Bellstrike is one of the core offensive paths in Where Winds Meet, split into two closely related flavors: Bellstrike-Umbra and Bellstrike-Splendor. Both are built for aggressive melee DPS, but they approach that role in different ways and even share some overlapping progression requirements.
Bellstrike-Umbra path overview
Bellstrike-Umbra is a Path (class) focused on melee DPS with bleed damage and strong mobility. Its core idea is simple: apply Bleed stacks quickly, then let those periodic damage ticks chew through enemy health while you keep pressure on the target.
| Aspect | Bellstrike-Umbra |
|---|---|
| Role | Melee DPS |
| Primary damage | Bleed damage over time plus increased damage multipliers |
| Key strengths | High DPS, good mobility |
| Key weaknesses | Limited crowd control, low inherent survivability |
Bleed is the defining mechanic here. Once enemies carry high Bleed stacks, Umbra can trigger frequent, sustained damage ticks without needing to stand still and trade blows. The path also boosts its own damage multipliers, letting you focus down priority targets quickly so you spend less time in danger.
There is a tradeoff: Umbra does not provide much hard control or self-protection. Bosses and elite enemies can punish greedy positioning, so you typically rely on mobility, deflect timing, and defensive gear effects rather than built-in tank tools.
Bellstrike-Umbra recommended build (weapons, arts, gear)
Umbra is designed around a specific weapon pairing and a small set of Internal Arts that tie the whole bleed engine together.
| Category | Recommendation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Martial Arts weapons | Strategic Sword | Core sword for single-target Bleed pressure and follow-ups. |
| Strategic Sword skills | Inner Track Slash, Second Track Slash, Inner Balance Strike III | Main damage chain and combo ender. |
| Martial Arts weapons | Heavenquaker Spear | Provides big buffs and AoE coverage. |
| Heavenquaker Spear skills | Sober Sorrow, Drifting Thrust, Sweep All | Mix of single-target thrusts and sweeping attacks. |
Strategic Sword gives precise, repeatable hits that build Bleed stacks reliably. Heavenquaker Spear then amplifies that by granting large damage buffs once the enemy is already bleeding, turning extended fights into your advantage.
Internal Arts for Bellstrike-Umbra
The path leans on four key Internal Arts. All of them are compatible with both Strategic Sword and Heavenquaker Spear.
| Internal Art | Weapon requirement | Effect summary |
|---|---|---|
| Adaptive Steel | Strategic Sword / Heavenquaker Spear | Grants a Martial Art effect that changes based on your current blade weapon. |
| Insightful Strike | Strategic Sword / Heavenquaker Spear | Dealing Affinity damage improves your ability to read enemy attacks, boosts Affinity damage, and can reduce damage taken. |
| Sword Horizon | Strategic Sword / Heavenquaker Spear | After Strategic Sword skills, lets you cast Crosswind Blade in the ending phase; against targets at max Bleed stacks, this follow-up deals heavy Bleed damage. |
| Wolfchaser's Art | Strategic Sword / Heavenquaker Spear (originally tied to Stonesplit - Might) | Heavenquaker Spear's Sober Sorrow reduces combo-count requirements for buffs; hitting bleeding bosses can generate extra combo counts. |
In practice, Sword Horizon and Wolfchaser's Art are the heart of the build. Sword Horizon turns your sword strings into high-value Bleed finishers whenever the enemy is fully stacked, while Wolfchaser's Art accelerates Heavenquaker Spear's buffs in bleed-heavy boss fights. Once you are consistently stacking Bleed to five and chaining these effects, Umbra’s damage ramps up sharply without demanding complex execution.
