Gauntlets are the newest martial weapon type in the Chinese PC version of Where Winds Meet, and they do something none of the existing blades, fans, or umbrellas can: turn your character into a close-range brawler built around fast punches, pressure, and mobility.
Players on the global servers keep seeing clips of explosive fist combos and want to know what the weapon actually does, how it fits into the existing roster, and when it might arrive outside China. The broad outlines are clear: gauntlets are a dedicated DPS set, shipped alongside new rope dart skills, and they sit near the end of the current CN content roadmap.
Gauntlets as a weapon type
Gauntlets are a full martial-arts weapon style, not just a cosmetic glove or a one-off skill. They occupy the same design space as Infernal Twinblades or Thundercry Blade: a defined moveset, its own upgrade track, and synergy with specific off-hand options.
| Feature | Gauntlets |
|---|---|
| Role | Primary damage (DPS) weapon |
| Playstyle | Fast, punch-based melee with strong pressure tools |
| Tank capability | No dedicated tank spec mentioned |
| Release region | Live on Chinese servers only |
| Global availability | Expected roughly one year after global launch, following CN timeline |
Footage shared by CN players shows a compact visual design: the weapon looks like martial cestus or bracers, not oversized fantasy gauntlets. The animations lean heavily into Wuxia fist and palm imagery, which fills a gap that many players have been asking about since launch.
How gauntlets change combat
Weapons in Where Winds Meet are built as full fighting styles, each with its own rhythm, defensive tools, and synergies. Gauntlets follow that pattern but push toward aggressive, in-your-face combat.
Community impressions focus on a few things:
- They look tuned for PvP pressure: rapid strings, gap-closing, and ways to stay on top of opponents.
- They answer long‑standing requests for “real” hand-to-hand kung fu beyond one-off Mystic Skills such as drunken fist–style punches.
- They give players a way to lean into monk, drunken master, or Lee Sin–style fantasies that existing blades and umbrellas only hint at.
Players who usually avoid fist weapons in other games are calling out how smooth the gauntlet moveset looks and are already planning to drop ranged-leaning sets like umbrellas for it once it becomes available globally.
Gauntlets and rope dart: a paired DPS package
Gauntlets did not arrive alone. On CN servers, they landed as part of a pattern of paired releases that link new main weapons with new variants or skills on existing sets.
| CN release wave | Main addition | Secondary addition | Role focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | New umbrella | New rope dart skill | Mix of utility and damage |
| Wave 2 | Tang sword | New Mo Blade skill | Tanking and counter-focused |
| Wave 3 | Gauntlet | Another new rope dart skill | Pure DPS pairing |
Within that sequence, gauntlets sit firmly on the damage side. Players discussing the set describe it as “another DPS set” when used with its rope dart companion skill. There is no mention of a gauntlet tank path; instead, tank-leaning players are pointed toward the Tang sword + new Mo Blade configuration, which emphasizes deflection and counterattacks rather than the hard mitigation of the original spear / Mo Blade tank duo.
For rope dart mains, this matters. On current global builds, Infernal Twinblades plus rope dart is seen as one of the highest-output DPS pairings. CN players now have a second, fist-focused option that competes in the same niche, and early impressions suggest that gauntlet + rope dart is tuned as a pressure-heavy, damage-first combo rather than a hybrid support set.
Synergy with stealth and Mystic Skills
One reason the gauntlet clips feel so different is how well they pair with existing Mystic Skills and talents built around stealth or disorientation.
Players highlight a few interactions:
- Smokecloud or invisibility-style talents + gauntlets create hit‑and‑run ambush loops: vanish, reposition, then appear inside punching range.
- Blinding Mist provides in‑combat confusion and line‑of‑sight disruption, giving fist builds enough cover to line up Touch of Death or similar burst tools on standard enemies.
- Area control talents like Ghost Bind, which functions more like an area stun than invisibility, help keep targets locked down long enough for short‑range gauntlet strings to land.
Not every stealth tool can be cast mid‑combat, which limits “perma‑invis” fantasies, but gauntlets clearly lean on the existing Mystic ecosystem: smoke, blind, stun, then step in and punch until the health bar disappears.
