The combat system in Where Winds Meet is built around weapon-bound Martial Arts paths, and so far those paths have focused on blades, spears, rope darts, umbrellas, and fans. On the Chinese server, a new fist-style weapon—implemented as gauntlets—has started to change that rhythm with close-range brawling, heavy crowd control, and fast combo strings.
How weapons and Martial Arts currently work
Every combat build in Where Winds Meet starts with a weapon type. At global launch, there are seven broad types:
| Weapon type | Representative Martial Art weapons | Typical role or focus |
|---|---|---|
| Swords | Nameless Sword, Strategic Sword | Mobile dueling, single-target damage, bleeding (Umbra) or burst (Splendor) |
| Dual Blades | Infernal Twinblades | High-mobility DPS, continuous pressure |
| Spears | Nameless Spear, Heavenquaker Spear, Stormbreaker Spear | Reach, flexible paths from aggressive to tanky AoE |
| Mo Blades | Thundercry Blade | Heavy hits plus defensive tools and shields |
| Rope Darts | Mortal Rope Dart | High-speed melee, gap closing, flurries of attacks |
| Umbrellas | Vernal Umbrella, Soulshade Umbrella | Mixed ranged pressure, control, and support depending on path |
| Fans | Panacea Fan, Inkwell Fan | Either long-range damage or dedicated healing and buffing |
Each of these weapon types plugs into one of six Martial Arts paths, such as Bellstrike – Splendor, Bellstrike – Umbra, Silkbind – Deluge, Silkbind – Jade, Bamboocut – Wind, and Stonesplit – Might. Every path has exactly two signature Martial Art weapons. For example:
- Bellstrike – Splendor uses Nameless Sword and Nameless Spear, trading on mobility and charged single-target damage.
- Bamboocut – Wind uses Infernal Twinblades and Mortal Rope Dart, leaning entirely into fast DPS with minimal built-in defense.
- Stonesplit – Might uses Thundercry Blade and Stormbreaker Spear, emphasizing survivability, shields, and large-area hits.
Two things are important here if you care about the new fist/gauntlet weapon:
- Martial Arts are inseparable from a compatible weapon type. No weapon, no skills.
- Weapon “branches” (like sword’s Nameless vs. Strategic) can share a type but behave like entirely different styles.
What the fist/gauntlet weapon looks like in play
On the Chinese server, the new weapon is implemented as gauntlets tied to a Martial Art that plays like a classic wuxia fist style. Early footage shows a moveset built around:
- Short-range, high-speed combos with punches and rapid spin kicks.
- Frequent crowd-control effects, including staggers and lockdown-style chains that keep targets stuck in place.
- Very quick startups on skills, making it well-suited to punishing aggressive bosses or catching players in PvP.
Players who have tried it highlight how easily it can pressure enemies that like to rush you, chaining hits so tightly that bosses can be locked out of their own attacks for long stretches. That lines up with how existing mobility-focused paths like Bamboocut – Wind and Bellstrike – Splendor already encourage relentless offense, but fist/gauntlet leans even harder into “stay in their face” brawling.
There is still some uncertainty around whether this Martial Art will be formally classed as a tank-style path or a pure DPS branch. The kit’s heavy control and the way it bullies aggressive bosses make it feel tank-like, yet the speed and apparent damage output suggest a DPS orientation. Expect its final slotting in the path grid to matter a lot for how you pair Inner Ways and gear sets around it.
How the gauntlets affect the broader weapon ecosystem
Gauntlets arrive on top of an already expanding grid of weapon branches. Even before they show up in the global version, the Chinese server has additional content that pushes the system outward:
- A dedicated DPS glaive-style weapon.
- A “snow blade” branch that adds another Mo Blade option.
- New Rope Dart skills that give that weapon more variety beyond its starter Bamboocut – Wind path.
Players on global servers are already pointing out that Spear currently has the most branches, with three distinct Martial Art weapons. Rope Dart and Umbrella are expected to gain new branches before gauntlets arrive worldwide, followed by a Tang sword and more Mo Blade options. The gauntlet Martial Art is expected to land later in that chain, arriving alongside yet another Rope Dart set to encourage cross-weapon pairing.
That ordering matters. Where Winds Meet allows you to equip two Martial Arts at once, and some Inner Ways only unlock their full potential when paired with specific paths. A gauntlet path, shipping together with a fresh Rope Dart branch, gives brawlers a natural partner: fist in close, dart for mid-range control, and chase.
When global players are likely to get the fist weapon
The gauntlet weapon is already live on the Chinese server, which has had roughly a year of extra content development compared to the global release. Estimates from the community suggest a staggered rollout:
| Rough order of new content (global) | What’s included |
|---|---|
| 1. New Rope Dart and Umbrella branches | Additional Martial Art paths for existing weapon types |
| 2. Tang sword and Mo Blade branches | New sword and Mo Blade styles, likely DPS-focused |
| 3. Gauntlet Martial Art | Fist-style weapon plus a new Rope Dart set bundled in the same update window |
Timelines floated by players range from roughly five to six months for each major wave of weapon content, meaning gauntlets land last in the current queue. That said, the global version has already shown signs that it may be pulled toward parity faster than a simple one-year delay, so expect some compression of that window rather than a rigid schedule.
There is no officially confirmed global release date for the gauntlet weapon yet; what is clear is that it belongs to a later phase of the roadmap, not the first batch of post-launch additions.
