue region which serves as a tutorial area. Take your time here to learn the fundamental combat mechanics, movement systems, and basic crafting. The prologue introduces you to the game's core philosophy: mastery comes through practice and exploration.

Pay close attention to the dialogues with NPCs during the early story. Many key game mechanics - such as the Jianghu reputation system and mental energy management - are introduced organically through story beats. Missing these tutorials can make the early game feel overwhelming.

Your first major decision is choosing a starting class. While you can change classes later in the game, your initial choice determines your early combat style and the first few hours of gameplay. We recommend trying each class in the practice arena before committing.

Where Winds Meet features a deep martial arts combat system built around light attacks, heavy attacks, parries, and dodges. Each class has unique combo chains that flow from basic inputs. Timing your inputs precisely activates enhanced versions of moves with additional damage and effects.

The parry system is central to high-level combat. Pressing the block button at the exact moment an enemy attack lands triggers a perfect parry, which negates all incoming damage and opens a brief counterattack window. Some elite enemies and bosses can only be efficiently damaged after a successful parry.

Martial Skills (Qinggong) allow vertical and horizontal mobility - wall-running, grappling, and aerial dashes are essential for both exploration and combat. Practice these movement skills early, as many hidden areas and collectibles require advanced traversal techniques.

The stance system adds another layer to combat. Each class can switch between offensive and defensive stances, altering available moves and passive bonuses. Learning when to switch stances mid-combo is key to maximizing your damage output and survivability.

Follow the main storyline through the first three chapters before venturing into side content. The main quest unlocks essential features like the homestead system, crafting stations, and fast travel points. Skipping ahead to side activities without these systems can slow your overall progress.

Experience is earned through combat, quest completion, discovering new locations, and successful crafting attempts. The game rewards exploration heavily - wandering off the beaten path often leads to hidden training manuals, rare crafting materials, and unique NPC encounters that grant bonus experience.

Manage your Mental Energy (精神力) carefully in the early game. Mental Energy governs your ability to learn new techniques and craft high-quality items. It regenerates slowly over time and can be restored with specific consumables. Avoid wasting it on low-value crafts early on.

Join a sect or school as soon as the option becomes available. Sect membership provides access to exclusive training, unique equipment blueprints, and a network of NPCs who offer additional quests. Each sect has its own storyline and reputation track.

Don't rush through dialogue. Where Winds Meet's story contains critical hints about boss weaknesses, hidden quest triggers, and optimal exploration routes. Many players miss important clues by skipping through conversations too quickly.

Upgrade your weapons before your armor in the early game. Enemies deal manageable damage if you learn to parry, but killing them faster reduces the margin for error. A well-upgraded weapon makes most early encounters significantly easier.

Explore every region thoroughly before moving on. Each area contains a set of collectible training scrolls that permanently improve your character's base stats. These bonuses are small individually but add up significantly over the course of the game.

Use the Jianghu system to build relationships with key NPCs early. High reputation with the right characters unlocks exclusive shops, additional quest lines, and powerful allies who can assist you in difficult combat encounters.

Save your premium currency (Gold Ingots) for inventory expansion and the eventual class change feature. Cosmetic items are tempting but provide no gameplay advantage, and most can be earned through regular gameplay over time.

Practice your combos in the training ground accessible from any major town. The training dummies display real-time damage numbers and combo counters, helping you optimize your skill rotation without wasting resources in the field.