How gauntlets fit alongside existing weapons
Weapon design in Where Winds Meet is closer to class design than to traditional loot tables. There are only a handful of main styles at global launch, but each represents a build-defining path with its own skill unlocks and internal progression.
| Weapon example | Category | Typical role |
|---|---|---|
| Nameless Sword | Sword | Balanced DPS |
| Heavenquaker Spear | Spear | Control / frontline |
| Inkwell Fan | Fan | Ranged-leaning DPS, some support |
| Soulshade Umbrella | Umbrella | Mix of ranged pokes and defence |
| Thundercry Blade | Mo Blade | Dedicated tank (current version) |
| Infernal Twinblades | Duel blades | High mobility DPS |
| Gauntlet | Fist / gauntlet | Close-range DPS (CN only) |
On CN, gauntlets extend that roster rather than replacing anything. They sit next to twinblades as another hyper‑aggressive weapon, but where Infernal Twinblades weave slashes and acrobatics, gauntlets lock in on body‑to‑body pressure and combo loops. Players asking for a slower, heavier fist style or a true “fist tank” are still waiting; nothing in the current CN line‑up fills that exact fantasy.
For anyone starting fresh on global, it helps to think of gauntlets as one more slot in a longer-term plan: swords and spears cover foundational melee, fans and umbrellas cover mid‑range, twinblades serve as mobility DPS, and gauntlets eventually become the dedicated brawler path.
Timeline: when global players are likely to get gauntlets
The key frustration for non‑CN players is timing. The Chinese version is roughly a year ahead in content, maps, and systems. Gauntlets are part of that later‑game layer, tied to regions and chapters that global servers simply have not reached yet.
Players and community figures outline the cadence like this:
- CN launched first and has been expanding on a roughly three‑month seasonal schedule, with new regions and weapons added over time.
- Global uses the same seasonal structure; Season 1 runs for several months and is still early in the roadmap.
- In China, gauntlets were added about a year after launch. Community expectations line up around a similar lag for global—“a year and some change” is a common estimate—though some hope for a faster catch‑up.
There is no public confirmation of an accelerated schedule that would erase the one‑year gap. For now, the practical reading is simple: global players are likely at least several major region patches away from unlocking gauntlets, even if seasonal updates stay on track.
Note: console players, including those waiting on PS5 updates, inherit that same delay. New weapons land on CN PC, then roll through the content pipeline; gauntlets sit near the back of that queue.
Why gauntlets matter for weapon diversity
Before gauntlets, players who wanted to fight “with their hands” had to rely on Mystic Arts like drunken punches, palm strikes, or accupoint-style Touch of Death setups layered over whatever main weapon they happened to be carrying. Those skills are strong—drunken fist–themed skills are frequently described as some of the most powerful single-button punches in the game—but they do not change your basic attack strings or core role.
Gauntlets finally make hand‑to‑hand combat a first‑class citizen instead of a side dish:
- They answer feedback from players who expected a major Wuxia title to feature a dedicated palm or fist path.
- They prove that the weapon roster will keep expanding beyond the initial seven styles, which quiets some concerns about long-term build variety.
- They open the door to more experimental martial archetypes—things like hook swords, three‑section staves, tonfas, or throwing weapons that the community keeps asking about.
The weapon grid in Where Winds Meet is more about the breadth of styles than itemization grind. CN’s addition of gauntlets, a new Tang sword, a DPS‑oriented Mo Blade spec that summons ghosts, and extra umbrella variants shows how that philosophy plays out over time: a small but growing stable of highly distinct kits rather than dozens of minor stat sticks.
What to play while waiting for gauntlets
Global players do not have to put off fist fantasies entirely until gauntlets arrive. Several tools already scratch parts of that itch:
- Drunken punch–style Mystic Skills give you short, brutal fist combos that can be layered into any build and are widely regarded as top‑tier damage.
- Meridian Touch and Touch of Death lean into acupoint, pressure-point fantasy, and combine well with crowd control or blind effects.
- Guardian Palm and other palm‑themed mystics gesture at the palm‑strike archetype many players want to see elevated to full weapon status.
- Existing tank and DPS pairs like Thundercry Blade + spear, or Infernal Twinblades + rope dart, already provide deep buildcrafting without gauntlets in the picture.
Under the hood, all of that sits on the same equipment framework. Weapons define your moveset and path, but your armour, accessories, and Inner Ways take care of stats, defence, and sustain. Defensive armour sets such as Formbend, Calmwaters, or Eaglerise add survivability through mechanics like longer shields, dodge‑based healing, or stacking damage reduction, which helps keep melee‑range builds alive—gauntlet players will eventually lean on the same infrastructure.
For now, gauntlets are a tantalizing preview of where Where Winds Meet is heading rather than a build you can lock in on global servers today. They represent a clear commitment to expanding the martial roster with styles that come straight out of Wuxia fiction, not just more ways to swing a sword. If the CN roadmap is any indication, fists will have their time in the spotlight—but only after global players work through several more regions, story chapters, and seasonal updates.