How to unlock Martial Arts weapons today (and what that implies for fists)
Unlocking any Martial Art has two steps: learning the fighting style and acquiring a compatible weapon item. The current twelve Martial Art weapons all follow the same rules, which will almost certainly apply to gauntlets once they arrive.
| Step | What you do | Key mechanics |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Learn the Martial Art | Complete a Skill Theft mission or join the relevant sect. | Stealth infiltration, Loong Keys, observing a master perform the weapon style. |
| 2. Obtain a weapon item | Loot chests, raid outposts, complete quests, or receive rewards. | Weapon items must match the Martial Art’s weapon type. |
| 3. Equip and level it | Equip the new weapon in the Martial Arts menu and upgrade it. | Spend Zhou Coins and Training Items, perform breakthroughs with Tips. |
To initiate a Skill Theft mission for a Martial Art:
- Open the Develop menu.
- Select one of your Martial Arts to open the Martial Arts screen.
- Choose the locked weapon you want to learn and hit Obtain.
The game then marks a location on your map. You infiltrate the area using stealth skills like Touch of Death, Veil of Stillness, and Wind Sense, spend Loong Keys to open mechanisms, and eventually trigger a Skill Theft mini-game where you “record” a master performing the style by hitting prompts when golden rings appear. When you extract safely, the Martial Art becomes usable as long as you have a matching weapon item.
Joining sects provides another path: tracking clues via the Sects menu, finding an elder, and earning an invitation. Sect membership can also grant you that sect’s Martial Art directly. Several existing weapons—like Infernal Twinblades, Mortal Rope Dart, and Thundercry Blade—can be gained by joining sects rather than only through theft, and gauntlets are likely to sit in a similar structure tied to a sect or sanctum.
Weapon stats and why they matter for fist builds
Once the gauntlets hit global servers, they will sit in the same item framework as swords, spears, and everything else. That has three main layers: Physical Attack, random substats, and offensive gear sets.
Physical Attack and damage range
Each weapon item has a Physical Attack range, such as 10–16. Each hit rolls a value within that band. For a high-frequency weapon like gauntlets, a narrow range with a high minimum can feel more consistent than a wide range with a slightly higher maximum, especially in PvP, where burst thresholds and chip damage both matter.
Substats and tuning
Starting at Tier 31, weapons begin to roll random substats. At higher tiers you can slot additional substats using tuning:
| Tier | Substat slots | What unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | First random substat appears. |
| 41 | 2 | Tuning unlocks to add a second substat. |
| 51 | 3 | Third substat slot opens. |
| 56 | 4 | Fourth and final substat slot becomes available. |
Some weapons roll a “Tuning material” substat that marks them as especially good fodder for tuning. A purple stone icon on that substat guarantees at least a purple-quality substat when used as material; a gold stone guarantees a gold substat. That system is already key for pushing high-end Nameless Sword, Thundercry Blade, and others toward ideal stat spreads, and gauntlets will rely on the same tuning economy to reach competitive PvP and PvE performance.
Offensive sets that could pair well with gauntlets
Weapons also sit inside larger offensive gear sets that span both weapon slots plus the Disc and Pendant slots. Matching all four pieces in a set activates a powerful 4-piece effect on top of a smaller 2-piece bonus. These are not weapon-specific, but their design clearly favors certain playstyles.
| Set | 2-piece effect | 4-piece effect (simplified) | Why it matters for fists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jadewear | +27 Max Physical Attack | Boosted Affinity damage, even more vs. controlled or low-Qi targets. | Synergizes with gauntlets’ CC-heavy kit and Affinity procs. |
| Swallowcall | +27 Min Physical Attack | Light Attacks deal more damage to low-Qi or Exhausted targets. | Suited to constant light-attack pressure from fast gauntlet strings. |
| Hawkwing | +0.1% Affinity Rate | Stacks Physical Attack when you trigger Affinity. | Rewarding for builds that trigger Affinity often through rapid hits. |
| Swift Gale | +1 Max Physical Attack | Boosts airborne heavy attacks and adds a periodic knockdown. | Useful if gauntlet skills include frequent launchers or aerial finishers. |
| Veil of the Willow | +0.1% Precision Rate | Swaps bonus damage between Light and Heavy (including airborne) attacks. | Good for weaving light and heavy gauntlet attacks in tight sequences. |
| Ivorybloom | +0.1% Critical Rate | Extra critical chance and stronger crits while at max HP. | Benefits evasive fist players who avoid damage through mobility. |
Because gauntlets focus on sticking to targets and chaining CC, sets that pay off against low-Qi or controlled enemies (Jadewear, Swallowcall) stand out. The choice will hinge on whether the final design leans more into sustained light attacks, heavy Affinity procs, or big finishing blows.
Preparing now if you want to main fists later
Even without gauntlets available on global servers yet, there are concrete ways to prepare for a future fist main:
- Get comfortable with high-speed melee paths like Bamboocut – Wind (Infernal Twinblades, Mortal Rope Dart) and Bellstrike – Splendor (Nameless Sword, Nameless Spear). Their demand for relentless pressure and clean movement is similar to what fist footage shows.
- Farm Zhou Coins and Training Items so you can level a new Martial Art quickly once it unlocks.
- Stockpile high-quality offensive sets, especially those that synergize with fast, CC-heavy melee.
- Practice Skill Theft missions and sect navigation so you can quickly unlock whatever sanctum or sect is tied to gauntlets.
Where Winds Meet is steadily building out its roster of weapons, and the gauntlet Martial Art is poised to give close-range specialists a new home. For now, the best move for would-be fist players is to refine melee fundamentals, gather upgrade resources, and watch the update cadence as global servers inch closer to the Chinese build.
