Weapons in Where Winds Meet are the fighting styles that decide how your character attacks, and each one is tied to a weapon type such as a sword, spear, fan, umbrella or rope dart. You can't simply pick up a weapon and go. You learn the martial art first, then equip a matching weapon item to use it. Each style has its own skills and role, so the one you choose shapes how you play from the start.
Martial Path
Bellstrike - Splendor
Nameless Sword
- Weapon Type
- Sword
- Partner Weapon
- Nameless Spear
- Martial Path
- Bellstrike - Splendor
- How to Unlock
- Available from the start.
Nameless Spear
- Weapon Type
- Spear
- Partner Weapon
- Nameless Sword
- Martial Path
- Bellstrike - Splendor
- How to Unlock
- Available from the start.
Martial Path
Bellstrike - Umbra
Strategic Sword
- Weapon Type
- Sword
- Partner Weapon
- Heavenquaker Spear
- Martial Path
- Bellstrike - Umbra
- How to Unlock
- Complete Skill Theft at the Strategic Sword Sanctum in southern Qinghe.
Heavenquaker Spear
- Weapon Type
- Spear
- Partner Weapon
- Strategic Sword
- Martial Path
- Bellstrike - Umbra
- How to Unlock
- Complete Skill Theft at the Raging Tides Sanctum in Qinghe, or join Raging Tides.
Martial Path
Silkbind - Jade
Vernal Umbrella
- Weapon Type
- Umbrella
- Partner Weapon
- Inkwell Fan
- Martial Path
- Silkbind - Jade
- How to Unlock
- Choose it as your first Oddity reward from Qi Sheng.
Inkwell Fan
- Weapon Type
- Fan
- Partner Weapon
- Vernal Umbrella
- Martial Path
- Silkbind - Jade
- How to Unlock
- Complete Skill Theft at the Silver Needle Sanctum or join the Silver Needle sect.
Martial Path
Silkbind - Deluge
Panacea Fan
- Weapon Type
- Fan
- Partner Weapon
- Soulshade Umbrella
- Martial Path
- Silkbind - Deluge
- How to Unlock
- Choose it as your first Oddity reward from Qi Sheng.
Soulshade Umbrella
- Weapon Type
- Umbrella
- Partner Weapon
- Panacea Fan
- Martial Path
- Silkbind - Deluge
- How to Unlock
- Complete Skill Theft at Soulshade Umbrella Post Station in eastern Kaifeng.
Martial Path
Silkbind - Wings
Museflow Waist Drum
- Weapon Type
- Waist Drum
- Partner Weapon
- Willowbend Fan
- Martial Path
- Silkbind - Wings
- How to Unlock
- Complete Qingzhou Jianghu Legacy Volume II: Sea Shepherd.
Willowbend Fan
- Weapon Type
- Fan
- Partner Weapon
- Museflow Waist Drum
- Martial Path
- Silkbind - Wings
- How to Unlock
- Complete Qingzhou Jianghu Legacy Volume I: Riddled Echoes.
Martial Path
Stonesplit - Might
Thundercry Blade
- Weapon Type
- Mo Blade
- Partner Weapon
- Stormbreaker Spear
- Martial Path
- Stonesplit - Might
- How to Unlock
- Choose it as your first Oddity reward from Qi Sheng, or complete Skill Theft at the Well of Heaven Martial Camp in Kaifeng.
Stormbreaker Spear
- Weapon Type
- Spear
- Partner Weapon
- Thundercry Blade
- Martial Path
- Stonesplit - Might
- How to Unlock
- Reach level 3 to receive it in your in-game mail.
Martial Path
Stonesplit - Strength
Snowparting Blade
- Weapon Type
- Heng Blade
- Partner Weapon
- Phalanxbane Blade
- Martial Path
- Stonesplit - Strength
Phalanxbane Blade
- Weapon Type
- Mo Blade
- Partner Weapon
- Snowparting Blade
- Martial Path
- Stonesplit - Strength
Martial Path
Bamboocut - Wind
Infernal Twinblades
- Weapon Type
- Dual Blades
- Partner Weapon
- Mortal Rope Dart
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Wind
- How to Unlock
- Choose it as your first Oddity reward from Qi Sheng, or complete Skill Theft at Midnight Mercy Sanctum in Qinghe.
Mortal Rope Dart
- Weapon Type
- Rope Dart
- Partner Weapon
- Infernal Twinblades
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Wind
- How to Unlock
- Use a disguise to enter the Nine Mortal Ways Martial Hall in Kaifeng City and complete Skill Theft.
