Velvet Shade is a joinable sect in Where Winds Meet built around revelry, companionship, and a public-facing kind of charm. In practical terms, joining a sect matters because it unlocks sect-specific martial arts, weapons, and shops, and it adds light gameplay rules that reward certain actions (and can penalize others). Velvet Shade is positioned as a hedonist, humanitarian group whose members tend to be easy to spot by the laughter, conversation, and parties they stir up.
Velvet Shade identity and faction ties
Velvet Shade is closely associated with Floral Reverie, framing its public image around style, drink, and social gravity rather than constant fighting. The sect’s in-game flavor leans on spring imagery and a mix of beauty and danger, with a recurring idea that softness and spectacle can hide sharper intentions.
Velvet Shade leadership and notable NPCs
Two named NPCs anchor Velvet Shade’s identity.
- Zhou Qiang is the current clan master of Floral Reverie and is described as leading an umbrella-based group that would rather drink with you than fight.
- Song Ruyan is the path founder of Floral Reverie and is framed as proof that spies and dancers can be as formidable as any fighter.
Their background blurbs emphasize influence built through performance, social access, and behind-the-scenes leverage, which matches Velvet Shade’s reputation for turning charm into power.
Entry clue and early joining signals
Velvet Shade’s entry clue describes “Drunken Petals” disciples moving through crimson mists and attracting Jianghu bonds through sheer allure. The joining premise is social rather than purely martial: you either fit the sect’s poetic elegance or you’re refined enough to be invited.
If the sect hasn’t been “discovered” in your progression, an in-world prompt notes that the Velvet Shade Flower Ranking has not opened yet, and directs admirers to wait near the Revelry Hall.
Velvet Shade rules: Full Bloom and Drunk on Flowers
Velvet Shade’s sect rules are light-touch systems that shape what you’re encouraged to do. The core rule is Full Bloom, which frames the sect’s loop as putting your charm forward and converting affection into hearts. A named rule, Drunk on Flowers, reinforces the same idea with a commitment to abundance rather than restraint.
Velvet Shade weapon and skill kit: Vernal Umbrella
Velvet Shade is tied to the Vernal Umbrella. The kit is presented as three distinct abilities:
- Spring Sorrow (Skill)
- Apricot Heaven (Charged Skill)
- Unfading Flower (Special Skill)
In practice, that means joining the sect isn’t only a narrative choice. It’s also a loadout decision, since the umbrella is treated as a defining weapon identity for the group.
How the Vernal Umbrella unlock quest plays out
One quest path tied to the Vernal Umbrella sends you to the Temporal Pavilion with an objective that reads like a social gate: visiting Velvet Shade and taking part in a “Heroic Assembly.” The approach is not a straightforward fight. It’s a layered sequence that starts with being denied entry to a banquet and then solving your way inside.
The core beats of the sequence are:
- Starting a related quest to enter the banquet by speaking to an NPC outside.
- Gathering six clues by eavesdropping and interacting with the environment (including a courtyard sequence and a cat interaction).
- Running a deduction step by pairing the clues.
- Using the mystic skill celestial seas to steal a warehouse key, then retrieving a keepsake used as proof to enter the third floor.
- Completing a skill-theft observation minigame where correct inputs are prompted by a yellow circle.
The design here fits Velvet Shade’s broader theme: access is negotiated through social puzzles, infiltration, and performance rather than brute force alone.
Availability and time-gating notes players run into
Player discussions around Velvet Shade often focus on timing and eligibility. A common rule of thumb is that only sects showing a Status button in the Join Sect menu can be joined at that moment, and Velvet Shade has been described as time-gated in some releases. There’s also a recurring idea that invitations may depend on presentation and cosmetics, with some players citing an Elegance threshold around 2000 for an invitation-style join flow.
Velvet Shade ultimately reads as a sect where style is part of the mechanics. If you’re drawn to umbrella-based martial arts and a ruleset that frames progress through charm, affection, and social access, it’s one of the clearest examples in Where Winds Meet of the game treating reputation and performance as real gameplay systems.
