As we inch closer to the global release of Where Winds Meet, the historical Chinese Wuxia RPG, many players are asking the same question: Is Where Winds Meet P2W? Being an F2P game and having NetEase as its publisher, players are understandably cautious about the game’s monetization structure. Read on as we share everything we currently know about Where Winds Meet’s gacha system and explore whether there are any pay-to-win elements to worry about.
Is Where Winds Meet Pay-to-Win?
No, Where Winds Meet is not a P2W game. In fact, nothing you can purchase is tied to gameplay in any way. You can’t buy better weapons or gear with real money, you can’t restore stamina with money, and you can’t speed up progression. Nothing you purchase can make your character stronger or overpowered just by spending cash. To emphasize once again: Where Winds Meet is categorically not a pay-to-win game.
Where Winds Meet Microtransactions - What Can You Buy With Real Money
So, if you can’t pay to win in Where Winds Meet, what can you buy with real money? To put it simply, you can use real money to purchase premium currency, which is only used to buy cosmetic items. As one player put it, this is more of a pay-to-look-nice game. You can purchase unique outfits, creative weapon skins, mounts, and full cosmetic sets. Everything you buy is purely cosmetic.
Can You Earn Outfits and Skins Without Paying?
Yes, you can obtain outfits and skins in Where Winds Meet without paying a single dime! According to the developers, you can unlock complete outfits, accessories, and other cosmetic items for free simply by playing and participating in events. There are also plenty of quests that reward you with skins and outfits, so you’ll have a lot to unlock just by enjoying the game.
Where Winds Meet Battle Pass Explained
As you might have heard, there will be a Battle Pass system in Where Winds Meet. As is standard practice in the industry, the Battle Pass will have free and paid tiers. You can purchase the paid tier with real money (by using premium currency), and you will earn some exclusive skins and other cosmetics through it. The only thing that even slightly resembles P2W is a less-than-full Xinli bar regeneration, which you get via the premium Battle Pass.
Xinli is the energy system in Where Winds Meet, which essentially time-gates the best rewards from PvE and PvP boss battles, but the amount of energy you gain through the battle pass is negligible. It doesn’t really affect your overall experience unless you’re grinding nonstop and playing 24/7. As one Chinese player explained, the paid version gives you only about 1.5% more loot boxes over 60 days compared to the free version.
Is Where Winds Meet Gacha?
Having a gacha system in Where Winds Meet would certainly push the game toward a P2W experience. Luckily, there is no character or weapon gacha in Where Winds Meet. All weapons in the game are obtained simply by playing and progressing through the content. The same goes for characters; there are no unique characters you can pull from loot boxes. You play a single character, which you create at the start of the game.
The only things that are randomized in Where Winds Meet are enemy drops (just like in any other RPG) and a handful of cosmetic items you can obtain from what are essentially loot boxes for weapon skins and outfits. And that’s it. You can spend real money only on cosmetic gacha boxes, nothing that affects gameplay or gives you any competitive advantage, and which would make Where Winds Meet P2W.
Where Winds Meet Monetization FAQ
Only cosmetic items, including weapon skins, outfit sets, mounts, battle pass, and more.
No, you can play the entire story and experience everything the game has to offer completely free-to-play. There is no pay-walled progression and no content locked behind payments.
Yes, which you can purchase for real money, but you can only use it to buy cosmetic items.
No, gameplay gear affects your character, but paid outfits are purely cosmetic. They do not affect gameplay mechanics in any way.
Nikola has been playing video games since his father bought him an NES and a Sega Mega Drive in the early 1990s. Over the years, he has mainly become a PC gamer with a love for narrative-driven RPGs, real-time strategy games, and psychological/survival horror titles. Still, he enjoys any game that’s worth his time.