Martial Path
Bamboocut - Dust
Everspring Umbrella
- Weapon Type
- Umbrella
- Partner Weapon
- Unfettered Rope Dart
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Dust
- How to Unlock
- Complete the exploration quest Skill Theft: Unearned Lesson, then the Everspring Umbrella - Sanctum quest.
Unfettered Rope Dart
- Weapon Type
- Rope Dart
- Partner Weapon
- Everspring Umbrella
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Dust
- How to Unlock
- Complete the exploration quest Skill Theft: Unearned Lesson, then the Unfettered Rope Dart - Sanctum quest.
Martial Path
Bamboocut - Kite
Heavenwill Gauntlets
- Weapon Type
- Gauntlets
- Partner Weapon
- Skygrasp Rope Dart
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Kite
- How to Unlock
- Join Mohist Hill or obtain it from the Universal Love Shop in the sect shop.
Skygrasp Rope Dart
- Weapon Type
- Rope Dart
- Partner Weapon
- Heavenwill Gauntlets
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Kite
- How to Unlock
- Complete Hidden Mountain Main Chapter 2: Haven Astray.
Martial Path
Bamboocut - Draught
Skystrike Gauntlets
- Weapon Type
- Gauntlets
- Partner Weapon
- Riven Twinblades
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Draught
- How to Unlock
- Defeat Jiu Qiansui in the Hidden Mountain Martial Fellowship, then hear his full story.
Riven Twinblades
- Weapon Type
- Dual Blades
- Partner Weapon
- Skystrike Gauntlets
- Martial Path
- Bamboocut - Draught
- How to Unlock
- Complete the Qinghe Jianghu Legacy Echoes of Old Battles, then hear Li Yangui recount the past.
What Weapons Are in Where Winds Meet
The melee weapons in Where Winds Meet include the sword, spear, fan, umbrella, rope dart, dual blades, Mo Blade and Heng Blade. Gauntlets arrived with Version 2.0 and the waist drum with Version 2.3, so they came later than the rest. Gauntlets lean on fast combos and heavy hits, while the waist drum has you strike the drum in time with the music.
Each weapon type holds one or more martial arts, and that's what you're really choosing between. Bows sit in their own branch of the game, separate from martial arts.
How Martial Arts and Weapon Items Work Together
Learning a martial art is only half the job. Once you've learned a style, you still need an actual weapon item that matches it, which you can find through exploration, chests, outposts or quest rewards. You then equip the style in the Martial Arts menu, and the game asks you to pick the weapon for it.
You can have more than one martial art equipped at a time. If styles share the same weapon type, you can switch between them without re-equipping the weapon item. It's still worth comparing their stats and bonuses, since some weapons suit one style better than another. Some Inner Ways only work with certain martial arts, so your choice affects your whole build.
How Weapon Paths Work
Weapons are grouped into paths, and each path is a matched set of specific martial arts that work well together. Paths sort into four families: Bellstrike, Silkbind, Stonesplit and Bamboocut.
Bellstrike focuses on mobile melee. Splendor is quick on its feet and strong against a single target, while Umbra leans on wounds and bleeds that wear enemies down over time. Silkbind is built around fans and umbrellas. Deluge is the support path for healing and buffs, Jade is ranged and highly mobile, and Wings adds the waist drum alongside a fan.
Stonesplit is built for holding the front line. Might pairs tanky styles with shields, damage reduction and wide area attacks, while Strength brings together the Snowparting Blade and the Phalanxbane Blade. Bamboocut brings rope darts, gauntlets, twinblades and an umbrella into its paths. Its Wind path is built for speed and sustained melee damage, though it has little built-in survivability.
Stick with one path when you can. Some path effects carry over when you swap weapons, so pairing styles from the same path and role is usually the cleanest approach.
How to Unlock Weapons With Skill Theft
Skill Theft is a stealth mission where you sneak into a sanctum or hall, watch a master use their style, then finish a timing mini-game to learn it. Many of the more advanced styles sit in locked sanctums and guarded halls, so this is a common route. Starting a mission takes a few menu steps. Open the Develop menu, pick one of your martial art slots, and go into the Martial Arts menu. Select the style you want and choose Obtain, which places a mission marker on your map.
Travel to the marker and use Dragon Keys on any mechanisms that block underground areas, then sneak through without being spotted. Along the way, open side chests, since they can hold weapon items that match the style. At the observation point, watch the master and press when a golden ring appears around their moves. Finish by leaving the base.
Stealth Mystic Arts such as Veil of Stillness and Touch of Death make these infiltrations much easier, so progress is smoother if you get them before tackling the harder sanctums. The Mortal Rope Dart route is more involved than the rest, since you need a disguise before you can get in.
