The Heavenquaker Spear sits in a very specific niche in Where Winds Meet: a Bellstrike DPS weapon that turns bleed stacks into short, brutal burst windows and wide-area crowd control. On its own, it can carry a full damage role; paired with Strategic Sword, it becomes a tightly looped bleed engine that performs in both PvE and duels.
How to unlock Heavenquaker Spear
There are two ways to unlock the Heavenquaker Spear martial art:
| Method | Requirements | High-level steps |
|---|---|---|
| Skill Theft at Heavenquaker Spear Sanctum |
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| Join Raging Tides sect |
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For the Sanctum route, the layout is a layered stealth dungeon: you descend past patrols, open a series of doors and ladders, and eventually circle back upward to the Skill Theft spot. The run also contains multiple chests, so it functions as both a weapon unlock and a small loot route.
Heavenquaker Spear core skills and buffs
Heavenquaker Spear is built around three ideas:
- Bleed damage over time that stacks to five layers.
- Combo-based self-buffs from its martial skill, Sober Sorrow.
- Short-cooldown AoE follow‑ups that cash in those buffs.
| Skill | Type | Effect summary | Key / cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sober Sorrow | Martial Art Skill |
Spin the spear in six sweeping strikes, building a combo counter. After the final hit, you gain a 12‑second buff based on total hits:
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Q / 12s |
| Sweep All | Special Skill |
Wide circular swing that scales with the current Sober Sorrow buff:
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~ / 1s |
| Spear – Light Attack | Light chain | Up to four quick strikes with low recovery, used to keep pressure and help build hit count. | Left Click |
| Spear – Heavy Attack | Heavy chain | Up to three heavier swings for more stagger and damage per hit. | R (tap) |
| Drifting Thrust | Charged Skill | Charges, then releases a flurry of forward thrusts, repeatedly hitting enemies in front and granting Fortitude (you only flinch to crowd control). | Hold R / 0.2s base |
| Spear – Conversion | Dual‑weapon skill | Swaps from your other martial art to spear while performing a sweeping attack. | TAB / 3s |
The buffs from Sober Sorrow apply to all HP damage, not just the spear’s own attacks, which is why the weapon slots comfortably into multi‑weapon rotations. River Flow in particular is the anchor: it delivers a 20 percent HP damage boost for 12 seconds and powers up Sweep All into a large AoE nuke that also bleeds and shreds defense.
Bleed itself is straightforward: up to five stacks on a target, each dealing periodic HP damage. Both Heavenquaker Spear and its partner weapons can contribute to these stacks, and several internal arts and talents push that damage category further.
Internal arts that define Heavenquaker Spear
Heavenquaker Spear’s Bellstrike – Umbra development path leans into bleed, affinity damage, and short burst windows. Several internal arts are closely associated with the spear and its bellstrike pair, the Strategic Sword.
| Internal art | Role | Key effects for Heavenquaker / Strategic Sword |
|---|---|---|
| Sword Horizon | Attack / Pursuit | After using a Strategic Sword martial skill, special skill, or charged skill, pressing the skill button again at the right timing casts Crisscrossing Sword as a follow‑up. If the target has 5 bleed stacks, all stacks are removed to deal one large Bleed hit. This turns max bleed into a single burst event, ideal to trigger right before swapping back to spear for River Flow and Sweep All. |
| Wolfchaser's Art | Martial arts buff | Reduces the hit thresholds for Sober Sorrow buffs from 5/10 hits to 4/8. When Sober Sorrow hits a boss already bleeding from you, there is up to a 100% chance (at higher levels) per hit to add an extra combo count based on bleed stacks. Practically, this makes River Flow far easier to reach and keeps your buff windows almost constant in single‑target fights. |
| Adaptive Steel | Attack / support |
Grants different passive martial skills depending on your blade type:
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| Insightful Strike | Damage boost / mitigation | Affinity damage builds Focus. At full Focus you enter a 10‑second Concentration state that boosts Affinity damage by 10% and grants a small chance on hit to cut incoming damage by 40%. Since bleed and burn ticks can trigger Affinity, bleed‑heavy setups like Heavenquaker + Strategic Sword sustain Focus more easily than direct‑hit builds. |
On top of these, bleed‑centric inner ways such as Fivefold Bleed (periodic Weeping Blood stacks that pop for piercing damage at five layers) stack a second damage‑over‑time stream on top of your baseline bleeds. These extra ticks interact favorably with Hawkwing’s affinity triggers.
