World Bosses in Where Winds Meet are large fights that wait at fixed spots across the open world. Unlike the bosses at the end of a story, you find them by exploring the map, and most start as soon as you walk up to them. Beating one for the first time pays out rewards, and the fights test the same combat skills as any other boss in the game.
Region
Qinghe
Puppeteer - Sheng Wu
- Region
- Qinghe
- Location
- Verdant Wilds, south of the Verdant Wilds campfire waypoint.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qinghe, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Sleeping Daoist
- Region
- Qinghe
- Location
- Sundara Land, on Jadebrook Mountain between waypoints, near the Path of Karma Boundary Stone.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qinghe, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Puppeteer - Curtaincall
- Region
- Qinghe
- Location
- Sundara Land, on the island off its northwest coast near Floral Expanse Beyond.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qinghe, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Earth Fiend Deity
- Region
- Qinghe
- Location
- Moonveil Mountain, on the road south between Witherwilds and Peace Bell Tower.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qinghe, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Snake Doctor
- Region
- Qinghe
- Location
- Moonveil Mountain, inside the cave on the west shore of Encircling Lake.
- How to Find It
- Follow the World Boss Journal marker to the cave.
Yi Dao
- Region
- Qinghe
- Location
- Moonveil Mountain, in the Dreamscape: Blissful Retreat.
- How to Find It
- Complete the Blissful Retreat story chapter, then interact with the sword by the burned building to enter the Dreamscape.
Coffin Master
- Region
- Qinghe
- Location
- Mercyheart Monastery.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qinghe, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Region
Kaifeng
Wolf Maiden
- Region
- Kaifeng
- Location
- Granary of Plenty, on the eastern edge of Desperation Ridge.
- How to Find It
- Appears only at night. Follow the World Boss Journal marker to find her.
Twin Lions
- Region
- Kaifeng
- Location
- Granary of Plenty, south of Gracetown near the road leaving the settlement.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Kaifeng, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Ghost Master
- Region
- Kaifeng
- Location
- Mistveil Forest, within the Granary of Plenty area.
- How to Find It
- Clear the Ephemeral Blight quest chain to remove the forest’s poison fog, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Nameless General
- Region
- Kaifeng
- Location
- Jadewood Court.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Kaifeng, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Feng Ruzhi
- Region
- Kaifeng
- Location
- Roaring Sands.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Kaifeng, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Drunk Martial Artist
- Region
- Kaifeng
- Location
- Southwatch Height.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Kaifeng, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Region
Hexi
Wandering Ark
- Region
- Hexi
- Location
- Jade Gate Pass, in the Shifting Sands.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Hexi, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Moongazing Maiden
- Region
- Hexi
- Location
- Liangzhou, at Jade-Mirrored Spring.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Liangzhou, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Pocketrupt Circus
- Region
- Hexi
- Location
- Liangzhou, at Clear-Dew Terrace.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Liangzhou, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Everdeer
- Region
- Hexi
- Location
- Liangzhou, at Steed’s Pass.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Liangzhou, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Snowplum Requiem
- Region
- Hexi
- Location
- Qinchuan, at Marsh Plain.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qinchuan, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Region
Kaifeng Imperial Palace
Cat Emperor
- Region
- Kaifeng Imperial Palace
- Location
- Rear Garden.
- How to Find It
- Unlock the Imperial Palace, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Gilded Lament
- Region
- Kaifeng Imperial Palace
- Location
- Kunning Hall.
- How to Find It
- Unlock the Imperial Palace, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Ci and Cuo
- Region
- Hidden Mountain
- Location
- Suixiang, near its lakes and waterfalls.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Hidden Mountain, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Ironheart Centipede
- Region
- Hidden Mountain
- Location
- Suixiang.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Hidden Mountain, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Inkpincer Scorpion
- Region
- Hidden Mountain
- Location
- Suixiang.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Hidden Mountain and obtain the Mystic Skill Contortion first, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Cloudclutch Serpent
- Region
- Hidden Mountain
- Location
- Suixiang.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Hidden Mountain and obtain the Mystic Skill Contortion first, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Golden Colossus Taicu
- Region
- Hidden Mountain
- Location
- Heaven’s Threshold.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Hidden Mountain, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Goshawk
- Region
- Hidden Mountain
- Location
- Heaven’s Threshold.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Hidden Mountain, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Region
Qingzhou: Eastern Peak
Tidewatcher
- Region
- Qingzhou: Eastern Peak
- Location
- Qingzhou’s coastal shoals.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qingzhou at level 32 through Heaven Has No Pier and Away to Qingzhou, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Old Raftsman
- Region
- Qingzhou: Eastern Peak
- Location
- Qingzhou riverbanks.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qingzhou at level 32 through Heaven Has No Pier and Away to Qingzhou, then follow the World Boss Journal marker.
Shuttlecock Champion
- Region
- Qingzhou: Eastern Peak
- Location
- Qingzhou.
- How to Find It
- Unlock Qingzhou at level 32 through Heaven Has No Pier and Away to Qingzhou. Catch the shuttlecock that crosses the arena to start the fight.
What Sets World Bosses Apart From Other Bosses
Where Winds Meet has several kinds of boss, and it helps to know which one you're facing. Campaign Bosses come at the end of a story or region quest, and you can fight them again later as Campaign Challenges. Quest Bosses appear once inside a single story and don't return, while Moderate Talents are the final enemy guarding an outpost.
What makes World Bosses different is how you meet them. You come across them while exploring a region, not while following a story, and that sets them apart from the other kinds.