Other Ways to Get Weapons: Sects, Quests and Mail
Sects teach some styles as well. Raging Tides teaches Heavenquaker Spear, Silver Needle teaches Inkwell Fan, Well of Heaven teaches Thundercry Blade, and Nine Mortal Ways teaches Mortal Rope Dart. Heavenwill Gauntlets is tied to Mohist Hill, and you can also buy it from the Universal Love Shop there.
Many of the newer styles come from quests and story chapters tied to specific regions. Skygrasp Rope Dart comes from the Hidden Mountain main chapter Haven Astray, which is the easiest of these to pick up because it sits on the way into Hidden Mountain anyway. Skystrike Gauntlets comes from beating Jiu Qiansui in the Hidden Mountain Martial Fellowship and then hearing his story. Riven Twinblades comes from the Echoes of Old Battles legacy quest in Qinghe, followed by hearing Li Yangui recount the past.
Qingzhou's Jianghu Legacy quests lead to the Museflow Waist Drum and the Willowbend Fan. Qingzhou has to be unlocked first, which takes character level 32 and finishing the Qinghe main chapter Heaven Has No Pier. Stormbreaker Spear is a free reward that waits in your in-game mail once you reach level 3, sent by the Raging Tides General. The Bamboocut - Dust styles start with an exploration quest called Skill Theft: Unearned Lesson, which leads into a sanctum quest for each style.
Which Weapons Are Best to Pick First
Early in Qinghe you meet Qi Sheng, the collector of Oddities. Turn in your first Oddity and you can choose Panacea Fan, Thundercry Blade, Infernal Twinblades or Vernal Umbrella as your reward. That choice matters, because some of these would otherwise sit behind later Kaifeng content.
For most players, Panacea Fan is the strongest early pick, thanks to its sustain and safety. It heals an area, heals you along with your lowest-health ally, and can revive fallen teammates. That makes it especially useful when healing items are scarce.
If long-term access matters more, Thundercry Blade and Vernal Umbrella are worth weighing. Thundercry Blade is a heavy sword that raises a shield, pulls enemies in, then sets off a wide area attack. Vernal Umbrella becomes a floating turret that keeps firing while you swap weapons, and it can immobilize most non-boss enemies.
Infernal Twinblades suits anyone who wants an aggressive melee style very early. Attacking fills a Karmic Flame meter, and spending the whole meter gives you a temporary boost to crit rate and damage while partly ignoring incoming damage. The Nameless styles are another easy start. Nameless Sword is your starting style, Nameless Spear is available from the start too, and both are forgiving while you learn how Skill Theft works.
If you'd rather hold the front line, Stormbreaker Spear pairs well with Thundercry Blade. Stormbreaker taunts enemies so they turn toward you, and it knocks targets down to set up follow-up damage.
How Martial Arts Level Up
Every martial art levels up with Zhou Coins and training items that drop from enemies. A style can't go higher than your character level, and every 10 levels you hit a breakthrough that needs training items, Zhou Coins and Tips to clear. Upgrading improves both damage and utility, so a style that grants a shield gets a stronger shield as you level it. Tips can only be bought in limited amounts each week, so put them into the styles you use most.
FAQ
Which weapon is best for healing in Where Winds Meet?
The two Deluge styles, Panacea Fan and Soulshade Umbrella, are the healing weapons, and Soulshade Umbrella works in a different way from Panacea Fan. Its projectiles can seek out allies who need healing, and one of its skills plants the umbrella as a stationary support turret while you switch to another weapon. You get it through Skill Theft at Soulshade Umbrella Post Station in eastern Kaifeng.
Where do I get Dragon Keys in Where Winds Meet?
You collect them by clearing outposts. It helps to build up a stock before you go after the advanced styles, since some sanctums need a key to get in.
How do I get the Mortal Rope Dart in Where Winds Meet?
Head to the Nine Mortal Ways martial hall in southern Kaifeng City, where a guard will stop you. Go to Lin's Cosmetics in the Fairgrounds, southeast of the city, and finish a request from Wuyan to unlock disguise crafting. Then find a Nine Mortal Ways disciple sitting outside the hall, create a portrait of him, and bring it back to Wuyan for a matching disguise. Take a different route back to the hall, since bumping into the real disciple will break the disguise.
When can I start Skill Theft missions in Where Winds Meet?
You need to reach character level 8 and visit the Peace Bell Tower in southwest Qinghe. That visit opens your first Skill Theft mission, which teaches Veil of Stillness, a Mystic Art that supports stealth. Learning it early makes the later sanctums much easier to handle.
