Where Winds Meet Guide#
Where Winds Meet is a free-to-play open-world wuxia action-adventure RPG developed by NetEase’s Everstone Studio (headquartered in Hangzhou) and billed by its publisher as the world’s first original wuxia open-world action-adventure RPG. It is set during China’s Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (the 10th century) and runs on NetEase’s in-house Messiah engine. The global version launched simultaneously on PC and PlayStation 5 on November 14, 2025, later arriving on mobile and Xbox; in August 2026 NetEase announced that the game had passed 100 million players worldwide.
One common misconception worth clearing up first: the game is officially positioned as not being a “soulslike.” NetEase’s investor-relations messaging emphasizes multiple difficulty tiers and accessibility for newcomers. Plenty of guides online approach the title as a hardcore action game, which does not match its official positioning.
Every piece of content in this section is based on public material verified on October 9, 2026, drawn from official store pages, NetEase’s investor-relations site, the official website, Wikipedia and mainstream games media. Wherever no verifiable information exists for a mechanical detail, the page says so outright — this site does not speculate.
Section Guide#
| Sub-section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Beginner Basics | Starting identity choice, dual-mode switching, official system requirements |
| World Map | Verified regions including Qinghe, Kaifeng, Hexi and Hidden Mountain |
| Boss Guides | Confirmed bosses such as Shadishen, the Black Wealth God and Qianye, plus their instance entrances |
| Builds | Weapon and martial-arts style pairings, set-effect reference |
| Combat System | Weapon swapping, Mystic Arts combat use, the Qi Deviation mechanic |
| Skills Explained | The three progression systems: Martial Arts, Mystic Arts and Inner Arts |
| World and Lore | The Five Dynasties setting, the origin of the name, verified characters |
| Items and Equipment | Weapon catalogue, equipment sets, resonance upgrades |
| Resources Explained | Verified resources such as Copper Coins, Zhenyu and Inner Arts Insights, and their uses |
| Resource Farming | Routes for core materials and weekly shop planning |
| FAQ | Questions about platforms, specs, region locks and cross-play |
| Practical Tips | Handling Qi Deviation, weekly purchase limits, exploration advice |
| Secrets | Hidden surprises in Hidden Mountain, the Ghost Market, Mystic Arts puzzles |
| Version Updates | The real update timeline from the Chinese open beta through Version 2.2 |
| Endgame Content | Team raids, guild wars and the high-difficulty content of the Hidden Mountain finale |
| Multiplayer | Switching between Lone Wanderer and Shared Jianghu, teaming up, cross-platform co-op |
| Performance Optimization | Official system requirements and launch-window performance state |
| Limited-Time Events | The launch season, the Ghost Month event and the 100-Million-Wanderers Celebration |
| Challenge Modes | The Taiping Mausoleum challenge stage, Shadi Thunderclap and guild wars |
| Scene Gallery | Scenes officially described to date: Bianjing, the Ghost Market, Hidden Mountain |
Game Overview#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chinese / English title | Where Winds Meet (Yanyun Shiliu Sheng) |
| Genre | Open-world wuxia action-adventure RPG (officially described as not a “soulslike”) |
| Setting | China’s Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (10th century) |
| Developer | Everstone Studio (a NetEase studio based in Hangzhou) |
| Publisher | NetEase Games (worldwide); Taiwan publishing handled by Longyi Games |
| Engine | Messiah, NetEase’s in-house engine — not Unreal Engine 5 |
| Business model | Free-to-play; no pay-to-win is promised, all gameplay content is free, purchases are cosmetic only |
| Global release date | November 14, 2025 (PC: Steam / Epic / official launcher, plus PlayStation 5) |
| Current platforms | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Cloud, iOS, Android (no PS4, no Switch) |
| Game modes | Single-player (Lone Wanderer) and online (Shared Jianghu), switchable at any time; parties of up to 4 |
| Language support | 9 languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil) |
| Content scale | 20+ regions, over 10,000 unique NPCs, 40+ Mystic Arts, more than 150 hours of narrative content |
| Map size | Roughly 20 square kilometres in real-world terms |
Release and Platform Timeline#
Version rollout dates differ widely, and many older guides lump them together. The timeline below comes entirely from official and verifiable sources:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| December 27, 2024 | Chinese mainland PC open beta |
| January 9, 2025 | Chinese-server iOS / Android permanent launch |
| July 24–31, 2025 | Global final closed beta |
| November 14, 2025 | Global launch: Steam / Epic / official launcher plus PlayStation 5, opening Season 1: Blade Out |
| December 12, 2025 | Global mobile launch on iOS / Android |
| June 8, 2026 | Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud go live (2 a.m. UTC+8), added to Xbox Game Pass at launch |
Two caveats worth noting. First, at launch the game was a timed console exclusive on PS5 (for at least six months); the Xbox version only arrived afterwards. Second, the Steam international version is IP-locked against mainland China, and the Chinese and international servers share neither save data nor content pacing.
