Mining in Where Winds Meet looks like it should use a pickaxe, but the game handles ore deposits through your character’s mobility skills and an early gathering quest rather than a dedicated tool. That’s why a lot of players can pick herbs and plants but get stuck on rocks that “won’t break.”
How mining works in Where Winds Meet
Ore nodes in the open world are treated as environmental objects you break with martial arts moves. There is no mining pick in your inventory; instead, you crack the rock by combining a jump with a ground‑slam ability.
At low levels this is introduced through a quest that asks you to bring back a piece of copper ore. The quest NPC explains the mechanic and won’t progress until you’ve successfully broken one of these rocks and looted the ore inside.
How to mine copper ore (Lucky Ore quest)
Step 1: Accept the early mining quest that sends you to collect a copper ore for a nearby character. This quest appears close to the copper node you need to break.
Step 2: Go to the marked rock. You’ll see a chunky, ore‑veined stone that your normal weapon swings cannot damage; its health bar will not move if you just attack on the ground.
Step 3: Jump into the air directly above or next to the rock. Make sure you have enough stamina to perform a follow‑up action after the jump.
Step 4: While in the air, use your downward slam ability to hit the ground. This is the same kind of move the game uses for aerial dives and Wuxia‑style ground pounds; it is not a basic attack.
Step 5: Land the slam so that the impact circle overlaps the ore rock. The shock will crack the node open, exposing the copper ore inside.
Step 6: Interact with the cracked rock to loot the copper ore, then return it to the quest giver to finish the task and fully unlock this mining interaction in your routine.
How to mine other ore types (Raw Ore and beyond)
The same basic rule applies to other hard mineral nodes, such as Raw Ore:
- If it looks like a solid ore rock and doesn’t react to normal weapon hits, treat it as a “slam‑only” node.
- Jump, perform the ground‑slam, and make sure the impact overlaps the rock.
- Loot the ore fragment that appears after the rock cracks.
Any future ore‑mining quests or profession tasks that mention stone or ore gathering will expect you to use this aerial slam interaction rather than looking for a crafted pickaxe or a UI mining toggle.
Unlocking the wider gathering and refining loop
Mining is one part of a broader gathering system that also covers wood and stone. A dedicated gathering questline sends you to multiple NPCs who explain how to interact with different resource types and where to process them.
A key early stop on that route is Harvestfall Village. There is a crafting zone there with a workstation described in‑game as having been “constructed by Blacksmith Li for Harvestfall Village villagers’ crafting needs.” Speaking to the blacksmith and using that area lets you start turning gathered materials into processed items instead of just stockpiling raw drops.
In parallel, general goods vendors sell basic ores that can be funneled into weapon upgrades. One vendor is south of Kaifeng, and another is in Harvestfall Village in the first region. Buying out their weekly ore stock is an efficient way to supplement what you mine manually, especially when you are pushing weapon enhancement.
How mining ties into progression and farming
Ore is only one piece of the overall upgrade economy, but it connects directly into several systems:
- Weapon enhancement: Ores feed straight into weapon upgrades, which increase your damage output.
- Daily and weekly loops: Efficient gear farming routines recommend purchasing ores from general goods vendors every week, then topping up with what you mine yourself.
- Profession development: As you level careers like blacksmithing and other crafting‑adjacent paths, both mined ore and vendor‑bought ore become inputs for higher‑tier materials and gear.
Because of that, it’s worth getting comfortable with the slam‑to‑mine interaction early. Any time you see an ore‑like rock that ignores standard attacks, treat it as an invitation to jump, slam, and collect free upgrade fuel.
Once you know that mining in Where Winds Meet is tied to your aerial slam ability instead of a separate tool, the system stops being opaque: rocks that refuse to break are simply waiting for you to come down on them from above.
