Talon Strike is an offensive Mystic Skill in Where Winds Meet, built for fast, single-target pressure. It opens with a guard-breaking swipe, then chains into three rapid hits that punish targets with broken defense. With a low 2-second cooldown and modest Vitality cost, it slots cleanly into almost any close-range build, especially in Arena and boss encounters.
How to reach the Talon Strike location (Palace of Annals, Qinghe)
Talon Strike is learned through a Skill Theft interaction in Qinghe, at the Palace of Annals. The key landmark is a tall, isolated rock formation south of the Palace, connected by a long wooden hanging bridge.
| Step | Action | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travel to the Palace of Annals area in western Qinghe. | Look for the Palace near Sage's Knoll. |
| 2 | Face south from the Palace and locate the long wooden hanging bridge leading to a lone pillar-like rock. | The bridge spans a deep drop; falling off means a long climb back. |
| 3 | Approach the bridge and identify the archers stationed on the far side. | They start firing as you get close, making the crossing unsafe if you sprint straight through. |
Dealing with the archers on the bridge
The archers on the far side are the only real friction between you and Talon Strike. They can easily stagger you into a fall if you try to brute-force your way across.
| Approach | How it works | Risk level |
|---|---|---|
| Ranged clear | Snipe archers from your side of the bridge with arrows or ranged Mystic Skills. | Low – safest method, slower but controlled. |
| Pull and isolate | Edge onto the bridge, draw one or two enemies at a time back to solid ground, then kill them. | Moderate – needs careful movement but avoids being surrounded. |
| I-frame dash | Use a mobility skill like Ghostly Steps to abuse invincibility frames and sprint straight across. | High – fastest, but one mistake can send you off the bridge. |
Once you clear the archers and other enemies on the far side, the rest of the route to Talon Strike is straightforward and combat-free.
How to find the bird nest and start the Skill Theft mini-game
The Skill Theft interaction that teaches Talon Strike is tied to a bird’s nest tucked onto a ledge below the platform reached after the bridge.
| Step | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | From the far end of the bridge, go up the first short flight of stairs. | You reach a higher platform overlooking the cliff edge. |
| 2 | At the top of the stairs, turn right and walk toward the outer ledge. | You’ll be standing at a drop-off with a clear view down the cliff face. |
| 3 | Look down from the ledge to spot a bird’s nest containing several large eggs on a lower outcrop. | The nest is your interaction point for Talon Strike. |
| 4 | Jump or drop carefully down onto the ledge with the nest and interact with the eggs. | A prompt to interact/feed appears; confirming this starts the Skill Theft mini-game. |
How the Talon Strike Skill Theft mini-game works
Once you interact with the nest, the game initiates a Skill Theft observation mini-game themed around a diving bird or golden eagle. The pattern is consistent with other observation sequences in Where Winds Meet.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Visual cue | A golden ring or timing indicator appears as the bird dives and ascends. |
| Input | Press the prompted button (for example, X on controllers) when the ring reaches the correct zone. |
| Repetitions | You typically need to hit the timing correctly several times in a row (often two or three successful presses). |
| Time limit | The sequence runs on a short timer; failing too many times or timing out forces you to restart. |
| Reward | Completing the sequence successfully unlocks the Talon Strike Mystic Skill permanently. |
Talon Strike stats and in-combat behavior
Talon Strike is built to crack defenses and rapidly punish the opening it creates. It is classed as an offensive, single-target control Mystic Skill with a Defense Break tag.
| Property | Value / Behavior |
|---|---|
| Type | Offensive Mystic Skill, single-target control |
| Primary tag | Break Defense (shares cooldown with other Defense Break Mystic Arts) |
| Vitality cost (Tier 4) | 15 Vitality |
| Cooldown (Tier 4) | 2 seconds |
| Recommended use | Arena PvP and boss-focused PvE where single-target pressure matters |
| Core effect | Initial swipe breaks the target’s guard; three follow-up hits deal damage, and breaking guard also inflicts Qi damage. |
The short cooldown and low cost mean Talon Strike can be woven into most combos without starving you of Vitality. Because Defense Break-tagged Mystic Arts share a cooldown, it generally makes sense to treat Talon Strike as your primary guard-breaking Mystic Skill and build your rotation around it rather than stacking multiple Defense Break skills that block each other.