Recommended gear sets for Bellstrike-Umbra
Umbra’s recommended gear targets Affinity triggers and damage-over-time synergy more than raw defense.
| Set | Slot | 2-piece effect | 4-piece effect | Where it drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkwing Set | Weapons | Increases Affinity Rate. | When any of your damage triggers Affinity, gain Hawkwing: +2% Physical Attack for 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. | Campaign – Still Shore; Campaign – Gleaming Abyss; Sword Trial; Group Dungeon. |
| Eaglerise Set | Armor | Increases Physical Defense. | Damage over time or healing grants Eaglerise stacks, each reducing damage taken. At 5 stacks, Eagle Guard heavily reduces the next incoming hit (with a smaller effect versus bosses; internal cooldown applies). | Campaign – Still Shore; Campaign – Gleaming Abyss; Campaign – Halo Peak; Sword Trial; Group Dungeon. |
Hawkwing directly rewards Umbra’s Affinity procs with stacking Physical Attack, which naturally favors a fast-hitting bleed playstyle. Eaglerise provides some much-needed mitigation in return for maintaining damage-over-time uptime, which you are doing anyway by applying Bleed.
Bellstrike-Splendor path overview
Bellstrike-Splendor is the other half of the Bellstrike theme. It is also classified as a DPS melee path, but it leans more into high mobility and single-target bursts, built on the Nameless weapon pair rather than the Strategic / Heavenquaker duo.
| Aspect | Bellstrike-Splendor |
|---|---|
| Role | Mobile melee DPS |
| Primary tools | Nameless Sword and Nameless Spear |
| Combat style | Weaving between melee and ranged wave attacks while constantly repositioning |
| Skill requirement | Higher than Umbra; demands good stamina and rotation management |
Splendor lets you dart in for close-range hits, then pivot into ranged “wave” attacks for safer damage windows. On paper, the path can end fights quickly thanks to strong offensive tools, but it tends to sit one tier below Umbra in PvE rankings because it requires sharper resource management to realize its full potential.
Where Umbra feels like a relatively forgiving bleed engine once fully set up, Splendor scales with how well you sequence skills, preserve stamina, and make use of its mobility tools. Players who enjoy high-tempo, animation-conscious combat tend to get more out of it than those looking for a straightforward rotation.
Bellstrike-Splendor recommended build (Nameless pair)
Splendor is centered on the Nameless Sword and Nameless Spear. Together, they form a highly mobile kit that alternates between close-in strikes and safer ranged patterns.
| Category | Recommendation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Martial Arts weapons | Nameless Sword | Provides fast melee chains and wave-like sword energy attacks. |
| Martial Arts weapons | Nameless Spear | Adds reach, mobility, and additional ranged patterns. |
| Path focus | Bellstrike-Splendor | High single-target DPS, movement-heavy rotations. |
With this pairing, the path can:
- Dodge in and out of melee range, exploiting windows after deflects.
- Fill downtime with ranged wave attacks when bosses are unsafe to approach.
- Convert good stamina management into higher DPS, since more dodges and repositioning mean more safe damage opportunities.
The main drawback is that this demands more awareness than Umbra. Over-dodging drains stamina and can leave you stuck in place at the wrong moment, which is one reason Splendor is typically rated below Umbra for pure PvE efficiency despite having similar damage ceilings.
How Bellstrike-Umbra and Splendor compare in PvE
| Dimension | Bellstrike-Umbra | Bellstrike-Splendor |
|---|---|---|
| Core weapons | Strategic Sword + Heavenquaker Spear | Nameless Sword + Nameless Spear |
| Path identity | Bleed-focused sustained DPS with simple rotations. | Mobility-focused DPS with combined melee and ranged attacks. |
| Tier placement (PvE) | S tier in early PvE rankings. | A tier; strong but less forgiving. |
| Skill requirement | Relatively low; easy to play once Bleed setup is unlocked. | Higher; heavily rewards stamina and rotation mastery. |
| Group vs solo | Excels in both; strong boss and trash performance. | Excellent for players comfortable managing aggro and movement. |
For most players focusing on PvE progression, Umbra is the safer first pick. It comes online quickly once you have the key Internal Arts, and it does not punish minor execution mistakes as harshly. Splendor is more of a “ceiling” choice: if you like the Nameless kit and are willing to learn its nuances, it can match or closely track top-tier builds in the right hands.
