Where Winds Meet Beginner’s Guide – Tips & Tricks For New Players

The wait is finally over, and the highly anticipated Wuxia RPG Where Winds Meet is now available for players around the globe. Given the game’s grind-heavy nature, you’ll want to optimize your progression right from the start. To help you do just that, we present our ultimate Where Winds Meet Beginner’s Guide, packed with essential tips and tricks for new players looking to start their adventure the right way. Without further ado, let's jump straight into it.

Where Winds Meet Character Slots - Can You Transfer Items?

Before you start playing, you'll need to understand how character slots work in this game. Currently, there are six character slots in Where Winds Meet, meaning you can play up to six different characters at a time. These characters act as completely independent playthroughs, and nothing is shared between them. This is important to understand, as it is beneficial to have one main character and other slots for experimentation.

Why do I say this? Because anything you unlock or purchase with real money is tied to a specific character. For example, if you buy a Battle Pass or an outfit set, it will be locked to the character you purchased it for. You cannot use items you’ve earned or bought for one character on another. Thus, when you're buying something with real money, do a double-check that you're doing it for your main char.

The same goes for progression, loot, and everything else. Each of your (up to six) characters is an isolated individual with their own stash, inventory, items, gold, cosmetics, and more. Nothing is shareable, and you cannot transfer items between characters in Where Winds Meet. The only exception is that you can purchase certain cosmetic items as gifts for other accounts, but only if you don’t already own them, according to Reddit user r398bdwd.

Which Difficulty Setting to Choose in Where Winds Meet?

The game features four difficulty settings, with three available at launch and the fourth one (Hardcore) coming at a later date. The first two, Easy and Normal, are recommended for first-time players, while the third is intended for more experienced action RPG fans. It’s important to note that in terms of loot and gameplay mechanics, all currently available difficulty levels are identical. Here they are:

• Story (Easy mode)
• Recommended (Normal mode)
• Desperate (Hard)
• Hardcore (Roguelike)

For the first three, the difference lies only in the numbers: enemies will have more health, deal more damage, and generally be harder to kill, but the core gameplay loop remains identical. The same goes for loot; you won’t receive better rewards for playing on a higher difficulty. The only incentive for tackling the hardest setting is a special badge that shows you’ve defeated specific bosses on the highest difficulty level.

When it comes to the currently unavailable Hardcore mode, what we know is that it will function like a roguelike mode, meaning it will feature permadeath. Even a single death will result in a game over for that character, and you’ll lose them permanently. Suffice it to say, you should only attempt this difficulty if you’re 100% confident in your skills and knowledge of the game.

Finally, if you’re mainly interested in story and exploration, you can enable additional assistance in the form of the auto-counter (parry assist) feature. This makes combat much easier and allows you to focus on the world around you. Keep in mind that the auto-counter feature is only available on the first two difficulty levels.

Focus on the Singleplayer Story Campaign

As you probably know, Where Winds Meet features both a single-player story and a massive shared world where you can team up with other players in guild wars, raids, and other activities, or even test your mettle against them in PvP arenas. However, no matter how exciting it may be to dive into multiplayer action right away, we strongly advise focusing on the story first.

There are over 30 hours of story content, with even more to experience once you include side activities and exploration. So take a step back and don’t rush into multiplayer just yet. There’s more than enough content in single-player. Not only will this help you learn the game, but it will also give you time to find good gear, grind resources, and get comfortable with the mechanics. Immerse yourself in the world, and the time to show other players who’s the boss in PvP will come later.

Best Early Game Martial Arts in Where Winds Meet

What you would usually call classes in traditional RPG is called Martial Arts in Where Winds Meet. However, you don't get to pick a Martial art at the start and then corner yourself into that choice. Rather, these martial arts are tied to the specific weapons you currently use. You'll find and unlock these weapons throughout the world, and then you can level them up to unlock different skills, passives, and other bonuses.

What Weapon to Unlock First

One thing that’s particularly troublesome in Where Winds Meet is the fact that there’s barely any healing in the game. Because of this, healing abilities are extremely valuable. Since you can always have up to two active martial arts weapons, it’s strongly recommended to unlock the Fan or the Umbrella as quickly as possible. These are the only two weapons in the game that offer martial arts focused on defensive and healing abilities, adding a much-needed support skill set to your build.

Out of the two, the Fan is available early in the first Qinghe region, and you’ll obtain it as a reward for completing one of the early-game quests (no spoilers). Because of this, we wholeheartedly recommend learning how to use this demanding but highly effective weapon, as it will prepare you for later challenges in the game. Invest in it, and you'll be rewarded later.

Don’t Waste Jade Resources on Cosmetics Early On

As you'll learn as soon as you start playing, Jades (green discs) are a very important resource early in the game, which you will be using for unlocking new skills with vendors. However, these can also be used to purchase cosmetic items, and many players might be lured into doing so, which would be highly unwise. Do not waste Jade on cosmetics - this is probably the most critical piece of advice in our Where Winds Meet beginner's guide.

This will significantly hinder your progression, as it will delay the unlocking of important skills that help you advance through the game. This is especially true because you need these Jade resources to unlock some Internal skills, which are skills that work with almost any weapon or martial art in the game, meaning you can incorporate them into any build you want.

Exploration is Key in Where Winds Meet

Where Winds Meet is an open-world game, one where exploring the world and uncovering its vast secrets, both big and small, is the key element not only for immersion but also for your progress and the growth of your character. In fact, there's a whole mechanics dedicated to exploration, called Exploration Experience, which rewards players for exploring the world and doing activities, mini games, solving puzzles, and completing quests.

The more you explore, the more resources and experience you’ll earn, and the stronger your character will become. So don’t be afraid to venture into the unknown and see what’s out there. You’ll be greatly rewarded both in terms of lore and gameplay.

With this, our Where Winds Meet beginner’s guide comes to an end. We hope you’ve learned a bit more about some of the game’s key aspects and that it will make your early experience much smoother once you start playing. Keep in mind that this article wasn’t conceived as a full-on wiki, but rather as a collection of helpful tips to ensure you have a smooth start.

Nevertheless, we’ll make sure to update this article regularly with more details on game mechanics and key early-game decisions. So be sure to check back if you have any other questions. And while you’re here, make sure to read our guide on everything you need to know about monetization in Where Winds Meet.

Where Winds Meet Beginner's Guide FAQ