Talon Strike breakthrough tiers and upgrades
Talon Strike gains additional utility as you invest Ebon Iron and Vicious Fruit into its ranks and tiers. The raw damage increases per rank, while each tier promotion adds a distinct modifier that changes how you engage targets.
| Tier | Bonus effect | Impact on play |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | No special bonus; base Talon Strike behavior only. | Core guard-break combo tool. |
| Tier 2 | Dash distance increased by 1.5 meters. | Makes engagement and re-engagement easier, especially in Arena where spacing constantly shifts. |
| Tier 3 | When you break defense, reduces the target’s Defense by 10% and Endurance Recovery Rate by 50% for 5 seconds. | Turns each successful guard-break into a debuff window, amplifying your combo damage and slowing the enemy’s ability to recover stamina/endurance. |
| Tier 4 | Dash distance is further increased by another 1.5 meters. | Extends reach even more, effectively letting Talon Strike function as a gap-closer as well as a breaker. |
The debuff at Tier 3 is what makes Talon Strike especially punishing in both PvP and boss fights. The defense reduction increases damage from your whole kit, while the cut to Endurance Recovery makes it harder for opponents to roll, block, or guard again quickly.
Materials needed to upgrade Talon Strike
Like other Mystic Skills, Talon Strike advances through nine ranks per tier, with each promotion to a higher tier requiring additional materials. The core development resources are Ebon Iron (in ascending levels) and the Mystic Art material Vicious Fruit.
| Tier | Ranks covered | Upgrade cost pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Rank 0–9 | Each rank consumes Lv. 1 Ebon Iron x2. |
| Tier 2 | Rank 0–9 | Promotion to Tier 2 uses Vicious Fruit x5 and Lv. 1 Ebon Iron x2; each later rank uses Lv. 2 Ebon Iron x4. |
| Tier 3 | Rank 0–9 | Promotion uses Vicious Fruit x15 and Lv. 2 Ebon Iron x4; each later rank uses Lv. 3 Ebon Iron x10. |
| Tier 4 | Rank 0–9 | Promotion uses Vicious Fruit x18 and Lv. 3 Ebon Iron x10; each later rank uses Lv. 4 Ebon Iron x20. |
Because higher tiers demand much more Ebon Iron, it is usually efficient to bring Talon Strike to Rank 9 at its current tier before promoting, rather than spreading resources thinly across many Mystic Arts. This keeps your primary breaker Skill meaningfully ahead in both damage and utility.
Where Talon Strike fits in Arena and PvE builds
Talon Strike is explicitly flagged as “recommended for Arena,” and the kit supports that label. The combination of mobility, guard-breaking, and short cooldown makes it a natural opener in duels and group PvP.
| Context | Role of Talon Strike | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (1v1) | Primary tool to break turtle-style blocking and force disadvantage states. | Defense Break plus the Tier 3 debuff punishes over-blocking and creates safe combo windows. |
| Arena (group) | Pick-off option against isolated targets and follow-up after an ally’s crowd control. | Single-target focus avoids overcommitting into groups; extended dash range lets you capitalize on openings quickly. |
| Boss fights | Consistent guard-breaker to transition bosses into vulnerable states. | Low cooldown ensures Talon Strike is ready whenever a boss’s guard or posture becomes vulnerable. |
Because Defense Break Mystic Arts share a cooldown, the most efficient setups lean on Talon Strike as the primary breaker and pair it with complementary Mystic Skills that provide crowd control, self-buffs, or ranged coverage rather than overlapping defense breaks.
Once the Palace of Annals bridge is cleared and the bird nest mini-game is complete, Talon Strike becomes a permanent part of your toolkit. It is easy to unlock, relatively cheap to upgrade in early tiers, and delivers immediate results in both Arena and boss content, which is why it is often one of the first Mystic Skills worth prioritizing in Where Winds Meet.