Recommended gear sets and stat priorities
Heavenquaker Spear’s Bellstrike identity leans on both raw physical damage and repeated damage‑over‑time ticks. Two gear sets line up directly with that plan.
| Gear set | Pieces used | Effect | Why it fits Heavenquaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkwing Set | 2‑piece + 4‑piece |
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Bleed ticks, burn ticks, and direct weapon hits all can roll for Affinity procs. Bellstrike + Hawkwing therefore stays stacked by simply continuing your rotation, giving up to 10% Physical Attack during longer fights. |
| Eaglerise Set | 2‑piece + 4‑piece |
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Heavenquaker constantly applies bleed and often pairs with burn‑based mystic skills, so Eaglerise effectively runs at full stacks. Eagle Guard gives a predictable safety net in both boss mechanics and PvP burst trades. |
For tuning individual pieces, the priorities that matter most for the spear’s DPS role are:
- Minimum Physical Attack
- Maximum Physical Attack
- Affinity Rate
Higher Physical Attack directly scales both your spear and sword output, while Affinity Rate smooths out Hawkwing and Insightful Strike uptime.
Heavenquaker Spear talents and damage scaling
Leveling Heavenquaker Spear unlocks a series of martial arts talents. Every ten weapon levels, you gain a Breakthrough and choose a new talent node, gradually shifting the weapon toward harder bleed hits and stronger Bellstrike scaling.
| Talent | Unlock point | Effect | Impact on play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damage Over Time Enhancement (1) | On learning the martial art | Charged Skill hits with Heavenquaker Spear increase the target’s damage‑over‑time taken. | Synergizes tightly with Drifting Thrust and a bleed‑heavy build; opening with a full Drifting Thrust before Sober Sorrow/Sweep All amplifies every bleed and burn tick. |
| Physical Attack Increase | Breakthrough Tier 1 | Raises maximum Physical Attack. | A baseline stat bump that benefits all damage sources from both weapons. |
| Damage Over Time Enhancement (2) | Breakthrough Tier 2 | Further increases Affinity damage when calculating category damage. | This indirectly boosts bleed, as bleed is treated as category damage and can interact with Affinity. |
| Bellstrike Increase | Breakthrough Tier 3 | Raises Bellstrike Attack and Bellstrike Penetration, scaling with maximum Bellstrike Attack. | Directly fuels the Bellstrike – Umbra path, improving your spear’s and sword’s effectiveness against higher‑defense enemies. |
| Attribute Attack Damage Enhancement | Breakthrough Tier 3 | All skills deal damage based on Attribute Attack, with further bonus to Bellstrike damage. | Consolidates your scaling: optimizing Bellstrike stats now fuels essentially every skill in the rotation. |
Together, these talents mean that by the time Heavenquaker Spear is fully broken through, a large share of your output comes from category damage and Bellstrike attributes, not just raw base attack. That’s why bleed, Affinity, and Bellstrike‑boosting internal arts have such outsized value here.
Strategic Sword and Heavenquaker Spear rotation (bleed synergy)
Strategic Sword is the natural partner for Heavenquaker Spear. Both sit in the Bellstrike – Umbra arsenal, and both specialize in setting up and cashing out bleed stacks.
| Aspect | Strategic Sword | Heavenquaker Spear | Interaction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | High‑control bleed application and single‑target burst via martial skills and Sword Horizon. | Wide‑area bleed and defense shred, buffed windows for all HP damage. | Sword prepares targets with bleed and debuffs; spear turns that setup into AoE and burst. |
| Bleed tools |
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Strategic Sword reaches 5 bleed stacks quickly, which Wolfchaser’s Art then converts into faster Sober Sorrow combos and reliable River Flow. |
| Buff / debuff | Sword Horizon converts 5‑stack bleed into a single large Bleed burst. | River Flow: +20% HP damage for 12s; Sweep All adds defense reduction and more bleed. | Optimal burst: Sword stacks and consumes bleed (Sword Horizon or Inner Balance Strike), then spear enters River Flow and drills into bosses with Drifting Thrust and Sweep All. |
A practical single‑target rotation looks like this in broad strokes:
- Open on Strategic Sword:
- Use Inner Track Slash twice to close the gap and reach multiple bleed stacks.