How to Find World Bosses on the Map
The World Boss page in your Journal is the easiest way to find one. It shows each World Boss on the map, so you can head straight to its spot instead of searching the whole region. For most of them, following the marker it gives you is all you need.
Most fights begin as soon as you get close enough, though a few need a specific action first. Timing matters for some as well. Certain newer World Bosses appear only at set times, and Wolf Maiden only shows up at night, so if she isn't there during the day, try again after dark.
Regions and What Unlocks Each World Boss
World Bosses are spread across Qinghe, Kaifeng, Hexi, the Kaifeng Imperial Palace, Hidden Mountain and Qingzhou: Eastern Peak. Most World Bosses only need their region unlocked, so the bosses in a region open up as soon as you can travel there.
Qingzhou: Eastern Peak opens at level 32, after you finish Heaven Has No Pier and then Away to Qingzhou, and all of its World Bosses need it unlocked first. Within Hexi, Liangzhou and Qinchuan each need their own unlock.
A few bosses need one extra step before they'll show up. Mistveil Forest is wrapped in poison fog until you clear the Ephemeral Blight quest chain, which is what unlocks Ghost Master. Yi Dao sits in the Blissful Retreat Dreamscape, which opens once you finish that story chapter and interact with the sword by the burned building. Inkpincer Scorpion and Cloudclutch Serpent need the Mystic Skill Contortion first.
How the Newer World Bosses Fight
The newer World Bosses each ask for something different, so it helps to know the trick before you go in. Some fights are about watching the battlefield. Goshawk's hammer slams throw out sparks and shrink the ground you can stand on, so you need to track the sparks as closely as the hammer itself. Golden Colossus Taicu, a hundred-metre mechanical giant, is approached by luring it into smashing the formation cores spread across the field, then climbing it when its attacks leave an opening and breaking its limb joints one at a time.
Others are about reading rhythm. Tidewatcher's stilts, spins and dance steps make its spear hard to predict, and in the second phase waves roll in from behind, which you clear with Lightness Skills while keeping up the pressure. Old Raftsman's fight takes place on drifting rafts, and at one point the camera turns side-on like an old beat 'em up. His staff switches between feints and heavy strikes, and he may drink and shift into a drunken style.
Shuttlecock Champion is a close-range fighter. She carries no weapon and works up close with kicks and takedowns, so you won't get much breathing room. The fight only begins once you catch the red-feathered shuttlecock as it crosses the arena.
Inkpincer Scorpion and Cloudclutch Serpent come down to pace. The scorpion is armoured and rooted, so you need to break through its guard, while the serpent never stops moving and you have to keep up with it. Ci and Cuo, along with Ironheart Centipede, are about the details. Watch how their parts move and aim for weak points rather than forcing your way through.
What You Get for Beating a World Boss
Beating a World Boss for the first time comes with a reward. First clears usually pay out the same core: Echo Jade, Medicinal Tales and Inner Way Note: Custom Chests, often with an accessory on top.
Those Inner Way chests are the reason to go back and clear any World Boss you skipped. If you passed one earlier, the World Boss page in the Journal will show you where it is.
Can You Fight a World Boss Again?
Each World Boss can only be beaten once in your own world, so the open-world fight is a one-time event. If you want to fight it again, head to Trials. They sit in the main menu under Wandering Paths and come with a task list and a leaderboard, so you can revisit a boss you've beaten and aim for a better result.
Each boss also has its own challenges on the Trial screen, which are often called Sword Forge Challenges. They offer an avatar, a badge and more Echo Jade.
How to Prepare for a World Boss Fight
A World Boss fight tests the same basics as any other fight: knowing when to deflect, when to dodge, and how to break an enemy's Qi so you can execute it. The Boss Dummy in the Sword Trial training ground is the best place to test a build. It comes in Timed, Fixed-HP and Free versions, lets you apply buffs, and shows damage skill by skill along with a record of your setup.
If you'd rather practise with others, the multiplayer Wooden Stake lets a team hit it together while a live damage panel tracks the results. The stake scales with the size of your team.
You don't have to fight alone. Many boss arenas have an Assist signpost that brings in a companion NPC or other players. In Solo Mode, Heroic Shadow Assist can drop another Wanderer into a boss fight to help, and helping in co-op boss fights adds to a weekly Assistance Ranking.
On Expert difficulty, the total number of revives you can use in boss challenges is limited. Going in underprepared costs more there, so the practice options above are worth using first.
FAQ
How do you unlock Inkpincer Scorpion in Where Winds Meet?
Hidden Mountain has to be unlocked first, and you also need the Mystic Skill Contortion. You get Contortion from the Tiny Adventure quest in Qinghe, which opens at level 10, so it's worth finishing before you head up to Hidden Mountain.
Who is the Shuttlecock Champion?
She is Zhu Yinghan, chief of Dragonfall Camp. Her entry is in the Journal, so the World Boss page is where to look once Qingzhou is open.
Which World Bosses came with Version 2.3 in Where Winds Meet?
Tidewatcher, Old Raftsman and Shuttlecock Champion came with Version 2.3 in Qingzhou: Eastern Peak. Golden Colossus Taicu and Goshawk arrived just before them in Version 2.2 on Hidden Mountain.
Why do some World Boss names look different online?
Some bosses have been renamed since launch, so older names still turn up. Earth Wind Deity is now Earth Fiend Deity, and Drunk Striker is now Drunk Martial Artist. You may also see Puppeteer - Overture, which is the same fight as Puppeteer - Sheng Wu in Verdant Wilds, while Puppeteer - Curtaincall in Sundara Land is a separate encounter.
