The Old Raftsman is one of three World Bosses added to Where Winds Meet with Version 2.3, which launched on October 15, 2026, along with the Qingzhou region. The other two are Tidewatcher and Shuttlecock Champion. He looks like a harmless old man poling a raft down a river. The fight itself opens as the game’s first 2D side-scrolling boss battle, then switches to a standard 3D duel after both fighters go over a waterfall.
Quick answer: The Old Raftsman is a ★★★ World Boss on the river south of Seedling Temple in Qingzhou. Beating him shows a VICTORY banner, logs “The Raftsman’s Wake,” and awards the Driftwood Raft decoration.
Old Raftsman location in Qingzhou
The world map places the Old Raftsman on the river that runs below Seedling Temple, in the southern part of Qingzhou. That stretch of river is in the southeast of the region, inside the Eastern Peak area added in 2.3. His map card marks him as “DANGEROUS.” He has no elemental or weapon weakness, and his difficulty is rated three stars out of five.
There is no arena gate to walk through. The encounter starts at the water. You reach the riverbank, swim or jump out to the wooden rafts drifting with the current, and climb aboard. That triggers an intro cutscene where you hop across logs until you reach the Raftsman on his own raft. He greets you with “Step aboard, little stowaway!”
His lore card names him as Huang Zhishao, an elder martial artist whose real name has “vanished beneath the river’s depths.” The card describes his style as tidal. His feints are illusions, and his real strikes land like an undertow. That description matches how he fights.
Old Raftsman fight structure: Two phases split by a waterfall
Most World Bosses in Where Winds Meet are fought on a single open patch of ground. The Old Raftsman fight has three distinct stages: a river chase, a cutscene transition, and an arena duel. The first is the unusual one.
Phase 1: Side-scrolling on the river
After the scene, the viewpoint shifts into a fixed side-on 2D perspective, with the battle unfolding on slim logs carried downstream. You can’t rotate the character, and standard 3D movement is unavailable; the encounter therefore feels closer to a traditional fighter than an action RPG. The Raftsman hops from log to log, using his bamboo pole for sweeps and jabs before closing with aerial blows. Follow him downstream, avoiding the waves and trees that drop into your path.
The waterfall transition
When the rafts reach the end of that river section, or when the boss is around half health, a cutscene takes over. The logs crash over a huge waterfall and throw both fighters into the air. At the bottom, the Raftsman takes a drink (“Good wine! Another round!”) and readies his weapon.
Phase 2: The raft arena
The rest of the fight takes place on a wide, stationary circular platform of bound logs at the foot of the falls. The camera goes back to full 3D. Several movement tools are disabled here, including Lightness Skill, climbing, certain skills, riding and Sky Tether. The Raftsman attacks faster than before. He opens immediately with a multi-directional wave along the platform, which you can deflect if you expect it.
Old Raftsman attacks and counters
The Raftsman tries to throw off your parry rhythm. Many pole sequences open with a feint, and a lone swipe is often followed by another. Avoid committing to long attack strings while he’s active. Instead, keep deflecting until his Qi breaks; while he’s Exhausted, bring your strongest Martial Arts to bear, plus your strongest Mystic Arts. His moves fit several recognizable categories:
- Feinted pole combos: quick strikes and sweeps that bait an early deflect. The deflect window matches his hands, not the tip of the staff.
- Red water-swirling strike: a downward pole hit followed by a red-glowing attack that churns the water. You can deflect it.
- Gold charged attacks: some of these show a prompt to leap onto him with Cloud Steps (X on controller), which cancels the move.
- Gold jumping stomp: works like a meridian touch. It applies Immobilized and sets up heavy red follow-ups, so dodge it.
- Phase 2 extras: wide water shockwaves, multi-hit pole strings, counter stances, and a red grapple strike that knocks you down.
Weapon choice is flexible. Clears have been done with dual blades, umbrella-and-sword setups, and the new 2.3 fan and drum weapons. The recommended Martial Arts are Snowparting Blade, Thundercry Blade, Skystrike Gauntlets and Riven Twinblades. Flute of the Tides, Dragon’s Breath, Drunken Poet and Cloud Steps cover the Mystic Arts side. Cloud Steps is the important one because of the gold-attack counter.
The “Inner Demon: Healing Reduction” status can appear during the fight. If you also get caught by the stomp’s Immobilized effect, the red follow-ups hit much harder.
Old Raftsman achievements and clear rewards
Three achievements are tied to the encounter. Clearing the fight unlocks The Raftsman’s Wake, which some clear screens spell “The Raftman’s Wake.” Skimming the Rapids unlocks when you leap onto him to cancel a gold attack. Against the Tide is linked to deflecting his red water-swirling strike, and it can pop during the same run as the clear.
You can confirm the kill counted in several ways. A VICTORY banner appears, “The Raftsman’s Wake” is logged, an “Info Update – Old Raftsman” notice fires, and the Raftsman is added to the Compendium as a new Powerful Enemies entry with an Insight tag.
| Reward | Amount |
|---|---|
| Decoration: Driftwood Raft | x1 |
| Inner Way Note: Custom Chest | x5 |
| Echo Jade | +20 |
| Qingzhou Exploration | +50 |
| Medicinal item | x3 |
| Coin | +72,000 |
| Stored EXP | 12,000 to 120,000 |
| Jade Fish | 150 to 750 |
The item drops stay the same between clears. The currency amounts do not. One run paid 120,000 Stored EXP and 750 Jade Fish, while another paid 12,000 Stored EXP and 150 Jade Fish. Both paid 72,000 Coin. The three medicinal items are labeled Medicinal Pill in some reward pop-ups and Medicinal Tales in others. The Driftwood Raft is a homestead decoration, and the 50 Qingzhou Exploration points count toward the new region’s completion.
Once beaten, the Raftsman works like other World Bosses. You get a single clear in your own world, and you can replay him later through Trials. The side-scrolling river stage is the part that makes him different from the rest of the World Boss roster, and it is a format no other boss in the game has used before 2.3.