- Use Inner Balance Strike or an extra bleed skill to reach 5 stacks.
- Optionally trigger Sword Horizon at max stacks for a high Bleed burst.
- Swap to Heavenquaker Spear with Spear – Conversion (
TAB):- Cast Sober Sorrow. Thanks to Wolfchaser’s Art and existing bleed, its hits rapidly build combo count.
- Hit the 8/10‑hit threshold to secure River Flow (boosted by Wolfchaser’s Art).
- During River Flow’s 12‑second window:
- Use Sweep All on cooldown to push AoE and defense reduction.
- Weave in Drifting Thrust as your main single‑target drill, leveraging Damage Over Time Enhancement talents.
- Maintain light/heavy strings to keep enemies staggered.
- When River Flow is close to expiring, or your spear skills are on cooldown, swap back to Strategic Sword and repeat the bleed setup.
Since weapon swapping is nearly instant, the whole rotation feels like one continuous moveset rather than two separate weapons. Bleed, Affinity, and Bellstrike bonuses all carry across the swap.
Mystic skills that complement bleed‑centric Heavenquaker builds
Several mystic skills mesh naturally with a Heavenquaker + Strategic Sword setup by either amplifying bleed, breaking guards, or adding yet another damage‑over‑time stream.
| Mystic skill | Primary use | Interaction with the build |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon's Breath | Burn damage over time and brief casting immunity. | Applies burn to multiple enemies, which stacks on top of bleed. Every burn tick can roll Affinity, helping to keep Hawkwing and Insightful Strike active. Casting it at the end of a combo sets up the target to bleed and burn during the next rotation. |
| Tai Chi | Shield breaker for PvE. | Very efficient against shielded enemies, especially when you lack Aqua Wax. Slotting Tai Chi means you do not have to change your weapon pair just to deal with shield units. |
| Yaksha Rush | Guard break and stagger, especially in Arena. | Opens windows against players or bosses that like to hold block. Works well right before a Sober Sorrow or Drifting Thrust so those skills land fully. |
| Ghostbind | Short‑duration crowd control on up to six enemies. | Holds trash mobs in place long enough for you to stack bleed with Strategic Sword and then sweep through with Sober Sorrow and Sweep All. Particularly useful in packed PvE scenarios. |
| Serene Breeze | Anti‑stagger counter in PvP. | On a long cooldown but crucial for surviving against aggressive opponents who try to lock you out of your long spear or sword animations. It protects your key skills like Drifting Thrust and Sober Sorrow from being constantly interrupted. |
These mystic skills are not required to make Heavenquaker Spear function, but each one eases a specific pain point: shields, guard turtling, mob control, and stagger chains.
Heavenquaker Spear’s role in PvE and PvP
In PvE, Heavenquaker Spear serves as a damage amplifier and an add‑clear tool. Sober Sorrow into River Flow, followed by Sweep All, deletes clustered trash and softens up elites around your main target. Damage Over Time Enhancement talents and bleed stacking mean bosses continue losing HP between rotations.
In PvP, the spear’s strengths look slightly different:
- Drifting Thrust, with Fortitude, lets you push damage through light pressure and chip attempts.
- River Flow windows punish any mistake with fast HP swings, especially when chained after a guard break from Yaksha Rush.
- Its range and circular hitboxes make it harder for opponents to simply sidestep once you have them bleeding.
Its main weaknesses are survivability and support. Without Eaglerise, Serene Breeze, or off‑weapon healing, you are leaning heavily on positioning and stagger resistance to stay alive. That trade is intentional: Bellstrike – Umbra is tuned for damage and mobility, not group utility or sustain.
Played as a pair, Strategic Sword and Heavenquaker Spear form a closed loop: sword stacks and sometimes consumes bleed, spear converts bleed into River Flow and AoE damage, and internal arts and gear funnel those events into a constant flow of Affinity procs and Bellstrike‑scaled hits. Once the talents and internal arts are in place, the result is one of the most coherent high‑DPS melee setups in Where Winds Meet.