Weapon Types#
The game shipped with 7 weapon types and 12 martial-arts styles. Per the current list compiled by Game8, the weapon types are:
| Weapon Type (Chinese) | English Name |
|---|---|
| Jian | Sword |
| Shan | Fan |
| Changqiang | Spear |
| Sheng Biao | Rope Dart |
| Shuang Ren | Dual Blades |
| Mo Dao | Mo Blade |
| San | Umbrella |
| Quan Jia | Gauntlets |
There is no “firearm” or “hidden projectile” weapon category — if you see those claims elsewhere, they belong to a different game.
(Press previews indicate the game also carried a bow-type ranged weapon.)
World Regions#
The map covers roughly 20 square kilometres in real-world terms across 20+ regions. As of October 2026, the verification date, the following regions and expansions are confirmed:
| Region | Status |
|---|---|
| Qinghe | Available at launch; its Dragon-Tiger Ridge holds the open-world boss Shadishen |
| Kaifeng | Available at launch; the Kaifeng Imperial Palace opened on February 6, 2026 |
| Hexi | Expansion region added on March 6, 2026 |
| Hidden Mountain | Chapter one opened on July 23, 2026; multi-layered vertical mountain design with Tianjing and Hutuo sub-zones |
| Qingzhou | Rumoured in April 2026 to arrive alongside a new sect; no launch announcement as of the verification date |
Progression: Martial Arts, Mystic Arts, Inner Arts#
There is no conventional “attribute point panel.” Growth runs through three verified systems:
- Martial Arts — style sets tied to weapons; 12 styles at launch, upgraded with martial-arts insights.
- Mystic Arts — more than 40 of them; official examples include Tai Chi, Toad Style and Lion’s Roar. They serve both combat and exploration puzzle-solving.
- Inner Arts — a passive growth track; upgrading and breaking through costs Inner Arts Insights.
There is also no fixed class lock: players can take on roles such as Doctor, Merchant, Assassin or Bounty Hunter, and take part in the Hundred Trades livelihood system.
Reception and Operating Data (with Snapshot Dates)#
Review numbers drift over time, so every figure below carries a snapshot date and should not be quoted as a fixed value:
| Metric | Figure | Snapshot |
|---|---|---|
| Steam English reviews | “Very Positive,” 86% (about 64,000 reviews) | 2026-10-09 |
| Steam recent 30-day reviews | “Mostly Positive,” about 78–79% | 2026-10-09 |
| Steam all-languages reviews | About 108,000 reviews, 87% positive | 2026-10-09 |
| Metacritic PC | 72/100 (23 critics) | Verification-date snapshot |
| Metacritic PS5 | Roughly 74–75/100 | Verification-date snapshot |
| Famitsu | 8/7/8/7 — 32/40 total | — |
| Steam launch concurrent peak | Over 160,000 | Launch week |
| Steam second-week concurrent peak | Over 250,000 | November 2025 |
| Global player count | Announced on August 26, 2026 to have passed 100 million | — |
Awards: the game won the Best Innovative Game grand prize at the 5th China Game Innovation Awards (August 2, 2025); it was nominated in the Steam Awards’ “Best Game You Suck At” category (December 2025); and the mobile version was nominated for Best Mobile Game at Gamescom Awards 2026 — the official August 26 press release announced a nomination, while Baidu Baike records a win on August 28.
Editorial Disclosure#
- There are no “qi energy,” “Jiuzhou continents” or “five starting classes” systems or settings in this game. If you encounter those terms here or elsewhere, they are unsourced fabrications, and this section has purged them from every sub-page.
- Concrete keybinding tables, skill damage coefficients, boss HP pools and drop rates are not publicly verifiable, so this site does not publish them.
- Version updates follow official channels (the wherewindsmeetgame.com news page and the platform store pages); our updates page only records verified points in time.
Related Games#
- Black Myth: Wukong — a Chinese mythology action RPG, and the closest thematic cousin to this game’s martial-arts setting
- Wuchang: Fallen Feathers — another Chinese historical action RPG built around weapon-based combat
- GTA 5 — an open-world crime action-adventure game
- Red Dead Redemption 2 — a western open-world action-adventure game
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — a period action game whose katana duels share this game’s parry-driven rhythm
Related Rankings#
Best Open-World Games · Best RPGs · Best Open-World Games of All Time
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner basics, the world map and regions, boss encounters, weapon builds, the combat system, Mystic Arts and Inner Arts, items and equipment, resource farming, Hidden Mountain secrets, the version update timeline, endgame raids, multiplayer modes, performance tuning, limited-time events and challenge modes — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s Where Winds Meet section.