Bellstrike-Splendor path quests and hidden conditions
Bellstrike-Splendor progression includes several path quests with truncated descriptions in some languages, which has led to confusion around the true requirements. The most notable are the “Advanced” Attribute Goals and seasonal Inner Way challenges tied to the Nameless weapons.
| Quest label | Known requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| [Advanced] Attribute Goal 1 | Reach above 8% Affinity Rate while deployed with a Bellstrike-Splendor or Bellstrike-Umbra armor set. | Players have completed this by mixing Splendor and Umbra set pieces until the Affinity Rate exceeds 8%, then swapping back to normal gear afterward. |
| [Advanced] Attribute Goal 2 (partial) | Linked to Nameless Sword and Nameless Spear progression and their Inner Ways. | Players report needing both Nameless Sword and Nameless Spear leveled and broken through, but some still see inconsistent completion; expect stricter hidden checks around Nameless Swordsmanship and Nameless Spearplay tiers. |
| [Season Challenge] Inner Way: No Name Sword | Seasonal objective tied to Nameless Sword’s Inner Way and sword energy mechanics. | Text references sword energies; full numerical requirements are not clearly surfaced in non-East Asian language settings. |
The key takeaway is that Splendor’s Attribute Goal 1 can be cleared purely by hitting an Affinity Rate threshold with the appropriate armor sets. The bell icon in the top-left of an equipment piece’s card indicates its set affiliation; weapons and accessories belong to one set, armor pieces to another. Matching those icons with the recommended sets on the Path screen ensures the stats count for the challenge.
Attribute Goal 2 and seasonal Inner Way tasks are more tightly coupled to the Nameless weapons’ own progression systems. Reports point to conditions such as:
- Nameless Sword and Nameless Spear reaching level 20.
- Nameless Swordsmanship and Nameless Spearplay breaking through to higher tiers.
Because some players meet these thresholds and still do not see completion, there are likely extra checks that are not described in the UI, such as being actively deployed with the full Martial Arts set at the time of completion, or performing specific actions in a campaign or boss context.
Bellstrike development materials: Umbra Tips and Splendor Tips
Both Bellstrike variants have associated development materials that feed into long-term character growth.
| Item | Type | Description | How to obtain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellstrike: Umbra Tips | Development material | Used to push Bellstrike-Umbra-related Martial Arts beyond their standard limits. | Earned through martial progress and specific activities tied to Umbra (video guides show targeted farming routes). |
| Bellstrike: Splendor Tips | Development material | Represents lessons learned by a martial artist on the Bellstrike-Splendor path, used to break through Martial Art limits. | Obtained from Martial Arts: Custom Tips, Season Shop, Campaign – Challenge, and Fellowship: Sword Trial (excluding Joint Battle). |
These materials are not simple consumables. They translate into permanent upgrades that shape how your character develops, so they are among the more valuable items you can acquire if you intend to stick with a Bellstrike path long-term.
Because they drop from multiple activity types, you can choose a farming route that fits your preferred content:
- Martial Arts: Custom Tips for targeted, build-focused progress.
- Season Shop for steady acquisition across a season.
- Campaign – Challenge for structured PvE runs.
- Fellowship: Sword Trial (non–Joint Battle) for cooperative but controlled encounters.
Viewed together, Bellstrike-Umbra and Bellstrike-Splendor cover two different fantasies within the same melee-DPS space: a comparatively straightforward bleed engine that sits at the top of early PvE rankings, and a faster, more expressive Nameless build that trades some consistency for mobility and style. Choosing between them comes down to whether you prefer reliable damage over time and simple triggers, or a path that rewards constant motion and precise management of its weapon pair and Inner Way requirements.
