Where Winds Meet is a massive open-world Wuxia RPG with deep action combat, layered exploration systems, and enough side activities to overwhelm any new player. Because the game barely explains many of its mechanics, it’s very easy to lose time, waste resources, or progress inefficiently without realizing it. This guide covers the most important mistakes players make early on, why they matter, and what to do instead so you can get a smoother and more rewarding first playthrough.

The goal is to help you avoid common pitfalls in combat, resource management, exploration, and progression, while also giving you a clearer sense of what the game expects from you at each stage. Whether you want to focus on the story, explore freely, or build the perfect martial arts setup, avoiding these missteps will save you a lot of frustration down the line.

Overusing Pillow Powder Early On

Pillow Powder restores 60 Energy per use, but using too much of it early will work against you later. Energy is the core resource used to claim rewards in repeatable content like Outposts, Sword Trials, and Wandering Path bosses, so the closer you are to endgame, the more value you extract per Energy spent. During the early levels, you are replacing gear quickly and haven’t reached the point where Energy efficiently translates into long-term upgrades.

Instead of burning through your limited stock early, rely on natural Energy regeneration and use Pillow Powder only when chasing very specific upgrades or when your gear is already close to its “final” pre-endgame state. The item becomes exponentially more valuable once you begin farming high-level enhancements or trying to perfect specific builds, so saving it makes a significant difference.

Ignoring Your Current Energy Cap and Letting It Overflow

Energy regenerates over time, and once you hit the cap, any additional regeneration is wasted. New players often make the mistake of “saving” their Energy for later but end up losing hundreds of points to overflow without realizing it. Since Energy cannot be stored past the cap, you should always spend enough of it every day to keep the regeneration going.

Running a few quick Wandering Path bosses, clearing a couple of Outposts, or joining a Sword Trial is usually enough to drop your Energy below the limit. Since these activities provide strong rewards and help gear progression, spending Energy regularly is both efficient and necessary. Use Pillow Powder only when you have a clear target, never just to dump Energy before bed.

Not Completing Outposts and Sword Trials

Many new players focus solely on quests and exploration, forgetting that Outposts and Sword Trials play a key role in account progression. Even if you prefer solo play, these modes are worth completing because they provide:

• First-clear rewards
• Dragon Keys for unlocking Martial Arts and dungeons
• Inner Way (Internal Art) unlocks tied to specific challenges
• Strong gear options as you move into higher levels

Sword Trials, in particular, are often avoided by players who dislike multiplayer, but even running them with AI teammates provides valuable Echo Jade and consistent early-game upgrades. These activities help you grow much faster than grinding enemies around the world or relying exclusively on story progression.

Not Upgrading Weapons, Gear, and Martial Arts Early

Exploring and completing quests will only take you so far without upgrading your Martial Arts, Internal Arts, and equipment. Many beginners wait too long to start tuning their build, leaving damage, survivability, and utility upgrades sitting unused.

Weapons should be upgraded regularly, especially if you rely on their specific Martial Arts to manage healing, burst damage, or defense. The same applies to your armor and accessories, which gain meaningful stats through enhancement materials sold by many regional vendors.

You should also keep track of gear above level 41 instead of recycling it immediately. These pieces are needed for the tuning system later on, and prematurely dismantling them can slow your build progression significantly.

Not Managing Injuries and Ignoring the Medic Profession

Injuries can stay hidden in the UI, and players often don’t notice why their stamina recovery or damage seems slower. A broken bone, headache, or internal injury can each apply penalties that hinder movement and combat efficiency. While some minor injuries heal over time, many do not.

Visiting a clinic early, especially the first one accessed through the story, is essential. You can get treatment immediately, upgrade your Medicine Chest, and learn how to craft better Wound Balms. Unlocking the healer profession also allows you to craft improved healing items (like higher-tier balms) and significantly boosts your survivability, especially if you’re learning to manage bosses alone.

Focusing Only on Main Quests or Only on Side Quests

Where Winds Meet has a rhythm built around alternating between main story progress and side content. Focusing exclusively on one path tends to create bottlenecks: story quests eventually require a higher level, while side quests alone will leave you missing important unlocks.

A balanced approach works best. Use main quests to unlock core systems, new regions, and major features like the Wandering Path. Then switch to side quests whenever you hit the level cap for your next main mission. This not only maintains steady progression but also exposes you to new towns, vendors, and mechanics that the story alone will not reveal quickly.

Ignoring the Oddity System

Oddities, represented by butterflies, crickets, and purple flowers, are easy to overlook, especially since they only show up on your minimap. But collecting them is one of the most efficient ways to gain permanent account-wide stats. Each type boosts a different attribute, and over time these passive bonuses can drastically enhance your performance.

You should make an effort to stop for Oddities whenever you spot them, especially early on. Turning them in at the Oddity vendor in Bamboo Abode unlocks additional upgrades, increases your drop rates from exploration, and improves your overall progression speed.

Not Opening Shrines During Exploration

Shrines are scattered throughout the world and often appear unreachable or inactive, leading many beginners to ignore them entirely. In reality, most of them can be opened by finding the nearby circular stone dial and triggering a ground-slam on it. These Shrines contain Echo Jade, resources, and exploration bonuses, making them one of the easiest ways to build up your account without investing Energy.

Whenever you see a Shrine, take the time to investigate the surroundings. Missing these adds up quickly, especially if you enjoy roaming the open world early on.

Button-Mashing Instead of Learning Combat Flow

Where Winds Meet uses an action combat system with parries, counters, directional dodges, and weapon-specific combos. Button-mashing works for the first region, but it quickly becomes inefficient as bosses begin using unblockable attacks, charged skills, and multi-stage combos.

Learning how to react to the three major attack indicators, such as red (parry), yellow (dodge), and white (optional parry/dodge), is essential for surviving harder encounters. You should also get comfortable with the dual-weapon switch skill, which lets you swap weapons without losing momentum and immediately trigger the secondary weapon’s special benefits. This is key when using fans for on-demand healing or mixing weapons for damage cycles.

Picking the Wrong Weapon Early

Early on, you get to choose between four weapons offered by an NPC. Choosing the Dual Blades or Fan is a common mistake because both can be unlocked early through normal gameplay. Instead, picking the Spear or Umbrella saves hours of progression while giving you rare options that significantly expand your combat flexibility later. If you choose one of the easily obtainable weapons, you’re effectively wasting a valuable early-game shortcut.

Not Paying Attention to Vendors and Their Rotating Stock

Vendors across the world sell important upgrade materials for weapons, accessories, and armor, as well as items tied to unlocking sects and Mystic Arts. New players often ignore these shops, assuming exploration alone is enough, but many upgrades and unlocks are faster and easier through vendors.

Several sects also require you to buy specific drinks, herbs, or interactables from vendors to trigger their recruitment conditions. Checking shops frequently is one of the simplest ways to speed up your progression.

Where Winds Meet offers a huge amount of freedom, but that also means it gives players plenty of opportunities to level inefficiently or delay key upgrades without knowing it. By managing your Energy wisely, keeping up with both Outposts and Sword Trials, collecting Oddities, balancing quests, and learning the core combat flow early, your progression will feel smoother and more rewarding throughout the journey.

If you plan to play Where Winds Meet on PC, BlueStacks remains one of the most reliable options once mobile availability arrives. The improved performance, sharper visuals, and precise controls make exploration, combat, and platforming much more comfortable, especially on mid-range machines that may struggle with the native PC client.